The Mingolla Kingdom

What's in a name?! :)

2011-12-26T19:24:00.000-05:00

Taylor and I have been working on this since November and we've managed to keep it a HUGE secret.

I love surprises!

She has wanted to add Mingolla to her last name since she was about 15. Everything boils down to timing and the time has come. Here is the letter she gave her Dad, Grandma and Papa this year for Christmas.

We are proud to introduce to you....Miss Taylor Rae Buck MINGOLLA!!!

Happy 20th Birthday Taylor Rae!

2011-12-14T13:52:00.003-05:00

Happy Birthday Sweet girl! we love and miss you and can't wait to see you!

Christmas 2011 Parade

2011-12-09T11:17:00.001-05:00

Photo slideshow customized with Smilebox

Izzy's Guitar concert!

2011-12-08T10:46:00.000-05:00

We finally got the guitar to GA! and Izzy wanted to do after school guitar lessons so we did that, too! Here is the result of those lessons. We'll see if she wants to do it some more....

Note: go to the bottom of the page first and turn off the radio player I have on.

First song......WIPE OUT!

Next up......THRILLER!

and then there was.....MISSION IMPOSSIBLE!

and then there was this.....do YOU know what the song is?

and lastly......CAROL OF THE BELLS! (This was her and Helen Marie's favorite of them all!)

Their instructor, Jonathan, said that they were actually his best class and that from going to nothing more than holding a guitar to this is a great achievement.

Tay sees her room for the first time!

2011-12-08T09:18:00.001-05:00

Taylor's home!!!!!!!!!

2011-11-22T22:58:00.000-05:00

Room makeover can now be revealed! Happy Birthday Taylor Rae!!!!

What I started with...blank slate!

What she came home to......

TA-DA!!!!

This shot is the same angle as the one at the very beginning of this post showing you what I started with.

I took Steve's drafting table and made a vanity / work space for her here. The mirror was old and had some oxidation on it so to salvage it, I painted it black and put some polyurithane on it to make it shiny and then bought some wall decals in the form of a dandelion and put them over most of the problem areas on the mirror and then had them "blow" across the walls to the right and left of her mirror.

I made her a place to hang her earrings and play the role of "art" on her walls. I bought an old window ($10) and then put window screen on it with nail heads and hung it with green burlap ribbon from a crystal door knob. I bet this entire project cost me $15 tops. and it's so cute and functional. I need to make one for my

myself.

This is a close up of how the dandlions look on the wall. I love this color so much, it's like a buttery avocado!

We can't let her forget where she's from....

And THIS....believe it or not, was Izabella's changing table. I took off the top, sanded it down, painted it and put on some new knobs and vio-la! a brand new piece of furniture. This is where she'll put her TV and I'm going to get a piece of plexi to put on top of it to save it from scratches and I thought she could put pictures under it, too.

These are the 2 sayings that are hanging on the wall behind her bed....

And remember this? Because I did Tay's room, Izabella was jealous so we re-ARRANGED her room and now it's like a brand new room all over again...........

I love you Taylor Rae, you've been a blessing in my life and contiune to amaze me every day!

Love, Susan

NOW........................... when will Mommy and Daddy get a makeover?!

2011-11-07T11:57:00.002-05:00

Sneak Peek.....

Taylor wanted a sign on her door like the one Izabella got when I redid her room, so here you go!

All the hard work is done, now it's decorating time...the FUN stuff! I love this green! 16 more days until she comes home and gets to see it! (hint...the sign has all the colors that are in the bedspread)

Another room makeover coming soon!!!

2011-10-27T16:47:00.001-04:00

AND I can't wait! Since Tay has moved in with us and will be here full time next Summer, it was time to make over her room, it's the only one in the house I've never touched. For 13 years, I think I was secretly waiting for this day to come and now it's here. I don't want to give away too much because it's going to be a total surprise and her birthday present that she'll get to "open" early. She and her roommate Emily are coming home for Thanksgiving, that's less than 25 days. I need to get busy! I will try to post a before and after picture when it's done. But for now, you'll just have to wait!

Dr. Dave in the news!!!

2011-10-20T10:01:00.000-04:00

Covenant unveils second surgical robot | Lubbock Online | Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

Happy 15th Anniversay Honey!

2011-10-12T08:00:00.000-04:00

Ooo.... you make me live
whatever this world can give to me
It's you, you're all I see
Ooo... you make me live now honey

Ooo... you make me live
You're the best friend
that I ever had
I've been with you such a long time
You're my sunshine
And I want you to know
That my feelings are true
I really love you
You're my best friend

Ooo... you make me live
I've been wandering round
But I still come back to you
In rain or shine
You've stood by me
I'm happy, happy at home
You're my best friend.

You're the first one
When things turn out bad
You know I'll never be lonely
You're my only one
And I love
The things that you do
You're my best friend

Ooo... you make me live.
I'm happy, happy at home
You're my best friend

You're my best friend

Ooo... you make me live
You, you're my best friend.

Forever and always. Here's to the next 15! I love you more!

-Susan

Hey there Stranger.....

2011-05-10T19:39:00.015-04:00

My goodness....how time flies by. School, girl scouts, work and life just keeps on truckin... Let's see it has been since Feb since my last post, what has happened since then.

Valentine's day...

Flowers for Izabella from Me and Steve

These are all the cards from all of us to each other.

These are miniature orange roses, they lasted for about 3 weeks, they were so pretty.We hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day and were able to spend time with the ones that they love.

Girl Scout cookies are in and we are IN business....

Daddy's birthday...

Izabella likes to help me make Grandma's homemade icing for Daddy's birthday cake. This year, she wanted to decorate it, so we made some of it blue and voila!

He's been trying to diet so we had to make this on one of his "cheating days"...but yummy as always!

Getting the yard ready for this year....I think this is the BEST it's ever looked! Steve did a GREAT job!

Sleep in the Deep - Girl Scout overnight at the TN Aquarium...

Mother's Day

Jump Rope for Heart!

2011-02-11T10:06:00.001-05:00

Thank you to everyone that helped with donations to Izabella's Jump Rope for Heart campaign. She earned $660 this year for this wonderful cause!

Busy..Busy..Busy...

2011-02-06T15:17:00.002-05:00

Wow, I can hardly believe January is over and now we're almost 1/2 way into February. So much going on. Izabella's Brownie troop is selling girl scout cookies and she ended up selling 127 boxes. YAY! The troop is going to sell at several booths over the next few weeks and well see how many more we can sell. It's been fun.

Now, the Jump Rope for Heart is going on and she's trying to get more donations for that and she can't wait, because last year, she earned the most money at her school and then she came down with Strep throat and couldn't jump rope on the day of the event. She was so upset. So, we're doing it again this year.

Her Brownie troop is always working on another patch and this one is for Community Service and they've chosen the local animal shelter to work on. They are in the process of gathering donations of shredded paper, blankets, towels, wet cat/dog food, pillow cases and then they will take a tour of the facilities and then they will work with the cats. They will get to play with them, groom them, read to them and they will get to see what it's like at the shelter.

Izabella also got her 2nd report card a few weeks ago and it was straight A's again. She's really excited that she will be able to sign up for the Spelling Bee next year. They can't do that until they are in the 4th grade but she's already working on it. :)

We'll see what the rest of the month brings us....

Time for some catch up....

2011-01-29T14:07:00.002-05:00

Both of our computers have been on the blink since end of December so I haven't been able to update in a while so I'm going to go in reverse to get caught up. First up....Christmas!

Then...you might have heard that we got a little snow that shut the whole city down for an entire week....but it was beautiful and fun anyway! Mr. Tim took Izabella and Christina sledding at the school. Reminded me of when I used to find a underpass near loop 289 and I'd climb up the side and slide down. good times! who doesn't love snow?

Then...when the sun finally came out....it was time to get outside and have some fun with the pups!

and NOW you are up to date! We love and miss you all and can't wait to see you soon!

The Tale of Two Geese

2010-12-20T09:19:00.002-05:00

A Christmas Story
by: Izabella Mingolla and Ted Archer

While exploring the North Pole, Jackie, Bella and Ted hear about 2 geese, 2 beautiful White Geese. They asked Mr. & Mrs. Santa about the geese and were told the story of the 2 geese. This is their story.

It seems the 2 geese were heading home in the winter and took a wrong turn in New York. (I hear it is easy to get lost in New York.) They flew for days and saw the lights for a huge workshop and decided to stop. Little did they know they had reached the North Pole and were about to call Santa's home their own.

They were tired from the long trip. (Long trips always make me tired.) They decided to make a home from the new and cold. (Rumor is that it is cold and snows always in the North Pole area, and we can confirm that rumor)

The geese made a shelter from snow and sticks and began to rest from their travels. It was at that point Santa noticed the latest residents of the North Pole and called Mrs. Claus to take a look. Neither of them had met their new guests yet. but were excited to see they had company. Mr. & Mrs. Claus loved the elves and reindeer, but were always excited to hear new stories, especially from geese since they fly nearly as much as Santa does and certainly have some stories to tell.

Mr. & Mrs. Claus stepped into the cold, although it didn't seem so cold to them as they LOVE cold weather. Santa introduced his wife and himself to the geese, who were pleased to make new friends. The geese explained they they must have missed a turn and thought this looked like a good place to rest, even if it was much colder than their old home. The geese described Florida to Santa & Mrs. Claus, that is where the geese lived last you know. They told Santa they should take a vacation there; they believe Mrs. Claus would love the beach as much as the snow.

After a couple of minutes, the geese noticed lots of eyes looking at them from the workshop door. It looked like most of the elves and reindeer were watching to see who was outside. They were as excited as Santa & Mrs. Claus to have company.

