Happy Birthday Abby!

Today is Abby's 8th birthday and I can't believe she's that old already! These last 8 years have just FLOWN by. We actually started celebrating her birthday today at about 1am. Since she was born about that time, we thought it was fitting - though it did happen by chance. As Adam and I were headed to bed (yes, around 1am), Abby was getting up to go to the bathroom. We decided to let her open one present on her way back to bed. She was surprised and excited - it was a fun little twist that I hope she'll remember. Who knows - maybe it'll become a tradition!

She came home from school with great stories of friends wishing her a happy birthday and how his class made her a birthday book. She wore her new Hannah Montana shirt (1am present) to school and got an "It's My Birthday" sticker from her teacher to wear all day. She said it was a GREAT day. She actually spent some time cleaning her room (we'll be hosting a sleepover party on Friday - need some MAJOR prep for such an event!) while I baked her birthday cake. Abby got to choose where we went for dinner tonight and she chose... China One! No surprise - it's her favorite. Grandma and Adam met us there and Jacob and Abby ate their weight in shrimp. It was actually a little disturbing. haha. They topped it off with some ice cream before we headed home to open presents, sing Happy Birthday and eat some cake.

Adam and I got her a cowgirl outfit for her American Girl doll, some Hannah Montana stamps, and a pillow and sleeping bag for her American Girl doll. Jacob gave her his Jesse doll (from Toy Story) since he's "getting too old for it", and Grandma gave her a shirt and sweatshirt from American Girl (Abby sized), some A.G. books, and an electric blanket. She plans to wear the new shirt and sweatshirt to school tomorrow - she LOVES them - in fact, she put them on immediately.

Abby, you are such an amazing girl! I often marvel at the gift the God has given me in you. You are so much more than I knew to ask for and I will be eternally grateful that He chose me to be your mom. You are wild and free-spirited, spunky, bubbly and just plain happy and excited about life in general. I could and should learn A LOT from you! You are also kind and loving, a CUDDLER, and a good friend. This last year has brought some challenges, but you have learned so much and we learn more about you everyday. You are an amazing student - an excellent reader, and you excel at math. Your teacher says that you have a passion for life that brightens her classroom - so you see, we aren't the only ones who appreciate that about you! This year you did a lot of fun, new, and even amazing things. The thing that stands out in my head is that you decided you were going to read your bible. The WHOLE bible. You've already made it several books into the Old Testament - but the most amazing thing is that you're really remembering what you're reading and you're able to tell me about the stories you've learned. It may not be this year or next, but I have no doubt that you'll earn that Wii yet! ;)

You've also taken ice skating lessons again, graduated the 1st grade, visited the ocean for the first time, went to Summer Camp for the first time at Spring Hill (the same camp I went to!), took our annual family vacation Up North - with Allison & Rachel this time (their first camping trip), took swimming lessons again (made it to level 4), spent some fabulous days at Papa's lake with your very BFF's (and mine), played fall soccer, started 2nd grade with your new favorite teachers (Mrs. Lestinsky and Miss Dean), participated in your 2nd grade musical with a speaking part, and dressed as a Mummy for Halloween. But I think the highlight of your 8th year of life for me was when you chose to be baptized. It was such an amazing moment and I've never been more proud of you. I pray that your dad and I will continue to guide you, with His help, as you take your next steps into a relationship with Christ.

You are loved, baby girl. Happy birthday. Let's slow it down now, ok? You're moving too fast...

Halloween 2008

We walked the McMullen's neighborhood again this year, after an overwhelming unanimous vote by the kids. It helps that a LOT more of their friends from school live in that neighborhood. All of the group photos are on the McMullen's camera, but I snapped these with my iphone...
Jacob was Indiana Jones this year, and he looked AWESOME. I think he could have been dirtier, but we ran out of time for such details. He did have a cap gun, a whip, a brown satchel and THE HAT, though, so he certainly looked authentic enough (huge thanks to Mom and Katie for all the props for this outfit!).

Abby was a mummy, which isn't a difficult costume to put together - however, it's a somewhat difficult costume to KEEP together. By the end of the night she had strings of gauze trailing behind her for several yards. Pretty funny. She was the only mummy we saw all night! Allison was a pirate, Rachel was a leopard, Ty was a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, Carter was a knight and Mo was a bumble bee. They were all SO cute!!

These are our jack-o-lanterns for this year. Mine is the top left, Abby's is top right (with 3 different designs - ghost on one side, and two different faces on the others), Adam's is bottom right, and Jacob and I collaborated on the bottom right (Pherb).

It was a BEAUTIFUL evening for trick-or-treating and for walking the neighborhood with friends. Can't remember the last time it was so nice, or that we stayed DRY the whole time.

Afterward, our family headed over to mom's for dinner with her, Katie and Steve's girls. Steve (or should I say Magnum P.I.) was headed out the door. Had a delicious meal and some yummy Halloween cake - thanks mom!!

A few things...

that I forgot yesterday:

• Murphy is still with us and will be 12 years old on Thanksgiving weekend! That's REALLY old for a german shepherd!
• Jacob is now on the kids' drama team at GCC and a fairly regular participant in medias. He's quite a little actor!
• We're on Fall Break this weekend and spending a very lazy few days together. Needless to say, I'm ready for bedtime right now!!
• Adam and I will celebrate our FIFTEENTH wedding anniversary in a little more than 6 months. WOW.
• Christmas is exactly 8 weeks away.
  

3 months later...

I've gotten a few not-so-subtle hints from some friends and family lately that it's time to update the blog, so here I am.

So what's new?? Hmmm. Let's see...

