Happy Referral Anniverary!

To all of our travel mates and their Spicy Girls, Happy two year Referral Anniversary!

Our first look at sweet Xiao Ying Hong from Zhuzhou, Hunan, who would soon become our little Betsie. My dad's reaction was: She's either really fat or really warm!

More Party Stuff

Okay...my sister Laura has better pictures of the party at her blog so go here to see more!

Pre-Party Pictures and Stuff

Well, the party was very successful. So successful that I didn't take a single picture during the party. I was too busy helping with food and spending time with friends and family who came to celebrate surviving another tax season with us. Here are a few pictures from before the guests arrived.

Rachel in front of the jump castle. You might be able to see her face paint too. We had the jumpers plus cotton candy machine, a face painter, and a sound system. It was great!

Mary Evelyn getting more and more excited while she waits for her friends to show up!
I felt this slide was a tad obnoxious since it was taller than our house, but no neighbors have complained yet so I guess we're okay. The older kids loved it and I even went down once. My sister made me go with her. I have a terrible feeling that someone else took pictures of that but I wouldn't count on seeing it on this blog anyway.

Mary Evelyn after sliding

Rachel getting ready to slide.

The jump castle. Some of the younger kids loved this one. But not the littlest ones like Betsie and my two year old niece. They were a bit overwhelmed.

Rachel in the jump castle

Jason working two grills with hamburgers and hotdogs

Mary showing me her face paint

Just What We Needed Two Days Before A Party

Did I mention we were having an outdoor party here in a few days? And did I mention we needed a plumber? Well, that call to the plumber has resulted in a bulldozer thingy in the front yard digging a huge hole today. The plumber couldn't get our line clear so he called the utility people and they ended up breaking a pipe...meaning they had to dig an enormous hole and replace the pipe. Oh the joy. The culprit in this whole thing is the big beautiful maple tree in our front yard. Its roots seem to be causing lots of problems and I think that, sadly, it will have to go in the next couple of years.

But for today, here are a few pictures to amuse you. By the way, Mary Evelyn is desperate to get out there and see if there are any worms in our lovely red mud pile. The first picture was taken from inside my bedroom window early this morning. It was a lovely way to wake up today.

About 6 weeks to go

I just counted to see how close we are to achieving the required 180 days of school this year. Somewhere along the way, Rachel did an extra day of school. I don't have a clue how that happened, but apparently she needs only 31 more days while Mary Evelyn still has 32 days of school left. I wanted to finish up before June but I just plugged in the remaining days on the calendar and it looks like we will finish up on June 4th. We can't take many breaks for that to happen so it's time to buckle down and finish these last weeks. Hopefully we can stay healthy and get our work done.

Today Was...

The Last Saturday of Tax Season '08!!!!

I think Jason has worked at least a part of every Saturday since early/mid January. But this was the last one for a while. (He knows there might be a "conflict" if he tries it for a few weeks.) We only have a few more days until the 15th and then he is off for a few days, including the weekend. We have a party coming up Friday to celebrate. Lots to do between now and then, including calling a plumber...another post for another day.

In My Dream Home,

there would be a nice big bath tub in the master bathroom. And I'd be in it right now. Alicia asked this question

"What is a feature that your dream house would have to have in order to be your dream house?"

So that is definitely my answer. I could come up with a whole list, but since it has been a long day and I wish I could just sit and soak, that's what I pick. You see, my master bathroom is very small and only has a stall shower. Every time we go to a hotel I take as many baths as I can. I took baths all the time in our other home. And even though this home is larger and I prefer it overall, I definitely miss my tub. And it wasn't a fancy tub...just a plain old tub.

So there you go. Calgon, take me away!

Birthday Pictures

Getting ready to celebrate

Opening gifts (This one is a friendship bracelet kit and how to book.)
At the Japanese steakhouse on her birthday with Jason's parents. The restaurant gave Rachel a chef's hat, a candle in her rice, and a nice set of chopsticks.
Betsie would be fine if she never steps foot in that scary Japanese steakhouse ever again...no matter whose birthday it is!!!

