Words of Wisdom

Buddy Walk 2009 - Please donate!!

2009-10-08T21:25:00.012-04:00

Help me be a winner by helping others!!

Online donations accepted through

Nov 30, 2009

We had a blast at the Buddy Walk this past Sunday. Online donations are being accepted through November 30, 2009. We would appreciate whatever donations our friends and family would be willing to give. Click here and you will be taken to d's page where you can make an online donation, or print a form to mail in with your donation. If you have any questions, or need help accessing the site, just let me know and I'll be happy to help. Thank you in advance for your support!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-16T14:50:00.003-05:00

I hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day! D and I celebrated a little early. On Friday, after getting the kids off to school, we enjoyed a relaxing breakfast together, just the two of us. Then we went to the Atlanta Civic Center to see the King Tut exhibit (a Christmas present from my wonderful husband). It was so nice to take our time (3 1/2 hours) and enjoy the whole experience; including the 3D movie about Egypt. Then we went to the Watershed for lunch - very good!

Then we picked up the kids and took them to Stone Mountain Park and played a round of Putt Putt. On Saturday, the kids helped me decorate valentines cookies; they did a great job!!

Christmas Scrapbook

2009-01-29T22:33:00.004-05:00

My sister and I put together a small scrapbook to send to our aunt in LA. Here is the final product.

Catching Up

2009-01-23T22:46:00.006-05:00

I know, it's been a while since I've updated, I apologize. What can I say, I also still have a few Christmas cards that haven't been mailed either (big surprise, huh?). Well, let me officially say Happy New Year to everyone who reads this post. Here are a few pictures from our family's Christmas.

Christmas Eve at my Aunt & Uncle's home, we put their PJs on before we left, hoping they would fall asleep on the way home. No such luck!

D's mom come visit us for a few days.

It was great for the kids to have both grandmothers together for Christmas.

Christmas morning!!

We've been very busy over the past couple of months or so. We took the kids to see "The Nutcracker" at the Gwinnett Center for the Performing Arts. By the end of the performance, e told me "I want to be in THAT ballet." I hope we can get her into either some dance classes or gymnastics classes soon. I think everyone enjoyed the performance; it wasn't as good as seeing it at The Fox, but we had great seats and it was closer to home.

We also made it to Stone Mountain a couple of times during the holiday - saw the Snow Fairy make it snow, rode the Stone Mountain Express (decorated for Christmas), watched a couple of performances and saw the 20 minute "Reader's Digest" version of The Polar Express.

My brother and his family came for a few hours the Saturday after Christmas. Then my sister and her family came for a the weekend of New Year's. Speaking of New Year's, the kids both stayed up 'til midnight (well, with a little help from us grown-ups). I think e was a little disappointed that nothing great and wonderful happened at midnight (maybe it will help her to understand that she isn't really missing anything when we send her to bed). At about 12:01am, d went to bed without any fuss at all.

My sister and I put together a little scrapbook for my Aunt in LA. I'll post it on here when I get a chance. I need to go for now - post more later, I promise.

Truly Thankful

2008-11-23T16:04:00.007-05:00

This year, we will have my whole family together for Thanksgiving dinner. My sister and her family are coming Wednesday and staying 'til Sunday (except her husband who will go home some time after dinner on Thursday because he will have to work on Friday). My brother and his family are coming in sometime Thursday and going back home sometime Saturday. It will be nice to have everyone here for a couple of days; especially since we don't get together that often.

Here are a few things that we Harmans are giving thanks for this year:
T Taking time to share with others
H Health and happiness in our home
A All the ways that God has provided for us this year
N New ministry opportunities (D's teaching SS again, yay!)
K Keeping Christ at the center of our family
S Salvation and Special times with friends and family both near and far

We pray that you each with have a truly blessed time this week as you celebrate Thanksgiving. We look forward to hearing/reading about how you each celebrate the holiday.

Buddy Walk 2008 - Thank you for your help! !

2008-10-08T21:45:00.014-04:00

The weather was perfect!!! Here are a few pictures from the day. Last Saturday, we took our family to downtown Duluth GA for the annual Buddy Walk. This year my parents joined us for the event; we all had a good time. The morning started with games, silent auction, raffles and entertainment. The kids always love riding the train and playing in the inflatables. The entertainment was provided by Jay Memory and the Cobb County Special Olympics Gymnastics Team. In one of the pictures you can see D seating by the performance area watching the Gymnastics Team. I thought he was going to get in line to join in; thankfully he did not. After the walk (about a mile), we enjoyed our picnic lunch of hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, cokes & ice cream. The last part of the event is announcing the top fund raisers and the winners of the silent auction and raffles. This year, we actually came home with a prize. Darrell won an Marquis Grissom autographed baseball and bat. All in all it was a great day!

Here are a couple of videos that I just had to share. There was some time in the afternoon to just have fun dancing to the music; D couldn't resist getting out on the dance floor. The videos are both short, but you get the idea.

Can you tell that our kids love to watch "Dancing With the Stars"? Just goes to show that white boys can dance (well, sorta).

We are truly greatful for those who supported our efforts by making a donation in honor of our son. You still have time to show your support - online donations will be accepted through Oct 31. Just click here to go to D's home page. If you need help, just let me know. Thank you so much for helping us to help others!!!

One More Week!!!

2008-09-25T23:32:00.002-04:00

Just a quick reminder . . . the Atlanta Buddy Walk will be held on Saturday, October 4, 2008 (just one week from tomorrow). We have been blessed by the efforts of the Down Syndrome Association of Atlanta over the past 6 years and will continue to support their efforts. That's why we are asking everyone to please go to Daniel's homepage and make your tax-deductible donation, if you haven't already done so. If you have made a donation, we thank you very much. If you would like to join us for the walk next Saturday, just let us know and we'll tell you where to meet us; just bring your blankets, chairs and a picnic lunch. We'll have lots of fun!!

God continues to richly bless our lives through our children; I'm so glad He chose us to be their parents. Raising children has been the toughest job I've ever had, but it has also been the most rewarding. I know people say that all the time, but it is so true!! God also continues to bless us through our family and friends - we wouldn't be where we are today without you. Thank you so much for your love and support!!

Please help us reach $5,000!

2008-09-05T22:51:00.016-04:00

This year the Buddy Walk Atlanta will be held on Saturday, October 4. The Buddy Walk is a half-mile walk in which anyone can participate without special training. It is a wonderful, heart-warming event that celebrates the many abilities and accomplishments of people with Down syndrome. The Atlanta Walk takes place in downtown Duluth. Throughout the Buddy Walk there will be kids’activities, including a trackless train, games, and bounce houses. There will be performances by musician Jay Memory and the Cobb County Special Olympics Gymnastics Team, as well as Atlanta’s Best DJ and emcee, Neal Howard. Hot Dogs and Hamburgers are provided for anyone is pre-registered.; or you can bring your own picnic lunch. Be sure to bring your chairs and/or blankets and have a picnic lunch with us after the walk. We'd love to have our friends and family join us for a day of fun!

Our family's goal this year is to raise $5,000. The money is used to benefit national education, research and advocacy initiatives, as well as local programs. These funds enable the National Down Syndrome Society and local groups to offer services that support and enhance the quality of life for individuals with Down syndrome and their families. All donations are 100% tax deductible.

You can help us meet our goal by:
1. Joining our team and making a contribution to the Down Syndrome Assn of Alanta
2. Walking on our team and asking your friends, family or co-workers to support you
3. Passing on the walk but making a contribution to the DSAA

I will be sending an email to many of you, personally, to ask you to support us. However, you don't have to receive an email from me in order to donate and/or participate. Just go to Daniel's homepage and you can donate online.

Back to School

2008-08-12T08:52:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was the first day of school for both kids. We started the day with a good breakfast at home. After breakfast, we went outside to wait for D's bus to pick him up. Then E and I jumped in the car to get her to school on time.

This year E is in a PreK program at a daycare center -about 5.5 miles from our house and takes about 10 minutes to get there (provided there are no accidents between here and there). The bus picks D up right at 8am and I have to have E at school no later than 8:15am; so, we don't have much time. She was so excited about going to a new school and about going to daycare - I hope she likes it as much as she thinks she will. D has a new school this year as well. This year will be our first experience with daycare - hopefully it will only last for one school year. Yesterday afternoon, the daycare called to ask where D was. They were expecting him to ride their bus after school, but the school's bus was supposed to drop him off there. The worst part was not that they didn't know where he was, but it took a little more than an hour for him to get there (the school is only 1.15 miles away)!! Needless to say, I will be making a phone call today to see about changing that ride time!

For those of you who know the area where we live, you'll appreciate this. When E starts at Camp Creek Elem next year, we'll have to get one of those "house divided" license plate covers - one that has Parkview on one side and Brookwood on the other side.

We pray you all have a great school year!!

Enough Money?!?

2008-07-26T22:03:00.002-04:00

Here's a cute, quick story . . . D lost his first tooth the day before his birthday (he just pulled it out while he was watching TV that afternoon). He put it under his pillow that night and the Tooth Fairy brought him a silver dollar. Yesterday, he pulls out the 2nd loose tooth and the Tooth Fairy brought him a shiny new quarter. This morning at breakfast E announced that D didn't need anymore money. When we asked her why, she simply said "He got a silver dollar and a quarter. I think that's enough money." The real kicker was when she said, "Sometimes big girls just know when boys have enough money." I can just imagine what her teen/dating years are going to be like. The boys better start saving their money now.

Fun Names

2008-07-26T21:42:00.003-04:00

OK, so I'm one of the frequent visitors to Life at the Mauldin House. This is something she found on another blog; I thought it'd be fun to see everyone's answers as well. Here's how mine turned out ...

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME (first pet, current car): Sam Windstar
2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME (fave ice cream flavor, favorite type of shoe): Moosetracks Sneakers
3. YOUR NATIVE AMERICAN NAME (favorite color, favorite animal): Blue Kitten
4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME (middle name, city where you were born): Kay Decatur
5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 of your first name): Harma
6. SUPERHERO NAME (2nd favorite color, favorite drink): Green Tea
7. NASCAR NAME (the first names of your grandfathers): James Paul
8. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME (your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter): Davis Denver
9. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower): Autumn Peace Rose
10. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now): Banana Shorts
11. HIPPIE NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree): Pancake Magnolia

3 Birthdays, 1 Holiday and 1 Funeral

2008-07-24T22:55:00.002-04:00

OK, here's the short version of what's happened around our home since the last post . . .

