Fundraiser Time!!

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

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!!!

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?

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!!

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!

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!?!?!?

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!!

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!!!

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!

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

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!!

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?!

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!!

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!

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.