A Weather Girl

This afternoon, I was playing with the kids downstairs.

Abby says "It's a weather cast," as she pushes some buttons on a toy.

Thinking she meant a weather forecast (and rightly thinking I believe) I say "Oh yeah, what does it say?"

Abby responds "It calls for money."

So here's a New Year's forecast for you: "money" - whether it be spending it or getting it, may you be content with it (as opposed to being discontent with the weather)!

Christmas 2007

Christmastime (and other holidays and vacations and such) is such a hard thing to blog about. We fit so much into just a few short days and hours that it is hard to encapsulate it into a manageable post that won't bore you to tears. So I'm going with the ol' standby of using a video montage (and hopefully, it won't bore you to tears!).

Let me say this though. I'm am so thankful to my God for what He has done and is doing. I'm thankful that 2000 years ago He saw it as the perfect time to send His Son, a Savior for the earth. And I'm thankful that 10 years ago, He saw fit to open my heart to Him and that today I live in light of that knowledge. Merry Christmas everyone!

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A Card for Luke's Teacher

Before Luke's last day of class for the year, I asked him to make a Christmas card for his preschool teacher. He sat down to work, folding the paper himself and deciding what he wanted to draw on the front. Here is the picture on the front. It is a very nice nativity scene that I thought was perfect for the season.



As I was making dinner, Luke then asked me how to spell her name. So I told him and saw him addressing the inside of the card to her. Then he continued to draw inside the card. Finally he said that he was all finished and he brought the card to me to show it off. I praised him for the drawing on the front and then I opened it up and saw this inside.



As you can see, it is a picture of a giant bunny with a rocket pointing directly at his neck, ready to dispatch him. I asked him if he thought that was appropriate for a Christmas card to his teacher. He explained that he had been making a "play" in his room in which he was building traps for bunnies and he just wanted to tell her about it. Now, loving to garden and hence, hating bunnies, I could understand a little bit. However, Luke made a different card in which the bunny was simply sitting underneath the Christmas tree, looking upon the Nativity scene. Much more appropriate, I think.

Richard Review: Online Edition!

Well, I got the Christmas cards out on Monday. However, this year I did not include our usual letter. Now, there are a couple of reasons why that didn't happen but I'm not going to get into all that ;) Instead, I decided that I could write the letter on here instead and if you have been so inclined to go to this website after receiving your photo card - welcome! It is good to have you here.


This year has been a wonderful year. I've never been really large and pregnant in the winter so it was a new experience beginning the year in my third trimester. Contrary to what most women will say, I actually enjoyed being that large in the summertime. I think it has something to do with: a) tying your shoes b) finding a warm coat to fit and c) trying to walk on ice. However, it was great to have Elizabeth Grace (from here on out known as Libby) on March 30th. She weighed 7 lbs 8 oz and I think was 21 inches long (boy, how my memory fails me these days!). Libby is so sweet she makes your teeth hurt. We have been blessed by her in so many ways. Luke and Abby enjoy her. Of course, I'm sure that will all change with time - but maybe not. Libby is very tall and thin - I keep feeding her more to help her bulk up a little but it just all seems to go into inches instead of lbs. She is rolling and scooting and doing a little crawling. Her favorite activity to head straight for underneath the tree and chew on the Fisher Price Nativity Set underneath there. I think Baby Jesus is her favorite flavor. :)


Abby is now 3 and is quite the charmer...when she wants to be. She definitely is my stronger-willed child but is becoming more reasonable as she ages ;) She enjoys playing with her toy cooking stuff and babies. When Mike & Luke are playing with knights and dinosaurs, she often plays with by bringing them all things to eat. She also likes anything "princess" and loves to wear dresses. She has a penchant for shoes and will show anybody willing to take the time her shoes. Abby is a very willing helper and I enjoy having that in her! She started AWANA this year is doing very well memorizing her verses. Oh, and the other big accomplishment of the past year - she is potty-trained!


Luke started preschool in the fall. He enjoys attending Holloway House, a private, Christian preschool and does a great job in all aspects of learning. He will be more than ready for Kindergarten in the fall of 2008. Luke's biggest interests are in the aforementioned knights and dinosaurs. He is very artistic and loves to draw. His drawings have really improved over the year and are getting more and more realistic, it is so neat to see him developing! He also took swim lessons over the summer and passed Level 2 even though I feel as though he should retake it (and that's probably what we'll have him do). Luke is an old pro at being a Cubbie at AWANA. Next year he'll be moving into the next level of difficulty - Sparks.