June 21 - Daniel gets a buzzcut
June 23-27 - VBS at MPUMC
June 26 - Emma's 4th birthday
July 4 - Fireworks
July 5 - Linda & her girls come to visit for a couple of weeks
July 8-11 - Day Camp for D, E & Rachel
July 9 - wake up to a having a brick thrown through the back window of our van
July 13 - D's grandmother died (quick trip to Indiana 7/16 - 7/19 for the funeral)
July 14-18 - VBS at LFBC
July 20 - Abigail's 10th birthday (Linda's oldest)
July 22 - Daniel pulls his first tooth (tooth fairy brings him 1 silver dollar)
July 23 - Daniel's 6th birthday

Here are a few pictures of the events:

One week down, one to go!!!

2008-06-13T23:13:00.005-04:00

We took the kids to my sister's house in SC last weekend to stay for a couple of weeks. I've had mixed emotions about it all week. I know they are being well cared for, but I don't like the reason that they're there. My sister is helping me by keeping them so I don't have to pay for a sitter here. She's coming down here for a couple of weeks in July to watch them here as well. It will be nice to have her here, but I won't be able to do much with them since I'm working full time now.

While we were there last weekend, we took the kids to go see Uncle Michael at his "other job" - to take a ride on a bulldozer. The kids loved getting up into the bulldozer and were so excited about taking a ride, until . . .

Michael turned the key. D's face suddenly changed from excited to very concerned. The total ride ended up being about 10 seconds and consisted of barely getting the bulldozer turned before D convinced Michael he wanted to get off. E seemed to like it just fine, but I think she was glad to get down as well (afterall, it was pretty big!!)

Abigail and Rachel got to take a turn as well. Obviously, they had no problem being in there with their Daddy.

I've tried not to call too much because I know they're fine. Besides, I'm sure Linda would call me if there were a problem. It's been kinda weird not having the kids around, but it has made it a little easier to get some things done in getting the house ready to sell. D's been over at the house painting every night this week (just about finished). I've been over there some, trying to determine what to keep out of what's left over there. If you no anyone looking for a house in the Parkview school district, send them our way - we have just what they need (3 bed/2 bath) and at a great price. We're only asking $149,000, hoping to get it sold quickly.

Mother's Day Tea at Preschool

2008-05-08T22:38:00.004-04:00

Emma's preschool had a Mother's Day Tea today for all the mommies today. We had Orange Cranberry Scones (one of the teachers made these herself and they were yummy!), Blueberry Muffins, Hot Tea, Coffee, Lemonade, Water. I think everyone had a good time. Here are a couple of pictures from our fun time.

The 'blooms' in the flowerpots on the tables were made from each child's handprint - they are so cute. The placemats were a great idea too. They had the mom's trace their handprints and send them in about a week or so ago. They took them and had the kids put their handprints on top of their mom's handprints. Here's the finished product. It reads:

Happy Mother's Day
Hand in hand we will be
Forever together,
You and me!

Emma
2008

Back to Work

2008-04-21T08:23:00.003-04:00

OK, so it's finally happened - I've officially gone back to work full time. I started working a little over a month ago for a company called Cypress Care. I am processing Worker's Compensation claims; coordinating whatever is determined necessary for someone's recovery from an injury sustained at work - ordering things like walkers, wheelchairs, muscle stimulators, etc and then making sure the patient receives the item(s). It's been OK, quite different from being a stay-at-home mom. I'm still able to get D on the school bus in the mornings and drop E off at school on the days she goes. I have a friend who keeps E for me on the days she doesn't have school. She also picks her up and keeps her after school until either my mom or Darrell can pick her up on their way home from work. D just comes home on the bus and stays with my dad in the afternoon. So far, things seem to be working out well with our arrangements. The most difficult thing has been not being able to be with my family during the afternoon/evening time. I work from 11am to 8pm, so the kids are usually in bed by the time I get home after work. This summer will be real interesting - the kids will go to my sister's house for at least a couple of weeks, they'll be going to VBS at 2 or 3 different churches and they'll be going to camp again like they did last year. In addition to these activities, we have several people who are going to help out with childcare. Thankfully, I won't have to use a daycare center.

Well, I've got to get E over to the babysitter's house early today - they are going to pick strawberries this morning out at Washington Farms. YUM!!

Happy Easter 2008

2008-03-23T23:20:00.002-04:00

We have had a very busy time these past couple of weeks - Easter egg hunts, St Patrick's Day parties and celebrating Easter. Here are just a few pictures from the past several days - enjoy!

Snowbabies

2008-01-20T13:01:00.001-05:00

Here's a picture of the snowbabies that Emma & Rachel made yesterday. I thought they made one but they actually made two and put them between the snowmommy and snowdaddy.

Good job girls!!

We LOVE snow!!!!

2008-01-19T20:54:00.001-05:00

Linda, Michael and the girls came down last night to spend the long weekend with us. Today, we were hoping to wake up to a snow covered ground. Although it did not snow overnight, it started snowing during breakfast and didn't stopped until sometime after supper. Here are just a few pictures from the day. If you want to see more, just go to the family photo gallery.

Needless to say, the kids have LOVED playing in the snow! They started with making and throwing snowballs at each other (& us) in the backyard this morning.

A little later, the kids went to the front yard with Michael & Darrell and built a snowman and a snowlady. Later, Emma and Rachel went back outside and built a snowbaby between the two. We didn't get a picture yet, though. If it's still there tomorrow morning, we'll get a picture of it then.

Merry Christmas!!

2007-12-26T22:11:00.001-05:00

We didn't get a book read every day, but we came pretty close. The past several days have been very busy for us...we went to Pigeon Forge for a couple of days just before Christmas. We were able to spend some time with D's mom, an aunt & uncle, some cousins and their families. We stayed at the Middlecreek Valley Chalets in Pigeon Forge TN. If you're looking for a nice place to spend a few days in the mountains, this is a place you should seriously consider. After the Christmas Eve service at Smoke Rise Baptist Church, we went to MK's aunt & uncle's house in Decatur GA for our annual family & friends Christmas Eve dinner - I think someone told me there were about 35 people there. Linda, Michael and the girls came in on Christmas Eve and stayed until about 6:30pm Christmas night. Tom, Camille and the kids came in for Christmas Dinner. All in all, we had a good Christmas! It was so nice to be able to visit with family.

We hope that you all had a truly blessed Christmas! We look forward to hearing from each of you in 2008!

Christmas Reading - Day 18

2007-12-19T08:40:00.000-05:00

We read 3 books last night - although they were mainly for Emma since Daniel fell asleep in D's lap during the first one.

I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown! by Charles Schulz

Snowmen at Christmas by Caralyn Buehner

Snowy's Special Secret by Guido Van Genechten

Christmas Reading - Day 17

2007-12-17T23:29:00.000-05:00

Once again, no reading tonight. We went to a Dessert Drop-In and got home way too late to read before bed. We'll make up for it later I'm sure.

In the meantime, here are some cute pictures from the other day. Daniel came in with one of Hunter's diapers, saying that his bear needed his diaper changed. So, here are the kids with the bear after they put the diaper on by themselves (they actually did a great job!).

Check out Daniel's outfit! These are some baseball pants that they put on him at school whenever he has an accident. Last week, he had an accident just about every day. Finally, I sent him to school with the baseball pants on, hoping that he would keep them dry since he likes them so much. It actually worked; we haven't had an accident now for about a week!

Christmas Reading - Day 16

2007-12-16T23:58:00.000-05:00

I went to the library today to see if I could find some additional Christmas books for our readings. Today's reading selection was My Penguin Osbert by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel.

I'm sure you all know how literal toddlers and preschoolers take everything you say. Well, this book is about a little boy who learns to be very specific when he tells Santa what he wants for Christmas. If you're looking for a fun book to buy for your little one this year (or a fun book to read to your child), this is a good, fun book to read. Happy reading!!

Christmas Reading - Day 15

2007-12-15T23:54:00.000-05:00

Today's selections are A Child Was Born by Grace Maccarone.

and Bear Stays Up for Christmas by Karma Wilson. This one is definitely the kids' favorite one.

Christmas Reading - Day 14

2007-12-14T23:58:00.000-05:00

Today's selections included Room for a Little One by Martin Waddell.

and Bear Stays Up for Christmas by Karma Wilson.

Christmas Reading - Day 13

2007-12-14T11:11:00.001-05:00

Last night's selection was God Gave Us Christmas by Lisa Tawn Bergren.

It's a cute story about a little polar bear cub whose Mama teaches her about how and why God gave us Christmas.

Christmas Reading - Day 12

2007-12-12T22:20:00.001-05:00

The kids received Christmas gifts from their Awana/Cubbies teachers tonight. One of the gifts is a book entitled Solomon and Friends Learn About Christmas.

It's a cute little story that teaches what Christmas is really all about. Throughout the story, there are what they call "Wonder Paws" that have a question for the reader to answer. For example, the first one reads: "Why is Christmas so special?" I like the fact that the story not only teaches about the true meaning of Christmas, but it also helps you to make sure your child is paying attention and learning the lessons that are being taught.

Christmas Reading - Day 11

2007-12-12T12:22:00.000-05:00

Ok, so we don't really have a reading for Day 11. We had a great visit with a friend last night. After dinner, the kids fell asleep before we had a chance to read a story. So, I guess we'll have to make up for it tonight. Instead, here are a couple of pictures of our little angel in the Christmas program at her school this morning.

Christmas Reading - Day 10

2007-12-10T23:04:00.001-05:00

Tonight's story was The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado

I almost had to have D finish reading the book because I got very choked up a few times. It's a story about trusting in God, knowing that He has a plan especially for you, and knowing that you are never alone.

Christmas Reading - Day 9

2007-12-10T08:20:00.000-05:00

2 books again Sunday night - looks like there may be a pattern developing here...