Enjoying her birthday dinner

Mary Evelyn skating on Saturday, with a little help from her Daddy

Rachel, skating like a pro (almost!)

Rachel and her two buddies

After skating, we were hungry and went out to a more kid friendly restaurant (At least Betsie thought so!). All the girls got balloons.

Betsie and her booooooon!

I've Been At This For a Decade

Being a mom, that is. Rachel turned ten a few days ago, but I am a little late in writing about it here. I've had a hard time thinking of what I would want to say about her. She is so special to me and I am truly thankful that I was chosen by God to be her mother. We have been celebrating for a few days already!

Wednesday night, the older two girls spent the night with my mom. She took them to a movie and then brought them home on Thursday before art lessons. Rachel came home to roses from Jason, a cake, and a few gifts. Her biggest gift was the whole earring thing a week earlier. Thursday evening we also went out to dinner with Jason's parents and brother and sister-in-law.

Friday we went outlet shopping with my mom. Then today my dad came by to take her to lunch since he missed seeing her when she spent the night with mom (he was out of town) and two of her friends came over this afternoon to go skating and out to supper with us for Rachel's birthday. How did she manage to have a three day birthday celebration?

I am glad we have been able to prolong the celebration though because Rachel is such a gift to us. She had a few difficult days earlier in the week and I was so thankful that she has enjoyed the last few days. When you consider the fact that she is our oldest and therefore has the least experienced parents of our three children, she is a great kid! Absolutely none of the credit goes to us...we couldn't even believe they let us take her home from the hospital ten years ago!

So Happy Belated Birthday to my lovely, sweet Rachel! You are a treasure and I thank God for you!

Pictures to follow later...gotta get everyone ready for Easter tomorrow.

The Week in Review

We had several "blog worthy" happenings this week, but I wanted to leave the posts up about Cohen and Ellie for a few days so you all would pray. FYI...both children are doing well. Ellie remains critical, but more stable.

Rachel's 10th birthday is next week and I have always told her she could get her ears pierced when she turned ten. (Worked for my parents with me so I just copied them on this one.) So Thursday we headed to the mall and got it done! She was very excited and feels so grown up.

Rachel's nervous face

Here we go...

One ear done!

Here comes the other one...not enjoying this so far.

Yes! It's over! Now she can smile!

In other news...yesterday we went to a horse farm for a field trip. Here are a few pictures from that. Unfortunately my camera battery died before they got to ride the horses. You'll also be able to see that Mary Evelyn is sporting a cute shorter do in these photos...another thing we did this week.

Ellie needs prayer - urgent

She was in surgery all day yesterday. Things seemed to go okay but they ran into some complications with the spine and the esophagus. So she needs more surgery in a week. The urgency now is that Ellie's blood pressure is not stable and she is losing fluid. She was also running a fever last night/this morning. Her parents are understandably afraid and are begging for prayer. You can read more details at their blog, but I don't think they have updated with this most recent prayer request. Pray!

Two Special Children

Thanks for the great comments on my previous post. My girls have always been the messy, creative types. I LOVE that about them(well, the creative part), but the mess you saw in that post is the norm rather than the exception. So it has taken some getting used to. They love to take every toy or box or anything and make BIG towns, houses, vet offices, etc. Clean up time here takes a while every day.

But that's okay. As the end of the week approached and over this past weekend, God has once again helped me to see that these little messes really are nothing to whine about. God has used two very special children to show me what matters and to show me that I am blessed...messes and all.

The first child is Baby Cohen. His parents are friends with my sister and brother-in-law. He was born Wednesday night and was not expected to live. He had been diagnosed with a fatal disorder during pregnancy. Well, he's still here and God is using him to bring glory to Himself! Cohen is breathing on his own, beginning to take bottles and nurse, and his parents are making appointments for him for the months to come...something they never expected to get to do. God has shown me through Cohen that there can never really be anything that is 100% sure in the medical world. He is truly Sovereign and the giver of life!