Mike is doing really well at Rockwell Collins. He enjoys his job, the new challenges it often brings and the people he works with (not equating them with challenges here!). The difficulties of last year (back problems & acid reflux) have not plagued him like they did in 2006. We purchased a Wii (Nintendo Gaming system) and he is quite good at it (and his son is quickly taking after him). One of these days, I'll will consistently beat him at Dance Dance Revolution but as it remains, he's still the one with rhythm in the family (after all, he was/is a percussionist!). This fall, also found Mike being able to lead a small group bible study at our home. We've been so blessed by the people in our group and look forward to getting to know them more in the coming year.


I've adjusted (well, as much as you can) to being a mother of three. I was even able to have a little garden this year. One of the funniest things is that Mike's granddad gave me some mystery seeds for my birthday which turned out to be broom corn. I hear rumors that he is thinking up another "mystery" seed for me to try this coming growing season. In the area of gardening, Mike also helped rig a system in our basement so that I can start seeds more easily inside. It was fun to do and I enjoyed giving away little tomato seedlings and starting most of my annuals from seed. My mom saw the set-up and even decided to do some of that herself (which I hear she had great success at). One other highlight of the year was being able to share what God has done in my life at our church's Holiday Specialtea. It was a great experience and I am so thankful for the people who prayed for me - I know their prayers are the reason I didn't pass out in front of the 200 women there! God is so good!


That's a pretty good re-cap of the year. Feel free, if this is your first time here, to go to previous months to read and look at pictures.


God bless you in the coming year.

An Icy Day

Yesterday we woke up to a layer of ice on every exposed thing in the yard. We continued to have freezing rain until about noon. Then, a slight dusting of snow was added to finish everything off. Our neighbors 25 ft birch tree is currently still bent to touching the ground in our garden. I'm wondering if it is going to snap!? We'll just have to wait and see. Yesterday remained cloudy all day and that is when these pictures were taken. Currently we have partly a cloudy sky and the ice covered branches sparkle and glisten was the dim sunlight hits them. It is really quite beautiful - like clear, delicate, blown glass in a jeweler's window (who says I can't be poetic?!).

Here is a picture of our tiny fountain grass - you can see how thick the ice is on the thin blades of the grass.

This a picture of the newest addition to our backyard, a 6 ft Canadian Hemlock tree that we got on clearance this fall - I hope it makes it!

I'd say any birds that wanted to eat out of this feeder would definitely feel like jail birds with those bars of ice hanging down.

'Tis the season...

...for a Cookie Exchange!

Tomorrow morning, barring an ice storm (which is in the forecast...grrrrr), I'll be going to a cookie exchange. Now, the process of deciding which cookies to bring is always slightly difficult. I really like the sugar cut-out cookie recipe I have but - everyone makes those! I also like a cranberry coconut recipe I have (which I need to make!) but I made those last year. So, I dug into the recesses of my mind and remembered a cookie recipe that I had made. Now, the taste isn't knock-your-socks-off, out-of-this-world good, BUT the presentation is pretty cool and it is fun to make something slightly more involved than chocolate chip cookies. Here's a picture of this year's pick - Pinwheel Cookies.

A visit from Grandma & Papa

Last week we had the pleasure of hosting my parents. We had lots of fun. Mom & Dad really had a great time playing with the kids. We got to do some shopping, eat out at Granite City one day for lunch, and take a little "tour" of the city. One evening, I made chili since one of my parents' friends said my mother had made the best chili he had ever tasted. I said "Well, he hasn't had my chili." So, of course, I made it different than I usually do by adding a "secret" ingredient. Hehehe - it was fun watching everyone guess what it could be. Finally, Mike got it - is was some unsweetened chocolate. Definitely added a slightly complex flavor. :)

Here is a picture of my parents and the kids the night before Mom & Dad took off.

Today's Giggle

This morning, Luke and Abby requested coloring pages printed off of the internet. Luke requested a rhino and Abby, a princess. Both received what they asked for and in particular, Abby got a picture of Cinderella to color.

"CinderGorilla wears blue," Abby said as she was using a blue marker on her coloring page.

"No, it's CinderELLA!" Luke corrects her.

"I like GorillaCinrella" Abby replies.

Luke: "No, it's NOT Gorilla, if it was gorilla, she'd be a big black monkey with lots of fur!"

Abby remained unaffected by Luke's corrections. After all, a name isn't what makes a princess, is it?