Jesus and The Very Best Birthday

by Sunny Griffin

AND The 12 Bugs of Christmas

by Troy Schmidt

(based on the characters from

Max Lucado's Hermie: A Common Caterpillar)

Christmas Reading - Day 8

2007-12-10T08:04:00.000-05:00

Saturday night we read 2 Christmas books

Bear Stays Up for Christmas

by Karma Wilson

AND Disney's Beauty and the Beast

- The Enchanted Christmas

Christmas Reading - Day 7

2007-12-07T22:30:00.001-05:00

OK, so we cheated a little and let CBS do the "reading" for us.
Instead of sitting down and reading a book or two tonight, we watched "Frosty the Snowman" and "Frosty Returns." What would Christmas time be without Frosty?

Christmas Reading - Day 6

2007-12-06T21:08:00.001-05:00

Tonight's story was the good ole 'Twas the Night Before Christmas" by Clement C Moore.

Daniel fell asleep on the way home from dinner and Emma was supposed to go straight to bed when she got home. So, I tried to pick a story that wouldn't take long to read. I'm sure we'll read it again before Christmas gets here.

Christmas Reading - Day 5

2007-12-05T23:26:00.000-05:00

Tonight's story came from The Golden Christmas Book again. We read "The Cratchits' Christmas Dinner" by Charles Dickens.

It was a little difficult to read because it was written in an old English style of writing (a bit over the kids' heads). You know the story from "A Christmas Carol" - Bob Cratchit worked for Scrooge and his youngest child was a crippled boy named Tiny Tim. This story is basically just about the family getting together for their Christmas dinner, not the whole Scrooge story. In fact, Scrooge was not even mentioned at all.

That's 5 down, 20 more to go!

Christmas Reading - Day 4

2007-12-04T22:14:00.001-05:00

Tonight's story, once again, came from The Golden Christmas Book. It is a story called "The Cuckoo in the Clock" (author unknown).

It's a cute story about a cuckoo bird that complains all the time about not being able to see what happens all around him. The only time he gets to see "the world" is when his little door opens every hour and he has to go out and "cuckoo" the right number of times for the hour. "...there was only one thing that annoyed the cuckoo almost to death--and that was the rule that each time he cuckooed he must also bow." The animals (both real and make-believe) get together and decide that for Christmas they are going to hold the door open for the cuckoo as long as they can so he can see as much as he can. He ends up cuckooing and bowing 54 times!

Christmas Reading - Day 3

2007-12-04T14:14:00.000-05:00

Monday night's story was "The Promise" by Maude Lindsay from The Golden Christmas Book (mentioned in Day 1's reading).

It's a story about a harp player who was asked to play for the king. The harper's family didn't want him to leave. He left but promised to be home by Christmas Day. The king enjoyed his playing so much that he wanted him to stay; so much so that he promised to give him many things. The harper would not stay, he vowed to keep his promise. On his way home, the weather became very snowy and icy. Alas, the harper kept his word and made it home by Christmas day.

Christmas Reading - Day 2

2007-12-03T12:29:00.000-05:00

Last night D read the Christmas Story to the kids (Luke 2:1-19 NAS). They sat so still and did a great job of listening. I'm hoping to help them to really understand what is the true meaning of Christmas. Daniel made a paper chain at school to count down the number of days until Christmas, plus we have an advent calendar that gives us a different verse to read each day.

Christmas Reading - Day 1

2007-12-01T23:11:00.000-05:00

Believe it our not, we actually have our Christmas tree up and decorated, and it's only the first day of December!! We still have a few things to put out but we're pretty close to being finished with our Christmas decorating for the year!! Woo-hoo!!!! The kids helped decorate the tree. They feel that the ornaments should be placed all together (on the same branch or two) and only on those closest to the bottom of the tree (of course that's about as high as they can reach without tipping the tree over). Here are some pictures to show their placement of decorations...

And here's a picture of the final project . . .

The next item on the list is to take our picture for our Christmas card. For those of you who normally receive a Christmas card from us, you know that they usually don't get mailed until about a day or two before Christmas, if not actually a day or two after Christmas; if at all. Every year I say we're going to get them done early, but that never seems to happen. I am determined to have everything done early this year so we can sit back, relax and enjoy visiting with family and friends.

At our MOPS group meeting a few weeks ago, someone suggested reading a different Christmas story each day in December, leading up to Christmas. I thought I'd give it a try. So, of course I wasn't even home tonight for our first story so my mom read to the kids. I have a book called "The Golden Christmas Book" from when I was a very young child (yes, they had books in print when I was very young).

Anyway, this book has stories, songs, poems and riddles for Christmas. My mom said they read several pages from the book tonight, but the kids weren't too interested in the "Pegasus and the Star" story.

If anyone out there is interested in doing this with us, please let us know. I'll try to post what story we're going to read each night and if anyone has any suggestions for good Christmas stories, feel free to let me know. I had really planned to start with the true Christmas story, but forgot to say anything to my mom, so we'll probably read about Christ's birth tomorrow night.

Stay tuned for more!

Thanksgiving Travels

2007-11-30T13:55:00.000-05:00

Here's a summary of our Thanksgiving travels:
Tue, Nov 20 - We drove to Franklin TN and spent the night with my brother and his family.
Wed, Nov 21 - We drove to Indianapolis IN to spend Thanksgiving with D's mom and grandmother. We stayed downtown, right across the street from the Indiana State Museum; about 4-5 blocks from the middle of downtown where you'll find Monument Circle.
Thu, Nov 22 - We went to a restaurant called Charbono's, in Avon IN, for our Thanksgiving meal. Every year for Thanksgiving, the restaurant sends invitations to area churches and schools for their free Thanksgiving buffet. The employees and their families come in to serve the customers. One of the invitations was given to D's grandmother, so we all attended - along with D's grandmother, mom, aunt, cousin, mom's best friend & her mother. The meal was excellent and the company even better.
Fri, Nov 23 - This morning we took the kids to the Children's Museum of Indianapolis for their Jolly Days Winter Wonderland exhibit. We took a lot of pictures at the museum and I'm still in the process of adding them to the photo gallery so keep checking back if you want to see more pics. In the meantime, I've posted this slideshow to show a few of my favorite shots from the whole trip.

The last time we were in Indianapolis was about 3 years ago for Christmas. We went to Children's Museum then too - I think everyone had a much better time this year. Friday night, we walked down to Monument Circle to see the lighting of the "tree;" along with about 100,000 of our closest friends. Once they turned on the lights, we started walking back to the hotel - just in time too because the fireworks started while we were walking. While the kids love to see fireworks, the noise is much louder when you're downtown and it's all bouncing off the buildings. Daniel doesn't care much for loud noises so it's a good thing were already on our way.
Sat, Nov 24 - After breakfast, we headed back to Franklin TN. My parents came up for the night as well.
Sun, Nov 25 - We all went to church with Tom & Camille on Sunday morning so we could see Hayden & Sophie get baptized. After lunch we drove to Madison AL to visit with the Spears family. Carrie fixed a wonderful supper and we had a great time catching up with them - the kids all had a great time playing together as well.
Mon, Nov 26 - We met the Spears at IHOP for breakfast then headed home. We did a lot of visiting during the Thanksgiving holiday, but we that's just one more thing for which we are thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2007-11-21T22:05:00.000-05:00

The kindergarten classes at Daniel's school have a program they do each year called Turkey Tunes. My parents went with Emma, Hunter and me to see it this past Monday morning. It's a really cute program. This video is just a clip of what I think was my favorite song they did. It's not the best quality, but you get the idea...

And here are a couple of pictures from the program as well...

Emma's class had their Thanksgiving Feast on Tuesday - mom and I attended. Here is a picture and short video from her program as well. The picture quality's not that great because I was actually too far away. In the video, you don't see Emma until toward the end (she's the 3rd one from the left - blue denim jacket on).

I really love watching the kids perform with their classmates. It's such a blessing to watch them grow and mature - my prayer is that they will come to know the Lord early in life so they will not remember a time without Jesus in their life, that they will become mighty witnesses for God, and that He will use them greatly to increase His kingdom.

We give THANKS for:

T - Treats - like ice cream for smiley faces, cakes for birthdays

H - Happy homes filled with family and love

A - All the ways that God has taken care of us this year

N - New friends at church and school

K - Kids and all the challenges that come with raising them

S - Salvation and Special times with friends and family both near and far

We want to wish each one of you a truly Blessed Thanksgiving holiday!

My dancing stars

2007-11-01T21:48:00.000-04:00

These videos were too cute not to post them - I hope they work. Our kids love to watch dancing with the stars. They especially love to dance along. In fact, they actually try to do the same steps they see them doing on tv, usually. The other night I had the camera handy and caught them dancing along. The first video is Daniel asking Grammy to dance with him. In the second one, you'll notice it takes Emma a while to get started, but eventually she joins in.

Buddy Walk 2007

2007-10-19T10:44:00.001-04:00

We participated in the Buddy Walk Atlanta for the first time last Saturday. We couldn't have asked for better weather! There were more than 1500 people registered to participate - and I think they were ALL in front of us in the lunch line. Although we had to wait quite a while for our lunch, the kids were very patient and we all had a great time. There were several things for the kids to do - inflatables to jump in, bean bag toss game, train ride, etc. Here's Emma at the hula hoop booth. I think the favorite for the day was the train ride though.

There were several items sold at a silent auction and about 30 or more raffle prizes - of course we didn't win anything. Entertainment was provided throughout the day by Chris Burke, the young actor with Down syndrome who starred as Corky on the ABC TV hit series "Life Goes On"; along with his lifelong friends, Joe and John DeMasi.

Here are some pictures of the kids enjoying the music and just relaxing...

We truly appreciate all who have sponsored Daniel for this event. For anyone who might be interested, online donations are still being accepted through October 31st. Thanks again!

Fall Festival #1

2007-10-08T07:21:00.000-04:00

We went to our first Fall Festival of the year this weekend. They had several games for the kids to play - fishing, bean bag toss, you know. The kids loved riding the ponies and the big slide the best - in fact, that's all they wanted to do. It was so hot though that it seemed more like summer than Fall. I didn't get very many pictures because we really didn't stay very long. Oh well, we have at least 2 more festivals we're planning to go to later this month. Here are the few pics I did take - enjoy!