Santa & Mrs. Claus smile and invite the geese into the workshop. Of course, the geese accept the wonderful offer. Once they step inside the workshop, they were amazed. They have never met elves and reindeer before. They try to remember all the names as best they can. The geese are taken on the grand tour of the workshop. There is so much activity going on in the workshop that they again amazed. Then the chief elf in charge of production takes them to an observation deck, which shows off the production floor of the workshop in full force. There are more toys being made than the geese had ever seen. The toys could fill thousands of toy stores.

But, the geese didn't understand WHY all of these toys were being made. They kept looking at all this hard work and all these toys and just couldn't explain it. So, they walked over to Santa, and politely asked if he could explain why he was doing all of this work.

Santa, of course, was happy to explain Christmas and how he travels the world over one night each year to deliver presents to all the good little boys and girls. He also explained that the elves do all of the toy creation here year round so he can deliver them on the most special of nights, Christmas night.

As the geese listened to Santa, they had an idea. Perhaps, they could get home when Santa delivered presents. Surely Santa would not notice 2 extra packages if he has to take presents to all the good little boys and girls.

The geese headed to the production floor of the workshop. They watched the packages get filled with toys and realized that was their chance. They would sneak into packages marked for Florida and they would seen be home. They went over and located two large boxes to be delivered to Sam and Jill (a brother and sister near where they had lived.) They snuck into the packaging area, jumped into the boxes and covered themselves with wrapping paper so the elves would not notice them when the boxes were closed. The packages were sealed and were loaded on the sleigh.

Santa begun to prepare for his trip that night, as he does each year. He checked his list twice, made sure no packages were empty and each package contain the right gifts for just the right boy and girl. When Santa reached Sam and Jill's presents, he knew something wasn't as he expected. Santa opened the 2 large boxes and found the 2 lost geese.

Santa asked why they were in the boxes and they explained that they were cold and lost, and while everyone at the North Pole had been so friendly, they just wanted to go home. Santa smiled, put the geese on his lap, and said, "all you had to do was ask, and I would grant your Christmas wish."

The geese cried with excitement. Santa made a spot for them in the sleigh right beside him. Never had they flown so far, so fast, and never flapped their own wings. When Santa reached Florida, he gently picked up the geese, laid them down next to a small pond, smiled with a twinkle in his eye, and continued on his task. The geese were home, warm, and happy. And, Sam and Jill got the presents they were to receive from Santa .

The End.

Ted and Jackie: Thank you so much for teaching Izabella how to make homemake cookies and sifting the flour. She absolutely had a great time and I think we should contact a publisher about this story! We love you - The Mingolla's

I love my family.....

2010-11-26T16:23:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving 2010 - free slideshows

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T07:28:00.002-05:00

I am thankful for Steve, Izabella, Taylor, Soxy, Joey and Emily

and

mom, tom,

dad, laura,

david, melissa, josh, marin, lily,

bonnie, joe,

char, david, austin, cheradyn, camryn, apollo

joe

deanna, britt, kady, jilly

auntie ann

uncle rob

carrie, jason, jackson and ella.

and

health, happiness, love, good friends

and

CRAZY sales Thanksgiving night............... ;)

Lots of LOVE for Locks of LOVE!

2010-11-09T10:01:00.002-05:00

I am the mother of two beautiful girls, my oldest is 18 and my youngest is 8 years old. I think, as parents, we see teachable moment’s everyday, everywhere. We can either take advantage of that and make the most of it or ignore it entirely. It’s the decision to make the most of these moments that have helped create the beautiful spirits that they have become.

This weekend, my 8 year old taught ME something. She’s been trying to grow her hair out for some time now and we’ve been doing a pretty good job at that. But this weekend she decided she wanted to cut it off. As we were sitting there getting ready to cut off all this beautiful hair I asked the hairdresser if she thought her hair was long enough to donate. We went online and found 2 places, one was a 10 in requirement and yours was 8 inches. We took the tape out and started measuring. We had enough for both, but the important question became “was Momma ready to let all of that beautiful hair go?” That’s when it happened. My sweet angel looked at me and said “Momma, its just hair! It’ll grow back if I don’t like it this short and if they can give my hair to someone who doesn’t have any then they can have it!” And…she was right. It is just hair. Some of us look at it as part of our identity. Some of us look at it as a security blanket. But, for those people who don’t have any, for whatever reason, its precious! So…we did it! We put her hair in a ponytail and we cut off the 8 inches that it will take to help create a wig for someone who desperately needs it. We found out that it takes 6 of those ponytails to make just one wig. Just ONE! Incredible!! She’s inspired me to do the same thing, I have more than enough hair and the next time I go in I will be donating mine as well. I hope this donation helps in some small way and just know that a little girl with a VERY big heart hopes the same thing.

Izabella BEFORE....

Izabella AFTER....

2010-11-06T11:06:00.000-04:00

Couple of shout outs :)

2010-10-25T13:34:00.004-04:00

This is the first year that Izabella has come home with actual number grades on her report card. Not only was it straight A's but also perfect attendance, which is almost impossible these days. We are VERY proud of you Miss Izabella!

Not to leave Tay out, at mid terms she was getting 5 A's and 2 B's. Way to go! I know B's aren't the norm for you but I'm proud of you for conquering Biology and getting a B on your mid term. Hang in there honey...we couldn't be prouder of you!

Halloween is right around the corner, stay tuned for a full update with pictures! Can't wait!

First day as a College Freshman....

2010-08-25T16:06:00.006-04:00

As I type, I can still remember when Taylor was born and how much joy she has brought to all of our lives since that day *sniff sniff* but now she's all grown up, moved 12 hours away and got as far away from any parental supervision as she could, just to go to college. She got a full academic scholarship for 2 years to an all girls prep college. She LOVES it which makes me feel a little bit better considering how far away she is now. It's not the old 3 hour drive to visit anymore. I just keep telling myself that it's only 2 years and then we'll get her to Tech back in Lubbock to start Med school and then all will be right with the world. *sniff sniff*

I never went to college much less seen the inside of a dorm room, but I can tell you this would make me clausterphobic (sp?) But, I hear from everyone this is what they are supposed to look like. You'll see what I mean below.

She says that they are going to put the beds up on lifts soon so they will be able to put those little desks underneath the bed, like a bunk bed and that should give them both a LOT more space.

This is her suite mate Emily, whom she just loves. She's all the way from UTAH! They met last year when they went for a visit a couple of times to the college and hit it off so they requested each other to room with and that was that. They are in a Suite with a main living/dining area and all the bedrooms are off of the main room. 4 are doubles and 2 are singles. I would much rather be in a single, but I think that's more money in tuition. But, I am happy they like each other and they all are cute as hell.

This is the whole lot of them on Sunday before Brunch. How fun is that? They are all expected to dress appropriately and attend Brunch every Sunday together. I love that!

She's taking a total of 14 hours. Plus she's decided to play Softball, too. I talked to her this morning after her first practice at 6 am and she was beat and she has more practice this afternoon. I told her to look at the brightside, this will keep her from putting on those "freshman 15"

Frist day in the 3rd grade!

2010-08-03T09:40:00.000-04:00

Love these girls!!!

Busy, busy, busy!!!

2010-08-01T12:44:00.017-04:00

Oh the fun we've had this Summer....

First Grandpa Bill and Ms. Laura came for a visit...Grandpa Bill always does a scanvenger hunt when he comes. It's a lot of fun and Izabella loves it! This one took a good 15 minutes or so and she had us all running behind her trying to get pictures of the whole thing. Ms. Laura loved the dogs.......but who wouldn't, we've been very lucky with both our dogs...even though Joey has pretty much destroyed our carpet, taken a panel of corner siding off the house, destroyed 3 pine trees in the back yard, and started chewing on the bottom stair slat. We still love him and he's just about over it..but of course now that I say that.....I better go find some wood to knock on. Enjoy these pics..

Then Daddy and Izabella went to New York for a Mingolla family reunion. I wasn't able to go and that was the weekend that I redid Izabella's bedroom for her birthday. While Grandma and Papa were here we went to the GA Aquarium for their 46 th anniversary.

Next was a little get together for Izabella's 8th birthday party. The usual suspects came....Christina, Alex, Reagan, Aidan, Ms. Sandra, Ms. Kerry and of course the little people with fur that live with us, Soxy and Joey. We just did hot dogs and cake and ice cream, always a winner. She had gotten a Nintendo dsi from Grandma and Papa before they left so she got 2 games for it. Thanks ladies for making her birthday so much fun!

Then it was 4th of July. We spent a quiet night at home with the Downings. We got to do a little fireworks of our own...............and I do mean little. But still had a great time!

Next up.........it's been SO hot this Summer. We've been in the upper 90's since June with about 95% humidity mixed in with that. Makes it hard to breathe sometimes. After a good night in the driveway, Robert came home from work just dying from the heat so he decided to shave his head and to let James do it!! Not sure he realized how many cold ones he'd had before the clippers came out, but I think it turned out great and Robert loves it. More importantly.............his father loves it!!

Daddy took the girls with him to Huntsville, AL to do a show up there. There's a NASA Space Center there that he wanted to take them to. I didn't go with them and they told me all about it when they got home. They also had a Star Wars exhibit there, too.................BONUS!

And of course, there was some old sisterly wrastlin while Tay was in town! Oh if you could have heard the laughter! and then someone got hurt! always happens. Izabella fell off the foot stool and landed on the back of her head. If you look closely at the last picture of Steve and Tay you can see when it actually happened :)

Last night we had a camp out in the back yard for the last weekend before school starts on Monday. We had sliders, fries and fruit and I set up a build your own ice cream sundae station set up too! YUMMY!!!

The girls were up till 2 playing and swimming and then up at 6 and in the pool again before 7 this morning. The plan was to get them to sleep well tonight and get a good nights sleep before first day of school! Mission Accomplished!!

