I'm not sure if everyone is feeling the same way right now, but I am super ready for spring, and the changing of the season. Maybe it's that I live in New England, and the winters are longer here, but it seems that the temperature has been below freezing for an eternity. I originally thought it was cool to see that the rivers had frozen over, but now I'm thinking... "give me a break". I thought that Puxatawny Phil didn't see his shadow... The picture above is a stark reminder to me about how bad the snow can get.

Oh, and as a bonus... since it started raining a couple days ago, our sump pump turned on, and we've been pumping out the french drain system for the last three days. I am praying that we don't have another March 2010, when we got 14 inches of rain, and our basement was literally a river because the ground water level was so high.

Where did all the Blogs go?

Ok... So I was just thinking about our blog, and how we have totally let it go... We haven't posted since July of 2010... so almost 8 full months. So... I sat down to write a new post, to get "caught up" with all of our friends. And, of course I couldn't think of a thing to write on the blog. So I did the normal thing, I went looking at all of our friends blogs. And I felt SO relieved! At least half of the blogs are completely devoid of posts within the last year. Some have even been abandoned for 2 full years. My sister... well, she only has two posts on her blog. Have we all become so dependent on facebook that blogging has become obsolete? I'm not saying that the entire world is trending away from blogs, but I have noticed that the only thriving blogs have been those dedicated to a specific topic. Do we now get our "fix" of friends through facebook... what is almost completely a voyeuristic tool to see how our friends are doing, without them knowing we are checking on them? Oh, of course we write our little "I love this pic" and "Haven't talked in a while" little notes on peoples walls, but most of the time we lack enough gumption to write a status on serious topics.

Well... I want everyone to know that I love you, even if you don't post on your blog anymore...

As time goes by...

Wow! The year has gone by fast! I didn't think it would be this long since our last blog!! Unfortunately for those of you who are on Facebook, know well that I am on there way more than what I should! So I don't get to devote time to our blog!

I won't download our entire year right now but it has been one adventure after another! I will work on keeping this more updated over this coming year!

Here are some pictures to hold you over until next time:

"EVERYTHING!"

was Sam's response when I asked her what her favorite part of her first day of Kindergarten was. Couldn't have prayed for a better response!

Yesterday was an amazingly nice day! I'm convinced it's because Matt was able to stay at home in the morning to take Sam to school w/ us! (thanks babe!) We were all up and showered (that's right, all four of us got showers in the morning!). The kids ate breakfast and then off we went! We arrived at school on time too!

Oh, and did I mention she has to be at school about 45 mins earlier than the public school kids and an hr earlier than preschool last year!? Yeah, I didn't think it would happen at all!

She entered the school with the typical caution of entering any new situation. Thankfully, a few adults who know her greeted her by name. That helped a lot!! It was relaxing for us too because Mr Kamp the assist. headmaster/music teacher (also Matt's elementary music teacher) was out to greet everyone so he told Matt to get to class! It was cute! Mr Kamp has been a great part of our transition here for Sammie. See, his wife was Sam's preschool teacher last year so that gave her a way to connect the two schools and know that she'll still get to see her beloved Mrs. Kamp from time to time! sniff, sniff

Here's a small glimpse into kindergarten! (Don't call it school or you'll be corrected by the student herself..."you mean kindergarten!")

Still here...

Well, it's been quite some time since our last blog. How are ya?? We're doing well. I cannot say that there is anything major to share but I just felt the need to write on here since we have been slacking on this page!

I will leave you with a picture or two of the kiddos!!

Daniel reading his favorite book


Sam's first trip to Fenway!

In Loving Memory

It is always hard when you lose a friend, but to lose someone who is completely healthy in a car accident reminds you of how short our time here on earth is. On Monday, one of our close friends from Messiah College died in a head-on collision in Dayton Ohio. Below is the news video about her accident. She was an only child, and we are praying for her parents as they have gone to Ohio to coordinate services and bury their baby.

Teri Lee Carl
Born: February 28th, 1979
Died: December 1st, 2008

We miss you Teri Lee... See you in heaven.