8 Laps and looking for sponsors!!

2007-09-19T08:19:00.000-04:00

OK, so the Fun Run was weeks ago, oh well. We went to D's school the other night for their "Spotlight on Specials" to learn a little more about the things he does at school. In one of the rooms, I met another Kindergarten mom who happened to get some pictures of D at the Fun Run. I'm so thankful we met her! So, here are the pictures she sent me...

Looks like he started out good, but was pretty tired by the time he finished his 8 laps (out of a possible maximum of 40) in 30 minutes. I thought that was pretty good for a kid that's never participated in anything like this before. We are gathering contributions for the Buddy Walk coming up in October. We are now registered so if you'd like to contribute, you can do so online. If you have trouble with this link, you can go to the DSAA's Buddy Walk home page, click on "Sponsor Participant", then fill in Daniel Harman. We truly appreciate whatever you give.

Fundraiser Time!!

2007-08-28T08:19:00.000-04:00

Well, school is back in session which means it's time for fundraisers. This year, Daniel will be involved with two fall fundraisers - a boosterthon fun run (for school) and the Buddy Walk (for the Down Syndrome Association of Atlanta). If you are interested in supporting either (or both) of these events with a donation, please let us know as soon as possible. All donations are tax deductible. If you are willing to give a donation and feel like you can only support one, then we ask that you support the Buddy Walk (for the Down Syndrome Association) since this one is more personal to us. Donations for the Buddy Walk can be made online and credited to Daniel's list of supporters. So, as soon as we get registered, I'll let you know. We thank you in advance for any support you can give.

For school this year, instead of selling wrapping paper and other holiday items, Daniel's school will be having a boosterthon fun run (click here for information and to see a video about this event). The fun run is scheduled for Thu, Sept 6. The students run for 30 minutes, completing an average of 25-30 laps. Each child gets a t-shirt and on the back they mark off each lap as they complete it. If you are interested in donating to this event, you can pledge a certain dollar amount per lap or a flat donation. One of the neat things they do with this is whenever a student gets a pledge from another state, their class studies about that state. Therefore, it would be fun to be able to give his class several different states to learn about.

On a more personal note, our family will be involved in the Buddy Walk of Atlanta - to help raise money for the Down Syndrome Association. This year's event is scheduled for Sat, Oct 13 in downtown Duluth GA. This will be our first time to participate in this annual event. We are asking everyone to encourage Daniel with your donation to this cause. We are supposed to turn in all donations before the walk (checks made payable to DSAA). If you are interested in donating, please let us know as soon as possible. Also, don't forget that donations can be made online - I'll let you know when our registration goes through.

Again, we'd like to thank everyone in advance for your support in these events. God has truly blessed us with a wonderful family and some great friends!

Vacation 2007

2007-08-14T08:04:00.000-04:00

I know, you've all been anxiously waiting for a report on the big family vacation. We went to Fort Morgan AL this year - with the WHOLE family (16 people in all)! We had a house (4 bedrooms + 2 sleeper sofas), a guest house (2 bedrooms + 1 sleeper sofa), a private pool, and access to 3 community pools. Of course we all had our ups and downs during the week, but I think everyone had a good week; although I'm not sure we'll ever be able to do it again - it took 3 years to get everyone's schedule coordinated for this year.

One of the things that Darrell had planned to do on this trip was to shave his beard and mustache (a little more each day); just because he hadn't been clean shaven in twenty years. I didn't get a picture of each stage but here are a couple to give you an idea. Here's the schedule he planned to follow: 1. shave upper sides of beard; 2. shave rest of beard - leaving mustache and goatee (see first picture below); 3. shave goatee (except for the "soul patch" - second picture below); 4. shave mustache - leaving "soul patch"; 5. shave "soul patch". Once he completed step 3, he decided not to continue any further.

The weather for the week was great if you like being in a sauna - thankfully we had a pool at our house. The kids both love the water and aren't afraid of it at all - except that Emma doesn't care for the ocean too much; she preferred to play in the sand. In fact she said "I wish the waves would stop." We explained to her that if the waves stopped we'd be in a lot of trouble. Daniel is so unafraid of the water that one day he decided to go swimming by himself. Thankfully he thought ahead enough to put on one of the flotation swimsuits (over his clothes) before he went outside and jumped in the pool. The adults were all upstairs in the kitchen/common area on the third floor and the kids were on the first floor playing. Darrell happened to look out the window and saw Daniel in the pool - ALL ALONE!! Needless to say, we all lost a few heartbeats.

We had a few firsts on this vacation - 1. first time for my entire family to be on vacation together (it's usually my parents and 1 or 2 of their kids with their families); 2. Emma's first time playing played mini-golf; 3. Daniel & Emma's first time at Waterville USA; 4. Daniel & Emma's first time riding go-carts; 5. first ferry boat ride for Emma, Daniel & my Mom; 6. first pictures of my parents with their entire family; 7. Daniel & Emma's first visit to a real Fort. I'm sure there were other firsts, but you get the idea.

One night we went to a place called The Track Family Fun Center. While we were waiting to ride the go-carts on the Wild Woody, Emma was excited and Daniel kept saying "don't want to ride". While we were riding, Daniel loved it and Emma kept saying "no mommy, I want to stop. I don't like it." Then within 5 minutes of getting off the go-carts and going to play mini-golf, Emma decided she liked riding in the go-carts and asked if we could do it again. They don't understand that we don't live right down the street from all these fun places so every now and then they ask if we can go ride the go-carts or go to the water park again. Thankfully we at least have mini-golf close by and the pool has a fun kids area.

We didn't do a photo shoot with the kids on the beach this year. Instead we took family pictures at Fort Morgan. This seemed like the perfect place to take these since we actually stayed in Fort Morgan instead of Gulf Shores. I have uploaded lots of pictures into the Harman Photo Gallery, but here are a few of my favorites.

Cool Slideshows!

One night we took a dolphin cruise (another first for Emma) and we saw several dolphins. One afternoon we went to Waterville USA. We went shopping a couple of times and we visited the Fort. All in all, it was a good week yet we're happy to be home again (and sleeping in our own beds!). Next year we're thinking about going to DisneyWorld.

Happy Birthday Daniel!!!

2007-07-23T10:28:00.000-04:00

Today is Daniel's 5th birthday!! It's hard to believe that in a few short weeks he will be getting on the bus and going to Kindergarten!! :o) He's really looking forward to school starting. In fact, just about every Monday morning he asks me if the bus is coming. it's only a few short weeks away now. We've been pretty busy this summer - visiting with family and friends, swimming, going to Stone Mountain, playing at home and playgrounds, etc. There are still a few things we'd like to do before the summer's over, but we'll just have to see how it goes. We may need to save some things for next year.

We've been working on getting the house ready to put on the market. Actually, Darrell's been doing most of the work, I've just been having to go through everything and decide what to keep, what to throw or give away, and what to store. I'll post pictures when we have all the painting done. Everything looks great, Darrell's done an outstanding job!!

A Much Needed Break & Where Are Your Shoes?

2007-07-13T09:56:00.000-04:00

The kids had a blast at their birthday party - they were so wiped out after all the fun!! In fact, that night Daniel slept in his clothes because he was too tired to change into his pjs when it was time for bed. Here's how they looked when I went in the next morning to get them up.

Last Monday (July 2) was my sister's birthday. Our gift to her was a little red-headed 3 year old girl (well, only for the week). She took Emma home with her. It was so nice to only have the boys for a few days (especially since one of those days was a holiday and I only had to deal with one child). Daniel didn't seem to miss Emma very much, I think he kinda liked being an only child; Emma liked being at Linda's as well. So much so that I would have let her stay another week except that she and Daniel both had camp this week. So we left last Friday to spend the weekend with Linda & Michael - and to bring Emma back home. However, we'll definitely have to do that again! Maybe next time Linda can take both kids for a week or two and then I'll take her girls for a week or two to give each other a much needed break!!

Now for the shoes . . .

The kids are finally putting their things away without being asked, not all the time, but at least it's a start. A few weeks ago Darrell bought one of those shoe organizers that hangs on the door. He hung it in the laundry room so we would have an out of the way place to put our everyday shoes. One of the first things the kids do when they walk into the house is take their shoes off. We are usually having to remind them not to leave them in the middle of the floor, but lately they've been good about putting them away. Yea!!!!! Well, we went to my parents' house last night for dinner. Before we left it was late enough that we put their pjs on so they could go straight to bed when we got home. I didn't realize until we got home that we left Daniel's shoes. When he took them off last night, he put them away in the only place he knew to put shoes away at Grammy & Papa's house - in Papa's closet. What a smart boy!!

THE Party!!

2007-07-05T14:14:00.000-04:00

So, we had the big birthday party last Saturday for the kids. This year we decided to have just one party for both kids instead of trying to do two parties about a month apart. There were several reasons for choosing to have our one party at My Gym. Here are just a few:

1. Having one party saves on money! Besides, our guest list would've been about the same for each anyway.
2. People coming from out of town only have to plan one trip. (In other words, the family is more apt to come if they only have to come once.)
3. I didn't have to plan any games and the kids could play as loud as they wanted without having any adults tell them to quiet/settle down.
4. The kids can have fun playing hard and the adults don't have to stand in the hot sun to watch (and you don't have to change plans if it rains - although I'm glad we had a nice day).
5. I don't have to worry about whether the house is clean enough to have people over. More importantly, I don't have a mess to clean up when the party's over.

Here are a few pictures from the play time. Some of the time is organized games/activities and some of the time is free play. I've loaded a lot more pictures in the Harman Photo Gallery.

I think Maddie had a good time too - I know Grammy loved having a little one to hold for awhile. As you can see, it wasn't exactly easy to get everyone to stop long enough to get a group picture. So, we had to settle for the ones we could get.

Then it was time for some cake . . .

It was a lot of fun getting to see our friends and have some time to play together. We should all get together more often!! Thank you so much to all our friends for coming to our party and helping us celebrate our birthdays!!!!!

Happy 3rd birthday!