Well..........that's it in a nutshell, but I should add that in between all of this were lots of movies, more sleep overs, 2 weeks of YMCA camp and lots and lots of swimming! We tried to make the most of every moment we had!

Summer update coming SOON!!

2010-07-30T19:28:00.003-04:00

We start back to school on Monday! OMG! 3rd grade. This year Izabella has some old friends and new friends in her class. We'll see how much fun we can have this year!!! You'll get to see soon how much fun we've had ALL summer long!

Happy 8th Birthday my sweet Izabella!!!

2010-07-02T13:00:00.002-04:00

Today, Izabella turns 8 years old...........Which I can't believe!

Happy Birthday my sweet girl...you are the light of my life and the best thing that's ever happened to me.

Izabella and Daddy went to NY last week for a Mingolla Family reunion. I wasn't able to go, so I made a plan to do a makeover on Izabella's room for her birthday. She's had the exact same room since she was born and it was just time. She'd picked out this bed in a bag a few months ago and told me that she'd always wanted a mosquito net. So, I just took it from there and have been getting things ready for when they left. I started Thursday night and go done Monday night. There was much to do....holes to fill, sanding, taping, painting...blah blah blah. It was hard work but I loved every minute of it. My only feat was "what IF she didn't like it?" I decided that if she didn't like it, then I would move into it! I love it and think it turned out better than I could have ever imagined. It's a big girl room that she can grow with for a while. Grandma and Papa came through to visit for a couple days on their way back from NY so they got to see the room too! It was so good to see them both, as usual.

Below is the final result!

I took a video of her reaction but I can't get it to upload :( If I ever can, I will repost but SHE LOVED IT!!!! I've never been hugged so tightly! :)

and she promptly called all her friends to come over and see it :) makes my heart happy!

Izabella, I love you to the moon and back!

For Taylor Rae on Graduation Day!

2010-05-21T09:00:00.003-04:00

How to make A Beautiful Life....

Love yourself.

MAKE PEACE with who you are

and where you are

at this moment in time.

Listen to your heart.

If you can't hear what it's saying

in this noisy world,

MAKE TIME for yourself.

Enjoy your own company.

Let your mind wander among the stars.

Try.

Take chances.

MAKE MISTAKES.

Life can be messy

and confusing at times,

but it's also full of surprises.

The next rock in your path

might be a stepping stone.

Be happy.

When you don't have what you want,

want what you have.

MAKE DO.

That's a well-kept secret of contentment.

There aren't any shortcuts to tomorrow.

You have to MAKE YOUR OWN WAY.

To know where you're going

is only part of it.

You need to know where you've been, too.

And if you ever get lost, don't worry.

The people who love you will find you.

Count on it.

Life isn't days and years.

It's what you do with time

and with all the goodness and grace

that's inside you.

MAKE A BEAUTIFUL LIFE...

The kind of life you deserve.

With all our love on your graduation day!

Dad and Susan

We couldn't be prouder of you!

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-10T10:05:00.000-04:00

This is what I woke up to Sunday morning........so sweet!! and there's nothing else in the world that would have been better!

Happy Belated Easter!

2010-04-12T08:56:00.001-04:00

Can you get a feel for how much FUN this was?!

2010-03-25T17:25:00.006-04:00

$8.00

3 minutes!

OH mah GAWD!!!!!

turn head to the left side......sorry :(

P.S. somehow we lucked out and she got 15 minutes. There was no one else in line behind her so it was well worth it.

What is with this crazy weather?!

2010-03-13T10:47:00.003-05:00

This was one weekend...

This was the next...

Puppy love

2010-03-13T10:24:00.003-05:00

Once again, we got lucky with Joey. He and Soxy wear each other out and I think that's a good thing for both of them. In the 2 weeks that we've had him he's already been taught how to sit, stay and bark to let us know he wants to come inside. Now, we have to work on barking to let us know when he needs to go out. Soxy is doing her best to set a good example :)

Meet Joey!!

2010-03-01T09:46:00.003-05:00

Isn't he GREAT?? What is he you ask?

Well....the shelter said they got him and were told he was a Catahoula Leopard Dog? What the hell is that? Well we looked it up and he so doesn't look anything like that breed. We suspect some lab, maybe some boxer, maybe some dane......who knows? and WHO cares??

I mean....wook at that face? I guess since I told Steve to make the big "V" appointment last week because all my hopes of having more babies was all but lost..........but no one said we couldn't have more babies like THIS!!

He's just awesome. First day home he had to mark his new territory but no others problems since. I think he had some training prior to us. Soxy is having some alpha female issues right now, but when they are outside, they are so cute together. Just what Soxy needed and it looks like he's trying to please her. I think he knows it's her house and he's just invaded her space. He fits perfectly in my lap..........for NOW! I suspect that won't last long either. Anyway, going to the Dr. today to get all checked out. He's 4 months old and 17 pounds, wonder what were in for with this one? Soxy is 4 years old and about 50 pounds. She looks huge next to him when I used to think she was the little one! not anymore...........well for now. I think he's gonna be a big un!

Ti amo mi amore! Happy Valentine's Day...

2010-02-14T12:17:00.001-05:00

Finally some fun in the snow!!

2010-02-14T10:52:00.001-05:00

R.I.P. Goldy

2010-01-22T10:09:00.003-05:00

Last June, as a parting gift for coming to a birthday party, Izabella got a goldfish. She named her Goldy. She grew very quickly, I'm sure it had nothing to do with the overfeeding *wink wink*. Anyway, Izabella loved her and we loved her and all the neighborhood kiddos loved her. She was funny because she was always begging for more food and when you stuck the tip of your finger into her bowl she would suck on it as if it were food.

Well...last Saturday I had gotten up, as usual, and went to make my coffee. As always I surveyed all the animals while doing this. I usually give Soxy some lovin first cause she's the first one I see when I come downstairs. The only dog I know that has a couch to herself! A nice couch, too! I look into Emily's tank to see what she's up too, to see if she's still got any fish left swimming around with her. I glance at Fred, our betta-who's in a *fish* fishbowl on our dining room table, and then I move to Goldy's bowl to usually find her still scouring the bottom of the bowl for any left over food she may have missed. Well this particular morning I found everyone doing the usual EXCEPT Goldy. At first, I just thought I couldn't see her from the angle I was looking so I walked over to look right down into the bowl and there was NO Goldy. I looked on the counter, behind her bowl, etc. Then I looked down on the floor and there she was :(. I went to get a papertowel to pick her up with and when I did she was very dry and her fins were all stuck together. Then her eye moved to look at me and she was still breathing so I didn't know how long she'd been there. So, I put her back in her water...I didn't really know what else to do and if there was any way of saving her before Izabella woke up then I could avoid telling her that her goldfish died. So, that seemed to be working, she started swimming around and her fins began to look like normal and she was eating. Whew! Later that day, I decided to tell Izabella what happened just in case Goldy started to go downhill. I wanted to prepare her just in case. So, she got a kick out of the story because once Fred had jumped out of his bowl while her and I were eating dinner and he almost jumped onto Izabella's dinner plate. We both thought it was pretty funny. All seemed fine with Goldy until......

Sunday morning. I checked on her first thing and saw that she wasn't swimming around so much anymore. In fact, she was breathing much slower and something was happening to her eyes. She was completely vertical, it almost looked like she was standing on the rocks with her fins as feet. We watched her for the rest of the day. Steve and I decided it was time to let her go *swim with the fishes* so while Izabella had all her friends over I had all of them say goodbye to Goldy and we had a little fishy funeral. All drains lead to the ocean right? Izabella had been a little sad about it on Saturday but about 10 minutes after the funeral was over she told me she was ready to get a new one. She was glad she'd had Goldy but she was ready to move on.

So...tomorrow we'll be fish shopping. I want to get 2 this time, just seems like such a lonely existance when your a fish swimming all alone. We'll post a pic of the new additions once we've gotten them all settled in.

R.I.P. Goldy, you were a good fish!

Merry Christmas from The Mingolla Kingdom

2009-12-25T13:49:00.002-05:00

12 Days of Christmas...Mingolla style ;)

2009-12-25T00:00:00.000-05:00

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me,

a partridge in a pear tree.

On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me,

2 black eyes and

a partridge in a pear tree.

On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me,

3 rusty pennies,

2 black eyes and

a partridge in a pear tree.

On the forth day of Christmas my true love gave to me,

4 chocolate raisins,

3 rusty pennies,

2 black eyes and

a partridge in a pear tree.

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me,

5 cherry stuedels.......

4 chocolate raisins,

3 rusty pennies,

2 black eyes and

a partridge in a pear tree.

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me,

6 snowballs throwing,

5 cherry strudels.......

4 chocolate raisins,

3 rusty pennies,

2 black eyes and

a partridge in a pear tree.

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me,

7 belly sliders,

6 snowballs throwing,

5 cherry struedels.....

4 chocolate raisins,

3 rusty pennies,

2 black eyes and

a partridge in a pear tree.

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me,

8 shiney hineys,

7 belly sliders,

6 snowballs throwing,

5 cherry struedels.....

4 chocolate raisins,

3 rusty pennies,

2 black eyes and

a partridge in a pear tree.

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me,

9 Christmas cards,

8 shiney hineys,

7 belly sliders,

6 snowballs throwing,

5 cherry struedels.....

4 chocolate raisins,

3 rusty pennies,

2 black eyes and

a partridge in a pear tree.

On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me,

10 whoopie cushions,

9 Christmas cards,

8 shiney hineys,

7 belly sliders,

6 snowballs throwing,

5 cherry struedels.....

4 chocolate raisins,

3 rusty pennies,

2 black eyes and

a partridge in a pear tree.

