Raising Sweet Souls....

Picture of the Day

2012-01-29T22:15:00.000-05:00

Cozy day, cozy feet. It was blustery and freezing out and I got to snuggle up with this little pair of slippered feet. Perfect Sunday!

Run, Run, Run

2012-01-28T23:11:00.001-05:00

10-1

I had a meeting all day for Girl Scouts and the kids had things to do and places to be. Everyone had friends sleep over and I left Bill with the morning itinerary. There was a line of 9 kids waiting for pancakes as I walked out the door and Bill had a very efficient assembly line moving.
As usual Bill is an awesome husband. Just tell him who needs to be where and when and its done. It's very nice to leave and know that everyone has what they need. Especially me!

Taking A Break

2012-01-27T23:25:00.000-05:00

Friday Field Trip! Headed to COSI with friends this afternoon to unwind from a busy school week. It feels good to have accomplished a lot but better to relax!

Puggle Snuggle

2012-01-26T22:28:00.000-05:00

Nothing like snuggling with a pug on a rainy afternoon. Oliver is my buddy. He follows me everywhere and according to the kids he is "obsessed" with me, much like Quincy is with Ethan. He whimpers at the door when I leave and is by my side all day. The second I sit down he is next to me and sometimes he climbs on top of me and sleeps on my shoulder like a baby. I never had a dog that did this. And yes I am totally obsessed with Pugs!

It is hard to get much done when he makes himself so comfy. It's a challenge to read to the kids!

Dusting off my Dance Shoes

2012-01-25T23:01:00.000-05:00

A brief hiatus due to various reasons, began with a broken toe in August, which is really hard to dance with when you can't get your shoes on! Which led to one delay after another, but the shoes are out and on, at least once a week, and it makes a huge difference in how I feel!

Valentine Wreaths

2012-01-24T23:06:00.001-05:00

I am determined to have more Valentine's decorations. I only have a few and its a pretty sad assortment. Every year I have all these ideas of what I'm going to make and I never get to it. So this year I'm doing it! I stayed in my pajamas most of the day Sunday and got both these wreaths done with a little help from the girls. They nick named this one the Tutu wreath since its made from Tulle. Super easy and I found it here with instructions (thank you Pinterest!). It's on my front door now, looking very festive. I asked Bill how he liked having a huge mass of pink tulle on his front door. He said it was cute! (typical response, if I love it, he loves it!) Can't beat that!

This one I came up with on my own. We made similar ornaments at stamp club before Christmas. I just switched Christmas paper to doilies and made it wreath size. I did hot glue the coned doilies to each other to help fill in the empty spaces. It was a little tricky but overall it turned out pretty cute. I have it hanging right by the kitchen and living room. Slowly its starting to look lovey, dovey around here!

Bowling with Friends

2012-01-23T23:04:00.000-05:00

Beginning last fall the Junior Girl Scouts started visiting a local nursing home. The girls have enjoyed dressing up for Halloween, have put on a talent show, gone on a scavenger hunt, and last week went bowling with the residents.

They had a ball (no pun intended!) setting up pins and taking turns bowling with the residents. It was a perfect activity for everyone! We enjoyed cookies and slushies, spreading some cheer on a gloomy day to our new friends.

Girl Scouts Cookin Up Fun

2012-01-22T21:22:00.000-05:00

The Junior Girl Scouts have been busy in January! Thanks to Mary's mom, who has tons of cooking experience and teaches cooking classes, we had our own lesson and made a Mexican style meal.
The girls made tortillas filled with meat and cheeses, chicken tortilla soup, key lime pies, and a special drink. Everyone was able to participate in making the meal and they definitely enjoyed eating it!

Juicing the lime for the key lime pies.

Soup instruction

I am so grateful that the girls all include Erin in their meetings. She has been a part of the group since she was a baby. Lily took Erin under her wing for the afternoon helping her cook and making sure she could see everything!

Yum!

A quick lesson on density to make this drink. Hawaiian Punch, then Gatorade, finished off with diet 7up poured over ice, how pretty!

Cheers!

Twins

2012-01-21T20:02:00.000-05:00

I wonder what its like to always have someone by your side growing up. Who has been with you since before you arrived here. Who goes through everything you do at the same time (braces etc).Who likes pretty much the same things you do except maybe your personal taste in clothes!

I have read lots on twins and they pretty much all say that next to their spouses, it is the closest and best relationship they ever have in their lives. That seems pretty amazing.

Lately Lindy and Paige are having more "twin" moments than ever. I can't really explain what they are until they happen. It's usually when they are both excited about something and talking at the same time, saying the same thing. They look the same and have the same expressions. It's just a twin thing!

I think its pretty cute to watch them talk and hang out especially when they can't see me!

Responsible for What I Say and Do

2012-01-20T23:05:00.000-05:00

Daisy Scouts had an important lesson today on being Responsible for What they Say and Do, their orange petal. We started with our story from the Daisy Guide about the flower character Mari. We talked about doing our chores and if we say we are going to do something we do it.

The girls all made a paper doll of themselves and brought that back to our circle where we had another story. This one was about the Paper Doll that I had. Her name was Ella and she was really looking forward to a great day but it didn't turn out so great. Kids said things to her that were not very nice and each time that happened in the story we crumpled part of the paper doll. The girls were shocked to see me scrunching my doll and tearing off her leg. But then Ella's day got better, people apologized and were nice to her. We began to tape her leg back on and straighten out her crinkles. We talked about how our words can hurt a person's spirit inside. Even though we apologize or maybe think what we say is not very hurtful, things we say can hurt a person and leave marks on them.

Remember the story, The Boy Who Cried Wolf? Perfect for teaching a lesson about being responsible for what you say! I even had a real life story of that happening in our house!

Erin was so excited to make the snack for today. She remembered it from a co-op class last session. She made the example butterfly from celery and then taught her friends how to put them together. She was very proud!

They are such a sweet little group of girls!

Perfect Ella, ready for a great day. But her friends made fun of her dress and her nails.

Even though they apologized, Ella still had marks on her from the unkind words.

Erin's celery butterfly.

Be a Tissue Donor

2012-01-19T22:31:00.000-05:00

Lifeline of Ohio has a new home page picture and story. Check it out here!

What To Do With A Girl Scout Cookie

2012-01-18T22:55:00.000-05:00

Samoa Cupcake

I can't believe I have cookies still from last years sale but I do! When your the troop leader you tend to buy some extras that are left over, I'd hate for them to go to waste. Since the cookie sale is upon us again, I decided to make cupcakes for the Girl Scout sleepover last week.
I found so many recipes and had pinned these. They turned out great!
The Samoa one has coconut extract in the batter and is so good. The Tagalong had coffee in the batter and the best part of that one is the Tagalong cookie in the bottom of the cupcake liner. It's like a little surprise when you take a bite. The girls loved them and took the extras home.
Here are the links for the recipes. Remember to order extra cookies for your baking needs! We have plenty of cookie salesgirls here so feel free to contact us if you need to stock up!

Samoa Recipe found here

Tagalong Recipe found here

Tagalong Cupcake

Moments to Remember

2012-01-17T23:29:00.000-05:00

My favorite parts of Glen Laurel...the front door. Love the door.

The stained glass and Scottish plaids throughout.

Being early arrivals we waited for our room by this cozy fireplace while sipping hot chocolate and reading a book. Love the tea box below.

The view from my reading spot. The dining room sits in the room behind where we had many wonderful meals. Loved the scones in the morning that we had with our breakfast. Loved the six course dinners by candlelight. Many people we talked to were staying in the cottages and crofts. We had a room in the manor house where these pictures are from. It was so nice with the weather to be right in the house and just walk down the hall to dinner.

The township is dry so you need to bring your own wine which is fine with me, I get to have my favorite! We enjoyed wine and cheese before dinner. Celtic music plays throughout the inn ( you can even turn it on in your room!) and it changes to bagpipers to call you to dinner.

Even though only 35 minutes from home, I felt like I really got away for two days. We loved hiking the gorge and spending the rainy afternoon reading in our room. The huge jet tub was the perfect place for a glass of wine and my book, ahhh. We definitely have many wonderful memories and will be going back again!

Icy Beauty

2012-01-16T21:55:00.000-05:00

Today was hiking day and it was so beautiful. The icicles are huge and amazing! The woods are so bright from the snow and all of the leaves being gone. We walked all along the gorge and explored every area we could get to. I have many more pictures but its movie time so I have to stop uploading so we can start our entertainment!

My favorite picture of Bill from today.

This mossy area has tons of tiny little icicles that are curved on the ground. It looks like a place little winter forest fairies live.

Weekend Rest

2012-01-15T22:48:00.000-05:00

I tried to surprise Bill with this get away in November. He decided that getting pneumonia and having it spread to his heart and give him a heart attack was a better way to spend a romantic getaway! We spent 4 days at Mt. Carmel East "Inn". Not fun or romantic, unless you count that really cute hospital gown he had to wear!

So here we are again, rescheduled in January and it is SO cozy at Glen Laurel in Hocking Hills. We have cranked on the fireplace after our hike in the woods and it is so nice! Our dinner was huge and so good but I literally could not eat one more bite! We have all day tomorrow, just us! We are going to hike tomorrow, hopefully a couple of different trails and wander around somewhere quaint.

Somewhere in there I need to fit in my nap and a hot bath ....

Crochet Friend

2012-01-15T22:04:00.000-05:00

Lindy and Paige have been taking Crochet at co-op over the last year. They have loved it and so have I since I have gotten new scarves from this! They really like one of their older friends, Mary Ann who is the Crochet teacher's teenage daughter and who they really look up to as an expert crocheter (not sure it that's a word!)

