Wordless Wednesday - Art by Emily, age 5

Grateful Sunday

Following the format of so many of my friends' blogs, here is my first Grateful Sunday blog:

• I'm grateful it is not raining like it has been the last few weekends (see picture above). In fact, this has been one of the most beautiful days this summer. Low humidity, temperatures in the 70's and I even saw RED leaves (Fall is just around the corner).
• I'm grateful that I don't have flooding in my basement like so many in Southeast Minnesota due to the incredible amounts of rain we had last weekend.
• I'm grateful for tomatoes. We bought some yesterday at a produce stand (picked that morning) and they are wonderful!!! There is nothing like a tomato picked fresh off the vine. The only thing better is growing them yourself but I have yet to try that.
• I'm grateful that Ben slept through Junior singing time and played nicely on the floor during Senior singing time. (I'm the Primary Chorister-that is another blog of the future.)
• I'm grateful for 30 minute naps. I fell asleep on the couch just after I put Ben down for a nap. Emily and Sam played nicely while I slept although I awoke to them eating Cheetos on the kitchen floor.
• I'm grateful that Brad had yesterday off. It was his first whole Saturday off for a month (since he was working nights his day off was more of a night off). He installed our new blinds in our bedroom. No more lace covered, mauve blinds that have been there since we bought the house. Yeah!!!!!!!!

4th of July Fun

I love the 4th of July and not just because it is my birthday. Although when I was young, I thought the parade, barbecue, and fireworks were all for me - a huge birthday celebration! Later, of course, I realized it wasn't, but it is still a special day to spend time with family, friends, and community. It is as full of tradition as Christmas. I buy everyone in the family a new red, white, and blue outfit (It is fun to have an excuse to buy new clothes!).

The day starts out with the really LOUD cannon firing at 6:00 am. When I was growing up, this part really annoyed me because we generally stayed up really late the night before. Now it is a signal to start the fun! Next, we have the community pancake breakfast. Our family started attending this event about 10 years ago. My dad and sometimes my brothers help with the cooking (this year he had a new spatula which was envied among all the cooks). His flag shirt is as much of the tradition as anything. At the breakfast I usually run into people I haven't seen for years (or at least since the last 4th of July). Most of the cooks are members of the 2nd Ward, so I know many of them. I see former classmates, neighbors, and friends. It is fun to keep a look out for someone I know. Here's a picture of Dad in his famous flag shirt and Mom holding Ben.After the breakfast we start heading down to Main Street, just a couple of blocks away, to watch the parade. Nowadays we have to spread our blankets 2 - 3 days in advance to save our favorite spot under the shade of the pine trees. Dad bought this 6 kid stroller (see picture below) at his favorite store. It is now part of the tradition to have him push the grandkids to the parade site. (Ben would not cooperate for the picture). I don't know what we are going to do when more than 6 grandkids want to ride.

This year Emily woke up extremely early because she was so excited about the parade and the CANDY. They get way too much Salt Water Taffy and it never gets eaten (except the peppermint flavor) but it is so fun to gather. The favorite treat that was thrown at the parade this year were frozen Otter Pops. They were very refreshing.

I was so happy to have Brad join in all the festivities. He rarely gets to join me in Utah for the 4th due to school. Here he is with my brother Shaun helping the kids grab candy at the curb (Brad is in the hat-Shaun in the sunglasses). Below is Tiffany holding Ben. During the whole parade there was always someone willing to hold Ben.
After the parade we walk back to Mom and Dad's for a yummy barbecue, birthday cake and fun in the backyard. Later that night we watch the fireworks. I used to go over to the high school to watch the fireworks but since I have had kids it is nice to stay in Mom and Dad's backyard and view them from the comfort of a lawn chair and no crowds. This year Emily, Sam, and even Ben thought the fireworks were great. Afterwards we light a few sparklers and miscellaneous fireworks before we all go to bed exhausted. Every year seems to be as wonderful as the previous. I have always felt very lucky to have such a fun day for a birthday. I mean who else gets to have barbecues, family and community gatherings, and fireworks on their birthday and most likely the day off. I can't wait until next year!!!!!

Hogle Zoo

We spent a VERY HOT Saturday in July at Hogle Zoo with my mom, dad and sister Vicki. My kids love zoos. They love all the animals especially monkeys (I think my kids are part monkey-they climb and swing on everything). We had a nice day but it was SOOOO HOT! Here we are taking a break in the shade under the ceiling fans.