On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me,

11 children skating,

10 woopie cushions,

9 Christmas cards,

8 shiney hineys,

7 belly sliders,

6 snowballs throwing,

5 cherry struedels.....

4 chocolate raisins,

3 rusty pennies,

2 black eyes and

a partridge in a pear tree.

On the twelvth day of Christmas my true love gave to me,

12 gooey kisses,

11 children skating,

10 woopie cushions,

8 shiney hineys,

7 belly sliders,

6 snowballs throwing,

5 cherry struedels.....

4 chocolate raisins,

3 rusty pennies,

2 black eyes and

a p-a-r-t-r-i-d-g-e in a pearrrrr treeeeeeeeeeeee-eeeeeeeee!!!!

Thank ya, thank ya very much!!!

** written by Steve, Susan and Izabella Mingolla**

Merry Christmas!!

'tis the season...

2009-12-20T10:52:00.003-05:00

This was this last week of school before Christmas break. Izabella's class had their party on Thursday and I wasn't able to go, but Steve was home and it's the first time he's gotten to go to her class this year. Izabella got Mrs. Hankinson a little nutcracker from the holiday shop at school, then we also found her a cute little fleece Christmas blanket. Izabella also wanted to get her new puppy some chew toys so we did. It looks like they had loads of fun.

A few weeks ago, all the kids were over playing. It was a nice day, for once, so they had been outside for a bit. I went to check on them and see what kind of trouble they were into and found them with Mr. Lovell. He's a wonderful man who lives across the street from Ms. Sandra. His wife passed away a few years ago and he keeps to himself for the most part, but he's such and interesting man. He loves to work in his garden and he's given us many of the flowers in our flower beds over the years. He took up making clay pots, etc a few years ago and he's gotten really good at it. At the last festival at the park, he got a a vendor tent and sold his work. I hear he donated all the proceeds to charity and doesn't keep a penny. That sounds just like him. :) Back to the girls...when I found them with Mr. Lovell, he's given all 4 of them a hunk on clay and they were each making something a little different. Alex made a cute little plate for her teacher's present. Reagan made herself a little plate with a curly little R right in the middle. Izabella and Christina both made cookie plates for Santa and his Reindeer. They are both very different and oh so cute. Mr. Lovell told them to come back a few weeks later and he's have them ready. Well, here's the final result, I think they turned out awesome and will definitely be in the family for a long time to come. So precious!

Decking the halls & Christmas parade FUN!

2009-12-12T09:35:00.001-05:00

We spent the Saturday after Thanksgiving decking the halls in the Mingolla Kingdom. I had 2 lovely helpers as you'll see. One of my favorite times of year!

The city also had their 5th Annual Christmas Parade and Izabella and I went. We met up with the Brown's. It was the first one I've been to and it was really a lot of fun. Thank goodness the weather held out and didn't rain on us. It was cold enough without that!

We are thankful!

2009-11-26T09:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

What Izabella is thankful for in the following order ;) :
food
home
trees
water
technology
friends
school
animals
moon
clothes
money
vehicles
family *whew...I was begining to feel left out ;)*
not blind
health
smart
U.S.A.
languages
strength
toys
carpet ??
ceiling ?? *I think she was trying to say her home or shelter?!*
color

I am thankful for my entire family, I wouldn't have made it through this last year without each of you. I am thankful for Izabella, she's my heart walking outside my body and I don't remember life without her. I am thankful for Taylor because of the woman she is becoming but GAWD help me is turning 18 soon.

I am thankful for Steve, my greatest love and biggest pain in my ass that I can't imagine living without. I am thankful for our health. I am thankful for our friends *freaks* and how much we've been able to help each other out over this last year, couldn't have done it without you! You're family now, like it or not! I am thankful to have a job when so many others do not. I am thankful for life! I am thankful for each day and I am thankful for driveway drinking :)...just saying!

Happy Thanksgiving! Here's to another turkey day, GOBBLE, GOBBLE!

The other 1/2 of the family...

2009-11-22T11:10:00.008-05:00

There's Soxy, of course...she's camera shy...

Then there's Goldie...she was a "goodie bag" gift from Alex & Max's first birthday...so cute, but we should have named her Miss Piggy. If you stick your finger in the water she will suck on your finger like it's food. She's almost 4 inches long... This is our newest edition, Miss Emily. She was a birthday present from the Brown's. She's a yellow belly slider. They went to Florida over the summer and brought this hatchling back for her. They can't be purchased in GA but you can own them. We had named her Emmitt before we found out she was a girl. She got a terrible eye infection right after we got her and we thought we'd lost it but one day I was feeding her and noticed that I could see her eyeball again. It had swollen shut and trippled in size basically so when I saw that I knew she was better, but it took a long time for it to heal and we were giving her eye drops twice a day for almost 2 months I think, maybe longer...

She is also a piggy. The Brown's also got one for themselves but they got a boy. It's still about 1.5 inches in lenght while Emily is about 3 almost 3.5 inches long. We got her some live goldfish the other day to see if she was ready to eat them. We gave her 5 of them, they were each about an inch long. She chased them all around it was so cool to watch. It took her about an hour to chase them all down and eat them. She's in a 10 gallon tank with about 4-5 inches of water with a heat lamp and a UV light on her. She eats shrimp, blood worms and turtle stix which have the nutrients that hatchlings need. The shrimp, blood worms and live gold fish are more treats right now. Eventually we should be able to have a deeper tank and just have the fish living in there with her and she'll self feed. so cool!

This is Fred #2. We had another beta for about 2 years and he had to go swim with Nemo in the ocean if you know what I mean :) So we got another one and Izabella wanted to name it Fred again so we did...why not? He's funny...one day Izabella and I were eating at the table and he just jumped right out of his bowl in front of Izabella's plate and we scrambled to get him back in, all while laughing so hard we had tears streaming down our faces. I just LOVE it when I hear Izabella laugh like that. So funny!

Halloween recap...

2009-11-16T09:00:00.002-05:00

I am a little behind but at least it's getting done. We had a WET Halloween here in the peach state, we thought we had gotten by without it but right as we're walking out the door it started raining. We waited for a bit and then me and the 2 dads (James & Tim) walked around with the kids while Sandra and Kerry hung back at our house, handed out candy and prepared dinner. We had mummy dogs and french fries. They were delicious! We didn't have many trick or treators at all so we were left with a kettle FULL of candy. We poured it out on the floor and divided it up between all 4 kiddos - my god, they'll have candy till they are 18! Then we sorted through all of it and made our usual trades. Reagan and Alex both have peanut allergies so they make trades to get rid of it all.

Remember, back in our day, when we had haunted houses that made you feel things with your hands, like eyeballs, brains and fingers?! Well we did what we could and made the brains and eyeballs. Silly me wanted to video that but was just too involed in grossing the girls out. We blind folded all of them and made them feel everything. Lots of giggles and screaming. I think we had the Nightmare before Christmas on at some point, but a good time was had by all....

p.s. the next day we found out that poor Reagan, Alex AND Aidan all had strep, RVP and signs of pneumonia. We were on lock down on the block for a week until everyone got better. Sheesh!

1st day of school....

2009-11-15T10:46:00.004-05:00

So, I finally gave in and this year Izabella will be riding the bus to school. BIG step for me...I know I'm being silly, but... The bus stop is at Ms. Jackie's house, the house directly behind us, so it's not too bad. Me & Ms. Sandra parked and watched the kids get on the bus the first day and then I did by myself for about a week. Now, we spend most mornings yelling for her to get there on time. She's got the weird thing with sock seams and if they aren't just right then it can literally take 20 minutes to get them on....ridicuulous! I don't remember being this difficult at her age :)

All the kids on our block are growing up way to fast!

Time for more catch up!

2009-11-07T10:17:00.005-05:00

So...now that I have my computer back I can upload new photos, etc. These are from our trip home to Lubbock in July. We had such a great time and it's always hard to leave. Enjoy!!

Busy.....Busy......

2009-10-23T10:13:00.004-04:00

We are SO busy this weekend! 2 birthday parties on Saturday and a Fall Festival at the school. Remember those? I remember being in elementary school at Stewart Elementary and fixing the whole school up as a giant haunted house. It was always so much fun. I loved that school, I hope Izabella loves her elementary as much!

FUN..FUN!!

P.S. First report cards for the year came out last Friday and Izabella got all O's and S's. That's O for Outstanding and S for Satisfactory. What happened to A's, B's & C's? Or maybe I like the O/S way of things?! can't decide. The note from her teacher on her report card said, and I quote, "Izabella is AWESOME!!". I promptly wrote back in the note field for parents, and I quote :), "She takes after her Mother!"

Cookies anyone??

2009-10-15T09:55:00.003-04:00

We had our annual Autumn Fest at the park 2 weekends ago (before everyone got sick!!) Izabella spent the WHOLE day there while I had our garage sale. I only got to go for about an hour while Steve and a neighbor gave me a -much needed- break. She got to help out the local Brownie troop sell brownies to raise $$. She didn't want to wear this at first but then she got into it. The leader told me she was great and helped sell ALL of the brownies they made. I know she's wearing a cookie, but I don't think they make brownie costumes and I'm not sure that would be a good idea anyway :) This is the Brownie troop that she would have been with had we signed her up after she was in the Daisy's. I have all kinds of pressure to do it now, which I think we will since she really seems to love it. + it's all the same girls from last year.

The day after this picture was taken she woke up with the 105 fever and ended up out of school the whole next week. I don't know about you but she doesn't look too bad here!? Go figure! She's always been the kind of kid that didn't show any symptoms which can be tough sometimes.

Flu.......ugh!!

