 |
| |
|
|
|
My sweet daughter, Claire, will be 10 years old tomorrow! I can't believe the time has gone by the quickly. Seems only yesterday that the doctor handed me this sweet little bundle that forever changed my life. Thank God!
We decided that to give Claire the only thing she wanted for her birthday this year! A puppy! It was so much fun getting this puppy and surprising her. She had no idea! She was so stunned she couldn't catch her breath and felt like she was going to pass out! I'm glad that didn't happen! Here's a few shots and short video of her receiving her greatest birthday wish - Oreo!
|
|
| | hide comments | | | |
|
|
|
Claire and I had a great weekend camping with her Girl Scout troop. It was the annual Mother/Daughter campout. We were both exhausted at the end of the weekend! I'm guessing we logged well over 10 miles this weekend! Claire had a great time riding horses - all by herself this year. She took a lesson and just loved it. She went canoeing with Miss Janice and Tori - I don't canoe (one of those childhood trauma things!). She was really good at using the oars. She also tried her hand at archery. It was a little hard for her with her cast on and she didn't like it as much. We enjoyed all the typical camp foods - maybe a little too much as the stomach ache started Sunday morning! The last couple of pics have Claire looking a little green! It was so nice to have time with my sweet daughter!
In other exciting news, the cast comes off tomorrow! We are all so excited to get rid of that thing. It is particularly nasty after the camping trip!
Here's a couple of pics from the weekend. There are more on Claire's page.
 |
|
| | hide comments | | | |
|
|
|
Here are 8 facts/strange things about me.
1. There are many words that make my skin crawl - and no I'm not telling you what they are for fear they will be used against me.
2. At night when I head up stairs I always turn the lights off and run like mad up the stairs. I'm convinced that - even though I've been down there all night long - someone is just waiting for me to go up the stairs to chase me down!
3. I'm fanatical about handwashing.
4. I'm a perfectionist which makes me crazy because I also like to be a little lazy.
5. I married a person obsessed with music and I have NO rhythm and like to ride in the car without the radio.
6. The thought of being in front of people makes me anxious but I would like to run for a local policital position. How does that work?
7. I could eat Mexican food for every meal. I love breakfast burritos - especially from Duke's on Chapman in Orange, CA.
8. Finally, I don't think my boys look like their dad even though everyone else tries to convince me that they do! I'm the mom, I don't have to agree with you!
|
|
| | hide comments | | | |
|
|
|
I decided to catch up on some photos from the summer. I have been wanting to go to the beach lately so these seemed like the next best thing. These were all taken on our trip to CA this summer. We love the beach and the kids had a blast playing in the freezing cold Pacific Ocean!
I apologize for the size of the pics, but the resizer isn't working right now and I don't feel like waiting!
******* Several of you have commented about the feet in the sand picture. My baby, Cody, was afraid of the water so I let him take some pictures. He took that shot on his own. He was very interested in the shots he took and was thoughtful about each shot. There may be a photographer in our future! ********
|
|
| | hide comments | | | |
|
|
|
I will never forget the way I felt on this day 7 years ago. I was home alone with my 2 oldest children and expecting our 3rd. Jason called me and told me he had heard on the radio that a plane had hit the WTC. I thought he was joking until I turned on the TV. I was watching the coverage of the first plane and then saw the 2nd plane hit live on TV. You can't forget something like that no matter how long you live. I will never forget how scared I felt when the Pentagon was then hit. I wept for the people on flight 93 that thwarted the plans for that plane. We live in a nation of heroes! I knew someone who lost their life in the towers. This day 7 years ago changed our country forever, it changed me. I loved the surge of American flags waving from every front door, flags on cars, a general sense of common"ness" we shared as a country, standing in the Marietta square with my husband, kids, and sister lighting candles, the House of Reps singing "God Bless America" on the front steps, the nonstop news coverage for weeks, the fear I felt as my husband boarded a plane a few days later, and so much more. In the midst of this world we are now living, I wish more people would remember that time in our country. I wish more people would support our troops (one of which is my cousin on his 2nd tour to Iraq). I wish more people would put aside the pettiness and remember that we are a very blessed nation.
Take a few minutes today to be grateful for the country we live in and ask God to continue to bless us.
***** I decided to share this, too ******
Another aspect of the 9/11 story for me is the lady I know that died in the towers. She worked with my husband and I when we were on State Farm Catastrophe Team. We were working a hurricane in Wilmington, NC for several months. It was during this time that we found out we were being blessed with a match to Claire's b/m. This lady, Michelle Herman, hosted a baby shower for us before we left to get Claire. I was reading an article about her today and I found the end of the article very fitting. Michelle didn't have children before her death, but had always planned on them. Her husband asked any donations to be made in her name to an adoption agency in New York. So. Michelle blessed us during our adoption and continues to bless other families through adoption! |
|
| | hide comments | | | |
|
|