Last night at teen night, Mary Ann sent me home with 3 hats, 1 for each of the girls. Lindy and Paige had just gotten new winter coats so they were thrilled to have new winter accessories to match.

How cute do they look?! What a wonderful talent Mary Ann has and how very sweet to share it with the girls. They felt pretty special she had done that for them!

Home Alone

2012-01-14T23:33:00.000-05:00

It was bound to happen. It's almost happened before but we've always caught ourselves and checked to be sure we had everyone. Today was an honest error. I left to take Ethan to get his picture taken for his passport. I told Bill to bring Erin and Kyle with him to meet us at the post office to get the paperwork completed. The boys were then going to a fellow scouts Eagle Project and Erin and I would head to dance to pick up Lindy and Paige.

Bill dropped Kyle off at the project on the way to the post office so when he got out of his car alone, I knew we were in trouble! He and Kyle got ready to leave the house and Erin was no where around. It's not a quiet production to leave either, since you have to call the puppies and get them treats to go in their crates. The whole house hears it going on! But apparently Erin didn't hear a thing. When she didn't show up by the door, Bill assumed she had decided to leave with me.

The entire way home I kept thinking if I get pulled over for speeding, do I tell them why? That my 6 year old has been left at home, alone! Or is that going to get me in more trouble?

I fly in the door and Erin is sitting at the kitchen table, holding the phone and talking to Emma with one hand, typing on the computer with the other! No clue she was left, totally oblivious to being along. She thought Kyle was somewhere in the house. (Obviously we need a smaller house for safety sake).

When she found out she was alone she didn't freak out it was, "cool! I could have had a party!".

She has always been laid back, go with the flow. I guess that was good today otherwise we could have had a panicky, traumatized child from now on. Kyle asked her at dinner tonight what she would have done if there had been a fire in the house? She said "go out the back door and tell someone to call 911". Probably Emma!

Picture of the Day

2012-01-13T23:35:00.000-05:00

It has to be a record for January 13th to be the first real snow fall of the season. Finally! Still not enough but better than nothing!

A Small World

2012-01-13T23:30:00.000-05:00

Kyle's Eagle Project is taking off! We had the pleasure of interviewing a Korean War Vet this morning. We had such a great time chatting we lost track of time and were there for almost 3 hours! But the stories were great and while Kyle was interviewing I was talking with this vets wife. Believe it or not their first house when they got married, was right down the street from where Bill and I bought our first house. Literally within about 10 houses from each other!

Every time we leave an interview we get in car and look at each other and can't believe the stories we have heard or the coincidences we find. The boy is amazing. He has such a passion for this and its quite an honor to take him around to these interviews and be a part of them. I'm hoping that since I'm the photographer I will still be able to accompany him when he is able to drive himself!

That's What Friends Are For

2012-01-12T23:18:00.000-05:00

Erin was really sad last night that she didn't get the part in the Sound of Music. She had lots of encouragement and positive comments of what a perfect Gretl she would be. But this morning she got up and said she was better and ready to try for another role! That's the life of an actress! Keep moving on until you find the right role.
As soon as we were done with school, Erin's BFF Emma, brought her a card. She knew that Erin was sad and really wanted to cheer her up. They had auditioned together and Emma was rooting for her when Erin made call backs. It was so sweet when Emma showed up all bundled in her hat and mittens and didn't even take her coat off before she hugged Erin and gave her a card. It was so sweet and read "I didn't get the part too. Have a good time." How sweet is that?
Off they ran to have a good time, giggling and playing just like best friends. It was so sweet that Emma was so concerned about Erin and worried about her being sad. They take good care of each other and try to spend every available second together. They are there for all the happy things parties, holidays, and playtime. And now they are there for each other when they feel down. That's what friends are for.

Doing Your Best

2012-01-11T23:31:00.000-05:00

Erin had call backs tonight for the Sound of Music and did great! She did her best but didn't get the role. She was definitely disappointed, she was very excited about the possibility! But she is proud of how she did and said she did her best and that is what it is all about.

The director was so sweet and told all the call backs that they should be really proud of themselves because getting called back is quite an accomplishment especially when they had so many girls try out.

She wants to be in a play so the search continues! Hopefully I find something that meets her criteria!

Good Job Erin! We are so proud of you! You did a great job!

Call Backs!

2012-01-10T23:39:00.000-05:00

Erin auditioned tonight for Gretl in the Sound of Music and we got a call later tonight that she made the callbacks! She is so excited to have the opportunity. She came skipping out of her audition and told me "I'm happy with how I did!" She has had the best attitude about trying out and I'm so proud of her.
Lindy helped her get ready, did her hair and curled her pigtails, she was trying to get into the Gretl character.
Can't wait to see how she does tomorrow! Break a leg Erin!

Erin & Marinne, dance buddies, auditioned together!

Erin (in pink) waiting to be called back.

Auditions!

2012-01-09T23:11:00.001-05:00

Tonight were the auditions for The Sound of Music for Lindy and Paige's age group. They had SO much fun with their friends! So many girls tried out, many they knew and they had a great time hanging out while waiting for their number to be called.
Both the girls don't care if they get a part they said they are happy for whoever gets them. They have a free ticket to see the play should they not get a part which they are very excited about!
I am so proud of both of them. There is no way Paige would have done something like this a couple years ago. I might have been able to talk Lindy into it but no way would Paige have done it. But she ran right up when her number was called and she said she did it just like she has practiced which was pretty good!

Just finished auditioning!

Paige in pink, hanging with the high school cast members waiting to go in for her audition.

Picture of the Day

2012-01-08T23:45:00.000-05:00

This is how we ALL felt today! TIRED!

Girl Weekend

2012-01-07T22:24:00.000-05:00

The boys are off on a father son camp out for Boy Scouts so that makes this weekend Girl Weekend! The girls and I have so much fun together on these weekends which happen once a month. We try to do some type of activity over the weekend but almost every Saturday night we head to our craft area in the basement and work on different projects. We spend the evening in the cozy basement where you literally feel like you have escaped the world. You can't hear the door or the phone and we lose track of time!
After our Girl Scout sleep over last night we were all wiped out. So tonight was an early shower and get ready for bed night! The girls made hot chocolate with all the toppings from our hot chocolate bar last night and snuggled down for the night.
Love my weekends with my girlies!

A Day in the Life of a Pug

2012-01-07T22:14:00.000-05:00

The focus of the day is eating, sleeping, and potty time. Erin spends lots of time during the day taking puppies outside. With the weather being nice they want to go outside just to be out and she is more than happy to do that!
Paige got some pictures of the boys playing while we worked on crafts in the basement. They love playing downstairs since they have so much room to run!

Puppy Paws!

So tired!

GIrl Scout Celebration

2012-01-06T22:53:00.000-05:00

What do you get when you have 14 girls and cabin fever? Crazy silliness all night long! Kicking off our 100 year of Girl Scouts celebration we had a night of pizza, sweets, games, and crazy fun.
Girls played board games like Life, had a huge Twister marathon, a hot chocolate bar, Tag along and Samoa cupcakes and tons of fun with their best friends. Hopefully they will get some sleep too!
What a great way to start the new year!

Picture of the Day

2012-01-05T23:20:00.000-05:00

Guess who is auditioning for the Sound of Music's Gretl? Yep, Erin. She is beyond excited. She hasn't seen the movie since she was three and can't remember much but she has been wanting to do a "big" play since one of her good friends did one last Christmas. In fact all the girls are interested in giving it a try!
She got her lines tonight (6:30). She had them down at 8:30. Moving on to singing a few bars of My Favorite Things, which we will hear lots of this weekend!
She'd love to get a part but said she's having fun just auditioning with her BFF's. Good attitude!
Break a Leg Erin!

Picture of the Day

2012-01-04T23:43:00.000-05:00

Another amazing man. Another incredible story. Another friend for Kyle.
The plaque above them reads:

Yesterday is History
Tomorrow is a Mystery
Today is a Gift
~Eleanor Roosevelt

Very suiting for this man's life.

Crayon Art

2012-01-03T22:50:00.000-05:00

I am totally addicted to Pinterest. It was just what I needed to get my favorite website/blog stuff organized and by doing that it has jump started me again. It was getting way to cumbersome to find the things I wanted to do and then get them done. Now I'm in business!
When I saw the crayon art I HAD to do it and so did the kids. So simple and cheap. One canvas, one 64 box of crayons with a few extras from home to fill in.
Lindy and I hot glued them all down after the girls arranged them in the rainbow they wanted.
Paige was the photographer and got some very creative crayon shots!
Erin loved melting the crayons with the hairdryer and was also the DJ running songs on the computer to work by. We even got Ethan to help us melt so everyone had a part in creating. (Kyle gave moral support while working on his Veteran project!)
Our art is already hanging! It looks awesome on the stairway down to our family room and really pops out on navy blue walls.

Hairdryer prep!

Melting - how fun!

Waiting!

The more you melt the more drips and wax builds up towards the bottom. The top picture is our final piece.

Picture of the Day

2012-01-03T22:23:00.002-05:00

Someone had a hard time getting started this morning!

Her Wooden Men

2012-01-02T23:26:00.001-05:00

Obsessed. Since she was tiny, Erin has loved nutcrackers or as she called them her, "wooden men". She has been in love with this set since before she could walk and as soon as she was tall enough she carried them around, danced with them, played with them, and loved them.
Every year we take a picture before we put them away. Mainly because she loves them so but also to look back over the year and see how tall she is.
I love taking her picture when she is deep in conversation with them, it is hilarious and very sweet. I love that at six she still talks to them.
See you next year wooden men!
~ Erin

Picture of the Day

2012-01-01T23:31:00.000-05:00

It's coming down tomorrow and I think Erin is going to miss it!

Happy New Year 2012!