2007-06-27T07:22:00.000-04:00

I can't believe it - my baby's 3!!!! Yesterday was Emma's 3rd birthday. I tried to make her day special by letting her pick the places to eat. She chose to eat lunch at Chick-fil-A and supper at Red Robin (her original choice was McDonald's until we mentioned Red Robin). At supper, they had someone dressed up in a big red robin costume that came around to each table. At first, the kids weren't too sure about it, but before we left I think they each had given her a hug at least 2-3 times. I'm hoping the 3s prove to be the terrific three's and not just a continuation (or worse) of the terrible two's. Here are her stats and a few of her favorite things:

39 inches, 32 pounds

1. ride the train and Duck ride at Stone Mountain
2. eat at Chick-fil-A
3. scrambled eggs for breakfast, and sometimes sausage
4 . play at the "playpark" (this is just her word for any playground)
5. run and jump (anywhere and off of just about anything)
6. eat "ice crame" (we don't know where she ever heard ice cream pronounced this way)
7. whine, scream and/or pitch a fit (this probably should've been #1 on the list)
8. never go to sleep (for a nap or at bedtime) - this makes for wonderful afternoons and evenings when she's so tired and cranky and makes sure everyone else is at least as miserable as she is
9. wear her "cute, pink" flip flops, if any shoes at all
10. color - crayons, pencils, markers, chalk

We're celebrating both kids' birthdays this weekend with a party at My Gym (another one of Emma's favorites). I'll post pictures after the party.

Any Suggestions!?!?!?

2007-06-22T14:35:00.000-04:00

Do they have obedience school for preschoolers? I'd love to hear from anyone out there that can give me some ideas on how to get children to behave (especially strong-willed red-heads). Emma still simply refuses to go to sleep - at naptime or at bedtime. I understand that some kids don't require as much sleep as others, but she gets so cranky and whiny when she doesn't take a nap. We go through the same routine each night for bed and each night she cries whenever she's left in her room. Her excuse is that she "really, really don't want to be in my room by myself." I knelt by her bed the other night to talk to her and try to figure out exactly why she doesn't want to be alone in her room at night. She said she's afraid of the monsters outside her window. I pulled back the shade to show her that there are no monsters and assured her that Daddy makes sure that no monsters are allowed anywhere near our house. The only thing I can think of is that since her room is on the front of the house, she hears all kinds of noises outside - like people talking, cars coming and going, etc. She will get up and go to the bathroom 3-4 times after we've put her to bed - not because she needs to use the potty, but simply to do something to stay awake. She will lay in her bed and "read" books to her babies and animals but that will last forever if we let it. She also lays in the bed and cries/screams and yells downstairs at us about how she really doesn't want to be there. Finally, she will come downstairs check to see if we're there, then go back upstairs (or just stay by the steps for awhile before going upstairs) - this happens at least 3 or 4 times each night as well.

That's just one child . . . Daniel, on the other hand, will take a nap every afternoon. All you have to do is get him to sit still for 5 minutes or so. Then, at bedtime, we go through the same routine as with Emma. Once we say prayers and leave him in his bed, he will usually roll over and go to sleep within 5-10 minutes. Sometimes he reverts back to his crying/whining a little and coming downstairs, laying on the floor and falling asleep but this happens less often than it used to.

Now for the behavior issues, both kids have the idea that whenever Mommy & Daddy are talking to each other at the end of the day (or one is on the phone), that's their time to do whatever they want, be as loud as they want, pick at each other, or constantly interrupt with whatever question they can think come up with at the time. Emma's thing is that she likes to boss Daniel around. The trouble comes from the fact that if Emma tells Daniel 'no' about something, he will start crying and will not be comforted by anyone until Emma tells him 'yes' instead (it doesn't matter if Mommy or Daddy tell him 'yes', since Emma told him 'no' she has to be the one to tell him 'yes').

Here's my plan - I'm going to make a chart for each child and put a few items on it like takes a nap, goes to bed, behaves at meals, plays well, etc. Each child will get a sticker for each item they successfully complete each day. After they get 3 stickers in a row, they will get some small prize and a gold star for the day. If they get 3 gold stars in a row, they will get a special prize (like ride the train, go on the Duck ride, or some toy they like). I'm still trying to figure out all the details. One of the hardest things is coming up with the special prizes; especially things that won't cost much money. Things to do at Stone Mountain are easy because we have a Mountain Membership; the trouble will be having to deal with 3 kids instead of just my 2 if we go during a weekday.

I'm interested to see if anyone has any better suggestions . . . let me know.

And so, the fun begins!!

2007-05-29T09:50:00.000-04:00

I hope everyone had the opportunity this past weekend to reflect on the blessing we have just to live in the USA; especially remembering those who have served and/or are serving to protect our freedoms that we so take for granted. We went to visit my brother and his family this weekend in Franklin TN (that's the Nashville area for those not familiar). On Saturday night, we went to the Zoo - I think it's the first time our kids had ever been to a zoo; except for the Yellow River Game Ranch. I think everyone had a good time. Check out the teeth on this Alpaca - they were at least 2-3 inches long! We also saw camels, donkeys, meerkats (aren't they cute?), giraffes and more. We also got to ride the carrousel - thanks Uncle Tom & Aunt Camille for taking us to the zoo; we had a great time!

On Sunday night, we went to a block party. The kids had a great time playing with some new friends, writing on the road with chalk, eating, chasing and popping bubbles, etc - can you tell what Daniel enjoyed the most? Oreos, of course, although he does love to play with bubbles.

Camille's parents live around the corner from them and they were at the party too. Camille's dad, Dave, tried to teach Emma how to play tic-tac-toe. She was very patient with him. Later, she wanted me to take a picture of what she drew with the chalk. Sorry, Dave, I guess coloring with chalk is more fun than just drawing X's and O's - maybe next time!

On the way home, we stopped in Chattanooga and took a ride on the Tennessee Valley Railroad. They have a short 6-mile ride from Grand Junction Station to East Chattanooga and back. You get off at the East Chattanooga station and watch a real locomotive turn around on a turntable. You also get a chance to go into the Repair Shop and hear our conductor tell us about what they're working on in the shop. On the return trip to Grand Junction, we had a new friend sit with us. She told us her name is Priscilla; although her mother called her Marcy. She kept wanting to sit with Daniel and he kept trying to get away from her. Meanwhile, Emma kept trying to sit with her and she really didn't want to have anything to do with her. In the end, she invited both kids to come to her house to watch a movie and eat lunch. She couldn't tell us where she lives. Maybe we'll see her again sometime this summer on one of our (sure to be many) trips to ride the train at Stone Mountain - we'll see.

I'm sure we'll have some fun adventures throughout the summer, watch for further details. We'd love to see everyone, just let us know where and when to meet you. We'll see what we can do. Have a great summer!!

Summer's Here!!!

2007-05-16T15:34:00.000-04:00

OK, so Summer's not exactly here yet, but it's close enough! Tomorrow is Emma's last day of "school" until September and next Wednesday is Daniel's last day of preschool! I can't believe our first child will be in Kindergarten in just three short months!! This school year has brought several changes to our house - we left the church we've loved for the past 15+ years and God has led us to a new one, Emma started going to a different school than last year, Daniel had tubes put in his ears for the 4th time and his tonsils taken out, and we have a one-year-old running around our house everyday (just to name a few). This summer should prove to be interesting - trying to keep 3 small children from getting bored. I'm sure we'll probably spend a lot of time at the park; thankfully, our kids like to go to the park.

Happy Easter 2007!

2007-04-10T14:31:00.000-04:00

So, I know Easter's over, but I thought I'd share some pictures from the Easter season. The kids had a great time at the egg hunt, although I think they liked the Bubble Man better. They weren't too keen on getting close to the Easter bunny (I must say they come by this naturally since their mom doesn't care for people dressed in costumes that cover the face). They did manage to find lots of eggs filled with candy and prizes.

Linda and the girls came to visit for a couple of days during Spring break (Palm Sunday weekend) - the kids are always glad to see them. In fact, Daniel talks to Linda all the time on his play phone. We had a great service at church and good food and company at my mom's house.

Cool Slideshows

Ring Bearer/Flower Girl

2007-03-19T00:35:00.000-04:00

My cousin got married this weekend and had asked that both kids be in the wedding. We weren't real sure they would walk down the aisle when the time came, but they did great; we were pleasantly surprised! Amber, the suit looked great - we really appreciate you letting us borrow it. Here are a few pictures from the rehearsal and wedding, enjoy! Some of the attendants took some pictures of the kids as well - I'm hoping to get copies emailed to me. I'll post them whenever I get them.

Cool Slideshows

I'm sick of being sick!!

2007-03-03T22:27:00.000-05:00

When will these illnesses go away?!?! In our household over the past week each person has been sick for at least a day (sometimes more than one person at a time). Last Saturday both kids became ill rather suddenly. For about 3-4 days Emma's eyes were so watery that she literally had tears running down her face all day. She also had so much congestion that when she sneezed, you automatically ran for a tissue because you knew she had a waterfall coming from her nose. Daniel, on the other hand, had a fever that fluctuated between 101 and 103 from Saturday evening through Thursday morning. Although on Tuesday it seemed as though he felt well enough to go back school, his teachers said he mainly wanted to be held all day but still participated some in class (he just wasn't himself). On Wednesday, his teacher called me to say that since he arrived at school he had fallen back asleep and had been sleeping for at least 30 minutes when she called. So, after I dropped Emma off at school, I went by Daniel's school and took him home; where he continued to sleep off and on all day. He basically didn't drink or eat anything all week. He was supposed to have surgery on Friday - to have tubes put in his ears (for the 4th time!) and his tonsils taken out. The doctor didn't want to do both surgeries but I was able to convince him to at least put the tubes in. I figured if they could release the pressure in his ears maybe he would start eating/drinking again. So, he went ahead with the tubes and put in an IV to get some fluids in him. After spending more than 4 hours at the surgery center, we were able to go home. Daniel was a totally different child from when he arrived that morning. He is now eating/drinking again and acting more like himself all the time. Once he gets healthy and strong enough we have his tonsils out. He had a sleep study done back at the end of January and the results showed he has a mild case of sleep apnea, otherwise, we probably wouldn't bother with the tonsillectomy. I'm hoping that if they can take care of the sleep apnea he will be able to stay asleep all night and therefore will not feel the need to come join us in our bed. I'll let you know how that goes when the time comes. As for the rest of us, I woke up a couple of days ago with the same stuffy nose it seems the kids had. This morning, Darrell's stuffy nose seems to have changed into a full blown ear infection. I'm hoping we can all get back to full health soon!