The Ring's Visit

We are sooooo happy that the Ring's are visiting us!! They arrived here yesterday, and we've been able to spend some awesome time together. Today we went to Monkey Joe's, an indoor moon-bounce/gymnasium, where the kids went crazy and had a blast. We came home and watched Veggie Tales Jonah, and let the kids rest a bit. It's always great to see close friends, and we hope that all our friends from VA come and see us soon!! We miss living in VA, and we miss Calvary Baptist Church.

Our Texas Family

Just wanted to write a note to all our "family" in Tx. We are praying for you all! If anyone else is reading this, please pray for the Adames, the Stoners, the Dittmars, and the Tardys. These families are all living within the general path of IKE. Love you all and pray for God's safety over you!

Happy 30th!!

Happy 30th to my wonderful Hubby!! Today he has entered his 31st year and fourth decade of life! (I'm only sharing this tidbit of info because I heard this for a week before my 30th birthday!)

My love
Adores the LORD
Trustworthy
Tolerates my moods
Hottie
Energetic
Witty

Honey, I hope you have a great Birthday! We love you!

Nothing like a older home!!

After two weeks of being in our new home, we are well overwhelmed with the tasks set before us! We have been blessed to be able to accomplish one so far...the electricity. We were without electricity for two days (only for eight hrs. each day) so we could be "upgraded" and improved. We have also come to assume our home has three ages. First as a small first floor ranch, then as a cape with two dormers added to the front of the roof and one larger roof area added to make two bedrooms and a bath upstairs, and finally, an addition with two smaller bedrooms upstairs and a family room (we're making it a dining room) off of the back of the home. Along with the three stages, also come three different kind of walls (plaster, drywall, and hardboard) and three ages of windows. The oldest windows remind me of the home I grew up in (which was built in 1861 and torn down in 1992).

Don't get me wrong...the charm and character totally outweighs the tasks but knowing that we somehow have to find the time and the means to accomplish them is very overwhelming for my Type A personality. I know it can be done...many of our friends (military/with kids) from VA can testify to that!

We have some photos of the new place and the kids...I will do my best to get them up as soon as I can...but I cannot promise anything! I'll probably do it during one of my "I need to rest" moments!

Hope you have a great weekend! Please let us know how you're doing!

Eleven more days

until we are in our new house! There is some excitement and yet some hesitation with the new home! I am really looking forward to living in our own space, just to have our children in their own rooms!! The kids have shared a room together ever since Daniel was about twelve weeks old. For the past four months, they kept each other up at night. Daniel has been crawling out of his pack and play for the past two weeks. Due to our current hotel quarters, we only have a small space between his pnp and a bed (at this hotel, it's our bed). Therefore, he uses the bed to pull himself up the side of the pnp and just makes it a game for about an hour each night. I am so tired of it...I get so frustrated and mad. When Matt is away, it just worsens. I don't know how single parents maintain consistency, or even sanity!

During this time, I have really thought about whether or not we should have more kids. I get so frustrated w/ the two we have, I don't know how I'd do with more! For those of you who have more than two, please tell me why it's good to continue growing our family??

Well, I'll stop w/ my frustrations. I will leave you all w/ my life verse that I must constantly remind myself of: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" Phil. 4:13

Fourth of July

Happy fourth of July! Hope you had a great day with your family! We had a good day! We got to enjoy our first of many family cookouts at Matt's Auntie Tina's house! They have cookouts three times each summer! They are great! Matt and the kids got to go swimming with Matt. They all had a great time.

Last night we spent the evening with our niece Sarah so that her parents could go to a wedding. We had a great time with her. Sammie and her are so much alike; our time is usually spent encouraging the two of them to be more loving and giving with each other.After Sarah and Daniel were down for the night we got to watch the great Boston Pops and fireworks (on TV)...the bonus was RASCAL FLATTS! Sammie was so excited to see the fireworks. Sadly, she fell asleep five minutes before they started! As soon as the fireworks ended, Matt joined her in dreamland.

Lord willing, this will be our last holiday in the "midst of transition" for at least a couple of years. We had to move into another hotel on Thursday so that we wouldn't have to move three more times at the other hotel. We had already moved twice there and I was just not willing to let them shuffle us around two/three more times! It has been great to be near family but doing so in a hotel has been an adventure in itself...realizing what a family can and cannot live with! Look out Yard Sale!!

Have a great fourth weekend!