2012-01-01T23:29:00.000-05:00

Putting on some party attitude! The girls were looking forward all week to having their friends over for a New Years celebration. Homemade pizza, snacks, and decorations made it a great night.

Highlights of the day/night:

Erin made Cookie Pie by herself to share with her friends.
All 7 girls arranged themselves to sleep on the sectional together!

Adorable conversation between Erin and Emma:

Erin " After midnight it will be 2012."
Emma "I know, I'm so excited!"
Erin "Do you have any plans for the new year?"
Emma "No, but we should probably get some."

Hilarious! Nothing like six year old perspective.

The boys were off to a party and Bill and I thoroughly enjoyed our evening with cute girls running around!

Cookies for Santa

2012-01-01T23:06:00.000-05:00

We love our American Girl magazine! This month's issue had lots of super cute treats. Erin HAD to make the Oreo penguins for Santa. They were more fragile to do than I thought and I was worried she was going to get frustrated but not so. She had a great time and was so excited to have a very special treat for Santa made just by her! A wonderful way to spend Christmas Eve day together!

Create for a Cause

2011-12-30T23:19:00.000-05:00

I had the wonderful opportunity to support my favorite organization Lifeline of Ohio last month. Sponsored by King Business Interiors, Create for a Cause is their annual holiday party which benefits a different organization each year, this year Lifeline. Local artists design plates which are then part of a silent auction. Along with the real artists about a dozen Lifeline volunteers were asked to design a plate.
No pressure having your non-artist skills on display right next to extremely talented people! I had a vision for what I wanted to do and with a little help from my Cricut die cut machine for some templates, I was set. It still took me 3 1/2 hours to get it done, I was really being a perfectionist. The last thing I wanted was for my plate not to have any bids (of course I was prepared with my checkbook to be sure that wouldn't happen!) I wanted to do something that represented me since my surgery and dance seemed like the perfect thing.
My plate did sell and for more than the minimum bid so I was thrilled and very happy I could help contribute to Lifeline.
My date for the evening was my sister since Bill was busy with a Boy Scout event. We had a great time volunteering at the Lifeline information station and then got to enjoy the evening. Tons of great food and looking around COSI which was where the party was held.
Thanks Gretchen for going with me!

Paint Roller Snowmen

2011-12-30T22:40:00.000-05:00

Every year we make an ornament to give our family at Thanksgiving. This will be the 11th year so I have to look for ideas since we have used many of the basics, salt dough ornaments, etc. This year I saw one in Lowe's craft magazine and the girls HAD to make it.
The snowman's body is a little trim paint roller with a conduit piece for the hat. Can't remember the size but I just held different sizes up to see what fit best. Once the hat was hot glued on we tied jute around the body and left plenty to stick out for arms.
The girls personalized their snowman with a ribbon scarf and buttons. We painted eyes and hot glued a string hanger. Everyone LOVED them! I have to say they are one of my favorites!

"Kitty"

2011-12-26T00:54:00.000-05:00

No "Kitty" is not our new pet or Christmas present! When we took Quincy in last week to have a cyst removed, our vet had 4 six week old kittens in the waiting room. Someone had left them in a box on her door step.We just happened to have a good friend who was looking for a kitten for her daughter who is also friends with the girls.
It worked out perfect and "Kitty" was selected. When we went in to pick up Quincy we brought home "Kitty" to pet sit until Christmas Eve. She is so cute and tiny but also a little ball of fire, tearing through the family room where she camped out from the safety of two very enthusiastic pugs!
The girls set up a crate for her with everything she would need and loved her so much. I didn't have to do hardly anything for the three days she was here. The boys and Bill even spent time holding her and loving on her.
On Christmas Eve, we ran out of church to get home and get "Kitty" ready for her new family. We put a tag for the girls friend and added a bow to the carrier. Then we blinged "Kitty" up with a sparkly pink bow. Her new owner Daddy arrived at 8pm to take her home. Erin was a bit teary seeing her go, she had really bonded and basically spent three days in the family room only coming up to eat!
Within 30 minutes we received pictures and texts from her new family and "Kitty" looked so happy!
Most importantly, my girls were thrilled to be able to participate in the magic of Christmas for their friend. They loved helping and being a part of such a special gift for such a special friend. It was so sweet to hear them talk about "Grace's" kitty and how excited and happy she would be. Oh they were so happy for her!
"Kitty" is now known as Vanilla "Nilla" Paws Angel, a perfect Christmas present!

Merry Christmas Grace! We love you!

Glasses!

2011-12-26T00:18:00.000-05:00

Paige has glasses! Really cute, sophisticated glasses! She has been complaining of headaches daily for quite awhile. She already has migraines but these were headaches that with some Motrin would go away. With her eye history she was long overdue for an exam so off we headed to Children's 10 days ago where it was determined that yes indeed, she did need glasses.
We did have fun choosing frames, what a huge selection for kids today. Her one requirement - no pink! That was definitely the most challenging part of the experience since about 90% of the frames have pink somewhere on them. But they can order anything, so after trying on about 15 pairs she settled on a style and ordered the color she wanted. I think she made a fantastic choice!
She doesn't need to wear them all the time; reading, TV, computer. Enough that she will be hauling them around the house, hopefully not losing them!
She was most excited about the cute Vera Bradley case I gave her for Christmas, pictures of that to follow soon.
I know she is kinda proud since she was willing to pose for a quick photo shoot....

Paige and Daddy with his" readers". The only 2 in the family who need glasses!

4 Paws & a Girl

2011-12-23T20:19:00.000-05:00

Lindy LOVES to dance. Since she was 4 years old she has always taken some kind of dance and as she has gotten older kept adding classes. Two years ago she started the competition team and really took off! It has been the most wonderful experience for her, giving her a huge self esteem boost which every girl needs.
This year her list was long..Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, Classical Ballet, Acrobatics, Technique, and a Solo Class, whew! She is at the studio 2 nights a week and Saturday morning and if she could go more she would.
In an effort to teach the life lesson that things cost lots of money, Lindy was looking for ways to contribute to her dance classes. She took on the responsibility of paying for her Solo classes which are $20 a piece and she usually does 2 per month until spring when they will be weekly.
Paige has a paper route and Lindy wanted a "job". The first "job" I gave her was coupons. She is in charge of cutting coupons and organizing them. Whatever the total coupons I have saved with on a shopping trip she adds that to her list of earned income. She's doing so well saving money at the grocery store she is usually ahead of her payments by a month!
But she still wanted a job outside the home. We brainstormed what the possibilities would be for a 10 year old and came up with pet sitting. She loves pets so it seemed like a good fit.
Bill and Lindy spent an evening on the computer designing a flyer to pass out in the neighborhood and so "4 Paws & a Girl" was born!
Her best customer has been 2 dogs that she takes care of and she loves it! She wanted to make them a little Christmas treat and dogs love treats! We had so much fun filling treat bags and making cute tags for them. Her furry customers and their owner were thrilled that she thought of them.
She's definitely learning good customer service!

Santa Day!

2011-12-22T01:17:00.001-05:00

It's a HUGE, much anticipated event here in our home when Santa arrives! As the kids have gotten older our party has grown and changed. Everyone has a say in the guest list, pretty much anyone you can think of gets an invitation so that's easy! Kids willingly get dressed up and clean and the overall joy and excitement in our house all week is priceless. It is by far my most favorite week of the holiday season. There is not another time, maybe even all year, where we are home for a week, everyday, spending all day together.
This year I had more help than ever which was a good thing since Bill was recovering from a scary, nasty pneumonia bug! I came down in the morning to a preheated over (thank you Paige) and recipes waiting. Paige ran the mixer non stop all week making dough after dough. Lindy and Erin rolled, sprinkled, cut out, and iced hundreds of cookies.
I am always so grateful for my wonderful family and after the month of November even more so!

Merry Christmas!

The Millers

My baby is not really a baby anymore but she wanted to be 1st on Santa's lap and that I can make happen!

Erin and one of her BFF's Megan.

Paige and Rachel

Dance Girls - what a great team these girls are!

What do you think Grace is trying to talk Santa into?

Friends I haven't seen FOREVER! Can you believe Lindsey was our flower girl? Wow, we are old!

Julia & Santa

Bill "stole" Mary's new little one, Luke. He has a think for babies (obviously!)

No matter what your age, everyone loves Santa!

We all wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Fall Family Fun!

2011-11-04T11:22:00.000-04:00

As I'm getting caught up, I'm finding cute pictures from the entire month that I haven't done anything with. Our cousins came into town the middle of October to spend a low key weekend with us. The kids played morning until the wee hours of the night, late night sleep overs were tons of fun!
We took a quick trip over to Dill's to do the corn maze and get little pumpkins. The kids had a great time together. Hard to believe that Lindy was sick. I didn't realize how bad until we got home and she fell apart and could not swallow - at all. She wound up hours later at urgent care with horrible strep. She was so sick! She kept it together to be with her cousins. Surprisingly, no one else got strep or anything else!

Best buddies Ethan and Emma!

Celebrating Life

2011-11-03T22:13:00.000-04:00

Check out the new mouse pads being distributed to all the BMV's in Lifelines region! The employees there do such an awesome job registering donors everyday. Over 110,000 Americans need a life saving transplant and even more are in need of tissue to heal. Sign up today to be a donor.

Someone Loves Dance

2011-11-03T21:46:00.001-04:00

It's Erin but it applies to all the girls in the Miller house. It's how they spend most of their free time at home.It's what they chalk on the driveway. It's how they spend 4 out of 5 nights, someone is at the dance studio. It's how they spend Satuday mornings. It's how they spend most of the money around here! It's pretty much life. But they LOVE every bit of it!

