Day Four

Ava woke us all up bright and early this morning so we had plenty of time to get ready for the day. How thoughtful of her. :o) When I was finally awake enough to appreciate the beauty of the morning I knew this beautiful day couldn't go to waste. We packed up and headed to the library for story time like we do most Wednesdays. The theme was eggs and Easter. The kids had fun doing the "Easter Bunny Hokey Poky." Even Parker had fun "shaking it all bout." He kept shaking his head back and forth and laughing after that part.

After the class was over, the Librarian handed out chocolate bunnys to everyone for Easter. Of course, like I do with everything, I had to double check the allergy statement to see if it had anything with nuts in it to make sure it was safe for Brooke to eat. Unfortunately it was processed in a plant that processes peanuts. She was so very sad. I felt so bad for her because all of her friends were eating them and I could tell she was upset because she got a little teary eyed. But I am so proud of her, she just looked up at me with her eyes welled up with tears and said "Mom, do you think when we get home I can trade this candy for something special?" Of course I told her that would be ok. At home we have a special container of "special things" that she can trade unsafe candy or treats that she has been given by other people. It mostly gets used around the holidays, like Halloween, Valentines and Christmas.

She is so special, wise beyond her years. It makes me feel so much better every time I hear her ask someone "do you know if that has peanuts in it?" because it gives me confidence that soon she will be able to act as an advocate for herself and that will give me some relief. I always make sure to bring a special treat for her when we go to birthday parties or get togethers just in case she isn't able to have the cake or whatever the treat is, but I think from now on I think I will slip a little something special into my purse for days like today. I'm still learning how to best handle this obstacle we've been given but luckily I have an amazing daughter who knows how to roll with the punches.


Oh and P.S.

Day Three

Easter is right around the corner and we are very excited because we have family coming to stay with us. Chelsea, Garenn, Tanner and Gram should be here Saturday sometime!!! I could not be more excited. I haven't seen my boys in almost 7 months. It should be a hoppy Easter indeed.

Day Two

March 29, 2010

About two weeks ago we spent the morning walking around Lowe's and we found these awesome roses on sale. We've been wanting to spruce up the yard a little bit so we decided to pick some up. There were a ton of colors to choose from but I picked two white ones and one pink and white one. The white ones remind me of In-and-Out, (I'm pretty sure all of my California friends are smiling right now) it's like having a little piece of home here with me.

I planted them in the front flower bed while Brian worked on pressure washing the fence so we could stain it. Which by the way, he stained it Saturday and it looks amazing! Anyways, a few days after I planted the roses, it snowed which made me kinda nervous. But as you can see they are doing great. So far the girls have loved helping me water them every day. We'll see how long that last...

Day One

"Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes." No doubt that some of you who have seen the musical Rent have had this catchy tune stuck in your head at least once. 525,600 minutes, that's how many minutes there are in a year. So for the next year I am going to challenge myself to take a picture a day.

I have always had grand ideas to keep a journal but I never take the time to sit down and actually do it. Now that I have this new camera I decided what better way to document our lives but to actually capture it in snap shots. So this will be my sort of digital diary if you will. Plus all I hope that this well help us stay better in touch with all of our friends and family that we miss so much.

Here we go. My goal is a picture a day for the next 365 days. I think it will be interesting to look back a year from now and see what craziness has happened in those 525,600 minutes.
...Great, now I have that song stuck in my head... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tCd7SKBDYg

March 28, 2010

After spending the morning at church we headed to David's Bridal for our second fitting for Brooke's flower girl dress that she will be wearing in Braden and Stephanie's wedding this June. She is very excited. When we were in the dressing room for the first time her eyes lit up when she saw all these sparkly puffy dresses. When she got the first on and zipped up she twirled around and with a big smile said "I can't wait to show Daddy!" Moments like that just melt my heart.

Now I am not going to show a picture of the dress because I don't want to take away from the surprise at the wedding but here are the shoes that she will be wearing. After trying on about 5 different pairs, these were the one's that worked out the best. David's Bridal doesn't carry half sizes so some were way to tight and some were flopping off her feet when she walked. These ones fit just right and she says they make her feel like a princess.