2009-10-07T18:29:00.002-04:00

So, we've been hit with the flu bug in our house. We had a GREAT weekend until Izabella woke up Sunday with 105 fever!! Took her to the Dr. on Monday and sure enough, the flu got her. She's been out of school all week and her fever finally broke yesterday so it's back to school Thursday! YAY! she's excited about going back and seeing all of her friends. BTW-Christina and 2 others on the block got it also. The downfall of having lots of kids on the same block!

The fire ant and the EPI pen!

2009-09-30T11:16:00.002-04:00

Well, we had a little scare over the weekend. Friday night all the kids were out playing in the front yard. I had noticed Thursday that there seemed to be quite a few ants in the driveway/yard, etc. I've been told they were coming out of the wood work because of the 3 weeks of rain we've had. Anyway, I had gotten a couple of bites on the top of my foot Thursday night but didn't think much about it until Friday. I saw so many ants that I couldn't see the pavement. I got out the Amdro and started the killing spree. In the meantime, Izabella was doing some kind of "go away ant" dance at the same time. Can you guess what happened next? That's right, she got bit on the pinkie toe! She started screaming and went inside and I gave her a benedryl. About 15 minutes later she was real itchy and I took her in the bathroom to check everything out. By the time we got in the bathroom, she had turned a nice red color ALL over. Then I notice hives popping up EVERYWHERE on her body. When I say everywhere, imagine any skin of hers that you could see was now red, puffy and hive-y! On top of that, her eyes were swollen, lips were 3x the size and purple. Cheeks were blue. We jumped in the car and were off to urgent care. She had no complaints of not being able to breathe. It took about 10 mins to get to the urgent care, by which time I could see that everything I just described above was about 10x worse. I'm not exagerating either!

They took her back right away and gave her a shot of epinephrine to calm the reaction but the hives were just not going away. They watched her for about 10 minutes and then decided that she needed to have some fluids, so they gave her a saline drip to help flush out the poison. The poor thing, she took the shot with not 1 tear and then when I had to explain to her about the IV, she listened and looked scared but didn't cry one bit when they did that either. I was SO proud of her. She was very quite the whole time and just wanted to make sure she was doing everything that the Dr. told her the right way. We stayed for about 2 1/2 hours until it seems that everything was under control. She's been on a steroid for the last few days and now has to carry an EPI pen with her everywhere. I have one on me too. They told me that typically, if they are bitten again, the reaction can be worse than the original one. Which means, she could have breathing problems the next time it happens. WHEW! what a night. We've never been allergic to anything before this but now we know Izabella and red fire ants DO NOT mix! She went to school this week and quickly told everyone about her ordeal. I'm just glad nothing worse happened and we were able to get to urgent care so quickly and life is now back to normal. Well........as normal as it gets in The Mingolla Kingdom!

SOOOOOOOOOO bummed!

2009-09-04T10:23:00.002-04:00

So, my computer had died and I have someone working hard on it to recover all my photos. It must be at least 3000! O.M.G. If this happens again I will just die! I lost all of the first 2 years of Izabella's life in pictures on the other computer and now this! GEEZ! So, that's the reason for not posting lately. I've got no computer to work on at home so that's been the reason for not posting in so long. We are working on it I promise.

So far though, Izabella is LOVING 2nd grade. Just got our first progress report for the year and she's doing GREAT in all of her classes. She loves her teacher and is quickly making lots of new friends. She's growing up more and more every day and it makes my heart smile to watch, but it's bitter sweet because she'll always be my "baby!" Boy do I love that girl, it's like watching my heart walk around outside my body. I tell her that sometimes and she looks at me funny but I always follow up with "you'll know what I mean one day!"

Taylor started her Sr. year and is having a blast so far. She dropped some of her more challenging classes, as she didn't really need to take them anyway, and now she says school is easy! Almost too easy she says! She's got soccer and band keeping her busy these days so that just means less time to come visit, but we're hoping she can come in Oct while she's got her first week long break from school. Fingers crossed! Another girl I would just die for. Love my girls!!

Shame on Momma!!

2009-07-29T15:34:00.003-04:00

This summer has gone by so fast and we've been so busy, I haven't had time to post like I usually do. This week is no different, we just got back from vacation in TX and school starts next Monday 8/3/09, I can NOT believe that. I've got school supply shopping to do yet. I will not be able to post anything this weekend because of my schedule, but I promise to get caught up in the next couple of weeks. Lots to update!!

Love and miss you all!!

My baby comes home tomorrow!! ;)

2009-06-16T19:47:00.002-04:00

Ms. Sandra offered to take the girls to the lake with her this week, so the poor thing has got Izabella, Reagan, Christina and Robert with her in Murphy, NC at the lake house. While it's been hard on me to be away from Izabella, I wouldn't let anyone else have her this long but Sandra. She was Izabella's "daytime Mommy" for 3 1/2 years so why not let her take her with. Izabella has gotten to swim in a lake for the very first time and her first question after Robert threw her in the lake was, "there's no sharks in here is there?" Just like her Momma! I used to go to the lake too and waterskied and everything, but I would probably never get back in one. I have a weird phobia about not being able to see the bottom or my feet. I know I'm weird, but still!

I've only called twice, not too bad. But, I miss her terribly. I never realized how much noise one little human can make! :) They will be home tomorrow and then Taylor will come for her only week with us this summer :( Another bummer. Taylor got a job life-guarding this summer and she's loving it, but the downside is that she only gets one week off. But, we'll try to make the most of it. Steve will be home for most of next week, so I see Six Flags and White Water in their near future. Also-we made Izabella's birthday party plans this week, more to come on that.....XOXO Izabella, I can't wait to see you!

Good times...

2009-06-04T15:55:00.003-04:00

After a day in our pool this is where I found the girls when I got home from work. I have a feeling we're going to be seeing a lot of this over the summer!

No more classrooms, no more books, no more teachers dirty looks...

2009-05-31T12:00:00.011-04:00

School's out for Summer!!

Izabella's end of the year party was an ice cream sunday party! You know that was a hit. What a great year she had this year. She just LOVES Mrs. Williams and will be sad not to have her next year. What a great teacher! We've been very lucky so far throughout Izabella's education experience to have been surrounded by such nurturing teachers. We can't wait to see what's in store for us in the 2nd grade!

Izabella's project for the 1st grade program was to make a snake sock puppet. She could do whatever she wanted. So, she started with a green sock (brilliant!). Then she added googly eyes, (courtesy of Ms. Sandra!), then added a red button nose, (cause that's what snakes have, afterall.) Then Daddy added the tounge and we added the final colorful finishing touches and...

Vio-la! You have Viper! What a sweet girlie name :)

Very proud of herself!! As she should be! You may want to turn off the music at the bottom of the blog to hear this one....and the one below....ENJOY!

By the way, that's Chloe Izabella is fighting with on stage. They were in girl scouts together and I kept waiting for one of them to push the other one off the stage. UGH-girls!!

Part of the 1st grade program. Everyone got to play something, I think they did rather well!

Christina & Reagan

It's so hard for me to believe she's going into 2nd grade next year! Where does the time go?? Also, on her practice GCRTC tests, she exceeded in all areas and is going to continue the AIM program next year. We are very proud of her. Summer is here now and it's time to have some FUN!!

I am one lucky Momma!!

2009-05-23T19:29:00.003-04:00

This morning when I came downstairs, I met Izabella at the bottom with a lovely breakfast try for me. On this morning's menu...glass of milk, mixed berry yogurt and a slice of whole wheat toasted with apple butter! YUMM--O!!

I saw no sign of anyone even being in the kitchen so not even a speck to clean up after her....not bad for a...........so close to 7 years old you can taste it!

I love you so much, my sweet sweet Izabella!!!

Will post this weekend....

2009-05-21T19:52:00.001-04:00

So many changes this week, I will post over the weekend but...................

School is out next Friday, yeah!! I know Tay and Izabella are both excited about that. Don't know Tay's summer plans so far, but am hoping it is spent in GA with us!

check back soon!

Just another beautiful day in the neighborhood...

2009-05-14T07:11:00.009-04:00

Can you believe they are still driving around in this thing!? She's had it since she was 3 years old. I finally changed the batteries in the radio so I'm sure you can see Ms. Christina singing along to something :) This is just a typical Saturday afternoon spent outside, everything blooming, kids playing, the only thing better would be a hammock for momma to nap in outside!

What a better way to end a beautiful Saturday afternoon? This is my favorite time of year...

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-09T15:24:00.009-04:00

To all my loved family and friends...I wanted to share a couple of things with you on the Mother's Day, I hope you enjoy!

Before I was a Mom,
I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child
so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because
I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small
could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom,
I didn't know the feeling of
having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel
to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond
between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small
could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night
every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth,
the joy, the love, the heartache,
the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,

Before I was a Mom .

This is a poem that has been "passed down" in our family and I've shared it with many others over the years and it's always worth reading again...

What Matters.....

My parents say they do not care
about the color of my hair,
Nor if my eyes are blue or brown,
Nor if my nose turns up or down.
It doesn't really matter.

And, my parents say they do not care
If I am dark or if I am fair,
Or if I am thin, or if I am fat.
They do not fret over things like that.
It doesn't really matter.

But, if I cheat or tell a lie,
Or say mean things to make folks cry,
Or if I am rude or impolite,
Then that does really matter.

It isn't looks that make one great,
But character that seals your fate.
It's what's within your heart, you see,
that makes or mars your destiny.

And.......that does really matter!

I wish you all a beautiful Mother's Day! I love, respect, admire and appreciate each and every one of you. And now for a scroll down Motherhood lane...

I love this dog....

2009-05-07T18:40:00.001-04:00

I mean who doesn't love this beautiful smiling face??

All during one lazy weekend....thank goodness Spring is here!