Our 1st Halloween

2011-11-02T12:17:00.000-04:00

Quincy and Oliver were really good sports about their Halloween sweaters. They really don't mind wearing them especially when its chilly out! Quincy has to have the manly, preppy styles and Oliver has the more cutesy wardrobe. You can tell who their "owners" are!

I belong to a boy!

I belong to girls!

It's so exhausting getting dressed up!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-02T00:01:00.000-04:00

My November resolution is to get my pictures on my blog! This fall has been crazy and I look back and it's been almost a month since I posted pictures. That is not going to work for those dear friends and family who look here to see what we are doing! So I'm committed to getting caught up!
Halloween was awesome! The kids had been so excited all month! Too long and strange of a story to explain but I had to run out on a little emergency right when we were getting ready to take pictures. I threw the camera at Bill and he did a pretty good job. The only issue was Erin developed a really bad tummy ache right when they were heading out so she is MIA in the pictures. She laid down for a little while and then came jumping down the steps and said, "this cowgirl is ready to go trick or treating!" So off we went.
We had quite the crowd which was really fun for the kids to split up and go with friends. The girls had 10 in their group and had quite the night.

My time has flown! They are into scary and creepy, gone are the days of the butterfly wings they wore.

Boys just love to be scary. Ethan loves to coat himself in face paint. This year he skipped all of the rest of his costume and headed out painted with sprayed hair. Kyle was Darth Maul and loved it. So glad he ended up going out with his friends. He was concerned he was too old. Your never too old if you still dress up!

Our group before heading out. What a great looking group!

Elleigh and Lindy

Whatever was troubling her tummy went away and she had a great night!

Lindy, Rachel (the best Nerd ever!), and Paige

The big girls had a blast!

So, Bill charges every trick or treater 2 Snickers (this is an every year thing). It's his way of teaching the taxation system to the kids at a young age, at least that's what he says! With 19 kids that was a ton of Snickers. The funny thing about it was those who still needed to "pay" wanted to be sure if they put it in his bowl that they would receive credit for payment if he wasn't around.

On the other hand Jay rounds up candy that people don't like and passes it out to those who do. Hmmm??

Emma and Paige

Lyza and Erin sorting loot.

Mary and Lindy, goth girls together.

BFF's Erin and Emma

Zack, Mc, and Kyle

Swapping hats!

Our favorite house to stop at, Lily's!

Morris Island

2011-10-04T16:56:00.000-04:00

Coolest day of vacation! We've been wanting to take a boat out to the Morris Island Lighthouse for years and hadn't gotten around to it till this year.
We had the best time! Thirty minute ride out to the island through the marshes where we saw dolphins right by our boat. We got to Morris Island which is only accessible by boat and were the first people of the day to arrive. So, we had the island to ourselves! No one lives there, its just sand, shells, and a great lighthouse view.
It was so neat to watch Kyle and Ethan just wander off on their own adventure looking for cool stuff.
The girls found jelly fish, huge crabs, tons of shells, and sand dollars. We had an hour to look around and then head back.
Our captain showed the kids the oyster beds and how to catch shrimp. Very cool! Truly the best day!

Oyster Beds

Lindy

2011-09-19T15:32:00.000-04:00

My more than willing beach model this year was Lindy. She loved to get her picture taken, not that any of them really complain! But we had fun the evening we walked to the end of the island and did just her pictures. Amazing she will be 10 in 2 days!
I told the kids someone is going to have to get married down here and have their wedding on the beach. Lindy pipes up "I've got that!". Years and years away but I like that she's on the same page as me! What fun that will be!

Juicy Fruit

2011-09-19T11:15:00.000-04:00

Juicy Fruit is the name of this swimsuit that Erin picked out. How appropriate a name for her! It was definitely a plus to be able to see her while she was wave jumping, diving, etc. The girl made my heart stop numerous times since she has no fear and has no problem taking her sweet time coming back up to surface! She had such a great time even though she thinks she's 13 and she's not!

Dolphins at Lunch

2011-09-19T11:00:00.000-04:00

Their lunch time and ours too! This is the view from the deck while enjoying a beach break. Its really hard to take a picture of a dolphin jumping out the water since you never know when they are going to come up. These were the best I got which is better than nothing!

Carolina Girl

2011-09-18T09:47:00.000-04:00

Erin has a whole song and dance routine that she made up titled "Carolina Girl". Its something else when she dons her bikini and my sunglasses and gets up on her "stage". She is quite the entertainer!

Evenings

2011-09-17T23:35:00.000-04:00

Evenings are one of our favorite times at the beach. As soon as we finish dinner the kids are downstairs waiting for us while we finish cleaning up so we can walk down to the end of the island. Our location is great because we can get to the very end of the island where it is just dune and vegetation with an awesome view of Morris Island and the lighthouse. No houses since ours is the last one at that end of the beach and it is nice to have some privacy.
We all look forward to the walks and many treasures can be found. This year we found a starfish which is something new. There are plenty of jelly fish, crabs, sand dollars, and other fish that have washed up. We never know what we will find!

Waiting under the house watching the tide come in.

The moon was full and gorgeous all week!

We found 3 Loggerhead Nesting sites, endangered and very protected on the beach.

Freshly showered before dinner and our walk, collapsing into bed is a piece of cake!

Kyle really loves his room. He has one side of the upstairs to himself overlooking the ocean with his own bathroom. Not too much to complain about!

Pint Sized Piggly Wiggly

2011-09-16T23:23:00.001-04:00

Why can't they have these adorable little carts at home?? What fun for the pint sized shoppers! Erin had a ball!

Erosion

2011-09-15T17:33:00.000-04:00

We came back to Folly this year to severe beach erosion. We were told some of it was from Hurricane Irene but it looks like a great deal of it was already going on before that. It has really effected the area by our house. When high tide comes in you literally cannot walk down the beach and in front of the house since the tide is all the way up on the rocks below the house. Its neat to see the entire deck surrounded by water but it makes the evening walks challenging to get down to the beach. We have a round about way and it makes it more of an evening adventure. Its also pretty cool to swim right under the house.

It does need to get fixed or the "Edge of America" is not going to have its current edge and we would hate to see our house get washed away!

There has been at least 4-5 feet of a drop in the beach since we were here last year. We used to walk over the wood barriers and now they are taller than the girls.

There have been 5 steps added to the stairs that go to our beach entrance by our house and tons of rocks put in to help slow down the erosion.

Surf & Sand

2011-09-15T09:45:00.000-04:00

In 48 hours I think we spent almost 20 hours on the beach! Morning, Afternoon, Evening! We are beach lovers!

Night Swim

2011-09-12T21:56:00.000-04:00

We made record time! Only 11 hours of driving and that included stops! For once we had no accident/traffic jam or any rainy down pours to drive through. By leaving at the crack of dawn (really before dawn) we were here before dinner and had time to unpack, eat, and have a night swim. Water is so warm its like a bathtub, temps are mid 80's, sunny, and beautiful.
Normally I think Bill would get tired of hearing me say repeatedly, "I just love it here so much", except he's saying it too. There is nothing that compares for us. No matter what beach we have been to we love coming back to Folly each year more than anywhere else.

Pug Love

2011-09-09T00:11:00.000-04:00

Paige and Oliver

We are crazy about our new family members! It amazes me the instant attachment we all have had with them. Thankfully both Quincy and Oliver are very happy to get any kind of attention. The girls especially are always babying them and helping them to "dance". But they love being with people and don't complain a bit!

Ollie

Dog Days...

2011-09-08T22:44:00.000-04:00

Seabase

2011-08-28T01:01:00.000-04:00

Kyle is getting the most fabulous experiences. This month he was able to go to Seabase a high adventure Boy Scout "Camp" where the boys sail the Florida Keys for 7 days. Since Bill is the Scout Master he went too but I think he would have gone as a chaperon either way since this is such an amazing trip.
There are 8 boys to a boat plus 2 adults and the captain of the boat. You have to be at least 14 to attend so Ethan has a couple more years until he is able to go on this kind of trip. Basically the captain instructs the boys on how to sail. They also get to dive, fish, and swim. Highlights of the week were catching 4 lobsters for dinner one night, going to a local resort for the day to hang out by the pool, bike ride, go tubing, and kayaking. But living on a boat for a week really is a unique experience.
It was an amazing week. As I told Kyle the day before he left, this is such a special thing to do with your dad. Even though there are other boys there, the two of them were able to spend the week together on an adventure. They have made so many memories together and as I told Kyle, Bill didn't get the opportunity to do these things with his dad which makes it all the more special for them.
Memories of a lifetime below....

Fine Men

2011-07-26T23:45:00.001-04:00

Kyle at the Statehouse - May 2011

Today is all about Kyle. It's not his birthday. Not any sort of significant day regarding Kyle but he is on my mind. Probably because he never ceases to amaze me with what an incredible person he is.

I had the joy of attending a memorial service with him Sunday afternoon. Most might not think that is something to be joyful about but it was a Celebration of Life for Mr. Richard Wheeler, a WWII veteran friend of Kyle's. Mr. Wheeler wanted a celebration and his wife honored those wishes.

He was an amazing man who has had a huge influence on Kyle. They have spent many hours together talking and having lunch at meetings. We visited Mr. Wheeler's home which Kyle said is like a museum! He got the special tour while I was meeting with Mr.Wheeler's wife. There were books and military medals galore. Kyle had a ball and Mr. Wheeler did too. Packages with DVD's, articles, and notes arrived frequently in the mail. Along with many veterans, Mr. Wheeler would bring Kyle books to read. He has so much to read he doesn't need to go to the library since the library comes to him! So many of these men want to pass along things to Kyle to help teach him and preserve their stories. This has become a passion for Kyle and the men in the Veteran's Chapter he belongs to have taken him under their wing.