Future Fashion Designer?!

2007-02-15T14:26:00.000-05:00

I was awakened this morning at 2am by a naked 2 year old! I don't know what woke her up or why she came into our room. All I know is that she had decided it was time to get up and get dressed for the day. Since I was not even half-awake, I talked her into putting on the clothes she brought in and took her back to bed. Later, when I got up for the day, here's how she was dressed . . .

Now, just a little explanation about the "skirt". It is actually a t-shirt (although the sleeves look like little pockets that have been pulled inside out). Now, you tell me, do you think she has a future in fashion design? I guess I'm just glad that she had enough forethought to make sure she had something on to cover her little bottom.

Happy 2007, Finally!!

2007-01-11T10:39:00.000-05:00

Ok, so we're already well into the year 2007. I'm still trying to get over having walking pneumonia, so I'm a little behind (so, what's new, huh?). For those of you who are wondering, we did not send out any Christmas cards this year; look for an Easter card instead (hopefully we'll all be well by then). I'm way behind on my posting, so I'll try not to bombard you with too much information. Here are a few pictures from our Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays . . .

Here's Emma at her Thanksgiving Feast at school, what a cute little pilgrim! The TN Brechts came for Thanksgiving dinner at my parents' house. We enjoyed their visit; although it was much too short.

After lunch, while Tom & Darrell were outside playing with the kids, Darrell planted his foot and ended up badly twisting his ankle. I think he may have actually broken it but I guess we'll never know for sure since he wouldn't go to get it checked out. As you can see, Daniel and Emma were very helpful in getting him up off the ground (notice Tom supervising in the background?!).

Now for Christmas . . . we went to the Stone Mountain Christmas a couple of times. Once we saw the laser show and once we rode the train. I was very impressed that the little show on the train ride told the true Christmas story - including the virgin birth, shepherds, angels, wise men and infant King.

One night we went to Lake Lanier to drive through the "Nights of Lights". The kids had their first roasted marshmallows at the bonfire. Hint: If you get a chance to go to this, remember to take your own marshmallows to roast; unless you want to pay $2 for just 5 marshmallows! We had fun anyway. Linda & Michael came for a quick visit the weekend before Christmas because they spent Christmas weekend with Michael's family in NC. After the Christmas Eve service at church, we went to my aunt's house for dinner & presents. Christmas morning, we opened gifts at our house, then went to my parents' for breakfast and opened stockings. We didn't open presents at my parents' until later in the day - after Tom & Camille came in with the kids. Linda and Michael are coming for a visit this weekend so we'll get a chance to have Christmas with them.

We pray that God will richly bless each of you in 2007! We'd love to have you come for a visit anytime during the year. Let us know what's happening with you and your families!!

Road Trip!

2006-11-20T10:18:00.000-05:00

We went to South Carolina this past weekend to visit my sister and her family. Linda & I took the kids to their first concert. Friday night we sent to see The Doodlebops in their first US tour - Daniel & Emma have been looking forward to this for about a month and they loved it!

For the most part, Emma sat in her seat, mesmerized by everything happening on stage. Daniel on the other hand was up and dancing, singing and going back and forth between Linda and me all evening. I'm glad we had the opportunity to take them. On Saturday, while Michael & Darrell played a round of golf, we took the kids shopping. At Toys R Us, there were Stormtroopers standing out front and walking around in the store to help promote the new Star Wars toys. For those of you who know me, I don't like being around characters wearing masks that cover their faces, so you can imagine how I felt about this. Thankfully my children don't seem to care for them either. In fact, every time Daniel saw them, he'd cover his ears and say "it's loud" - he wouldn't even shake their hand. I'm not sure why he thought they were loud, they didn't make a sound at all and he's never seen any of the movies. Emma just stayed closeby.

Aren't these the cutest kittens you've seen?! Daniel found these ears in Rachel's room and just had to wear them. When I took Daniel's picture, the others had to wear them for a picture too. We always have fun at Aunt Linda & Uncle Michael's house.

Pumpkin Patch??

2006-10-30T14:56:00.000-05:00

Ok, so this past Saturday we went with friends to Southern Belle Farm (McDonough GA) for our annual pumpkin patch trip. We arrived about 10am and although it wasn't exactly warm (very cool and windy), at least it wasn't as muddy as I was afraid it would be. By the time we left the weather was quite pleasant. There really weren't any pumpkins to speak of, but I think everyone enjoyed the day anyway. Darrell took the kids through the big corn maze - he said Emma wasn't happy unless she was the leader (so what's new?). We took a hayride around the farm that turned out to be educational as well. We learned about the best time to pick cotton, how sunflowers will turn and face the sun as they grow, etc.

The kids got to ride a pony for the first time and they both loved it. I've been trying to get Daniel into a hippotherapy program, but I wasn't sure how he would react to a real horse. I guess I don't need to worry about that now.

They liked riding the ponies, but I think they like the cow train the best. In fact, Daniel would've stayed and riden all day if we had let him.

Who Doesn't Love Chocolate?!

2006-10-23T14:04:00.000-04:00

You know, a girl's gotta love her chocolate! Her brother loves it too (as if you couldn't tell)!!

We had frosted brownies for dessert the other night and the kids were so excited! If you look closely you'll see they actually had more on their faces than on their clothes, amazing!

Go to sleep!!!

2006-10-06T10:54:00.000-04:00

What do you do when your children refuse to go to sleep? For the past several weeks, after we put the kids to bed, Daniel decides he doesn't want to be in his room alone so he comes downstairs and lays down in the doorway between the front room of the house and the kitchen. Sometimes he falls asleep there, sometimes not. When we go up to bed, we take him back upstairs, put him in his bed and he goes to sleep. Then sometime between 5:30am and 7am he finds his way into our room - and into our bed.

Well, last night my wonderful husband took the children upstairs and put them to bed (they usually do better about going to bed when he takes them). Before he ws even back downstairs, Emma was screaming and crying because she "didn't want go night night either." Daniel got up from his bed and went into her room and they played for awhile. Darrell finally went upstairs and put them in their respective beds. They would not go to sleep! Finally, at 11:00, I went upstairs and told them they needed to get some rest and go to sleep. Emma stayed in her bed but still took awhile to go to sleep. I went into our bedroom to put away the clean clothes, hoping that having a parent upstairs would be enough to keep Daniel in his bed; and therefore in his room. Not so! He got out of the bed, went into Emma's room and tried to get her to play with him. She would tell him, "No, Dan-l, you need to go to bed." I went in and gently helped him back to bed. By the time I got back into our room, he was out of the bed and either heading downstairs, or just standing in his doorway. I popped him on the bottom and put him back in the bed, crying for his daddy. This continued constantly for well over half an hour! It didn't matter if I left the hall light on or off, or if I left his door open or closed. You could tell by looking at him that he was exhausted, he just would not go to bed! I'm not sure if he finally wore himself out, or if he decided I was more stubborn; all I know is that he finally stayed in the bed and fell asleep. I hoped that since he didn't fall asleep until after 11:30, he would stay in his bed all night until time to get up for school. But to no avail, he was in our room about 6:15am again this morning.

If anyone has any suggestions on how to get kids to go to bed, go to sleep, or stay in their bed until mommy or daddy comes to get them up, we'd be glad to hear them!! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Comments Fixed

2006-09-28T18:18:00.000-04:00

The issue with not being able to comment on blogs that have switched to the beta version has been fixed - you no longer have to use the anonymous or other choices. Yay!!!

Adding Comments

2006-09-08T10:55:00.000-04:00

I recently switched to blogger in beta. Although it has some neat features, I didn't realize the problems I'd run into with comments. Here is was Blogger has to say about it:

"Users who have not switched to Blogger in beta will not be able to login to comment on blogs that have been switched. Commenting using the “anonymous” or “other” options will still work."

Therefore, if you want to leave a comment, you'll need to use the "other" option. If you were thinking about switching to the beta version, DON'T DO IT! - at least not until they get the bugs worked out. I apologize for any frustrations this may have caused. If I could switch back to the non-beta version I would.

Weekend Visit

2006-09-06T16:50:00.000-04:00

This was perhaps the strangest Labor Day weekend we've had. First of all, my sister got sick the Wednesday before Labor Day with a 24 hour bug. I got sick on Thursday with a 24 hour bug as well (our symptoms were the same although we live hundreds of miles apart). Friday afternoon, although I was not feeling 100%, I felt well enough to go visit Linda, Michael and the girls. So, the kids and I picked Darrell up at work and hit the road. When we picked him up, Darrell said that he thought he was getting the same illness that I had but he would be OK so we headed to SC. Friday night, we went to the local high school football game. Both kids seemed to enjoy it alright. Daniel doesn't like loud noises so you can imagine how much he enjoyed sitting in the middle of the crowd. True to form though, he made a new friend with the lady sitting next to us. He crawled up in her lap several times and gave her many hugs. She and her husband left when there were only a couple of minutes left in the game so they could beat the crowds - Daniel actually cried when she left and tried to go with her.

We experienced several firsts over the weekend. Daniel has always been somewhat scared of Michael - probably because of the rough way he plays - but sometime this weekend, he decided that Uncle Michael isn't as scary as he thought. At one time, he actually asked Michael to pick him up and snuggled with him (of course Daniel wasn't fully awake yet so we're not sure if he really knew who he was reaching for, but Michael will take whatever he can get). I think the kids decided that since Uncle Michael took them to a great ice cream place (Oodles) and to a good BBQ place (Mutt's), he is now their favorite uncle. Tom, if you're reading this, ice cream and BBQ are going to be hard to beat, are you up for the challenge?

With each of us not feeling well, and being away from home, we didn't exactly sleep very well. Although the kids started out sleeping on the floor each night, at least one (if not both) would end up in the bed with us by the next morning - an interesting feat when you think about the fact that we were sleeping in a full size bed (not a lot of extra room). Between the snoring and the children climbing in the bed, we took turns on the sofa hoping to get at least a few hours of uninterupted sleep. Speaking of sleep, Emma slept in a waterbed for the first time (Sunday afternoon nap). As you can see, Daniel & Darrell had no trouble sharing the recliner for a nap. Yes, that's a passy in Emma's mouth. Since we moved her from the crib to a big girl bed, she has decided that she does not want to go to sleep, EVER (naptime or bedtime). We finally broke down and bought her a passy and told her that she is only allowed to have it when she's in the bed. We figure it will be easier to break her of this habit than it will be to make her sleep without it.