LIfe Changed again...

well, it's been quite some time since our last blog...we no longer live in va. we now live in ma. what a change! we are in the process of looking for a home and Lord willing, will have the answer on monday. we have put in our sixth offer on five homes. this last one was accepted and we're awaiting the home inspection on monday. i will do my best to keep all of you posted on it. since we're in temporary housing, my to do list is much smaller...not as much house cleaning and limited laundry time since we have to use a laundromat...can't do that while Daniel is napping.

matt is adjusting to his new job and working hard. for now he has the same work schedule--every other friday off but after we move, he may change that since his commute is longer and we won't have to travel to visit family as much. we will be living about 15 mins from my sister-in-laws house and about an hour from the parentals. Therefore no more need to figure out trips to new england and pa, just pa and va...much easier to do in one trip!

don't have pics to put on right now, but maybe someday will be able to do it!

Family Fun!!

What a great weekend! We visited Becky's family in Perry Co, PA. We arrived on Friday after a five hr. trip. The kids did pretty good. We were very excited to see our family. The kids are not able to see them very often...maybe twice a year or less.

As we were unpacking and settling in for the night, Matt and I realized that we left the kids suitcase home. Thus, we had no clothes, shoes, pull ups, or diapers (and Daniel was in the last one from his backpack, aka diaper bag). So at8:30pm, we head off to Wal-mart in Lewistown...40 miles away. It was a nice "mini-date" however, it was snowing & raining so the conversation in the car was at a minimal! I must say it was fun to pick out some clothes for the kids and not feeling bad about getting them!!

On Saturday, we had a great day! It is always fun to be at the Lodge and just hang out. Thanks Ron and Evie! Matt and I were able to ride ATVs, and thanks to my cousin Matty, I was able to ride along for a jump! How fun! Sammie and Daniel of course loved all the attention as well as the dogs!!

Matt was able to feel like a kid and spend time playing on Josh's Wii. I think he spent a good half of his time playing with my cousin's boyfriend. I was even asked how it felt to be single again...but he had fun and that's what matters!!

I want to send out a huge THANK YOU to my cousin Chris for organizing all the meals! She is a chef by trade and she shows it every time! She not only planned but also brought over half of the food with them. It was great! Back to my weight watchers I must go!!!

Well, it was a fun weekend and I want to thank all of my family for taking time out of their schedules to hang out with us! It was great!

Love you all!!

Catch Up Time!!

Once again, it's been over a month since our last update! I hope people are still reading this thing!!!

Last month, Daniel turned One year old!! We had a great time! He got his first haircut that day. He did really well, until Mommy started to trim the back. He is quite the little man now! We celebrated his day by having a small group of family and friends over for a cook-out! We were blessed to have all three grandparents as well as Aunt Vicki here for the celebration. (One of these days we hope to have all Aunts and Uncles, and cousins, help in celebrating their birthdays!)

When we opened gifts, I think Sissy and friends had more fun than he did. He didn't really want anything to do with opening them! He just sat back and watched! The gifts were great--clothes, books, toys (what else can a one year old ask for!). He has four walking toys yet still prefers to crawl! Don't rush, Daniel!! Take your time!!!

October has been a good month. Matt and Becky celebrated their sixth anniversary on the sixth. We waited until Sunday to truly celebrate! All four of us adventured to Colonial Williamsburg for a three-day trip! We almost never get going on time for trips, and this one was no different...we left two hours later than planned. I was so thankful that this drive was only a couple of hours! When we get to the hotel, they had a difficult time finding our reservation. After we had settled into the room, we ventured out for dinner...looking for something authentic. Well, it was definitely a college town b/c the most authentic we could find was a pizza/sub shop. Nope, can't do that. Sammie can't eat there and I just could not stomach that in hot weather! So off to Friendly's we go!!

On Monday, we got up and headed out an hour late...so much for punctuality! It's really heard to give kids meds when you're on vacation! We ended up not getting into Colonial Williamsburg until lunch time and we were so thankful to find a nice place to eat! Chownings...outside eating...it's great! Pulled pork sandwiches and grilled chicken salads (It was so big, I could not even finish it!) Now we are filled and ready to go...we just wondered around a little bit and saw a few things on Monday.

