Loving Every Minute Of It

The girls started swimming lessons this week at Penn. This is the first time they have done anything like this, so I wasn't sure how they would do but they seem to be loving it. Of course I know it helps that they have their best friends by their side. Actually today during the lessons Beck and I witnessed Rachel telling her instructor that she wanted Abby to go before she went. Abby got in and did what she was supposed to do and then Rachel was fine to go next. I guess she just wanted to make sure it was safe. They are doing 2 weeks of lessons now and then will have a few weeks off and will go back in July for 2 more weeks. Hopefully they will continue to smile as much as they did today.



Thanks for the pictures Beck!

7 Years In the Making

I cannot believe it, but 7 years ago yesterday I married the man of my dreams. It is amazing to me how fast time goes. Daryl I got to spend the evening together last night thanks to our best friends the Callenders. We wanted to do something that we had never done before, so we headed to Tippecanoe Place for dinner. Neither one of us had been there for dinner before. After that we headed off to walk the East Race, this is something that we used to do a lot when we were dating and first married. It was nice to just walk and talk, without distraction. We were able to talk about some of of the things we are doing well as a couple and some of the things we need to work on. We then headed home to exchange gifts, I always look forward to my gift from my hubby because he normally tries to do the traditional anniversary gifts. This year he had to stray to the modern side of things and I got a bunch of stuff to put on my desk. If you are wondering what I got for him, you will just have to keep wondering because I don't plan on sharing it. It was a great evening!
I cannot wait to see what the next 7 years brings for us. Happy Anniversary Babe!

"Happy Birthday 2 You"

Rachel turns 4!

Happy 4th Birthday Rachel Lauren

4 years ago today Rachel Lauren was born into the family. She was born at 3:16am weighing 7 lbs 11 oz and was 20 inches long. Her birth was pretty quick and to the point, we went to the hosiptal around 11:30pm and 3 and half hours later she was here. I would say she was probably my easiest baby. She did not cry too much and was just happy to be where everyone else was. I remember carrying her around in my arms and she would just smile and laugh. It was because of her that I convinced Daryl that we needed to have another one.
There is so much to say about Rachel. She just finished her first year of preschool and loved being there especially if she was in the lap of Mrs. Styles. There is so much about her that I love. My favorite thing about her is probably her personality. She is fun loving, dramatic, lovable, funny, happy, stubborn, and she will talk to anyone. She will walk up to anyone and talk to them and become their friend. When you look at her you just can't help but smile or laugh. She always has something to say and it is normally with attitude behind it. The funny thing is the things I love about her the most are also the reasons she gets in trouble most of the time. Rachel's favorite place to be is sitting with her daddy with her fingers in her mouth, blanket (aka her pajama bottoms, yeah that is a entirely different blog entry) in her hand watching a movie or food network.
Rachel, your mom and dad love you more than we can put into words. You bring us so much joy. The last 4 years have been wonderful and we have had so much fun watching you grow into the beautiful little girl that you are. Our prayer for you is that you will love God all the days of your life and that you will run after Him with passion and determination. We pray that you will bring joy to everyone you come in contact with, for God has placed that gift inside of you . Happy Birthday sweet Rachel!

Dreaming of the Big Day

I'm not sure why Rachel thought she needed to get this dressed up today, but she did and I took the picture. Wouldn't you? She looks so cute - probably thinking about that day in the distant future when she walks down the aisle with Scar, the motorcycle gang member with the "I Hate My Mom" tattoo and the grudge against all authority...

Yikes!!! Where did that come from?

Fun with Wind and Trees

I was home with the kids during the big storm that lasted all of 20 minutes at the most. We were watching Star Wars VI when the sky went dark, the wind picked up and the lights flickered. We heard wind, sticks, possibly a little hail thrown in for good measure, and then it was over. But when the sun came back out this is what we saw. A tree down in our back yard and trees down in our neighborhood - requiring big trucks and hard work.

Our tree was there for a few days (that's a story in and of itself) but we're pretty much back to normal now and are hoping that the next few storms hit other parts of Michiana! Look out...

Graduation Day

Well Allison has finally moved on to the big time. She graduated from her preschool and will attend Kindergarten in the fall. Mommy and daddy are so proud!