2009-05-03T11:07:00.006-04:00

Last weekend, Izabella wanted to wash my car since it was such a beautiful day outside. She asked Christina if she wanted to come help and it was a YES! We spent all all last weekend outside because of the weather. See for yourself how much fun we had...

Not a bad job, huh?

As the kids were washing the car, I spent some time in the yard, trying to clean up the beds a little bit and then I noticed all the iris' blooming and thought I would take a few pictures of how they are coming in this year. A couple of the smaller trees are the ones we planted or transplanted from last year.

The iris' came from a neighbor of ours that thought they'd look great on our fence! I have to agree that they filled in nicely!

And then it was time to rest and to "catch" a tan as Izabella would put it. Look at the difference in size between the girls. Christina is 7 months older than Izabella, but she's all muscle, not an ounce of fat on that girl. God love her!

More to come....

What I woke up to this morning...

2009-05-02T10:31:00.003-04:00

I knew Izabella had gotten up before me this morning because I heard her shut the door on her way out. I don't know what time it was but I suspect it was about 7-7:30 ish. The next thing I know I wake up and glance at the clock that said 9:54 (thank you GOD!!) I was laying there trying to wake up and the next thing I hear is our smoke detector going off and I can smell muffins...remember Steve is not home, he's actually on a cruise in Quatamala right now! Then I hear the feet coming up the stairs faster and heavier than I have ever heard them. Poor Izabella is running toward me with her fingers in her ears and tears streaming down her face. She was making breakfast for us all by herself. I knew that sound and immediately went downstairs, turned off the oven, got the stick and reset the alarms. We got these new silicone muffin pans and every time we use them the damn alarm goes off. Anyway, MY baby had done EVERYTHING by herself!! She got the mixing bowl, the measuring cup, the muffin mix, the milk, the muffin pans, the non stick spray, she preheated the oven. Mixed it all up and filled the little muffin cups up, put them in the oven AND set the timer. She was so upset when the alarm went off because she thought she was in trouble and she had ruined the surprise. I assured her that was NOT the case and that I was soooooo proud of her for doing everything by herself. She didn't load the dishwasher but she did soak the mixing bowl and utensils ;) Her daddy would be so proud.

By the way, he is on a Holland America cruise right now to Quatamala. He got a call late Monday night and was gone Tuesday morning before Izabella went to school. They changed the cruise up to only sail at sea with no ports because of this swine flu, he'll end up in San Diego and come home on Tuesday. We aren't able to talk except he's gotten on line a couple times, but we keep missing each other.

Lots going on right now, with the end of the school year. I think there's only 19 days of school left so we'll have lots to post so we'll see you then.

Prom update

2009-04-28T08:24:00.003-04:00

I had to steal these off of Hannah's facebook :( but at least I have these!

Tay and Hannah getting ready

Hannah, Sarah, Taylor...........................Sarah, Taylor, Hannah

And here's the whole group! They look BEAUTY-ful and I'm sure they all had a great time! I hear there was lots of dancing!

GOOD Times!!

They grow up way too fast don't they??

Hannah's makeover

2009-04-20T11:37:00.004-04:00

So, this is Hannah (no, not Hannah Montana! Izabella wanted me to make that clear!) Izabella will give anyone and everyone a make over and Hannah was her next victim, I mean client. :)

This is the "pretty" makeover...

And this is the scary makeover...

We enjoyed having Hannah visit and hope that Taylor brings her back with her sometime, she's a very good sport!

Neighborhood riff raff.....

2009-04-17T11:08:00.004-04:00

So, most weekends (when the weather cooperates!) we hang outside with a bunch of freaks while the kids play...between the 4 houses there are 11 kids, from 11 months to 15 years. 10 girls and one poor boy, I guess I should call him young man now. He is great with all the younger kids, one of them is his sister :) It's unusual for Steve to be home on a weekend but last week was Izabella's spring break so he was home and got to play too! Anyway, it's rare that we have a camera out but we did this one weekend, there are a few people missing cause they don't like their picture taken so we left them out...(and my double chin is the reason I'm not in more of them!)

Always good company and good conversation.........lots of laughing!!

This is Karen and Matt, she's trying to eat Soxy's treats! I told you they were a bunch of freaks! She's got 3 girls. Carolyn, Margaret and Alice.

Then Sandra, who most of you know anyway.

She belongs to Christina and Robert!

who's the creep with the crazy eyes?

Momma's sweet angel...

2009-04-13T18:29:00.002-04:00

after a little dress up / make over fun!

Happy Easter......

2009-04-12T10:08:00.005-04:00

Time to color the Easter Eggs....always a good time!

We had our 6th annual Easter Egg hunt put on by the city at the park in our subdivision. It's so convenient that we can just walk from our house. It turned out to be a beautiful day (except for the pollen - aaachooo!) But despite that, we had a great time and tried to spend as much time outside as possible. Here are a few pictures....and the video shows how much fun was had by ALL. I always forget my ear plugs....

Izabella's class had an Easter party on Friday before Spring Break started. It's rare that Steve is in town for any of her parties but he was for this one and so we both went. They got to decorate Easter egg cookies. From the pictures below you might wonder how so many people would fit into one class room. This is the most parents I've ever seen show up at any of them. It was fun and then Izabella got to come home early and start her week vacation...

Crafting...

2009-04-09T15:09:00.004-04:00

So, a few weeks back Izabella and I put together a little "mirror" drape for this little window in our kitchen that we never did anything with when we moved in. It's in the kitchen and looks out into our back yard so it doesn't really need covering. I saw these in a friends house and when I asked her where she got them she told me she made them and how (thanks Holly!). They were so easy and quick and Izabella even got to help me. She was in charge of the hot glue gun. They look really cool at night when it's dark out and the light over the sink it on, they almost twinkle :)

Art class...

2009-04-06T19:00:00.004-04:00

One weekend Izabella and I sat down for a little Art class. Only Izabella was the teacher and Momma was the student. What fun! You may not be able to see it right away but this is a picture of me as seen by Izabella. It probably took us 1 1/2 hours to finish this, she would draw something then I would have to draw the same thing. It now resides on our refridgerator. I hope you like it as much as I do.

Izabella's is on the left and mine is on the right. If you double click on the picture it will enlarge. It's a keeper :)

Fancy Nancy :)

2009-04-06T18:54:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago, Izabella got to go to school dressed up as her favorite book character. At the time that was FANCY Nancy! (thank goodness because we were also reading the Captain Underpants series, I was worried for a minute ;) For those of you that don't know about her, it's the cutest book ever and if you have a little girl they are just the greatest. Here's the end result...

Junior Prom...

2009-03-27T14:48:00.005-04:00

So, this week while Taylor was here we did some prom dress shopping...2 days worth :) What fun, it totally reminded me of when I was looking for a wedding dress. So many to choose from and they all eventually start looking alike. She tried on long dresses, short dresses, strapless dresses, 1 stap dresses, 2 strap dresses, you name it. From poofy to mermaid, they all looked fabulous on her but there can only be one winner....

And the winner is......(drumroll please....)

Dosen't she look beautiful...I can't wait to see her with hair, makeup and jewelry!

They didn't have her size at the store so I had to find it somewhere else and it's being shipped directly to her house. The best way that I can describe this dress is that the material reminds me of a very expensive drapery fabric. You can see that at the bust it is a row of pleats and the bottom is like one of those bubble or balloon dresses. The base is ivory and then the other color is gold/champagne running through it with a silk sash around the waist with a little bling attached. She's planning on getting come chandelier earrings and some stappy cute shoes and a bracelet with an updo. She's going with a friend that asked her. Her prom is April 25th, so I'll post more pictures of the actual evening, that is if I get them from her (hint, hint...Tay if you are reading this!!)

Taylor and Hannah left today for home, something about a soccer game that she just found out about yesterday? Anyway, we had a good visit as always and she went to lunch with Izabella the last 2 days. Izabella told everyone at school that her sister was coming for lunch and bringing her friend Hannah, but and I quote, "it's not Hannah Montana!" so funny :) Hopefully, we'll get to see them both soon, I think Taylor is going to try to come for Easter. Izabella's Spring break starts after next week so I think she's come in town on the tail end of that. So that's all for now, check back soon, I'll be posting more soon....

Love and miss you all!

Detention....in the 1st grade??

2009-03-25T09:34:00.002-04:00

So, this is what happened...

Last Wednesday, I got a call from the school nurse right about the time she's regularly be picked up after school (2:15-ish) She told me that I needed to come in to get Izabella today because she was inside with her. I asked her if she was ok, yes, then I asked what happened.. "she's been bitten by another student"...ok, I get off the phone, call Steve who goes to pick her up and then I wait until I get home to find out what happened...

The story I got when I got home was that her and this boy (Hunter) we fighting over a place to stand and wait for parents and it escalated until the boy bit her...simple right? NOT so much. Izabella then tells me that she pinched him and then he bit her, so basically, this is now become her fault. We talked to her about keeping her hands to herself and that if something is bothering her that she should always tell a teacher instead of resorting to anything else.

Then, when I get home on Thursday there's a WRITE UP on the kitchen counter that explains the incident in much greater detail than I got from my trusty 6 1/2 year old! Apparently, when they line up for car riders they have to stay put until their name is called. I guess after Izabella sat down, she saw a friend of hers and decided to move to sit by her. Instead of asking Hunter if they could switch places, Izabella just butt in line and sat down. Hunter then started the whole "you are butting in line..." They stared kicking and pushing each other, then Izabella started pinching him and the only way he could get her to stop pinching her was to bite her. And, let me tell you, he didn't break the skin, but her bit her hard. She was already bruised by the time I saw her the day it happened. And you know how it gets worse before it gets better? well, it's u-g-l-y! So, back to the write up...It said that because of this both students had to report to after school detention for the rest of the week. I am so upset with her for starting this fight! We told her to put the shoe on the other foot and tell us what she would do if she'd been Hunter, etc. We also told her that she was in more trouble for starting the fight than just being a party to it...It ALL would've been avoided if she had just asked him if they could switch places instead of just bullying her way into line!