When we were at the Veterans Meeting last Wednesday, Mrs. Wheeler asked me if Kyle could say a few words at the memorial service. When I told him about the request his first words were he needed to do it.

Before he left for his Boy Scout camp Friday he sat down and wrote his memorial speech. When he asked me to come read it I had tears. He wrote straight from the heart. Took him no time at all, he knew what he wanted to say.

If you have never heard Kyle deliver a presentation, you are missing out on a wonderful speaker. It is truly a gift, one that he gets from his Dad. He has such a presence when he is up in front of people and it comes across as sincere and confident. You can tell he enjoys doing it and in this case he was so honored and proud to do this for Mr. Wheeler.

But what I love most about my son, he comes back to sit next to me in the pew (of course my tears are flowing) and he puts his arm around me, hugs me, and pats my shoulder. He always does this whenever we are at something that makes me emotional. He always has that hug, comforting arm, and sweet words. Always asks if I'm OK.

From the time he was very little we always thought he had such a deep soul that really felt for other people unlike many other kids his age. He is so empathetic, so genuine and sincere. He is more than I ever dreamed of what he would become and he is not quite 15 years old.

So yes, attending a memorial service with my son was a joy. I was beaming with pride as the line formed afterward to talk to him and hear about his relationship with Mr. Wheeler. He was so proud to be there and honor such a great man. Much like I am honored to be Kyle's mom.

Below is Kyle's eulogy for Mr. Wheeler:

The hardest part of preparing this speech for today was trying to think of a way to describe Richard Wheeler. He was a kind, thoughtful, and dedicated man, dedicated to his faith, dedicated to his family, dedicated to his fellow veterans of the Second World War and preserving their stories.

My name is Kyle Miller; I first met Richard Wheeler at a meeting of the Litsinberger chapter for Veterans of Battle of the Bulge in November 2008. Because of my interest in military history, particularly World War 2 I wanted to meet some of the men who had lived and fought in this greatest of wars and hear their personal stories. Mr. Wheeler was one of the first to share his experiences with me, but of course when you have as many incredible stories as he did no one could ever hear it all in one meeting. Whenever I saw Mr. Wheeler at a veteran’s chapter meeting he would always have a story about World War 2, whether about his own experiences, his paratrooper unit, or anything else involving the war he always had something I wanted to hear. I often received large envelopes in the mail that would have magazines, photos, and DVDs related to World War 2 that Mr. Wheeler knew I would like. I learned a lot of a critical time in human history because of Mr. Wheeler and from a perspective I could never have gotten on my own or in a book or in a movie. It was a human perspective from a human who lived through it. But more than a history lesson, I got something significantly greater. I gained a very good friend, one who was kind and supportive, one who was fun and smart, and one whom I will miss very much. Mr. Wheeler always said the true heroes are in the cemeteries, but I always saw him as hero in life, and I know that now and for all eternity Richard Wheeler will reside with the greatest of men.

Thank you.

Happy 4th!

2011-07-12T13:34:00.000-04:00

Busy 4th! Mulitple parades, lunch at Whitney and BJ's (yum!), fireworks, and lots of fun!

Live entertainment since everyone is just back from camps we get lots of camp songs and skits.

Lots of silly play!

Can you tell Bill has a migraine? He was a good sport about getting pictures taken but he really didn't feel well.

Lindy painted flags on her nails!

Evening Parade, all the girls wanted to be a part of the dance float.

Pandamania!

2011-07-10T13:28:00.000-04:00

Another hit at VBS this year! Pandamania was a blast, over 350 kids which in itself makes things a blast. There is so much energy and enthusiasm all over the building. It is a true joy to be a part of!
This was Ethan's final year, he graduates to being a leader if he does not have Boy Scout camp the same week. He had such a great time doing service projects and tie dying shirts, many great memories!

Father's Day

2011-07-10T13:09:00.000-04:00

A belated Father's Day post to the best husband and father ever! There is no one I would rather spend my days with than my sweet husband. He makes everything for our family possible with all of his hard work and dedication.
I am so grateful to be able to stay home and homeschool the kids and he makes sure that can happen. He spoils all of us so much with his time and energy. His sense of humor and big heart and his dedication to our family is so appreciated. I look at Kyle and Ethan and what wonderful young men they are becoming and know it is from his influence and love for them.
We are off later to have a family day at the park, Bill's favorite thing to do. Thank you for being the best daddy ever!

Farewell

2011-07-10T12:25:00.000-04:00

Trying to get caught up on my pictures, feel like I'm always saying that, but some things I don't want to skip just to get caught up! On Father's Day we said good bye to Pastor Jim and his family. They have been moved to another church about 90 minutes away so we won't see them as often.
We will miss Sunday mornings with Jim's sermons and I have already missed VBS with Phyllis. It just wasn't the same without her there to work with in the Preschool. I know we are not the only family who feel this way, the farewell party had hundreds of people there to say good bye.
Bill and Jim have become great friends enjoying weekday lunches over Rubens and we have enjoyed our dinners with our families.
We will see them soon once they get settled. Until then best wishes on their new home. Their congregations are lucky to have them!

Awesome Leaders

2011-07-02T19:51:00.000-04:00

I can't say enough good things about Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts when it comes to teaching kids to become leaders. The week at camp really proved the point.
Cynthia and Kyle are awesome teens in many ways. Cynthia was an advanced program leader which meant she was responsible for writing her own lesson plan and creating an activity to do with each of the camp units all week. Her nature training with Mrs. Slone paid off huge with her running an animal tracking station. Not only did the girls love the activity and being able to make their own animal track and take it home but they loved Cindy Loo Hoo. She made things fun, exciting, and she is full of enthusiasm. It was so fun to hang out with her at Head Quarters and help her get her project together. She is a really bright girl who is going to be very successful someday.
Back in May the other leaders asked me if Kyle might be willing to volunteer at camp since we had two leaders who were bringing siblings, both boys ages 6 and 9. I almost didn't ask him since I thought NO WAY will he be willing to spend a week at camp with all those girls running around. Well, he thought it over and knowing that he could earn some service hours was too enticing to pass up. (Of course I think he now has enough service hours to cover him until her makes Eagle!)
Two boys ended up having the best week ever with Kyle. He planned activities for them, brought things from home that he thought they would like, taught them great skits for Friday, set up their own personal tent to use all week, and basically did anything they wanted to do. And guess what? He had a great time! He loved the kids and had fun hanging out with some of the girls too. What teenage boy wouldn't?? One boy in a camp loaded with teenage girls?? He had fun!
Great kids made for a great week!

Camp is Friends!

2011-07-02T18:09:00.000-04:00

Erin and Megan

Camp is fun, the activities, songs, flag ceremony, is all great but the thing that makes camp really fun are the friends. There are some girls that my girls only see at Girl Scout Camp. It is really cute too, they pick up where they left off the year before. They remember little things about them so they have plenty to talk about. Each year girls from their troop go also and that makes it even better!
Erin being an experienced camper this year was so excited to join her friends. Last year we bumped her into a unit instead of being in the sibs unit which had toddlers in it. She was excited last year but didn't really know anyone in her Unit. This year though she had tons of friends with her.
Being a new Camp Director definitely allowed me to get around to more units to get pictures but it also kept me pretty busy so I didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked. You had to be ready and smiling when I came by if you wanted to pose. Luckily there were plenty of participants!

Lindy and Mackenzie

Erin and Greer, I don't know what is going on with Erin and her eyes but this is her new look! It was lovely to see her in a picture at VBS this week with our lovable youth pastor that she recruited to be her personal lounge chair. There she sat with eyes just like these!

Troop 120 girls!

Camp Papinashuash Begins!

2011-07-02T11:19:00.000-04:00

Lindy loving camp!

Day One was a HUGE success! Thankfully the rain held off and we had a great start to the week.
The PALS (Program Assistant Leaders) have been working on planning camp for months. They have worked hard to design a theme that would appeal to all ages of girls and they have really done a great job.

Each day this week the girls will be playing a Girl Scout version of Clue and also trying to solve a mystery. Each unit has 3 Clue Cards with a person, place at camp, and an item that represents the topic of the day. Day One's Clue game was "Who Broke the Camp Rules". All the units had to travel around to the other units and ask what cards they had. Girls keep track, through process of elimination, in their "Spy Notebooks" that were the craft for the first day. At flag down the big reveal was that the Jazzy Juniors were running at Singing Trees. Those Juniors always pushing the limits and running through the camp song time! As the girls start getting the hang of the routine flag down should become a little bit more exciting!

The second game involves the girls getting mystery letters to keep track of in their notebooks. Two are hidden at camp and with the direction of the PAL they "discover" the letters. One is at Headquarters and the other is in a daily card they are given to read about a famous women. Yesterday girls learned about Clara Barton the founder of the Red Cross. Hidden in her biography was a highlighted letter to write down. At the end of the week the PALS will help the girls unscramble the letters to reveal a word.

Lots going on! Crafts, games, camp songs, creeking, and other special projects with our APL's (Advanced Program Leaders). Cindy Loo Hoo is teaching girls about animal tracks and each girl is making their own track to take home. Patches has a nice shady spot set up for a mystery reading and discussion she is leading the girls through. Girls are getting ready to cook on Wednesday and put on skits Friday.

Lots of new leaders joined camp this year but we've got great experienced PALS leading the way. Girls just love hanging out with the older girls and the PALS make the week so fun for them.

Those new to camp are coming up with their camp names and busy making new friends! Its looking like a great week hopefully the weather will continue to cooperate!

My sweet girls made my lunch, marked it with my camp name and wrote me a note!

Pug Luv

2011-06-11T00:26:00.000-04:00

Oliver and Quincy

We are all totally hooked on our little pugs! They are so cute and loveable, so much fun to have that even those who were not huge dog fans are completly in love with them. They are living the life too! Eat, sleep, play, play, play, get treats, sleep, eat.... life is rough!