On Tuesday, we got there two hours earlier and had a game plan of what and when to see things! It was really nice! My favorite parts were the New Hope Plantation...the smell of tobacco in the shed as it's drying...what a wonderful, memorable smell (my dad was a tobacco farmer) and the weaver. The weaver did a great job involving Sammie in the presentation. I hope she remembers that for a long time!

Over all we had a great time and really enjoyed getting away just the four of us. We rarely get to do something like this so when we do, it's great! The kids did really well. I am really looking forward to going back again...maybe without kids this time!! (Hint! Hint!)

We have also battled with sick kids! They both had strep and pink eye just before we left on our mini-vacation. When they were finished with their medications last week, I had them seen for a recheck and I'm sure glad I did! Sam still had strep (fourth time in four months!) and Daniel with an ear infection! They are both doing better now. We had a recheck visit today and no more strep! We are officially strep free!!!

I would like to thank all of you for praying for Sammie! Lord, please watch over them and give them good health over the next few months!

The first picture is of Daniel with his first birthday gift and a week before his birthday. Note the hair cut! He looks so grown up!!



Here's a picture of our sweet boy when he was just one month old! How time flies!

He finally did it!

Matt's been talking about it for a few months now...over a year, actually. Let me explain, last fall Matt's brother shaved his head. Since then, Matt's been talking about it more and more. On Saturday he mentioned the topic again but I gave him my usual doubtful response since he talks yet never does it. Next thing I know he's in our bathroom shaving it all off. Here's some pics for you to see. I've even added a pic of his brother Chris for you to compare for yourself!

Sammie's First Day of Preschool

Sammie went to her first morning of preschool yesterday. She did a great job. I have to admit I was a little nervous about taking her. After she woke up, I went into her room to help her pick out her "dress" of the day. Of course, she wanted to wear her Easter dress (a white dress with pink ribbon) so I had to convince her to wear a jumper that was more appropriate for the day. So once that was taken care of, we ate breakfast and then Daddy came home. Well of course, that just made things even better! We took some pictures at the front door and then drove to school. We were there a few minutes early and that was a good thing because Matt had to turn around and go back to the house to get her nametag which we had left hanging by the front door...oops!

We walked up to her classroom, so far so good. After giving her kisses, we started to talk with one of her teachers. Then I noticed there was one of Sammie's peers crying in the doorway not wanting to come in. I looked down and Sammie was watching (more like staring at) this child. In hopes to not have the same situation on our hands, I asked her if she'd like to go play with the toys. And off she went...thank goodness, that was close!! When we headed out to the car, I was starting to feel a little more nervous now. I can't believe she's in preschool. How did she get to this point so fast? Is this really true? As I'm driving out of the parking lot, I feel this knot in my stomach...but no tears. Well, let me tell you, this knot lasted about ten minutes, until I was at the mall ready for a few things to do before I had to return at 11:45 for pick up.

So when I picked her up, I asked how her day was? I was getting the typical answer, it was good. Whatcha do? "played"

That's exciting, I thought. I kept asking more things and I got out that they sang a couple of songs, read a story about a man, and colored. From all this, I am to conclude that she had a great day! We celebrated by going to RedRobin for dinner.

Another CRAZY month!

Matt has traveled across the world to Moldova for a missions trip with church. He and the rest of the team arrived safely back in the states on Aug. 5th at 10pm after a twenty-four plus hours of travel including two hours sitting on the runway at JKF. We are happy to have him home again!

While he was away, the kids and I traveled to PA for a quick, really quick one night visit. We arrived at my mom's on a Friday afternoon then visited with a friend of Mom's that day. On Saturday, we went to the mall to visit with my friend Devon and her family, then off to see Aunt Molly for a few minutes before the Rocherty Picnic. This picnic is held at a church that my mom's relatives went to for a very long time...three or four generations have attended, if not been members of at one time or another. Due to various reasons, no one attends there now, however, the picnic is a good way for a family reunion when we can all get together. The kids had a great time and it really wore them out! After the picnic, Sammie, Daniel, and I went bowling...it now being 8pm and I probably should have headed home to VA two hours earlier. But I just wasn't ready to say good-bye to my cousins just yet! So we hung with them for an hour before our three plus hour drive home.

The rest of Matt's time away was spent with our lovely friends Heather and Seth Karl. See Scott, the husband and father of the family, was in Moldova with Matt. So it was nice to have some company rather than just sitting at home alone. However, it was rather mutual that by the end of the week we were both missing our husbands! It was nice to have someone who could relate with them being away and we could share those thoughts with each other. Thanks Heather!!

