Old pictures- take 3

Here are the last of the old pictures for you:
This is Arianna at her party for becoming an official US citizen- made extra special because she's with Grandpa and Grandma:




This was at Thanksgiving and Laura had changed Arianna's diaper- look at Laura's jeans- somehow Arianna pee'd all over her!
-



Nick 2 years ago at the beach:


Halle and Shaelyn hugging Grandpa:


Halle while we were still in Russia:


The first time I actually got to see and hold Halle:


The first time I actually got to see and hold Arianna:


Arianna with Grandma:


Nick with our first dog- Schnowsky:



Nick at our first house:


Halle had gotten a box of donuts and crawled behind a chair and was having her own little feast:


Hope you've enjoyed a little look back in time! I'd love to see some of your old pictures. It sure brought back good memories looking at all of these old shots.

Next installment of old pictures

This was at Arianna's Birthday last year. I just think she looks so cute here:


This is Halle while we were camping.


Another of my favorites- Nick getting a valuable hoeing lesson from Grandpa:

Arianna right before her dance recital:


Nick- I think he was 10 here:


Nick and Mack- 3 years ago on the annual father son camping weekend:


Last installment tomorrow- I've saved a couple of my favorites for tomorrow:

I need opinions please

While I was going through pictures, I found this picture of Halle;




This is what her hair looks like now:




Here's my question. I'm really wondering if I should cut her bangs. I have grown her bangs out for awhile now, but I think I really prefer her with bangs. I think it would be easier to work with in the morning too.

What do you think- all opinions welcome- I really want to know what you guys think.

I interrupt the regular scheduled programming

Well the blizzard they predicted definately hit last night. It is a whopping 5 degrees here so Mack had to come back in last night and is spending the day inside with me! However, I wanted him to have a bath because he wasn't smelling as fresh as he could. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. This is Mark trying to get Mack in the tub:




Here he is getting all scrubbed up:


I'm happy to report he smells as fresh as a daisy now and he's being a very good boy!
He really is a sweet dog and we all love him- he's just a little too big for my kitchen and since he's not potty trained that's the only place he can be.

I'll leave you with a picture out my french doors in my kitchen to show you what it's doing outside right now:

Down memory lane

While reading Bonnies post tonight, it made me think of some pictures I had of the kids from years ago.
I've decided that over the next few days, I'm going to be inundating you with pictures of the cutest kids over the last 5 or so years.
You've received fair warning, so if you don't want to indulge this mom in looking at her kids pictures you might want to take the next 2 days off!
For the rest of you- enjoy!!


These next 2 pictures are of Nick when we were on vacation in Tennessee:



This was our family Christmas picture a couple years ago. Mack actually did pull the kids in that sled (right into a pine tree)


Halle at her 3rd Birthday. She was so excited to get Nemo- she was infatuated with Nemo!


This is Arianna on her 6th Birthday. I just loved her in that dress:


This is really one of my favorite pictures. This is my brother and Halle holding my dad's hand. We were up at the cottage on vacation.


This was a night that Arianna wanted Nick to sleep with her because she was afraid- I love how she has her arm around him


The girls having a waterfight:

My helper

What a good helper I had last week. Halle picked up her room and then asked me if she could use the vacuum. She did a great job. In the afternoon she wanted to go outside the next thing I know- this is what I see:




I sincerely hope this helpful spirit continues!

Update for you

Awhile ago I told you all that I no longer had my daycare kids and I was concerned because that was money I counted on each month. Some of you also know that last summer God brought a job opportunity into my life. I'm a real estate assistant to my neighbor. I just wanted to update you and let you know that so far January is starting off well. We had 2 houses that were bought last week and with Michigan's economy that's good news! I have to say that while I was concerned, I'm not in a panic and God has given me peace about this situation. I truly believe that God led that job to me for a reason and I'm very thankful! This month is just a start- I need it to continue- so if any of you need any help with real estate or know of anyone that does- please keep us in mind. My neighbors name is Tami Vroma and she works with Five Star Real Estate in Grand Rapids. She's a wonderful Christian lady and she truly puts her clients interest first. Our website is:
www.liveinwestmi.com
Thanks so much!

Awards to give

My wonderful sister Mari
has given me this award:





I'm passing this on to a few of my favorite blogs that I find loveable:
Julie
Angela

Post Removed

It's come to my attention that the Linky Love post wasn't something I want to be involved in- some of the links are not great sites!
Sorry to those I passed this on to- I should have checked it out before passing it on!

There's a moose loose over here...

This picture might seem a little strange to you considering we don't have any small children in the house anymore that need gates to protect them from getting where they shouldn't.