So...she had detention Thurs-Friday, which really wasn't much punishment at all, at least not enough for me! So, she was also grounded from TV, Computer, etc from Thurs-Sunday. Boy, what fun that was for me!! Everything is my fault (naturally, right!). I feel like I was the one grounded, having to listen to all her reasons why it wasn't FAIR!! that she was being punished at home when she'd already been punished at school..blah, blah, blah...this is where I completely tuned her out. She would have had more punishment if Daddy's birthday wasn't last Sunday and Taylor is here all week...

So, anyway that's what happened and I'm starting to get a glimpse of what's to come, I'm trying really hard to make appropriate adjustments to her behavior but com'on she's almost 7 for god's sake! I've got to remember that I am parent and not friend, just yet! I'm really not concerned about her being mad at me (although, that is SO much easier said, than done!! it hurts :( for sure!)

We'll have plenty of time to be friends later...

A new post is coming soon...

2009-03-24T09:30:00.002-04:00

We've been very busy and Taylor is here for her spring break. We've had lots of fun so far and have been prom dress shopping (I think we have found THE dress! pic to post soon!) and we're off for another day of window shopping...

Taylor brought a friend with her and this time it's Hannah...poor Steve is now surrounded by 4 chicks, although he grew up with 3 so what's one more, huh? His birthday was on Sunday. He requested baked ziti with meatballs, which I was happy to make and as always his chocolate cake with white icing...yummy! I doubled the recipe and they've been dipping strawberries in it and then just plain old eating it with a spoon...good stuff...

So, I'm just waiting for these sleepy heads to wake up so we can get moving! Izabella is going great but has been in some trouble recently, more on that later...

Have a good week everyone!!

A new look...

2009-02-27T18:18:00.002-05:00

Well, I've been doing some work on the blog as you can see... Whatdya think? Hope everyone's doing well, we're getting ready for a long wet rainy weekend so we'll be inside a bunch probably. Time to catch up on some movies...

I can't believe that it's already the end of February, it seems like I can't seem to slow things down the older I get. Taylor's spring break is fast approaching and we hope she comes to spend the week with us...it's ALWAYS a good time when she comes to visit...

A long overdue post...

2009-02-20T10:03:00.006-05:00

Happy belated Valentines Day! (thanks for the new dress Granny!)

I was talked into facebook and it's now become a new addiction! So, I apologize for neglecting the blog. I will now catch you up. I took last Friday off to help Izabella's teacher out with their Valentine's Day party, pictures below. The kids had a great time and got lots and lots of Valentine's...

Izabella has been out of school all week for "winter break" so I also took today off to spend with her. Her 2 front teeth are coming in slowly and we've got 2 more wiggling now, not great for pictures but she does LOVE the tooth fairy!

Thank you!

2009-02-13T16:23:00.002-05:00

Just wanted to say thank you to everyone for donating to the Jump rope for Heart in support of Izabella, the final total reached was $300, which earned her an Ambassador award. She had so much fun today jumping rope. I went to school today to help the teacher out with the Valentine's Day party and I got to hear all about it from all of her friends.

Thank you all for supporting her. Love to all and Happy Valentine's Day early!

We are off to a birthday party! Have a great weekend!

Jump Rope for Heart...deadline 2/10/09

2009-02-06T10:03:00.004-05:00

Izabella has decided to participate in the 2008-2009 American Heart Association's Jump Rope for Heart jump-a-thon on Friday 2/13/09 at school.

If you would like to help her meet her donation goal of $250 please go to the link I've provided ....Follow This Link to visit my personal web page and help me in my efforts to support American Heart Association - Greater Southeast Affiliate.

Donation deadline is Tuesday 2/10/09

Thanks in advance for helping out and we'll let you know how she did after the event.

Bumbleknees....

2009-01-21T11:47:00.001-05:00

My friend Holly set up shop on Etsy.com, finally.
Check it out...
http://bumbleknees.etsy.com

I knew I loved you before I met you....

2009-01-16T11:57:00.003-05:00

I heard this song today, out of the blue, and it just reminded me of Steve and how lucky I am to have him. Honey, if you are reading this, I miss you, I love you and I can't wait for you to come home.

I added the song to my playlist below if you want to listen, but also wanted to share the lyrics with you.

I Knew I Loved You (Savage Garden)

Maybe it's intuition

But some things you just don't question

Like in your eyes

I see my future in an instant

And there it goes

I think I've found my best friend

I know that it might sound more than a little crazy

But I believe

I knew I loved you before I met you

I think I dreamed you into life

I knew I loved you before I met you

I have been waiting all my life

There's just no rhyme or reason

Only this sense of completion

And in your eyesI see the missing pieces

I'm searching for

I think I've found my way home

I know that it might sound more than a little crazy

But I believe

I knew I loved you before I met you

I think I dreamed you into life

I knew I loved you before I met you

I have been waiting all my life

A thousand angels dance around you

I am complete now that I've found you

I knew I loved you before I met you

I think I dreamed you into life

I knew I loved you before I met you

I have been waiting all my life

School Christmas party

2009-01-12T16:56:00.012-05:00

The class started out the party with a book exchange!

This is Ms. Williams. Izabella gave her a foot massager for Christmas, it looked like a pair of froggy slippers!

Then it was time to make "gingerbread" houses. So cool the way they did it. A little milk carton, graham crackers, cake frosting and decorations. They turned out pretty good, I think.

And, then it was time for some good ol' silliness!

Girls just wanna have FU-UN!!

2008-12-28T10:48:00.006-05:00

Turn the music off at the bottom of the blog...
Turn your speakers up!
Hit play...
Sit back and enjoy the show!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

2008-12-27T19:24:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas Everyone, thank you for all the gifts. Our only wish is that we could've been with everyone, but we love and miss you all so much! Thanks for making our Christmas so wonderful!!

Happy Birthday Taylor Rae!

2008-12-14T10:26:00.002-05:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR TAYLOR!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

It's hard for me to believe you are 17 today! It makes me think back to when you were a baby and what JOY you have brought to our lives and what a beautiful young lady you have become. I love you like my own and your sister adores and idolizes you. I love to see the 2 of you together, it's always so much laughter and fun. We can't wait to see you in a few weeks!

Love, Dad, Susan and Izabella

All I want for Chri-th-ma-th is my 2 front teeth!

2008-12-14T10:20:00.004-05:00

I knew it wouldn't be long until that other one came out. This one was a little traumatic. So far, each of her teeth have come out differently, this one was no exception. It has be dangling for about 3 days now and this time Izabella thought she could pull this one out all by herself. She started to pull it out and the minute there was blood involved, then came the tears. She wouldn't let Daddy look at it and I heard her calling for me. When I got upstairs I asked her to let me see it and literally it was just hanging so I just pinched it and it came right out. OMG! what an ordeal! It took a few minutes but then came the smiles! I thought I would also give you all a look back at the past teeth that have come out. I can't believe we are up to 5 already! AND, there's one more on the bottom that won't be too far behind this last one.

Time to play catch up....again!

2008-12-07T09:40:00.003-05:00

Taylor's Grandfather bought her a new car about a month ago. One of those everything presents for the next 5 years all rolled into one :) She drove herself down here for Thanksgiving, we met her in Chattanooga just to make sure she knew how to get here from there. She did great and now, she gets to do it from now on. It's a great "first" car (technically her 3rd, but this one is HERS!) She loves it as you can imagine!

Sisterly love...

Thanksgiving recap...

Deck the halls...

He loves me, he loves me not....

2008-12-02T14:56:00.004-05:00

So, we found this little hole in the wall mexican restaurant near our house that we just love. Viva Mexico! Izabella has a crush on one of the waiters there, his name is Oscar! He waits on us all the time, it makes me wonder if he remembers us, the way that Izabella remembers him. One time, she ordered a strawberry daquari and when he brought it to her he touched the back of her head and when he walked off she said, "I think he loves me too!" so stinkin cute!

The last time that we were there, Steve made sure to ask for his section. Izabella gets very shy when he's around, but by the end of the dinner she's got some nerve up, so this time she wrote him this little letter. I thought it was so cute that I took a picture of it with my cell phone (that's why the quality is so bad!) He was very sweet when she gave it to him, she can't wait to see him again!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T08:54:00.002-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving.....

We are spending this holiday with our friends (and old neighbors) Lara and Rodney, their kids and her sister and brother in law, Leah and Rohan. So, no turkey cooking for us. However, Ms. Lara gave me a list of things to bring to even things out. I made a chocolate cake yesterday, my spinach and artichoke dip and this morning I am working on green beans and mashed potatoes. I decided to do fresh green beans this year. It's been a long time since I've cleaned and snapped these. My mom and I used to pick our own green beans and I would sit on the porch and clean and snap them and then we'd can them, so that's brought back some nice memories. We used to pick lots of our own veggies and I even remember making our own apple sauce! Good times...

Taylor came down Tuesday night, I'll post more about this later, but she drove her new car down...and yes she made it in one piece and with no help from anyone. I guess she'll be driving herself down from now on. Maybe we'll get to see her more often now, it's just a 3 hour drive door to door.....

This year, like every year, we are thankful for our health and the health of those we love, our family, which we miss dearly and wish we were able to be home with for the holidays, and our friends, who always bring us so much joy.

We love and miss everyone and wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving!

A comfy place to rest our heads...