The Hogle Zoo has a new elephant exhibit that was really neat. We got there in time to see the zookeepers spraying the elephants. The water was sprayed directly into the elephant's mouths. It was pretty fascinating. Here's a couple of shots by the rhino statue. There is a playground for the kids, but it was so hot and there was no shade. The equipment was too hot to really spend much time playing, but I could not resist having the kids pose for some fun pictures.

I always have to read the signs posted about the animals and now the kids actually listen and want to know what they say. The teacher in me feels the need to quiz them throughout the day about the facts I told them earlier. I'm sure in a few years they will roll their eyes and say how annoying I am but right now it is fun to see them so interested in learning about the animals. Emily was amazed by the length of the giraffe's tongue (can be up to 17 inches long) and that it's kick can kill a lion. Wow! I never knew that.Did I mention it was a hot day? Luckily, Sno-Cones were on sale for 75 cents! Here is Sam trying to keep cool.

Mom loves to visit gift shops. One advantage to this one was AIR CONDITIONING. So we spent a few minutes viewing the "stuffed" animals.

After a long, hot, interesting, and fun day at the zoo, Dad was worn out. Here he is taking a rest while we browse the gift shop.

This post is dedicated to Vicki

I'm dedicating this blog to my youngest sister, Vicki, because she is the first person in my family to post a comment (sorry Mom and Dad - I know you told me you saw my blog but Vicki posted). I know this will probably embarrass her because she doesn't like the spotlight on her but I wanted to write about her anyway.

Let me tell you somethings about her:

Whenever I come to visit, she always makes time to hang out with me, drops by after work, and plans outings with me. Here are some pictures of us at Hogle Zoo where she braved a super hot day to spend time with us. (I'll post more pictures of this day on another blog.)

Vicki loves all her nieces and nephews. She remembers their birthdays. She babysits them. She gives them so much attention and love. Emily and Sam adore Aunt Vicki and Uncle James. In November Vicki took a couple of days off work to fly out and watch Emily and Sam while Brad and I went to Spokane for a job interview. She was so good with them and they still talk about it, especially the episode at McDonald's (the car wouldn't start and no one would help her - she eventually called one of my friend's to help her out). She is going to make a fabulous Mom when she is ready for that next step in her life. Here is a picture of her with Ryken, Ben and Emily all clamoring for her attention.There are so many wonderful things to say about her but I'm going to end with one of my favorites - she makes wonderful chocolate chip cookies (and you know how much I love those)!

Thanks Vicki for being such wonderful sister, aunt and friend!

Now aren't you motivated to post a comment? You never know where it might lead.

Happy Anniversary

It was a beautiful summer day 14 years ago that I married the most perfect man in the world. I was barely 20 years old; Brad was just 22. We had just finished our sophomore year at Ricks College. We were headed to BYU, a small, old apartment and a promising future ahead of us! I was planning on being a social worker and Brad was a molecular biology major with plans to go on to graduate school to get a Ph.D. in Cell Biology. (Brad was going to join the Air Force to complete medical school through their training program but changed his mind a few months before we got married). We were very much in love and looked forward to many adventures ahead of us.

Fast forward 14 years and how our lives have changed! Both of us changed our careers from what we expected (I ended up teaching special education and Brad completed a Ph.D. and Medical School). We now have 3 beautiful children and look forward to only one more year of residency!!!!!!

This blog is dedicated to my dear husband. I'm stealing Angela's anniversary blog format and using her idea with some modification.

Things you compliment him on while in his presence:

• He works so hard providing for his family! Even though residency is challenging he keeps trudging on (he now has a countdown - 10 months to go!!!)


• He is a fabulous dad. When Brad walks in the door there are usually huge screams and a stampede of feet rushing to see him. Then the climbing and jumping on Dad begins. The kids love to play with and look forward to his arrival everyday. This is because they know Dad will play with them and spend time with them.

Compliments you make about him to your friends:

• He is so helpful with everything from cooking (he is a great cook) to cleaning.
  
• He is supportive of me having "my time". Always willing to take over the kids for Book Club, Girls Night Out, shopping. Many times he has even watch my friend's kids and our kids so I could go have some fun with friends.