3 Reasons to Marry a Boy According to a 5 Year Old

Some of us wait a lifetime to figure out who it is that we will marry, but Allison alreadys knows. Actually she has been telling me for quite awhile now that she is going to marry Jacob Callender. I can't really remember when it was that these two became almost insperable when they are together, it probably was after their first kiss. Yes, you read that right they have already kissed much to the dismay of their parents. Who would have thought that you would have to constantly be watching a 5 and 7 year old to make sure they are not spending too much time alone, this isn't supposed to happen for at least another 9 years or so.
Allison and I were talking last night about her marrying Jacob someday and I asked her what she liked about Jacob and here are the 3 things she said without hestiation.
1-I like his voice.
2-He plays with me and is nice to me.
3-He cares about me, when I'm hurt he makes sure that I am okay.

I was floored when these things came out her mouth, I thought for a moment I was talking to a 15 year old. I have always known that she is a little "girl" to the core but I never thought it would come out so clearly at such a young age. Will she marry Jacob Callender, who knows they may surprise us, but all I do know is that whoever she marries better be nice to her and care about her as much as Jacob does in her eyes right now.

2 Years Ago Today

2 years ago today I sat in a hospital room for the 7th day in a row.
2 years ago today I watched the team of doctors walk in for the last time.
2 years ago today I talked to my mom for the last time.
2 years ago today I watched my mom take her last breath.
2 years ago today I heard the nurses say "she has died".
2 years ago today I cried with my dad and brother as we said goodbye for the last time.
2 years ago today I walked out of Mayo Clinic knowing I would never see my mom again during this life.
2 years ago today I felt like I had been run over by a mack truck.
2 years ago today I was frustrated with God and wondering how this could be part of His plan for my life.
2 years ago today I lost my mother, my best friend, my confidant, the grandmother or "Nana" as she was called of my children. I lost the women who I most aspired to be like the one who made the biggest impact in my life. I lost the mother who loved me no matter what I did or didn't do, the one who was always there whenever she was needed, the one who did everything in her power to show me and tell me how much I meant to her and how much she loved me.

I left the hospital 2 years ago wondering how I would get through the next day, week or year without her. How would I tell my children that Nana would never hug or kiss them again, how would I keep her memory alive in their minds and how would I make sure my unborn child knew her? To tell you the truth I am not sure how I got through those next days and weeks, but I did and now here I sit 2 years later. Is it easier? A little. It is true what people say time does heal the pain you feel. Do I still miss her? Everyday. There is not a day that goes by that she does not pop into my mind at some point. It is hard at times to put into words how much I miss her. Have I kept her memories alive for my children? I am trying the best I can through pictures and stories about what she did with them. It is funny my youngest daughter Rachel is my mom through and through. My grandma says that she looks like my mom as a child and there are times when I look in her eyes and I see my mom. Do I understand why part of God's plan was to take my mother away from me so soon? Absolutely not! I trust Him and have faith that His ways are best, but I sure don't understand it.
The one thing I do know is that I have to keep moving forward. I know that is what my mom would want. I have my own family to take care and she would expect and want me to keep moving forward knowing that someday we will see each other again and when we do it will be for eternity. So until then mom I can only hope to be as good a mom as you were to me and to take care of my family the way you took care of yours. I know that would make you proud.

Family Day

I love Saturdays. Why you may ask, because that is normally the day that we eat a pancake breakfast, spend the day as a family, go to church and hang out with our best friends. It seems like it has been awhile since we have spent a Saturday together as a family so it was much needed today.

After everyone was done eating pancakes this morning, oh yeah one other reason I love Saturdays is because my awesome husband lets me sleep in, we headed out to the park to play. One nice thing about our old house was we could walk to the park, but not anymore. We didn't have a whole lot of time today so we decided to go to Mary Frank and play on their playground. Allison and I peeked in the Kindergarten room, since that is where she will be going next year and then it was off to play.

The kids had a ton of fun and we made our way around the whole school and hit every play ground. Tyler really got into the slides.
I think this is the first time he has really been able to have fun at the park since last fall he was barely walking. He went down every slide there was to go down and ran and ran and ran. His cheeks were all red by the time we headed to the car.

The girls had great fun too, Allison tried her strength on the rings and did a great job. Rachel had a good time climbing on anything she could.





We had a great time, it was great to be together as a family!