Where to begin...

 I have so much to write about...don't know where to begin. Life is busy...like it is for everyone else. And- I haven't made this blog a priority. I mentally make a list of things to mention on here, but rarely get around to it. So, here are a few highlights.

 My girls are becoming friends! There is almost a four year age gap, but these two still have fun together. Yesterday, they were cuddling on the couch and watching TV, so I snapped a quick picture.














My dad offered to stain our deck for us...it was in really bad shape. He didn't have to offer twice. We took him up right away.

Before














Unfortunately, nothing is ever as easy as you think it's going to be. He was planning on spraying the deck with an oil-based stain. But, we got a latex one, so every single board had to be painted...by hand. It took days longer and Dad wasn't able to complete it by himself--- or in the time he had allowed. I ended up doing quite a bit during nap times. The original color Micah got was atrocious too! We had a hiccup with HD trying to get them to fix it. No matter what they tried, they said it would always be orange.


First color


So the end result is not the color I would have picked, but it was MUCH better than the original. Something I can live with anyway. The deck is sealed and preserved now too, which was the whole point of staining it in the first place.

Tadaaaa!

Of course, the dogs got stained too!



 I have to show you some of Addie's writings. She's doing great at reading and sounding out words as she writes. It's fun to see how she invents words based on their sounds. I'm really proud of how well she is doing in school.

 





Micah and I always take turns putting the kids to bed. One will read to Addison, the other to Eliza...then we switch the next night. However, lately, Eliza has wanted to listen to Addie's books at night. She squeezes herself in between Addie and me/daddy and sits still MOST of the story. 

 

Five months belly shot
 

 Our nephew and his fiancee had their little man Zander last week. We went to meet him at the hospital. Addie was wonderful while holding him. Eliza was intrigued...as always. She kept scooting closer to get a better look, but was gentle the entire time. She never did poke him as I expected. Guess she understood that a baby this size was off limits. Don't worry about her not getting a chance to love on Zander. She got her day in the sun. She held him while on Micah's lap!
 

Last Friday, we met up with a high school friend of mine for a playdate at Deanna Rose Farmstead. Angie married another good friend of mine (Justin)...and their little boy is the spitting image of Justin. He was adorable! Eliza loved him...and he seemed to enjoy her kisses too! I hope we get to see more of them soon!

 

 On a more serious note...My Kaylee hit the bottom again this past weekend. We came home from the hospital from meeting baby Zander and discovered a huge COSTCO size bag of chocolate chips had been devoured by someone...hmmm. I can only assume that Lucas pulled it out of the pantry, but b/c Kaylee is the alpha, she probably ate it all and he was forced to watch.

Unfortunately, her love affair with chocolate was almost/perhaps still her doom. She ended up have pancreatitus again. I was up quite of bit of the night with her while she puked and pooped all over. By the morning, I knew I had to take her in. Friday was probably one of the worst days of my life. She pooped all over the back of my car on the way to the vet and Dr. Wingert said he wanted to keep her over night so she could get some fluids in her. She came home the next day...but was incredibly woozy and shaky. This morning, it appears that she is going to be okay. I've been cooking her chicken and hiding her meds in there to help her keep them down. She followed me up the stairs twice today---- which is HUGE! I know we are on borrowed time with her. I cry every time I think about losing her.

She laid in the sandbox today while I pushed E in the swing.

The face of an angel...

Finally, Eliza took a nasty fall at our Community group last night....while holding a baby stroller...on the stairs. It was traumatic for everyone who saw it. But, it appears her eye took the brunt of it and she should recover. Too bad I have to face all the stares from strangers when we run errands today!

There are some good things that happened this week. 

• Micah "fixed" my microwave...after I lived without it for 5 days. He discovered the breaker needed to be flipped. I've never claimed to be smart!
• I went to a Women's Retreat from my church.
• My mom came up and took the girls to the Blue Springs Princess Party (since I was at the Retreat). More pictures to come- I forgot to snag them from her camera.