Traits you married him for:

• He is smart. He does have an MD and a Ph.D. Need I say more. But I will...When I was in Young Women's I remember making a list of qualities I wanted in a husband. #1 was an intelligent man. I realized Brad was smart right away and really admired that. At Ricks' Brad had the highest grade in his Organic Chemistry class and ruined the grading curve for many people. My grade soared my 2nd year at Ricks because if I wanted to be with him, it would be at the library while he studied or worked in the computer lab.
  
• He plans for his long term future. I was impressed that he seriously considered his future and worked hard to make it happen.
  
• He is nice. Simple as that, he's nice.

Days you cherish being together:

• Our wedding day (this is an anniversary post). It was a wonderful day!
  
• The birth of each of our children. I love watching him cuddle our new babies. They look so small in his arms. I also love how much he looks after me in the hospital. He makes sure I am comfortable and taken care of which really worries me in the hospital.

Material things you could give him if you just inherited a fortune:

• A million dollars and a new car (inside joke-every time we ask each other what do we want (for whatever reason) we always respond "A million dollars and a new car" even if it is to ask what do you want for dinner (I know - really silly).
  
• Some kind of computer or other high tech gadget (I'm so technically challenged that I wouldn't even know the coolest thing - but Brad does!)

Things you would miss the most if he left for two weeks:

• His listening ear. He always listens to my rambles about my day. As soon as the kids are in bed or sometimes as soon as he walks in the door. I talk his ear off about what happened that day, what I'm thinking about, what I'm reading, or anything else. When we were newly married, I used to tell him the plot of the book I was reading. It wasn't until years later that I discovered he really did not like listening to this (he actually hated it), but I never realized it.
  
• His help with the kids and house. No matter how long a day he has had, he comes home and helps with the kids or picks up the living room or does the dishes. During his intern year, he would be so exhausted but he would still play with the kids. So many times he would fall asleep on the floor with the kids playing and climbing on him.

Thoughts that crossed your mind when you first met/saw him:

When I first met Brad, I was working at Jacob Lake Inn near the North Rim of the Grand Canyon as a waitress. John, one of the owners, introduced Brad to me while I was prepping some salads for one of my tables. John introduced Brad to me as "Jennifer" which I really don't like to be called. It really annoyed me but since I was busy and distracted I didn't really pay much attention. Later, I realized I couldn't remember his name and I kept calling him Brian. It is funny because when I introduced Brad to Mom she kept calling him Brian (without ever hearing me do it or mention it).

Favorite dates:

• Eating bread sticks at Craigos once a week watching Star Trek - The Next Generation (doesn't that sound nerdy). We had to scrounge up our loose change to afford it.
  
• Brad and his roommates planned a date where we started at Deseret Industries to pick out each other an outfit. I found Brad an incredibly ugly shirt and pants. (The pants were former uniform pants and Lori, one of the other girls in the party, and I picked out matching pants for Brad and Andrew. Later, when we were changing into the clothes, Andrew couldn't fit into his so he and Brad switched. The whole night Brad's pants were so tight on him; I think they eventually split.) They made us a spaghetti dinner and we had to eat with kitchen utensils on a garbage bag. The guys took our original clothes and dropped them off at a neighbors. Later that night we had to knock on about 10 doors in his complex and ask them if they had our clothes. Kind of embarrassing but really fun!!!!!

Funny/odd things you love about him:

• I used to hate peeling my own oranges so Brad would do it for me. Before he would hand me a slice, he would give it a little kiss. Isn't that sweet and romantic.
  
• He leaves me notes sometimes in the morning before he leaves for work.

Places you have lived together:

• Utah
• Texas
• Minnesota
• Soon to be Idaho

Favorite future vacations you look forward to:

• Alaskan cruise
• Europe especially Sweden, Austria, Switzerland, and England
• New York City
• Caribbean cruise
• Hawaii
• Australia/New Zealand
• I could go on and on...

Things you look forward to doing together later in life:

• Build our dream home
• Travel!!!!

Now and Then

You are my Sunshine - Emily Violet

Emily is 5 years old and is such a sweet girl. Brad and I are so grateful for her. She is a wonderful daughter. Here are some things that make Emily so special:

• Emily loves to be a helper. The other day we were going to go to the park. While I was getting ready, Emily made our sandwiches for us without me asking. While I was pregnant and just after Ben was born, I was so tired in the mornings that Emily would make breakfast (cereal and milk) for Sam so I could sleep a little longer. I could go on and on...
  