2008-11-15T19:23:00.002-05:00

So, you know our anniversary was in October. I haven't been sleeping very well and when Steve and I sat down and thought about how long we'd had our bed, we were going on almost 13 years on the same mattress. So, we got ourselves a new bed, which we love. Then, I was able to sweet talk him into rearranging the furniture in our bedroom and get a new set for the new bed. Below are the results of what I was able to do....I've always loved the blue and chocolate together and now I have it! I think it turned out pretty well and it actually makes our room look a lot bigger and brighter. It's nice to wake up to this every morning.

Izabella's first book report!

2008-11-14T08:58:00.006-05:00

So, Izabella got this assignment 2 weeks ago. She had to pick a book, read it twice and then do a book report on it. She had 3 choices for how she wanted to present her book report. She could make a T-shirt, do a shoe box type of thing or make her own book. Which ever she chose she had to include the title and author, the setting of the book, 3 words from the book and their meanings and then she had to write 3 sentences about why someone should read the book she chose. Well, she chose to make her own book. She chose the book "The English Roses" by Madonna. Excellent book I have to say. It's about a group of 4 girls, The English Roses, that all hang out together but there's one little girl, Binah, who they tease, make fun of and do not include in anything they do, just because other people comment on how beautiful she is. A fairy visits The English Roses one night and let's them see into Binah's world without her knowing about it. They come to find that her mother had died when she was very little and she has to do all of the chores, cook the meals for her and her father and get her homework done each day. They come to find out that they shouldn't judge someone based on what others say about them and jealously is a big ugly green monster.....It's a great story, especially for this age because kids can be so mean and nasty to each other. They never realize how it feels until they get the same treatment in return. I was happy that Izabella picked this story for her report. Below you will see the report that she turned in and Steve and I couldn't be prouder of her. She did everything all on her own with NO help from either one of us! (if you can't see the pictures or want to see more detail, just click on each on and they will enlarge)

LOVE that last sentence!

Star Student...

2008-11-11T19:23:00.004-05:00

Izabella was chosen as *Star of the Week* in her class. This is the 3rd time (since starting her school career) that she's been chosen for this. Each time, she fills out this poster so that everyone in her class can learn about her. She was out sick with strep last Thursday and Friday but when I checked online for her class' weekly newsletter, we found out it was her week. She's very excited!

(if you click on the picture, it will enlarge so you can read some of the smaller stuff)

Signs of fall...the best time of year!

2008-11-07T11:57:00.003-05:00

What a beautiful family!

Taylor came to visit for her fall break and brought her friend Jessy with her. We tried to do as much as we could since we haven't seen her much this year. It was beautiful weather and we had fall festivals to go to and we decided to do the Cagle's Corn Maize again this year. What fun! Enjoy! This is absolutely my most favorite time of year, between Sept and April....love it, love it!

Happy Halloween

2008-11-01T09:51:00.003-04:00

Momma's sweet angel!

After we went Trick or treating, I had a sleep over at the house for all the girls. I think I'm crazy! 5 little girls all on a sugar buzz! They watched movies while all the mom's and dad's sat in our garage talking about everything from politics (yuck!) to scary movies, etc. Always a good time!

Introducing Miss Lily Kathryn Blann

2008-10-31T08:03:00.002-04:00

David and Melissa had their 3rd little one yesterday, isn't she adorable???

Lily Kathryn Blann

10/30/08

6 lbs. 6 oz.

20 inches

12:25 pm
I can't wait to get my hands on her! Give her lots of love from GA until we get to meet her in person!

Let the teeth fall where they may...

2008-10-21T08:40:00.005-04:00

When I got home last night, Izabella came running to tell me that she had yet another tooth come out. This one was knocked out by a flying acorn, go figure!
If you click on the letter above it will enlarge so that you can read it! ENJOY!

Happy Anniversary!!

2008-10-12T09:00:00.004-04:00

Today is our 12th Anniversary! Hard to believe, really! When I was thinking about posting today I decided to share with you a letter I wrote to Steve back in 2000, that answers the question, why do I love you....and it's still true to this day plus some!

To the one I love,

You've asked me in the past and even recently, why do I love you, and the more I thought about it and continue to think about it, there's not just 1 reason, there's several. And, I'm sure that every day that we're together, that there will be even more. I thought since it's Valentine's Day, there's no better time for me to tell you all the wonderful reasons why I LOVE YOU!

The first thing that caught my eye, of course, is how handsome you are. I love how you've always made me feel as beautiful as I think you are. I love your sense of humor. Your ability to make me laugh has always drawn me closer to you. You were the one that taught me how important laughter is and you've shown me how to laugh at myself. I love your family and the way you are all together. I love the way you stand up for what you believe in. I love your child-like nature, which helps me see the innocence in the world. I love your kind heart, which has proven itself time and time again. I love the way you look when you're sleeping. Sometimes, I watch you in the mornings just sleeping and it makes my heart happy to know you'll always be there when I wake up. I love the dreams that you have that have now become our dreams. I love your determination and your vision of our future. I love your patience. It has started to rub off, but I know I need more work. I love your smile. I love the way you are with Taylor. It does my heart good to see how caring you are with her. Also with the rest of the kids. I love how gentle and tender you are. I love your willingness to give into their every request. I love your thoughtfulness. I love your sincerity. But, most of all, I love your inner beauty and your spirit. I love knowing that you are mine and I am yours. I love knowing that despite our differences we are still able to see past them and still love and respect each other. Yes, it's true, you drive me crazy sometimes, but I'm sure the same holds true for me.

I've never been more certain and completely fulfilled by the decision I made to spend my life with you. I think about where we started, where we've been, what we've been through, where we are and where we are going and while it hasn't always been easy, it's exactly where I want to be. You complete me by bringing out the very best in me. You can add that to the list. My love for you is never ending and I will always be here for you. This is my gift to you!

I love you honey more today than yesterday, although we've been married for 12 years today, we've been together almost 17, it's been a great ride so far and I'm looking forward to many more wonderful days together! Thank you for loving me!

xoxo,

wife

We have a budding writer on our hands...

2008-10-10T10:27:00.005-04:00

I got the nicest email from Izabella's teacher this morning. She just loves her and thinks she the funniest little girl. She sent me some pictures that I thought I would share also. Part of their weekly homework is spelling, they keep a spelling journal and each week they have to pick 3 activities to do with their weekly spelling words. Izabella always picks the Spelling story where she has to take 5 of the 10 words and write a story using the 5 words. Here's a sampling of last weeks work, I think the spelling words in this one were: chest, flex, like, lift and desk. Quite creative I think! Notice the drawings that go along with the story!
Here she is busy at work at her desk. The are working on addition, subtraction, mutiples and number families right now. She loves math, so she says, let's hope that stays that way! I never did!Here's the final chapter about (her boyfriend) Chuck, sounds like a happy ending to me! Enjoy!

Ride! Bella Ride!

2008-09-27T22:23:00.006-04:00

I came home from work on Thursday and Izabella told me that she learned how to ride her Bike that afternoon! I couldn't believe it! She has been so close in the past few weeks and she finally did it. We're so proud of her because we knew she could do it, she just had to believe it too! NOW, she can ride with the big dogs. This is what we get to see Friday and Saturday night, jealous?

Ahhhh.......this is the life!!

Just another night sitting out with friends talking about the week and what's going on and we all looked up to see this beautiful sky and remembered....I am SO grateful!

Texas Fun!

2008-09-27T19:03:00.007-04:00

Here are all the other pictures of us having fun in TX over Fall Break. We really miss everyone back home and we hope to get back there soon. We're working on it as hard as we can!

Izabella finally let go and REALLY gave swimming a shot. Look how great she did!

Fun at Auntie Ann's & Uncle Wob's

2008-09-27T11:55:00.004-04:00

While we were home we had a wonderful day and visit at Auntie Ann's and Uncle Rob's house on Sunday afternoon. Here are some shots of that day. You'll notice the girls started playing dress up and doing a nice fashion show. That's Auntie Ann, save up, you'll be having more girl time like this when Miss Ella gets big enough. By the way, I LOVE the backyard, it's really come together, I'm jealous! I think these cousins play well together! And what a bunch of good looking kids!

Fishes, Fishes and more Fishes..

2008-09-27T11:45:00.003-04:00

David fell in love with fish when he started scuba diving years ago. So, he decided to bring that into the house. These are pictures of the 2 tanks he's got in the house. They are so cool and I can just sit and watch them for hours. You'll see him feeding some of them. There are also some pictures here of just some of the coi fish in the ponds outside next to the pool. He must have atleast 2 dozen of them and they are huge!

So proud of my big brother...

2008-09-27T11:10:00.006-04:00

While we were home, I took a ton of pictures of my brother's house. It's just beautiful! They've been in the house for about 4 years now (I think) and it's still a work in progress, but I think they 've done more than they have to finish by now. I think the last few things to do are to replace all the windows, kitchen and to finish off the rest of the basement. I love staying there when we come to town because it truly is like a resort! Anyway, here are some pictures of the house. (these are in no particular order!)

While I was taking pictures of the house, I came across this wedding picture of David and Melissa and I just thought how beautiful it was and wanted to share it with some of you again and with some of you for the first time. They've been married now for 12 years! My how time flies!

We're off to TX to Surprise Grandpa Bill!

2008-09-27T09:40:00.007-04:00

As you all know, we had planned a big surprise party for Grandpa Bill's 70th birthday! Still can't believe you're 70 Dad!! So, we're off!

Ah, to be home again, look at that beautiful sunset!

Now for the party. We got him! He had no clue, didn't even know that we were in town! He was completed shocked and ever so grateful that so many people would come to a party just for him! I don't know why, everyone I know loves him and were happy to be there to celebrate with him. Here are a few pictures from the party. For those of you that came, THANK YOU! you made him feel so special ! and for those of you that couldn't come, we missed you but take a look at how it all turned out!

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