GRRRR!!!!!

Seriously!! Does anyone else really get ticked-off when you call a certain company and are forced to talk to someone from another country who you can barely understand 5 words out of their mouth? Oh my Gosh!!! That just happened to me and I swear it just gets my blood boiling. I guess I will just have to keep calling back until I can talk to an American. Now don't get me wrong, I am not racist. I would just like to understand what is being said to me when I have to make a phone call to get important information. Thanks for listening!

girly girl

The dress-up phase has begun. Tonight Katelyn was asking for something and pointing into her closet. I couldn't figure out what it was that she wanted, so I picked her up so she could show me. She wanted to wear this dress over her jammies.

Dinner Group

Trying to figure out they eye shadow

This picture is sort of blurry, but her facial expressions were hilarious!

We signed up to be in a dinner group with some folks from church. Last night was our turn to host. We had 12 people at our house and had a great time. After dinner I had a game for us to play. It was a relay-type game. Guys against Girls. We each had a bag of items that we had to put on (including eye shadow) completely, then take off, put back in the bag and pass to the next person on down the line. The team who dressed and undressed everyone the fastest won. I wish I could say the girls won, but we didn't. We lost by a half a second. Here are a few pictures. I love the action shot in the bottom picture with the hair flying all over.

Valentine's Day

From: Justin






























My beautiful boquet.
























I really love my husband!

blogging...who knew?

Okay, so I had no idea at all how common it is to have a blog. I only learned of it last year from one of my cool friends in little ol' Newport. But I can now see that it has become quite the thing to do...an epidemic even! Last week two old friends found me and everytime I come in contact with someone new who has a blog, they end up having a link to someone else's blog who I also know. I am completely obsessed...I think. But everyone else's blog seems so clever and witty, like everyone has taken classes in creative writing or something. I once felt like I could post a cute picture and a short subtitle and be really cool, but I may just have to step it up a notch. Okay, not really. But to all those of you who have such great writing skills which enable you to make ordinary experiences become extraordinary...Bravo!

trip to the dentist

Katelyn survived her first trip to the dentist. It was just a "look-see" kind of thing. She cried of course, but recovered quickly. She had a stellar check-up. Maybe next time she won't cry and we can go for a ride in the chair. I highly recommend Children's Choice Dental. www.childrenschoicedental.com Katelyn saw Dr. Herzog, who was a very nice man.

the luckiest

First of all, hats off to Arah for getting me on track to create a music playlist for my blog. It only took me 4 or 5 days to finally get it figured out. Anyway, the song, "The Luckiest" is mine and Justin's wedding song. I'm so glad I found it to put on here. It's such a sweet song. I hope you enjoy it.

family prayers

Nothing warms my heart more than to see Katelyn ready for prayers. We had family prayer tonight and she knelt down with us, folded her little arms and even bowed her head. She stayed that way the entire time (we do keep them shorter for her sake...and yes, I peeked). Whenever the prayer is done she emphatically says: "Men!" (for amen). She's so sweet~

my new best friend

Did anyone see the Oprah when Dr. Oz showcased the "Neti Pot"? Well, I was so intrigued by the idea of this. A Neti Pot is used for irrigating the sinuses. I had NEVER heard of this before I saw it on the Oprah show. I have been wanting to get one for months but have never gotten around to it. So when this last upper respiratory espisode of mine came around I decided it was time to take action. I was suffering you see, so I went to the local Ben Franklin and found this. It was the best I could get in Newport and basically does the same thing. You fill it with warm water and a special saline solution, press it against your nostril, lean forward with mouth open and presto! away goes the yuck in your sinuses. As far as I can tell, it works really well. I am curious to see how it will affect my allergies as I start using it regularly and once I get over this cold. According to the people who make it, you should use it twice a day as part of your regular hygiene routine, much like brushing your teeth or bathing. Makes sense to me. I recommend this or the Neti Pot to all!

ready for spring

Many thanks to the plow people of Newport, but really, do you have to plow it into our driveway all the time? It's a real stinker when you get up to go to work in the morning and you can't even get out of your own driveway...and your husband is asleep because he didn't get to bed until 3:30 this morning...and when you try to back up the car it won't move, the tires just spin. Hoorah for my dear husband who came to rescue me from my desperate plight and free me from the snow bondage...only to find out when I was freed that there was no school today. Guess my number didn't make it onto the list today. Grrrrr!

growing up katelyn

I love watching Katelyn grow and learn. She is at a stage right now where she is learning lots of new words. I just thought I would share some of my favorites.

Katelyn / Translation

"foofee" = "movie" (especially "ella" for Cinderella)

"gahbeesh" = "garbage"

"gack" = "fruit snack"

"muck" = "oatmeal"

"pitto" = "hippo" (pink hippo bath toy)

"poop" = "poop" (she now tells me after she has gone poo in her diaper)

"toot" = yep you guessed it! (for flatulation)

She also says a variety of other words that are actually pronounced correctly.

Anyway, she sure is fun to have around. She has a great sense of humor (no doubt inherited from her mommy..wink). She is like my little shadow..follows me around everywhere. She loves to read books and make the animal sounds. Katelyn is such a bright, happy little spirit. It's so much fun watching her grow.

Family Fun

I was trying to get a picture of Katelyn and Sophie together. I told Katelyn to go sit down by her, so she backed her little bum right up into Sophie's face and then sat down in her lap. Not quite what I had in mind, but okay.

Miss Sophie

Katelyn, Ezra, and Sophie (5 months apart each)

This weekend we had some family fun with Justin's brothers and their families. Katelyn doesn't get to see her cousin Sophie very much. The kids had lots of fun playing together, especially in the bathtub. Katelyn was going nuts splashing like crazy.