• She LOVES to earn money. She is constantly asking what she can do to earn money. She'll sweep the floor, clean the toy room, pick weeds, sell lemonade (a favorite) or just about anything to earn a few coins. She has about $8.00 so far - earned a few coins at a time. And don't forget to pay her - she'll hunt you down until she has her pay.
  
• She is artistic. She loves to draw and create. She comes up with amazing art projects that she has designed herself. Her favorite toys are paper, scissors, tape, and markers. Once I asked her what she wants to be when she grows up and she said, "An artist and a nurse. I'll be a nurse before I have kids and then an artist after because I can draw when my kids sleep!!!"
  
• She is kind to others. If someone is hurt she wants to help them get better (see above comment about what she wants to be when she grows up.) When Sam had a sliver in his finger, she held the flashlight for Brad while he got it out and then put his band aid on him. She didn't even flinch (while I left the room so I didn't have to see). She also does so many nice things for the whole family.
  
• She loves books and stories. I was always afraid I would have kids that would not like to read but my fears are unwarranted because she loves books. Just before Sam was born, I started having her listen to books on tape. She loves them. She now listens to "chapter books." She'll sit for hours (literally) listening to a book on tape and color or play with Polly Pockets or Ponies. Her favorite books so far have been the Magic Tree House books, Little House Book, the Boxcar Children, and Cam Jansen books.
  
• She is persistent. When Emily wants to do something she does not relent until she is satisfied. She has always been like this. When she was about 1 year old she wanted to learn how to walk up and down stairs. My mom has two little steps going into her family room. Emily walked up and down those two little stairs over and over and over until she could do it without falling. She is still that way. When she was 4 she wanted to learn how to stand on her head. She tried and tried. First it was only for 1 second, then 3 seconds. Then longer and longer. Her longest stand was 1 minute and 20 seconds! She has had that same determination with learning cartwheels, hand stands, and many other activities.


• She LOVES Benjamin! The first thing she does in the morning is asks where Ben is. She carries him around (when permitted), helps bathe him, reads and sings to him, gives him "tummy time", helps him "exercise", and gives him as much love and attention she can. She always says, "He's such a cute baby! I love Benjamin." She plays with him and he loves it! She is such a help with him. I really appreciate how much she loves him and tries so hard to make him happy.


• She loves playing with her friends and they love her. After being gone for a month, the girls in Emily's Primary class each said, "Emily I'm so glad you are back! I missed you so much!" Emily is always asking for a friend to come over and play. She really enjoys spending time with them. I'm also glad she considers her cousins her friends as well (they just can't come over to play unless we are at Grandma Eva's).


• She is kind and loving to Sam. Okay, sometimes there is a little sibling rivalry but Emily really enjoys being with him. One morning Sam slept in really late (which is rare!). After awhile Emily kept asking, "When is Sam going to wake up. I want to play with him." She watches out for him and helps him with things he can't do. She is a great big sister!


• She is amazing! I say that because she really is. She is smart, talented in so many ways, has a huge vocabulary, writes really well, she is stronger than a horse (you should see her biceps), and I could go on and on. Of course, I'm her mom and I should think that but since this is my blog I'm going to write it too. We love our Sunshine!


• We call her our Sunshine because that is what she is. She is a little ray of sun shining on our family! She brings us so much joy and happiness.

Here is Emily helping me frost Christmas cookies. She frosts better than Brad!
(I'm about 6 1/2 months pregnant with Ben in this picture)These are her preschool friends (She's the one with the hat on).
They loved to dress up and play during free time. Aren't they cute!
(We had a preschool co-op)

I told you she could stand on her head. Here she is at her dance class recital.She LOVES baby Benjamin!

Here's Emily reading Sam a story. She loves to do this!

Emily - You are my Sunshine!

Next time I'll just pay the money

Sam was in desperate need of a hair cut. The last time he needed a cut I took him to Great Clips. He sat nicely, had his hair cut, and enjoyed his DumDum sucker while I paid my $12. It looked so easy.

Well, today I was feeling very frugal and confident (and I had treats, too). I decided to cut it myself (I used to cut Brad's hair and Sam's when he was younger). I took out the clippers and scissors and started. It went downhill from there.