• Anyone else ready for the election to be over already?
• The kids had their parent/teacher conferences this week and we've learned that they're both geniuses and destined for greatness. So in other words, no surprises there.
• Halloween is this week and we'll have a little Mummy and a mini Indiana Jones.
• Jacob is now in 4th grade (how is that possible?!?). Abby is in 2nd and in the same class as her BFF Allison.
• Adam is still working away at GCC and loves his team - Mike, Jonathan, Doc, Frank, Mike R and Stephanie, along with a host of volunteers all make it possible for Adam and I to actually see each other occasionally and for us to spend time together as a family.
• I still work at Pages In Time. Nuff said.
• Summer's officially over. We had our first snow this week! The kids were thrilled. I was not. I'm ready for Adam to decide to which southern location we'll be retiring. With his new hobby, it will like be somewhere near water...
• Adam's new hobby is SCUBA. Adam has worked diligently for many years to support my scrapbooking hobby. I guess now it's my turn to step up and getting a REAL job to support his. Any leads out there on anything in the 6-figure range??
• I read the Twilight series - twice - in August and September and am now anxiously awaiting the movie on 11/21. Can't wait!
• My punk sister is movie BACK to California in December - less than a year from when I drove her butt home! I can't believe she's leaving again, and I'm going to miss having her around...
• Adam and I took the kids to see High School Musical 3 the night it was released in the theater and it was AWESOME!! We all loved the movie - the dancing and music was absolutely outstanding. Seriously!
• My favorite shows this year: Private Practice, Grey's Anatomy, Brothers & Sisters and Dirty, Sexy Money (I didn't claim that any of them had redemptive value! They are definitely for entertainment purposes)
• I'm working the polls on Election Day again this year! I LOVE being a small part of the political process in that way. Watching people exercise this important right in our Democratic system is SO exciting!! It'll be a LONG day, but I have a feeling that we'll be busy. :)
  

That's about it for now! Who knows... maybe now that I've tested the blogging waters again, I'll be more likely to update every now and then. Maybe.

Allergy Update

As you may know, our son Jacob has suffered from a handful of food allergies since he was a baby. He was officially diagnosed at 11 months old after going into anaphylactic shock - twice. We learned at that time that he was allergic to milk, wheat, soy and nuts. Pretty restrictive for a little guy. He ate a lot of rice, rice krispies, rice bread and really gross but very nutritional (or so they say) completely synthetic non-milk, non-soy formula. He drank that until he was at least two and a half maybe three years old. He was retested when he was 3 and we got the terrific news that he was no longer allergic to soy - we celebrated with some FRENCH FRIES!! What American child doesn't eat McDonald's fries until he's over 3 years old?! Over the months and years we slowly began introducing small amounts of wheat and milk products into his diet and over the last year or so we've seen a big difference in how his body responds to them - very little eczema, less digestive "issues", etc. Our suspicions were confirmed today when we went for another skin test. Jacob was SO brave - he did such a great job!Jacob's still allergic to a lot of different things, mostly environmental - grasses, trees, weeds, mold, dust mites, etc. All very normal and treatable. He's also still allergic to peanuts. BUT, he has NO OTHER FOOD ALLERGIES!!! He could drink a whole glass of milk right now and be just fine! Of course, we'll have to get him to like it first...

This is such a HUGE answer to years worth of prayers. We've been praying for his healing since we first learned of his allergies. We've also talked about how it's possible that God may choose not to take them away and that's ok - God's knows better than we do. We've often talked about how his allergies have helped make him a very responsible, thoughtful, flexible, patient and considerate kid. Tonight we got to celebrate this answer to our prayers and talk about what we've all learned from him having them. I know I've certainly learned a lot.

We go back on Wednesday of this next week to do a peanut challenge. We know that he's allergic to them, but that doesn't tell us what his potential reaction would be if he's exposed, so that is what this test will tell us. It will help us (and all his caregivers) to understand what could happen and how he should be treated (ie. Benedryl vs. Epipen and 911). Please pray with us for a great report next week also!

Month in Review

Jacob with his camp group on pick-up day.

Abby with her camp group on pick-up day.

Two of the happiest, tiredest, dirtiest kids in history.

Just after crossing over the Mackinaw Bridge. We brought Allison and Rachel with us to pick up the kids and for a week at Buckatabon. It was AWESOME!!

The park where the kids spent the vast majority of their time.

Seriously.

Katie, getting some sun on the boat while we pulled the kids.

Jacob and Ally on the tube.

Abby and Rachel on the tube.

The world's smallest chicken leg.

There was a bear in camp! It was hanging around a little too much, so it was time to call DNR to do something about it. Being that we were sleeping in a very thin, nylon tent, with 4 marshmallow-scented children, I was ok with that idea. (Did you know that marshmallows are a favorite food of the black bear??)

The crew, including my cousin Kaitlyn, on a day trip to Bond Falls in the U.P.

Jacob and Kaitlyn on the tube - MAJOR accomplishment as Kaitlyn hasn't tubed in YEARS!

Abby and Ally on the tube.

Jacob and Rachel on the tube.

Kaitlyn on the boat while we were eagle-spotting.

Back home for another session of swimming lessons.

Finally, I spent the weekend in Chicago at the Craft & Hobby Association Summer 2008 trade show buying for Pages In Time. Fun stuff!

It's been a great month since I posted last. We're REALLY enjoying our summer, which is flying by WAY too fast. Lots more fun in store...

The kids are at camp

I took a handful of pictures on Sunday when I dropped them off, and the rest are from the camp website. The post pictures daily, which is WAY cool!

They look like some happy kids to me. Check out some more pictures here.