Ethan and Quincy, best buddies.

Lindy and Oliver

Oliver Ahhh..... the coolest place to sleep.

When out of crates and given the choice to sleep together they always find each other and snuggle up.

Quincy - the best birthday gift ever!

Quincy + Lindy = Love

Quincy sitting with Lindy during her math lesson.It quickly got too boring and she finally had to move to her own chairl

Oliver's total cuteness is also in his personality. Quincy was at the back door whining when Oliver went and got a leash and carried it over to Quincy so he could go out. So sweet, they love each other so much!

Bubble Wrap

2011-06-07T07:25:00.000-04:00

It's so Paige, a summer cast. When we were waiting for the doctor to come in and check her arm we realized she has broken her arm all three times in May. The first time was on Ethan's birthday. Fortunately we were not having a huge celebration on his birthday that year.

If you are looking for Paige next May you will find her wrapped in bubble wrap in her room. Bill said he's putting her in the end of April and she can come out the first of June. She can except visitors, food, gifts, etc but we are taking protective measures.

Honestly, she is being a pretty good sport! The pain has for the most part gone away. Now its just the inconvenience of having one arm for the beginning of summer and dealing with the heat and a cast. I will say this waterproof set up rocks. No more wrapping her arm at night to shower and the pool was fabulous for her. Wish they had come up with that years ago!

Splinted x2

2011-06-06T23:49:00.001-04:00

Rachel and Paige Splinted

It was a busy week last week, what with Paige having to go to Urgent Care three times for her broken arm! Starting with the Dance Recital, she came home took off her costume and went outside to roller blade. Fell down, hurt her arm. I really didn't think much of it until the next day when her elbow was not visible! She was so swollen I couldn't see her elbow. She also couldn't bend her arm when she woke up. Trip #1 to Urgent Care (thank you Children's for putting an Urgent Care 3 minutes from my house!). X-ray's show not broken but it's Paige, which means she could be broken but not showing that yet due to swelling. Just like 3 years ago when she broke her wrist.

We leave with a splint and are told to return at the end of the week for repeat films. Friday afternoon we return and are given the all clear, no break, swelling is gone, splint is off, we return to happy, fun, summer play.

The next night we are at the park for the boys Shakespeare production and Paige falls playing of all things, Red Rover! Swelling wrist and tears = Urgent Care. Three hours later and we leave with a splint and instructions to go to the orthopaedist that week for casting. I know where that is since this would be the third time she has broken the same arm!

Two days later, the girls good friend Rachel, shows up with her splint! Same arm, different bone, but a broken arm friend. Someone to hang out with when you can't do what everyone else is doing. I felt so bad for Rachel but if she was going to break her arm she had good timing! It's always better to have someone to go through things with.

Here's to a great summer! We are off to a bang!

Casted!

"Misbehavins"

2011-05-30T11:11:00.000-04:00

Each summer the girls all have a planter they are responsible for. They choose the flowers, plant them, water and maintain them all summer. Yesterday was planting day and Erin was nothing short of entertaining. She was working with a yellow theme.
She placed her larger flowers in the pot and said she was going to fill in the empty spaces with "the misbehavins".
"The what?" I asked her.
"The misbehavins!" she said.
"What are the misbehavins?" I asked again.
"You know the flowers out front!" clearly getting annoyed I don't know what she's talking about.
"You mean the Impatiens?"
"YES! That's what I'm talking about!"

I told her she would have more success with her full sun planter if she put the petunias in instead of the 'misbehavins'. That was fine with her.
We started digging the rest of the holes for the Petunias. While digging the holes she said that since it didn't look like they would fit horizontally she would put them in vertically and if that wouldn't work she would try oblique. Oblique? What the heck, I'm racking my brain to try to remember what the heck oblique is (angle, line etc).

"Where did you learn about oblique," I asked her.
"Lesson 36 in math," she replied.
"Oh, refresh my memory, what's oblique?"
"YOU know, not horizontal or vertical, the other way!"
"Diagonal?"
"YES!"

Apparently I am not the brightest mother she has and it does cause her concern and definitely frustration!
I'm so glad that her math lessons are working, not sure its such a good idea for her to be doing her math independently since I obviously have no idea what she's talking about!
In the end it was a very entertaining experience and she did a great job on her planter. And I'm feeling a little bit smarter today!

Dance Celebration

2011-05-30T10:49:00.000-04:00

Since the girls were little we have always had family back to our house for dessert after the recital. Lindy and I only had 45 minutes before we had to be back at the next show since she has to dance in both recitals. We had time for a couple of quick pictures with Grommy, some cake and then we dashed out the door. The rest of the family enjoyed dinner and cake and a relaxing evening.
I admit I was really tired the next day. Between all three girls I had 11 costume changes, 4 hair style changes, many, many accessories for Lindy's costumes to keep track of, and different make up for everyone. It was incredibly busy but I'm proud to say we didn't lose anything, (which is a small miracle since Lindy has chokers, wristbands, hair ribbons etc for every costume) including my mind. Everyone got on stage on time, fully dressed and ready. They all had a great time!

Grandpuppies!

Dancing Queen

2011-05-30T10:32:00.000-04:00

Lindy is the dancing queen of the family. She just wrapped up her second year on the competition dance team and she loves every minute! Being able to dance all the time and have a good group of dance friends has been an awesome experience for her.
Tap, jazz, and lyrical were all of her classes this year and they received High Gold awards at both the competitions they went to. Next year she is looking at doing a solo and a duet and adding a couple more classes. She is sad that dance will be over for 3 whole weeks! Being on competition they dance through the summer, she just doesn't want to have a 3 week break. She has definitely found her passion.
Her recital was so fun for her since she had performed these dances twice already. She could relax and have fun! Great job Lindy, you are truly a beautiful dancer. I can't wait to see all the things you do next year!

THE LIFT - The girls worked for months on this. Since I usually drop Lindy off and leave there were times I came back and was told how she was dropped etc. Never hurt, always laughing about it, loving every minute. As hard as it can be to always be the smallest everywhere there have to be some perks somewhere and being lifted across the stage is one of them!

The finale is perfomed by both the Junior and Junior'ette comp. teams. Lindy loves being a part of a dance with her older dance friends. Comp teams with Miss Brittney below.

Teams with Miss Sandy, Lindy and Miss Sandy below. Miss Sandy has been Lindy's dance teacher for 6 years.

Lindy and Lexi her Big Sis.

Lindy and Miss Brittney

Jar of Hearts

2011-05-23T07:35:00.000-04:00

Paige is back in the dance game with Lindy and Erin. She started in competition last year and decided that she didn't want to compete. After a year off she went back to ballet and I am so glad that she did. Since she has taken dance for 5 years she just picked up where she had left off. She really liked the lyrical style and is planning on going back to competition next year if there is a team for her.
It really shows how even though Lindy and Paige like doing things together they both move at their own pace. Lindy always tries everything out and Paige hangs back and watches. Then if it looks like its fun and Lindy likes it, then Paige does it. Its been like this since they were babies and we watched Lindy lead the way in walking, teething, talking etc...
It would be so nice to have that built in buddy to watch and reassure you that everything would be fine before you have to do it. Its been one of the twin things I love to watch.
Great job Paige! You are a wonderful dancer and we are really proud of you! Good luck next year!

Let Them Be Little

2011-05-22T07:12:00.000-04:00

Let Them Be Little was Erin's ballet song this year. I can't listen to it without crying. Even though I've heard it tons of times, I still had tears and they were streaming down my face which is worse than just getting teary eyed at dance class!
Erin is so proud and so excited for her dance. She is right on the heels of her big sisters and Lindy's competition team has taken her under their wing which makes her feel quite special.
She had the opportunity to take her ballet routine to the last competition with Lindy's dance team and she had so much fun. Erin is really hoping that some of her little friends decide to do competition so that she has a team next year.
Her tap song was Under the Sea and was also adorable popping out of clam shells and tapping all around pretending they were under water.
Great job Erin! We are so proud of you!

Sunny Days

2011-05-22T07:00:00.000-04:00

This is what happens when it finally stops raining and the boys get to play outside! Bill and I took them for walks down the street and then they played in the yard with the kids. They were so exhausted they collapsed onto each other for an hour. They were very sweet and then up running around like crazy again!

Weeding Girls

2011-05-21T00:10:00.000-04:00

It's that time of year again and with all the rain we have an abundance of weeds. Bill is working on getting all our mulch down and has been recruiting help in the weeding department. Everyone grabs a bag and starts pulling! It works well, the kids can pull ton of weeds, and that's what we have, a ton!
Erin was pretty impressed with her bag since it was a full as her sister's. She was less than thrilled at the end when she had 'pulled hundreds of weeds, I can 't pull another!'

Seriously? I can't pull another weed!

Ethan is 12!

2011-05-20T23:50:00.000-04:00

Puppy life is finally calm, everyone is stable and healthy. Trying to get caught up on pictures which is so hard since I am so far behind. I thought about just moving ahead except that I use my blog to help me with my actual scrapbooking for journaling and page ideas...
In the chaos of "sick puppy" weekend, Ethan turned 12! I can hardly believe he's 12, where has the time gone? For the first time in his life he wanted a friend party and actually had one. He's always backed out right when it was time to invite people so I was very impressed he followed through. He wanted a mini Teen night with his good co-op friends, pizza, cake, video games, and just to hang out. It was a perfect night for it since it was a gross, rainy night (surprise!).
The kids all had a great time especially Ethan. He told me it was the best birthday ever! I know that furry four legged friend had something to do with it!

Ethan's favorite orange cake!

Casey and Adrienne (above) Chas and Cynthia (below)

Party crashers!