Sam wouldn't sit still, he wouldn't look in the right direction, he kept saying, "it tickles", I couldn't figure out the best size "thingy" to put on the clippers, and I had hair clippings everywhere. Meanwhile, my voice kept rising in frustration and irritation. Then I remembered why I started paying someone else to do this job. So I decided to just cut the back and sides and make him look somewhat presentable until I could have a professional finish it off.

So now I need to take him somewhere to cut the top. Do you think I can ask for 1/2 a haircut at 1/2 the price? "Just cut the top, please," I would say, "I've already done the back and sides." Hmmm, I wonder if it would work?

A day in the life of a teething baby

I think Ben is teething. He was up all night crying - a poor little whimpering cry. The kind of cry that means he just does not feel well. I have had to hold him all day long and today was supposed to be my cleaning day. Even Emily can't entertain or distract him. I have been giving him Tylenol just about every 4 hours since last night and he is still fussy and cries whenever I put him down for more than a couple of minutes. Poor little guy and poor me!

When Brad came home at 3:30 pm (he worked last night and slept all day at the hospital) the laundry was not done, the floor wasn't swept and there were sticky spots everywhere from the PB & J sandwiches Emily made for us yesterday, the dishes were still in the sink, there was a huge mess downstairs in the toy room, and don't even ask what's for dinner. I was at the end of my rope. So Brad, the wonderfully helpful husband that he is, took over the kids and told me I could have 2 1/2 hours of no kids time to take a nap, go shopping, whatever.

So what did I do???? I put on my headphones and listened to Digging to America by Anne Tyler (my current book on tape - I'll blog about that another time) and did laundry, swept and mopped the floor, wiped the kitchen counters, table and chairs, loaded the dishwasher, cleaned up the living room, and told Brad to order a pizza (I had a coupon and I didn't want to mess up my nice clean kitchen) after he had the kids clean the downstairs. You might wonder why I chose that instead of going somewhere or taking a nap. That would have been nice, but sometimes what helps me the most is just time to get something done without being interrupted.

Now as I sit here at the computer with Ben dozing on my lap (he had his last dose of Tylenol about 30 minutes ago), I can blog knowing that my kitchen, living room, and toy room are clean (laundry is still a work in progress). Thanks Brad for coming home and helping (I know you didn't have a good night either). I appreciate how understanding you always are. Maybe tonight/tomorrow will be better. As for me, I'll be going to bed early (unless, of course, Ben decides otherwise).

Sam, Sammy, Samuel

Sammy is our adorable 3 year old. Some of the things we love most about him are:

• His delightful giggle. When he laughs I wish I could bottle it up and keep it forever.
• He loves to cuddle. Emily was never a cuddly baby but Sam will still cuddle with me.
• He is cute! He is a short little boy (sorry bud but you got your mommy's genes) and everywhere we go people always comment on how cute he is.
• He makes up fun games to play. While I nurse Ben, Sam makes up silly games that I can play while sitting down. For example, he hands me a bean bag and we take turns throwing it at a "target" (which could be anything such as a book, a chair, or a bowl). After every throw he says, "good throw Mom" or "maybe next time" and retrieves the bean bag over and over. This is just one example of the many games he has created.
• He is becoming very independent. Every morning he gets himself dressed before he comes upstairs (it doesn't matter that his shorts are usually on backwards).
• He is sensitive and tender.
• He is a good big brother. He talks about how when Ben grows up he is going to teach him how to play with trains, cars, and balls, and ride a scooter.
• He LOVES Emily and will play just about anything she wants to. We have too many pictures of Sam in a dance leotard and ballet slippers because Emily wanted to play dance class. See picture below - I just couldn't resist!

Here's Sam hard at play!

Sam's a "good egg"!

Sam loves to play with toys. He often goes downstairs all by himself to play and play and play!

Grandma Eva gave him this tie and when he saw it he had to wear it (even though it is a little big). He told his nursery teachers and anyone who would listen that he has a tie "just like Daddy."

What a handsome little man he is!
We love you Buddy!

Baby Ben or as we call him Chubba Dub Dub

One reason for my blog was to post pictures of my kids so the next few blogs will be about them. Ben is four months now and weighs almost 18 pounds! My brother Shaun started calling him Chubba Dub Dub and it has stuck. We love each one of his rolls and dimples!

Look at those chubby legs!