Monday morning, Linda and I were in the kitchen making some desserts for lunch. Darrell and Michael took the kids out to see the pigs at the neighbor's house. Aren't they cute? All in all, I think everyone had a good time and we look forward to our next visit; hopefully when we're all well.

wrapping paper and much more

2006-08-30T01:00:00.000-04:00

Now that school has started, the fundraisers have begun as well (welcome to public schools). The items available for purchase are wrapping paper and many other gifts and accessories. On Daniel's behalf, we have had an email sent to many people, asking you to support our school. The easiest way to purchase items is to shop online (and the items will be sent directly to you). The last day to purchase items is Monday, September 11. If you are reading this and you haven't received an email from Daniel, then we probably don't have a current email address for you. If you are interested, please let me know and I'll get you the necessary information. I know some of you may have family members with the same fundraiser. I just wanted to give you the opportunity to participate in case you didn't. Thanks!!

Baking with Grammy

2006-08-29T09:10:00.000-04:00

If you know Daniel, you know he loves sweets. This past weekend he had a great time baking cookies with Grammy...oatmeal with chocolate chips...YUMMY!! I'm not sure which he enjoyed more, baking or eating, you decide.

Answered Prayer!!

2006-08-19T11:45:00.000-04:00

Just a quick note to thank everyone for their prayers these past few months. Darrell has accepted a job offer and will begin working at Apex Plumbing Supply next week. We especially thank Uncle Andy for his part in making this happen (I pray the Lord will grealy bless you and Darrell as you work together once again). We truly appreciate our friends who have lifted our family up in prayer. I wouldn't say these past few months have been "a piece of cake" exactly, but God has blessed us with the peace of knowing that He is still in control and He will provide for ALL our needs. He is so good! Thanks again for all your prayers and support!!!!

First Day of School

2006-08-14T23:25:00.000-04:00

Daniel started back to school today. Although he usually comes into our bedroom around 5:30 or 6am every morning, I had to wake him up to get him ready for school today. This year his bus will pick him up just after 7:30am (instead of the 9am time from last year) so I guess I'll have to get back into a routine of getting up early.

Before he would go look for the bus, he wanted to call Grammy. Once the bus arrived, he hopped right on and left without a tear. As you can see from his paper, he had a great day at school today! I'm sure this year will be full of great days at school.

"No passy beach"

2006-07-27T15:55:00.000-04:00

This year we went to St George Island FL for our summer vacation. This year the crew consisted of my parents, my sister and her family, and us. We rented a house with a private pool that is only 3 doors from the beach (across one street). The kids loved playing in the sand and in the pool - mom preferred the pool to the ocean (much closer to the a/c, no salt water and a lot less sand).

If you like a vacation where you do absolutely nothing, this is the place for you. There are a few souvenir shops and restaurants on the island. Since the closest Walmart was about 2 hours away in Panama City FL we made only one trip there. While in PC, we went to dinner at a place called The Treasure Ship. Although it was very crowded, the wait wasn't so bad because there were things to keep the kids occupied. There were a couple of people doing face/body painting - Daniel got a dolphin on his wrist, Emma had a ladybug on her arm and Rachel & Abigail both had a puppy painted on their arm. There was a pirate making balloon animals, too - Daniel got a parrot, Emma a butterfly, Abigail a puppy and Rachel a turtle bracelet. The stocks made good pictures as well.

The closest major city is Apalachicola FL. This is where we went grocery shopping (our choices were a small IGA store or an even smaller Piggly Wiggly). Apalachicola also has a few good restaurants; as well as more shops and boutiques. We celebrated Abigail's birthday with lunch at the Owl Cafe. That morning Michael and Andrew took Abigail & Rachel out on wave runners.

Darrell, Michael & Andrew were able to play a round of golf a couple of times during the week (the closest of which was about 25 minutes away). Andrew and Michael when surf fishing several times, but I think they only caught a few small fish they didn't think were big enough to keep; as well as a couple of crabs. There was a playground on the island and once Emma found it she wanted to go every day (good therapy for Daniel as well). She always decided that week that she likes ice cream (or ice crame as she says it) and she would ask for it morning, noon, and night.

We did our own little photo shoot with the kids on the beach. Here are a few of the pictures we took. You can find more pictures from this "shoot" and others from our vacation by clicking on our photo gallery on the sidebar.

All in all I think everyone had a good time. Although next year I think we're going back to Gulf Shores - much more to offer in the way of entertainment, eating and shopping.

About the title of this post, for a couple of months before we left we kept telling Emma that she wasn't going to have a passy at the beach. Any time you'd ask her about the beach, she'd say "No passy beach." We had planned to let her have one on the way down (for our own sanity) but once we got to the beach, we were going to try to not let her have it all week. Well, when we left on Saturday morning, we took her straight from her bed and into the car. She had no pacifier in her mouth and we didn't even make sure we had one with us in case of an emergency. She only asked for it a couple of times during the week, but she didn't push the issue. We just told her that she was a big girl and didn't need a passy any more. All seemed well until we got home. We didn't get home until after 11pm Saturday. As soon as Darrell put her in the bed, she said "passy?" Darrell had seen the pacifier on the floor but he was able to get it out of the room without her knowing it was there. Sunday morning, I went in to get her out of bed and she had a pacifier in her mouth (apparently she'd had two with her when she went to bed the night before we left and one had fallen out during the night, but one had stayed in the bed). I got her to leave it in the bed when she got up, then I put it away later. She's only had a pacifier during a nap one time this week. So, it looks like we've finally given up the passy. Our next goal is to try to have her potty trained before Mother's Morning Out starts back in September. I'll keep you posted.

Pool Pics & Emma's "blacelet"

2006-07-26T23:42:00.000-04:00

OK, so it's taken awhile to get these pictures, but, as promised, here are a few of the pool pictures from Emma's birthday...

I think Daniel & Rachel are making "water" angels. Emma on the other hand is just watching the reflections in the water.

Also, here's my favorite picture from Emma's birthday. Darrell is putting a bracelet on her that my parents gave to her - she now has her very own "blacelet" as she says it.

Happy Birthday Emma!!

2006-06-26T13:40:00.000-04:00

Today is Emma's 2nd birthday! Aunt Linda and cousins Abigail and Rachel came down from South Carolina to help celebrate this weekend. Mom, Linda and I took the kids to the pool for about an hour Saturday afternoon. (I forgot to take my camera in but my mom had hers so I'll attach some pictures later.)

When we asked Emma what she wanted to do for her birthday, she said she wanted to ride the Choo Choo. So, after everyone took a nap, we went to Stone Mountain to ride the Choo Choo Train and eat a picnic supper. Although it was very hot while riding the train, the red faces were from being at the pool during the hottest part of the day. About halfway around the mountain, they stop the train for you watch a short little show. Emma seemed to enjoy the ride & show, while Daniel could take it or leave it. In fact, he almost fell asleep during the ride.

Tom, Camille, Hayden and Sophie were coming down to help Camille's parents get their house packed up and ready to move to Nashville this week. Before going to Lithia Springs, they came to mom's house help us celebrate Emma's birthday with cupcakes, ice cream and presents. I think everyone had a good time (although we didn't get to spend much time with the TN crew, maybe next time).

On Sunday, we had a great lunch at Grammy & Papa's house. Everyone took an afternoon nap (except Abigail). We ended the evening with pizza at Everybody's in Decatur (yum!), then back to Grammy and Papa's for watermelon.

Blissful Summer!?

2006-06-21T14:17:00.000-04:00

So, yesterday the kids and I went to the grocery store. I was quickly reminded of why I try not to take both kids to the store by myself. First, Emma always pitches a fit if I don't get a cart with a car on the front for her to ride in. As they were getting in, I told them that if they didn't behave they would have to ride in the seat of the cart instead of the car. Of course, all through the store I continually have to tell them to sit down, stay inside, stop fighting, etc. Did I put them in the seats? Of course not - I didn't really want to listen to the crying. At the checkout, I made the comment that this is why moms don't like summer. The lady behind me chuckled a little and then reminded me that they grow up too fast so enjoy them being little while you can. I know she's right, but sometimes it's hard to think that far ahead.

Later, I took Daniel to the pool for his weekly therapy session and all was going well until . . . the Boys/Girls Club group walked into the pool area with about 40 kids. The noise and number of occupants in the room more than tripled in a matter of 2 minutes. Daniel doesn't like loud noises so he immediately shut down (covered his ears, clung to the therapist, and kept looking around for me). After a couple of minutes, the therapist was able to calm him down enough to be able to finish their session.

When we got home I thought the kids would take a great afternoon nap because neither had had one yet and they were both so tired. I let them play for a few minutes and listened as they went upstairs and into Daniel's room to play. It got so quiet that I thought they had fallen asleep. So, I went upstairs to check on them. Instead of finding a Kodak moment, I found the Crayola kids. Somehow they had gotten into some markers that were on top of the chest of drawers and had proceeded to write on whatever they could find - the walls, door, floor, sheets, their clothes and their bodies! Fortunately they are washable markers so I was able to get most of it off of the walls, door and floor. However, washable doesn't mean that it washes off of them. Today (after two baths) they still have some marks to show for their work.

It's going to be a long, hot summer!!

Emma's 1st Haircut

2006-06-15T23:40:00.000-04:00

My parents get a haircut every 4 weeks or so. The kids and I usually take my dad to the salon and my mom meets us there. Daniel actually sat still for his haircut tonight for a change. Emma's hair was getting so long that it was beginning to pull some of the curl out and her bangs were always in her eyes. So tonight we had Kiki give Emma her first haircut - including a shampoo. This picture shows a classic "Sophie face".

And here's the final product. . .

As you can see, she loves her new look ;o) (isn't this the typical look of a woman when she first gets her haircut?)