However, on the other side of the wall is this:




You see the cold weather is putting a damper on my kitchen! Since it's getting only in the single digits at night- it's not safe for Mack to be outside in those temps.
The only area in my house without carpet is my kitchen- therefore I have a 100 pound dog in my kitchen!!!!!!!
Do you feel my pain? I love him very much, but I'm much happier when I'm not having to go through gates, tripping over huge paws and having him put his head on my table.
I'm getting a little tired of sweeping, mopping, and cleaning the table numerous times a day!
Thank goodness this cold front should be ending tomorrow and I can reclaim my kitchen!

Edited to add: He's NOT potty trained- that's why he's in the kitchen!!

A blooming artist

Halle drew a picture the other day that made me laugh. Arianna helped her with the top words- Halle told her what she wanted it to say and Arianna wrote it for her.

The title of this masterpiece is "The cricket did not know how to crick"

On the bottom of the picture- look at what Halle wrote:
"Can you hear me?

What does your handwriting say about you?

What Your Handwriting Says About You

You are a fairly energetic person. You know how do pace yourself, and you deal well with stress. You are somewhat outgoing, but you're not a natural extrovert. You think first before you act. You tend to be independent, rational, and logical. You are balanced and grounded. You know how to get along well with others. You need a bit of space in your life, but you're not a recluse. You expect people to give you a small amount of privacy, and you respect their privacy as well. You are conservative, old fashioned, and a little stubborn. You are resistant to change. You are a decent communicator. You eventually get your point across, but sometimes you leave things a bit ambiguous.

What Does Your Handwriting Say About You?

Awards

What a great way to start my day- I've been given 2 awards from Jennifer.


This is what the author of this award says:

"I have met so many lovely and very talented ladies here in Blogdom, what more can I do or say to express my humbled heart to each, than to give all my dearest readers and friends a special award filled with love. So, spread the love dear ones, spread the love to those you love."

The 2nd award is:



What fun awards to receive and I'm thrilled to pass them on to:
Tammy
Brenda
Julie

Home sweet home-???

I'm back home again. Now you all know that I like winter- so I'm not going to complain.....much-smiles!
Even I was a little sad to be leaving 70 degree sunshine for a winter storm waiting for me at home today- not to mention highs of 17!

On Thursday we went to Sea World. It was a good choice. It had been a few years since we've been there so it was fun to go back. I just love to see the whales and dolphins- they're so amazing!






The park is so beautiful- look at some of these scenes:




We had a wonderful time- I love Florida- it is so beautiful. I couldn't get enough of the palm trees. It was a great vacation- I was really ready to come home though- I missed the kids and Mark and couldn't wait to see those little faces waiting for me at the airport- and they didn't dissapoint!
Now it's time to get back to the real world- snow and all.

Epcot

Monday we went to Epcot. It was really fun. The weather was so perfect- 65- sunny and a nice breeeze- couldn't have asked for anything better!
What a fun place. I loved Soarin- you ride like a hanglider and you see scenery of all over the U.S. It was amazing and it felt so real!

We picked the perfect day to go to Disney- we didn't have to wait for even 1 ride!!
My feet were so sore by the end of the day from walking for 12 hours straight- but it was great exercise!
Here's some pictures:
The Epcot Ball:




Look closely at this- these were the Chinese acrobats- she was riding the unicycle and throwing bowls up to her head with her foot! They were amazing!



This was a highlight for me- we got to meet Goofy, Minnie, Mickey, Pluto, Chip and Dale, Lilo and Stitch- I have to admit- I got a little giddy!



These were some of the treats we enjoyed at France- a lemon tart and Napolean- It was fabulous!!


We had day 1 of the seminar today- wow- it's great. The speaker is a Christian man- it's not just relevant to Real Estate- he's also talking about getting your family, physical and spiritual lives in order.
A prayer request for you all. About 30 minutes before we finished he announced that one of the ladies that works at his company and was at the conference just received a phone call that her 21 year old son was killed in a car accident today. Her name is Lori Kennedy- I couldn't stop my tears - the whole room just gasped. Please lift her and her family up right now in your prayers.

Tomorrow is the last day of the conference and then we were planning on Busch Gardens on Thursday but we'll see because they're talking rain- we'll play that by ear.

Miss you all!

I'm here!

I'm in Florida! It's been a good day, our flight was great and right on time.
Here's a picture of the airport:



The funny thing is if you look at the words- it says: Gateway to the sun- well if you look closely at the top of the picture you might be able to see that it was pouring! It cleared up and it's been a good day.



While we were driving around tonight- we saw these beautiful lights. Turns out we're close to the Holyland Experience! We just drove around the outside of the building. It's gorgeous!

I had my days wrong so the seminar is on Tuesday and Wednesday. Tomorrow we are going to go to Disney-Epcot. On Thursday we have decided to go to Bush Gardens instead of the Space Center. I think I'll really like the gardens.

I'll keep you posted on the rest of the week- should have some good pictures tomorrow.