Happy Birthday Ethan! We love you very much, especially Quincy! You will always have a best friend!

One Sick Little Puppy

2011-05-06T22:44:00.001-04:00

Oliver has had labored breathing since Tuesday. We took him into the vet and had him looked at and the vet decided to treat him for a respiratory infection. By last night though his breathing was still labored and worse, he was really struggling. Bill and I both could tell that he needed to go to the vet right away. By the time Bill helped me get him into the car he was totally lethargic and not really able to open his eyes. Thank God the emergency vet is right down the road and I was there in 2 minutes (yes I sped and I stopped at a light but didn't sit and wait for it to change)!
They took him right away and gave him oxygen, drew his labs, xrayed his chest, and worked to get him perked back up. He has lots of issues going on, maybe not serious on their own but the combination of them all at the same time is making him really sick.
He has fluid leaking from his lungs into his chest so the next step is to figure out why and where its coming from. Getting his puppy worms under control is also on the list, poor guy has been dewormed 3 times now! And that adorable little smashed nose possibly is causing some issues with his breathing and possibly contributed to getting sick easier.
As of now he is still in oxygen and getting IV antibiotics. Hopefully he will turn a corner and be able to come home tomorrow. Praying for quick recovery we miss him tons!

Tons of love from all his siblings during our lunchtime visit.

The techs think he looks like a flower, poor little guy. If he doesn't have this on he yanks his IV out in seconds.

Weighing in 4 pounds 5 ounces

Oliver (red) Quincy (green) on my lap, crashed after playing. Need to be together soon!

Reunited at Last!

2011-05-05T09:16:00.000-04:00

So happy to be together again! Quincy is in the blue/green collar and Oliver is in the red/blue. They were so excited and played forever when we got home. They kiss in the morning when they get up and start playing crazy when they get together.
They have separate crates and the first night home they slept in Ethan's room which is where we had been moving Quincy's crate at night. But the next morning Ethan said they kept him up to the wee hours of the morning. So night #2 Oliver moved into the girls room much to their happiness!
They were so excited to have him sleep in their room. They came and got me when he had to go out and have taken care of both the puppies all day long. I got up at 6 yesterday morning and once they were back to sleep I went to lay back down. At 9am the doorbell rang with the piano teacher. I went flying out of bed to find Erin, her big 6 year old self, running the show by herself! She had let the piano teacher in, had taken both puppies out and reported off to me their status before going into her piano lesson while the rest of us were all sound asleep! She is totally smitten!

Meet Oliver

2011-05-05T08:56:00.000-04:00

So...when we got Quincy home he had a bit of an upset tummy. I quick trip to the vet reveled he had a parasite and needed antibiotics. He was quite a trooper with not not feeling well and still playing and trying to get house trained. I thought it would be a good idea to call the breeder and let her know what Quincy had since she had another dog due with a litter in a few weeks.

When I called she was so glad to find out since Quincy's brother had just been returned. Returned! This sweet little guy was not in the right home, they didn't want him. When I hung up the phone Bill said to me "when are you going to get him?". Seriously, my hands were already full before Puppy #1! But we LOVE Quincy, he is a sweetheart and honestly there is not enough to go around.

We talked to the kids and the vote was unanimous that we should get Puppy #2. The hard part was choosing a name. Since Quincy was for Ethan's birthday he chose the name. But this puppy was for everyone and Bill wanted everyone to agree, meaning if you had a strong objection to a name we wouldn't use it. Well, it took about 3 days to come up with something but we finally settled on Oliver.

The girls wanted to go with me to pick him up. Its a 3 hour drive one way but they were so good in the car and took such good care of him on the way home.

We are SO glad that we got Oliver! I didn't want to think later on that we should have adopted Quincy's brother and it be too late. They were meant to be together. Puppy reunion pictures to follow!

Party Recap!

2011-05-02T08:49:00.003-04:00

Meet Quincy

2011-04-26T00:47:00.000-04:00

Ethan will be 12 in 11 days. He is such a great boy who has really shown us his strength in the last 2 years. He has an amazing spirit and ability to overcome anything. He has wanted a dog for years and specifically a Pug. He doesn't nag or beg but he definitely wants one.

Bill and I talked about getting one last spring for him and decided not to, it just wasn't the right time. But this year I started looking and found one Pug puppy. It was challenging to find, none were close, no one called me back etc. But one lady did. She lived in Aurora near Cleveland and had one boy left in her litter. They were born March 11th. March 11th was my Grandpa's birthday and it was also the day I had my surgery. It seemed meant to be.

We didn't tell anyone except our family (aunts and grandparents) we wanted it to be a surprise. So when Ethan asked where we were going when we were not heading home the usual way from downtown I explained.

"Open the glove compartment," there was a gift bag hidden with a collar and leash. "What is this?" I gave him a gift to open, a book on how to care for your Pug. "Am I getting a dog?" I gave him a note that Bill wrote to him from both of us telling him we loved him very much and were very proud of what a great boy he is. We hoped he would enjoy his new friend.

He was SO excited. I gave him a list of 100 top Pug names to help him start thinking of a name. He found a couple right away and decided on both for the first and middle name.

He wanted to surprise his sisters so we didn't tell them before we got home. They were so excited! Lindy almost cried she couldn't believe it.

So Quincy Paxton joined our family and is already very loved!

The Cake

2011-04-25T23:05:00.000-04:00

I love all these pictures with Erin conducting the Birthday Song! It shows her sweet and joyful spirit. This is how she is daily. A true joy of a child who brings so much love and happiness to her family. We love you Erin Hope!

The Friends

2011-04-25T22:43:00.000-04:00

We started the party off by painting nails purple, face painting a wide variety of requests, and making bracelets. From there we moved to the "photo booth" where we had props and let the girls pose for pictures. We made sure to get everyone with Erin, I'm hoping I didn't miss anyone! This turned out to be quite a hit, the girls loved it.

The second half of the party had a special treat. Tristen attends our church and we learned that he has a very special balloon talent. He happened to be available for the part of the afternoon so we asked him to come provide some fun entertainment and favors for the girls. He did a great job fulfilling all the requests and even brought lots of purple balloons. He also dressed to match the party which did not go unnoticed by Erin! Thank you Tristen! You made it a great party!

And he taught him self to do this. Now that's talent!

Thank you to everyone for making Erin's party so special!

Purplicious, Purpletastic Party!

2011-04-24T20:10:00.000-04:00

Party day finally arrived! Erin wanted a party where "everyone hides and when you come into the room they all yell 'surprise'". I told her as much as I thought that would be fun I didn't think I could pull that off with her here all the time. Maybe when she's turning 16!

So we compromised and she made her guest list (left no stone unturned there!) and chose her theme. She wanted a purple party. Huh? Just purple? Yep, I was told nothing else just purple and that was the end of her involvement. When she said she wanted to be surprised I told her the only way I could do that was to have Lindy and Paige and I plan it and get it organized and surprise her with the decorations, activities, and food. Oh, she wanted chocolate cupcakes with purple icing. That was the last request!

Since Erin had never had a friend party and she probably won't for awhile, we wanted to make it super special. We indulged and spoiled her. She is the baby of the family!

I found different decorating ideas and my "committee" gave feedback. Well, they pretty much loved everything! So the purple party took shape with lots of work by very enthusiastic sisters.

Due to Erin's really bad ear infection we lost 2 days of set up and work so we were running way behind Friday. But everyone volunteered to help, even the boys. Erin was determined for this to be a surprise so we told her she could not go in the basement at all so we had a room to work.

Everyone took turns keeping her company. Once, she was alone on the computer and when I came upstairs to get something she said, "Now I know what its like to live by myself. I always wondered what it would be like to have the whole house to myself."

She never once whined about coming downstairs. She never peeked. She never complained.

When we started decorating Saturday Ethan took her for a bike ride and played basketball with her while the rest of the family worked fast to get things done. She was very pleased with the results!

My favorite part of the party planning was spending the time with Lindy and Paige. As we worked all day Friday I could see a flash into the future of what it will be like to do things like this when they are older. We spent evenings and all day Friday sitting around chatting while gluing, cutting papers and ribbon, working on games and favors. It was really a special time for all of us.

Party decorations are below.Party Pictures to follow.

The chocolate cupcakes! We made the toppers which have purple and monkeys on them. Erin loves monkeys so we wanted to find some way to incorporate them in the party.

New birthday banner! Loved making this!

The girls wanted a streamer wall for the guests to walk through.

We made giant tissue flowers to hang from the ceiling.

Erin's favorite flowers are tulips so we used purple tulips and hyacinth for the table along with candles.

Purple tulle bows on the back of chairs.

Lavender and purple M&M's in clear boxes with purple Easter grass.

Purple Peeps!

Purple Candy Bar for everyone to take home treats. It's very convenient to have your birthday near Easter.

Purple favor bags which carried candy boxes and purple flower hair clips we made below.

Rainy Day Bubbles

2011-04-23T23:34:00.000-04:00

The birthday celebration is in full swing and started Thursday when the first gift arrived from our friend Rachel who couldn't make the party today. Then Friday Erin's sweet friend Eva dropped of a gift since she couldn't make the party. Apparently Eva insisted that they get Erin a gift and deliver it before the weekend. I insisted it wasn't necessary but Eva had other plans and they involved shopping for Erin. I'm not about to take a shopping trip away from a girl!
Of course my camera battery was charging when Eva arrived so no pictures of the girls together. Later that afternoon Erin was trying to keep herself busy while we worked to get her "surprise" party ready. She called us all out to the driveway to see her bubble creation. Bubbles were just one of the many gifts that Eva chose!
So the girls and I all watched as Erin got up close and personal with the driveway while it drizzled. She used up over half the bubbles and Paige and I were cracking up because she was so adorable. The cuteness factor was especially high due to the fact she put her skirt on backwards over her leggings!
It was so sweet for her friends to bring her gifts even though they wouldn't be here. I know that she's my little girl but she is a sweetheart and it seems that her friends feel the same way about her.