Emily loves him so much. She is so helpful with him.

I love his little toes. They are like peas in a pod and I just want to pick each one and eat it!

We can't get enough of this cubby little baby!

Ben is the happiest little baby. He loves to be around people. If we leave the room he cries but he is so content if he is part of the action. He is full of smiles and giggles and "talks" all the time. I just love this baby!!!!

Why Cookies and Milk and Yellow Balloons

One silly reason I delayed creating a blog (in addition to the fact that I had a baby 4 months ago and my life has been upside down since) was that I did not have a clever or interesting title. I needed something that was catchy and cute but yet said something about me. In the world of blogs, a cool title is a must.

Yesterday, I was listening to some music with Emily and Sam and my title jumped out at me. So here's the story: I grew up in the 1970's and early 80's listening to the music of Janeen Brady. I had three sisters close in age (Vicki was much younger) and we spent many hours in front of Mom's long, wooden stereo/record player (it was about 5 feet long and 3 feet tall with built in speakers on both sides) listening to our few records (yes, records-I'm old). We had a record called "I'm a Mormon". On the cover was a picture of a child probably looking out a window with raindrops on it (did you have it too?). I always thought it was a strange cover but I digress...

...I bought the same "record" for my kids to listen to but on CD. It is now titled "Songs for a Mormon Child" and the cover has a bunny sitting on a chair in a flower garden (I digress once again). One of our favorite songs was called "I Want to Be a Mother". It was this song that inspired my title. Here are the words to the song:

When I go up I want to be a Mother and have a family.
One little, two little, three little babies of my own.

Of all the jobs for me I'll choose no other, I'll have a family
Four little, five little, six little babies in my arms.

And I will love them all day long and give them cookies and milk and yellow balloons.
And cuddle them when things go wrong,
And read them stories and sing them pretty tunes.

When I grow up if I can be a mother how happy I will be
One little, two little, three little babies I can love.

And you will say each sister and each brother will look a lot like me
Four little, five little, six little blessings from above.

When I heard the phrase "cookies and milk and yellow balloons" I decided that that was it - the title of my blog! It was catchy and cute and said something about me. So what does it say about me? I'll try to explain..

The first reason is because I love being a mother. I did not take this "occupation" lightly. Before Brad and I got married, we discussed that when we had kids I would stay home with them. It was something I wanted (When I grow up I want to be....). Since we got married so young (I was barely 20 years old), we decided to wait awhile to have kids. To make a long story short and to not bore everyone (who probably already knows it anyway) we felt we should not have kids until Brad decided what he wanted to be when he grew up (I say that with the most support and respect for him) and had made good progress toward reaching that goal. After nine years of marriage (and a Bachelors degree, Ph.D. and two years of medical school under our married belt) we finally had our darling Emily, 22 months after that sweet Sam, and just recently smiley Ben. They are my one little, two little, three little blessings from above (don't ask if there will be four little, five little, six little babies in my arms - we'll take them one at a time).

The second reason I choose Cookies and Milk and Yellow Balloons as my blog title is because so little of being a mom and my current day-to-day life is about giving them "cookies and milk and yellow balloons". It is hard work!! You really have no idea how difficult it is until it is too late. The song is really quite deceiving about the day-to-day struggles of being a mom but yet it is the times when you "cuddle them when things go wrong, and read them stories and sing them pretty tunes" when it feels the best. It is when you are giving them little bits of joy that make it all worthwhile. I just love it when Ben's face grows into a huge grin and he kicks his hands and legs just because he sees me. And when Sam crawls up on my lap and says "I love you" and asks for a story and when Emily draws me beautiful pictures and writes To Mom, From Emily. It makes my heart smile. I'm grateful that I was first (as jobs go) a wife, then an admistrative assistant, then a Special Education teacher, and then the best job of all a MOM! This blog will be my musing as a mom, wife, woman, friend, neighbor, sister, daughter, and whatever else I decide to be.

And the last reason I chose Cookies and Milk and Yellow Balloons is because I really do love cookies and milk (especially chocolate chip cookies!!!!!) Mmmmmm cookies

Oh, and Emily loves Yellow (it is her favorite color)

I Have Entered The Blogging World

I have finally done it! Due to numerous requests and the desire to show off pictures of my darling children, I finally created a blog. I muddled through it and we will see how it goes. Be patient as I learn how to do this!