Memorial Day 2006

2006-05-31T23:00:00.000-04:00

My brother & his family came for a visit over the long weekend. I tried to get some pictures of the girls together to see if Emma still looks like Sophie. I don't think she looks as much like her as she used to (maybe it's the curls); although she does still have some "Sophie faces." We didn't have much time to spend with them so we had to take advantage of whatever photo ops we could get.

On Saturday, we decided to take a picnic lunch to Stone Mountain and then we went on a ride there called Ride the Ducks. This is pretty much how Emma looked throughout the ride. Daniel liked it alright except that the Captain had the sound turned up pretty loud and he doesn't like loud noises at all. Once out in the water, Hayden & Sophie both took a turn steering the boat but neither Daniel nor Emma would budge from their seats.

Diva Emma

2006-05-30T14:46:00.000-04:00

Hollywood here I come!!

School's Out!!

2006-05-24T23:19:00.000-04:00

So, today was the last day of school. Daniel will really miss going to school every day. We've had several people tell us how much of a change they've seen in him. One area he's really done well with is his speech - he has new words all the time. One thing I want to work on with him this summer is his fine motor skills. Next Fall he'll have the same teacher; although the parapro will be a different person (we'll miss Ms. Phyllis).

Yesterday, Emma and I joined Daniel's class for a picnic on the playground (along with a few other parents). We had a great time meeting and playing with Daniel's school friends. Emma was so excited to be able to play on the playground that she didn't eat much lunch. It was soooo hot outside, but it didn't seem to bother the kids. Emma loved blowing bubbles and climbing on the playset. After playing for a while, we went inside, had a snack and watched a video from Field Day. It was fun to be able to see how he acts at school when mom & dad aren't around (although it wasn't any different).

birthdays and graduations

2006-05-22T10:07:00.000-04:00

What a party weekend we had - four different parties in two days (one birthday and one graduation party each day). We helped Mason celebrate his 3rd birthday with a day at the Yellow River Game Ranch. As you can see in this picture, Daniel wasn't too crazy about being so close to the baby goats (even though these were on the other side of the fence).

We also helped Kayley (2) and Ally (1) celebrate their birthdays - we also had to tell them goodbye because they are moving to Maryland this week. Daniel & Emma both had a ball at this party - mainly because it was at "their" park.

We have several friends who are graduating from high school this week and we enjoyed sharing in their celebrations this weekend as well. We celebrated with Jimmy and Brandon at Jimmy's house and with Noah and Jason at Noah's house.

Thank you for including us in your parties this weekend! We are so blessed to have you as our friends! We wish each of you God's best!

Church Picture

2006-05-04T00:05:00.000-04:00

Here's our picture from the church directory, plus one of just the kids. I wish we had the option of just having the kids' picture published in the directory.

School Pictures - Spring 2006

2006-05-03T16:42:00.000-04:00

Here are the Spring school pictures of the kids. Emma looks like she's either trying not to smile, or is mad at the photographer. What would a picture of Daniel be if he wasn't doing something with his hands?

Papa's Gift

2006-04-19T11:35:00.000-04:00

My dad decided he wants a dog. So we (me & the kids) took him last Saturday to a kennel he found on the internet. Here is his new dog, Hershey. It's an early birthday present to himself. Hershey is an 18 month old male dachshund. He's not exactly house-broken yet, but is supposed to be crate trained. The kids aren't quite sure if they like him or not. They usually won't get close enough to pet him - although they're getting more courageous each time we go for a visit. This is the best kind of pet to have - one you don't have to feed or clean up after, doesn't leave "presents" all over your house, and someone else takes care of it.

Grammy has the best toys!!

2006-04-02T23:42:00.000-04:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

2006-03-17T16:41:00.000-05:00

Today is one of my favorite holidays. Part of the reason I like it so much is because there are Irish roots in my family. I guess it's also because we lived in Dublin OH for awhile and it was a big deal there. Do you know the story of St Patrick? The short version is that Patrick is the one who brought Christianity to Ireland. He was thought to have died on March 17th sometime between 463AD and 493AD. I made sure we all wore green today so we wouldn't get pinched (I know the kids don't understand that now, but they may thank me for it one day).

Daniel received his progress report today - can you believe there are only 9 weeks of school left this year?! Time sure does fly! We're hoping to make a few trips sometime over the next few months to visit family and friends. Let us know what your schedules look like and maybe we can work out a visit.

Once again just wanted to wish everyone a Happy St Patrick's Day!

Did you say beach?!?

2006-03-01T23:56:00.000-05:00

Although we are not going to the beach for several more months (and have not even been talking about it), I guess Daniel had it on his mind when he dressed himself the other day... After I had given him his bath, I thought he had gone downstairs to have Daddy get him dressed. Instead, Daniel got clothes out of his room and dressed himself - swim trunks (just in case he had the opportunity to go swimming, or at least build a sandcastle), beach shirt (to protect him from the hot sun and, yes, it's on backwards) and long sleeves (you know, in case the weather turned cold while outside). Well, you can't blame a kid for trying - he did do it himself. Oh, did I forget to mention, no big boy pants or pull-up. Afterall, why would you need that if you were going to the beach? Don't swim trunks have their own built in anyway??

Today was better...

2006-02-13T23:10:00.000-05:00

My wonderful husband sent me some flowers today for Valentine's Day. Isn't he sweet?!

When the bus showed up this morning, I had to physically carry Daniel on again. However, once on the bus, he went directly to his seat and climbed in. Then he waved to Emma and me through the window - smiling and without tears.

Now I have two other problems to deal with - Daniel came home from school early on Friday because he had a fever and wasn't acting like himself. Friday night/Saturday morning his temp was 103/104. As long as I kept Tylenol and/or Motrin in him on Saturday the fever stayed down. I kept him home from church Sunday morning and he seemed fine (no fever all day). This afternoon I picked him up after school and his fever has come back tonight (102). In addition to the fever he pulls his legs up and cries - just like he used to do when his bladder infection would rear its ugly head. That's problem #1. I'm taking him to the pediatrician tomorrow morning to see what I can find out.

Now, problem #2 -- Emma...she's been fine until last night. She went to bed around 9:00pm and woke up crying about 10:30pm. I took her downstairs with me and she laid with me on the sofa until I went to bed about 11:30pm. She was still awake but went back to bed without complaining...and slept through the rest of the night. Today, she's been fine all day...we played, read books, she took a good 2 1/2 hour nap...all seemed fine. Until she got up from her nap. For 2 hours (off and on) she would just start crying for no apparent reason. She didn't eat much dinner but afterward she seemed fine...she has no fever and went to bed about 9:00pm without complaining. At about 11:15pm she started crying. Whenever I start to go check on her she settles down; hopefully she'll sleep comfortably the rest of the night. My plan is to take her to school tomorrow and just ask the pediatrician about it while I'm there with Daniel (it's just too difficult still to deal with both of them at the doctor's office at the same time). If they want to see her I'll see if I can take her in later in the day. Hopefully they'll say everything's fine with Daniel and I can take him to school - I'd hate for him to miss school on Valentine's Day.

It's now 11:30pm and all is quiet. I think I'll take advantage of that and try to get some sleep myself. I hope you each have a great Valentine's Day!

Riding the Bus!!

2006-02-11T23:29:00.000-05:00

Daniel loves going to school...he is at the elementary school 5 days a week now (and not at the church at all for preschool). He rode the bus to school Friday for the very first time! Of course, it was the coldest day we've had all winter and the bus was late (we were standing outside for about 20 minutes instead of what should've been only 5 minutes). Also, he had a big bag of stuff to take with him to school (notice the big Target bag in the background). If I had been more efficient and forward thinking, I would have taken his bag to school the day before when I dropped him off.

He was so excited about riding the bus...until it actually pulled up to our driveway. He got scared when he heard the airbrakes and wouldn't get on the bus. I had to physically carry him onto the bus and put him in a seat (he cried the whole time). When we first walked onto the bus, one of the kids on the bus said "Hi, Daniel!" It was one of the boys from his class; I think that helped calm him down some. He didn't actually fight getting into the seat so I'm sure it's just that it was such a new and different experience for him and he knew that I wasn't going to be riding with him. I could only get a picture of him on the bus from inside because the windows are tinted and you couldn't see him from the outside. Hopefully he'll be excited again on Monday when the bus pulls up to take him to school, we'll see.

Is she cute or what!!?!!

2006-01-30T23:32:00.000-05:00

Emma at Sticky Fingers Restaurant,
Myrtle Beach SC in Sept 2005
(obviously not right after she ate!)

This child loves to eat!!

2006-01-30T23:26:00.001-05:00

Daniel at Sticky Fingers Restaurant,

Myrtle Beach SC in Sept 2005

Getting much sleep these days?!

2006-01-30T00:30:00.000-05:00

OK, so I just gotta tell you what happened last night! My husband and I were trying to enjoy finally having a few quiet moments alone last night when our son decided he didn't want to go to bed so he cried, got out of bed and kept coming downstairs only to be sent back to bed. Eventually, we put the gate back up across his doorway so he at least would stay in his room. No good, he decided to climb over it and once again came downstairs. So, after sending him back to his room, he decided to stay in his room, but would stand at the gate, crying and calling to us to see if we would let him come out. After trying to ignore his crying for over an hour, we finally let him come downstairs and lay on the sofa to fall asleep. When my wonderful husband took him upstairs to put him back in his bed, he woke up and started all over again. We finally gave up and headed upstairs to go to bed ourselves. At the top of the stairs, we were greeted with Daniel standing (still fussing), leaning over his gate, butt naked - he had thrown both his pj's and pull-up out into the hallway. So, we got him re-dressed for bed and just let him sleep with us. Big mistake! He is a very restless sleeper so, needless to say, we didn't get much sleep last night.

Tonight, the crying started all over again. So, I let him come downstairs and fall asleep on the sofa again. When I brought him upstairs, and put him in bed, all was well. Hopefully this will last all night...we'll see. Sleep tight!!

Flat Rock Park, Columbus GA

2006-01-21T23:42:00.000-05:00

Check out the pix in the sidebar. These are ones that my cousin took for me one weekend while we were visiting back in August 2005. The park is close to their house and a great place for a photo shoot.

Here we go . . .

2006-01-16T23:22:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I'm finally going to try this blog stuff. I'll try to keep up to date but I'm not making any promises. You know how it goes when you have two small, very active children...