Formal is a Hit!

2011-04-17T13:12:00.001-04:00

More pictures to come but I had to get Kyle and Cynthia's picture posted. All the kids had a great time and so did the adults who were helping, Bill and I included!
We started with everyone learning the Swing and Rumba basic steps. Everyone had time to practice with a partner and then we let them dance the rest of the night away. Even the reluctant boys had a great time which I was so happy about or I would have been in serious trouble.
We had a photographer get pictures of all the kids throughout the night so we will have plenty of great pictures in a couple of weeks so more to come!
The after party was a huge hit with video games, pizza, poker (?!), Just Dance, food, and all night fun. Not sure how much sleep everyone got but we didn't care since we went to bed!
Thanks to Owen and Jayme for providing a wonderful place to have our event, Owen for great enthusiasm and getting kids off to a great start, Kristi for helping kids create memories of the evening, Aimee for awesome food, and Cynthia, Kassi, Sam, Alyssa, Jenna, and Anna for planning a great night.
Thanks Lindy, Paige, Erin, and Grace for fixing my hair and getting me dressed up!

One Down, One to Go

2011-04-09T23:01:00.001-04:00

Lindy's first competition of the season wrapped up tonight after a crazy afternoon of three dances in 40 minutes. The Juniorettes did awesome winning 1st place in tap and lyrical. They also received High Gold in all their dances including Jazz.
I love the fact that I am not the only mom who gets teary eyed watching them dance! When the lyrical team does their lift and puts Lindy above their heads and carries her it just looks so awesome. They work so well as a team and have become great friends over the past 2 years.
Miss Brittney gave each of the girls a bracelet and a sweet note of encouragement before the day started. It was so sweet and a wonderful way to give some last minute confidence.
Having a Junior team who cheers them on really makes them all feel so special to be a part of the whole team. As a mom I love knowing that Lindy is always where she needs to be with the Juniors and her big sis looking out for her.
After a lunch/dinner break we ran back to take home awards. I lost track of how many trophies both teams took home, I know that Miss Sandy was very pleased.
Huge thanks to Miss Sandy and Miss Brittney for a wonderful year.

Lindy and her "Big Sis" Lexi

Lindy and Helen

Spaghetti Warehouse Break!

Packed stage for awards!

Finger Knitting

2011-04-08T23:48:00.000-04:00

Paige and Lindy are learning to crochet and one of the things they have learned is finger knitting. It is so cute to watch them with their huge balls of yarn sitting and making scarves and chatting away! Paige was very excited to make a scarf for her Mimi who proudly wore it to work and got many compliments.

We Love Cake Boss!

2011-04-08T23:16:00.000-04:00

We have been so busy I have not even taken the pictures off my camera for almost 2 weeks which is unheard of! Never in my life have I been THIS busy. And Bill is just as crazy with scout stuff and work. It is bordering on insanity in our household, but all good stuff. As you can see from the newest pictures, really fun stuff.

Two weeks ago our good friends invited us to go see Buddy from Cake Boss. Being that we are huge fans we were not turning that invite down. We saw him last year when he was in town but we didn't get to meet him. Thanks to our friend McKinley's diligence in getting good tickets we were able to get pictures and autographs. Thank you McKinley!!

Both Lindy and Erin wore their Cake Boss t-shirts that we got last year and not only did Buddy sign pictures for them he also did their t-shirts! He was also so sweet and posed with each of them individually. The kids loved it!

Cookie Marathon

2011-03-19T23:08:00.000-04:00

We have an awesome church with some of the best people I have met. Ethan really loves his Sunday School class and group of friends. My friend Karen suggested we get our boys together along with a couple of other boys and take on baking most of the cookies needed for the Open Shelter Meal that our congregation is serving this week.
So last Sunday all of the moms brought batches of cookie dough and put our boys to work. Bake they did, a total of 16 dozen cookies in about an hour and a half! Pretty good if you ask me. They had a great time together and how awesome to provide such an important part of the meal, dessert!
After they popped the cookies in the freezer they headed out for a quick basketball game.
Thanks for a wonderful afternoon Peace Ladies! We need to do that again!

Cookie Walk

2011-03-19T22:24:00.000-04:00

In the spirit of tradition, the Girl Scout Council organized a cookie walk for the girls to do much like the beginning of Girl Scout Cookie Sales 80 years ago. When girls first started selling cookies they would bake and package cookies in their own kitchens with their moms and then go and sell them door to door.
Time have changed with the product but Girl Scouts still go selling door to door. With next year being the 100th birthday of Girl Scouts it seemed like a great year to go back to the old traditions.

The girls decorated their wagons and loaded them up with tons of cookies. Then we hit the streets! It was definitely a success! We sold around 50 boxes in an hour and most importantly the girls had a blast. We hope to do this next year when Girl Scouts is officially 100 years old!

Sarah was our walking billboard.

Sales were good!

Love this sign, "we're irresistible"!

The Cookie Mobile!

Audubon Center

2011-03-19T20:48:00.000-04:00

Last week the Juniors earned their Wildlife Badge at the Grange Insurance Audubon Center. What a new little gem in Columbus! I had never been before and only 2 of the girls in the troop had gone before, so it was very neat to check it out as a group.
The girls started out by drawing an animal or something from nature that represented themselves in some way. What a creative bunch of girls! Faith P. drew a cat since they are adventurous and she likes to travel and is adventuresome. Lily drew a lily pad, Rebekah did a koala since she loves them, and we had quite a few horses.
We learned all about birds and conservation. I was surprised with how much the girls knew already! After we finished learning about the different bird calls we headed outside with our binoculars and started observing and recording our observations.
After the bird walk we headed back in and the girls got to sink their hands into some yuck! Mud from the river which they were to sort through and look for any living creatures. When given the opportunity to actually play in mud many girls did everything to not get dirty! Others were all about getting their hands muddy!
We also celebrated Jessie's birthday with her, she drew a cake for our quilt of pictures. A very fun afternoon, beautiful weather, and good friends, made a successful meeting.

Legislators Love Cookies!

2011-03-10T01:13:00.000-05:00

Paige, Mackenzie, and Lindy with Governor Kasich

We had the awesome opportunity to sell Girl Scout cookies at the State House. The girls were busy all throughout the lunch hour making sales. We had a special customer, Governor Kasich, who stopped by and gave them a donation. Fist bumping all the girls he sat down for a quick photo op. The girls were thrilled!

They had a quick lesson in government when one customer asked where they lived. She then explained that she is one of the State Representatives from Cleveland. Then she made all the people in her group support Girl Scouts and buy cookies!

Sales were great but the memories were unforgettable!

Evening with the Stars

2011-03-07T12:22:00.001-05:00

What a special night! I was very honored to be asked to present awards at Lifeline of Ohio's annual awards ceremony. I admit it was so much fun to have a wonderful reason to get dressed up! I have not had a semi formal event since before my surgery so being able to enjoy the experience made it all the more special.
Being the awesome husband that he is, Bill insisted on shopping for a new dress with me. We had a great date day at Easton having lunch and shopping last month. Not many husbands would help a wife look for a dress and wait patiently while she tried them all on. I also left with two since we couldn't decide and I have been told that I will want to have the other dress for an upcoming night out. I am not complaining!
Lifeline has a way of making you feel like a star! I had a special green chair to sit in during the dinner portion of the evening signifying I had been touched by donation.
Bill and I had the privilege of sitting with the OR Staff of MedCental in Mansfield, one of the many hospital recognized during the evening. I had such a great time meeting all the nurses who are often involved in the process of organ donation on the donor side. What a great group of people who are so special in what they do. It was also nice to reminisce and "talk shop" about my old days of nursing.
One of the guests that was sitting with us had also had spinal fusion surgery. While I was giving my presentation about my story, I spoke of how it took 2 years before I fully realized that I was a tissue recipient. While I was speaking this man's wife leaned over to Bill and said, "it took you two years but it took us six, we just realized it tonight". Even in a room of medical professionals the education about tissue donation continues. Although most patients are told they will be using bone for the surgery, most just don't make the connection about it coming from an organ donor. In my case, I was so consumed with getting through the surgery that I could think of nothing else.
Many people were recipients of awards Saturday night. I was so excited to be able to present the 2010 awards for the Clinical Educator, Hospital Liaison, and Nurse of the Year. These individuals were awarded for going above and beyond in promoting organ donation, taking care of donors and working with Lifeline.
The Nurse of the Year was from Riverside and Riverside was also the Hospital of the Year which is a very special place for me. I worked as a tech there while in nursing school and then as a nurse after graduating. Riverside is an awesome hospital and I was thrilled they received that recognition. I worked with some amazing people there and it will always have a special place in my heart. I was also on the patient side when I had my spinal fusion at Riverside and received fabulous care. It definitely helped my high anxiety level being in my "home" hospital.
I meant to get more pictures during the evening but time got away from me and I was way to busy chatting. I even saw one of my nurse managers from a position I had at Grant Medical Center. I had not seen her in almost 15 years! Bill did get my picture in the "official" green chair before we left for our personal "after party" at Hyde Park where we had another dessert and drinks and talked for two hours! Thank goodness for an awesome son who can hold down the fort with his aunt!

I am really looking forward to April 2nd when I will be sitting in the chair for the 1pm hour to help represent "not letting another chair go empty" for the 24 hours of Hope, Remembrance and Celebration. Join us as we celebrate the blessing that tissue donation is for so many people and honor the donors who are everyone's heroes.

The video below is the part of the presentation that tells my story.