Since then, we've been working on cleaning up the house, slowly but surely! Dealing with sick kids in the house...both had strep at one point. And Swimming lessons...that's right swimming. The past two weeks Sammie has gone to the local rec center (chinn) for daily swim lessons four days a week. She did a great job! I was very impressed with her behavior and her willingness to cooperate! She had a few times where she did need encouragement but they were easily resolved! What a great little fish she is!

This weekend we are working on a church project...a ministry fair. It was our Sunday School class's thoughts and ideas that put this project into motion. We are having our first leadership meeting tomorrow. Please pray that everything will go smoothly and that our works will be to God's glory.

Well, the kids are in bed, and I've gotta get my cleaning time into action! Night, y'all!!

Family Weekend

This weekend was great! We had very few plans outside of spending good family time together! We were able to start all the fun on Friday since Matt had off work! We spent a couple hours playing with Sammie while Daniel took his morning nap. We played Duck, duck, goose and London Bridge. After lunch we went to see the movie Ratatouille. Neither of the kids enjoyed the beginning of it. Daniel cried everytime there was a loud noise and Sammie held her hands over her eyes until I gave her some candy to eat. After the first fifteen minutes, they did great! When we returned home, we filled up the pool and watched the kids splash to their hearts' content!

On Saturday, Sammie got a new bed that our friends Barbara and Nick generously gave her. She loves it! After lunch, we spent some time in the pool. The kids loved it! Sammie helped Mommie get Daddy wet with the squirt toys and then they took revenge on me and got me quite wet too! Saturday night we rented some movies. Matt and I watched Friday Night Lights. Have you seen it? What did you think? From what I saw of it between my snoozes, it wasn't really that exciting. What good came out of it? They lost!

Then there was Sunday...of course, we attended church, and then Matt had his last meeting for his trip to Moldova this week. After lunch the kids and I took naps! Sammie's first nap in a week! Thank goodness! She's been wearing me out! Then off to church again for the evening service and a tailgate party afterwards! It was fun! They did a really nice job with all the food and games they had! Could not have asked for nicer weather either!

Here are a couple of pics of the kids from this weekend!

It's not a clear Pic but I love the expression!

Daniel on the move

He's almost there!! This month he has started to roll from one spot to another intentionally, scoot around in a circle while sitting or on his belly, getting on all fours with a rocking motion, and most recently, pulling himself onto his knees and even to his feet a couple of times. Thankfully, due to recent overnight guests with walking one year olds, we had to put the gates up. They are in place and ready for use! Sammie gets so excited when she sees him move. She's quite the little cheerleader for him.

We have had a slue of things going on. We are currently in a two or three week slump from having overnight guests at our house. Ever since June 29th until last week, we have had visitors every week. Our next visitors come in two weeks and I am really looking forward to their visit. Heather and Seth Karl are coming for a full week! Yipee!!

These past three weeks have been rather productive with the help of our babysitter! Our wonderful babysitter Stacy started taking Sammie to the library last week. Today I took the kids to the library for "Tales for Tots" time and to see the firefighters. Tomorrow there's a puppet show so Stacy will hopefully be able to take her to that. (I was going to go but I have to get some cleaning done for tomorrow night!) Thanks to the library and my friend Amy, I now have plans for almost every week until preschool starts in SIX weeks!

Right now Matt is on his way home from a three day trip to San Jose, CA. He was supposed to leave San Jose around 12:45pm (3:45 EST) Wednesday but the flight was delayed. Then when he got to Chicago for his layover, the second flight was delayed over an hour due to lightning and heavy storms. I just checked his flight status and he is not due to arrive into Reagan until 1:46am. Poor guy. Lord willing, he'll be able to take some time off tomorrow. Let's pray it's the entire day!!

For myself, I've been mentally preparing to lead our church's weekly playgroup (mommy & me) as well as helping to prepare for a special event at church. Both will happen after school starts but it's better to start now than wait until I'm freaking out about it & should have done it two weeks ago! Know what I mean?

Well, it's almost 1:30am so I off to bed! I'll be up around 6am to my almost 10 mo. old alarm clock!