The next is Ellie. Regular visitors are familiar with three year old Ellie by now. Well, keep praying. She is currently in a Charleston hospital in traction preparing for two very important operations this week. Ellie did have some considerable pain after her first surgery last Wednesday but she is doing well so far. Pray that God would continue to give her parents (Greg and Denise) peace as they anticipate these surgeries. For some reason, I am thinking I read that the surgery would be something like ten hours, but I can't find that now on Denise's blog. Here is a picture of Denise and Ellie wearing her halo.

On a completely unrelated note: Happy dating anniversary to Jason (18 years since our first date!) and Happy Sweet 16 to my lovely niece Jordan! I called her on her cell phone earlier and she was driving around...I feel old. I can't believe she is old enough for cars and cell phones! Have a great day JJ, from the original JJ!

Yesterday My House Was So Clean

You may remember that Jason gave me the gift of house cleaning service for Christmas. Well, the cleaning people came yesterday and the house looked really nice. I always pick up really well before they come so they can vacuum and dust and mop and do the big stuff. Well, this afternoon I have been in my bedroom planning upcoming birthday celebrations and when I came out, this is what I found.

Big.
Heavy.
Sigh.

The girls made a road out of MANY children's books. But that is only the beginning of this HUGE MESS! (Yes, I am yelling.) The road is also partially lined with all kind of buildings (farms, dollhouses, and other toys I now regret purchasing) and even GRASS from outside. Did I mention the cleaning people vacuumed yesterday? The town started in their bedroom, pictured above, and then went down the hall...

...and into the schoolroom...

...in front of the couch... (That black line is the dog's leash tied in a knot between two chairs. I have no idea why.)

...all the way around and then behind the couch. See that towel with the bowl and toy dolphin sticking out? There's water in there. That must be the zoo or Seaworld or something. At least they put down a towel.

Now, the lovely part is that I had these books somewhat organized on the shelves. Not perfectly, but I could find most any book I needed. Some go in our book basket for school time. Some are LIBRARY BOOKS (that will hopefully NOT be mixed in with the others or I know two girls who will be working hard to pay off some fines), some are books from their bedroom, etc. Fortunately Betsie is asleep so the books in her room are still there.

I know this is cute and creative. If this were your blog, I would be laughing. If this were 5 years ago, I would be laughing. But it's now and it's my house, and I have to be the bad guy at clean up time. And this is one job that I will definitely have to supervise closely to make sure the books end up in the proper place. Someone please tell me that this is a short season and I should enjoy it. And then tell me whether or not it's worth it to pay people to clean my house when it doesn't stay clean for even 24 hours.

Okay...there, I took out my frustration on you and my kids are still happy. At least they like books, right?

The Post You Have All Been Waiting For

Okay...maybe not.

I just ordered Mary Evelyn's math curriculum. I chose Right Start.

I feel partly relieved even though I am sort of dreading learning another new program.

So Aimee, that means you don't have to bring yours to the curriculum share afterall. At least not for me!

Hia for Lunch!

That title only make sense if you know that Betsie's word for ice cream is hia (pronounced hee-ah)...we don't know why. The first time I figured that out was thanks to her knowing a lot of sign language from the Signing Time DVDs. One day she kept asking for "hia" and this dull mom just wasn't figuring it out. Then she made the sign for ice cream! Now the bad thing is that we all call ice cream "hia!"

Often overheard around here:
Mary Evelyn: Betsie, say ice.
Betsie: Ice
Mary Evelyn: Say cream.
Betsie: Ceam (she leaves the "r" out)
Mary Evelyn: Say ice cream
Betsie: (With a note of triumph at once again messing with us...) HIA!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, today is pj day at Bruster's and I took the girls to get their free cones. And since Jason has been working his tail off and we see no end in sight for several more weeks, I feel no guilt for treating my girls in this way. (Okay, it's a treat for me...I don't have to fix lunch and everybody is happy. I admit it.) Snack will be apples or peanut butter or something that makes me feel like a better mother.

By the way, Betsie calls Mary Evelyn "Mia" and my brother Billy "Bia." And you know Spongebob's snail Gary? He is now called "Gia."