Holly

This post if for you, Stephanie Burley! :-) Annie Profitt--10 days old

2011-02-07T11:29:00.001-05:00

Goodbye Gramps...

2010-12-16T17:31:00.000-05:00

My Gramps walked into the adirondack woods last Wednesday with my Uncle Jim's dog Cherokee. Cherokee came out alone. My Gramps who loved the outdoors just a little less than God and his family, died snowshoeing in the woods he loved. We all had said for years that he was going to die that way and yet it was pretty amazing to know we were right. My Uncle Jim said it was a perfect winter day. The sun was shining, the snow was gently falling and I have no doubt my Gramps was loving every step he took.

My Gramps was very, very special to me. He was a truly unique, one of a kind person. He was easily the smartest person I have ever known. He was a pastor who walked away from God and his family. But the good news is...he came back. The mercy and forgiveness of our Heavenly Father has never been more evident than in the life of my Gramps.

I feel so very blessed that my cousin got married 2 weeks before my Gramps died and I was able to spend three days with him. I was able to add some more precious memories to my already large stash.

One of the last time I saw my Gramps was at my Gram's funeral in April. He wasn't feeling well and I was very scared that he was going to be gone maybe before we even left. A few of us were gathered in Gram's big living room and an inpromptu hymn sing broke forth. My grandfather had a beautiful tenor voice and I loved to hear him sing. After one hymn, Gramps stood to his feet and stated, "This song is my Testimony" and he started to sing the song below. What a beautiful testimony of a man who had come full circle and who is now sitting at the right hand of the God he loved so much.

Christ is not a Disappointment

I have found no satisfaction
In the fleeting joys of earth.
I have hewed me broken cisterns
That have mocked me by their dearth
All the springs my soul had tested
Failed to meet my deepest need
Christ alone has met my longing
He has satisfied indeed.

I have tried the world for pleasure
But it could not satisfy
Though it promised much it failed me
All its wells and springs were dry;
Everything I tried was empty
And I thought that life was vain.
But He came and tuned my heartstrings
And I learned to sing again.

I was tempted not to trust Him
For so many things had failed
But so patiently He waited
and His tenderness prevailed
So I swung my hearts door open
And His promises I tried
Christ is not a disappointment
He has fully satisfied.

Christ is not a disappointment every longing in my breast. Finds in Him complete fulfillment He has brought me into rest. I have tested Him and proved Him more than all I dreamed He'd be; Christ is not a disappointment, He is all in all to me.

Been a while...again!

2010-10-03T23:25:00.003-04:00

My sister wanted me to check something out on someones blog and when I signed in, I was a bit shocked at how long ago my last post was....wow! Thought I better give a quick update to my last blog.

My cousin, Shane, made it out of the hospital shortly before Christmas. He had to have extensive phyisical therapy to learn to walk again. To be honest, I believe he is a walking, talking miracle today. Its amazing (and I am so thankful!) the mercy that God has on those who don't even know Him!

My Grandmother passed away in April. It was so very sad and yet, an amazing peace and contentment pervaded our family's togetherness during that time. We miss her but are so happy to know she has made Heaven her home. Unexpectedly, a couple weeks ago, she welcomed her little 5 day old, great grandson, Marshall Williston Lum, into Heaven as well. I know it was a comfort to his parents to know she was there with him.

From what I understand from her mom's posts, Little Annie Thompson is currently in remission. Another miracle!!!

So its been almost a year and 2 out of the 3 prayer requests are miracles! Thats a pretty good percentage people! We knew at the time of my post that Gram was ready to go and what a miracle entering Heaven must have been. She definitely got a "well done, thou good and faithful servant!" and I like to think she is holding a precious little baby boy in her arms and enjoying Heaven with him, in all its perfection.

Prayer

2009-11-05T00:29:00.006-05:00

My cousin Shane and his dad, my Uncle Bill

Julie and her little Annie.

My Aunt Nomie, my mom and My Gram

I know, I know, I know! I have not updated my blog in far too long. I have gotten caught up in facebook and it is all to easy to go and read all the status updates and forgot about the deeper blog world! But tonight I wanted to share a little bit deeper stuff than just a status update. My cousin Shane is in the ICU in Grand Rapids, MI right now. He has double pneumonia, and H1N1 on top of that. He is literally fighting for his life. I have a Grandma who was told a couple of weeks ago, that there is nothing they can do to fight her cancer, and to go home and live the rest of her life to the best of her ability. Many of you know Bart and Julie Thompson. They found out 10 months ago that their baby girl, Annie, has neuroblastoma--a very dangerous cancer. So, why am I telling you these things? In each one of these situations, prayer support from the family of Christ is paramount. As I was scrolling through facebook tonight and reading all the comments that my friends have left on my status that asked for prayer for my cousin, I was brought to tears. It is so incredible to know that there are so many people out there who are willing to hold my cousin, whom most of them do not know, up in prayer to our heavenly Father. When you go and look at the website dedicated to praying for Annie, you will see there is an incredible amount of prayer support going up for that family and little Annie. When I read Julie's updates on her little Annie, I can hardly imagine what their family must be going through. Her posts always bring tears to my eyes. I am not a parent...but I can only imagine the pain and heartache that they are dealing with, but I know that they have a HUGE army of people praying for them all the time! Some of the things she has said in her posts are so powerful! In fact, here is a little excerpt from one of them..."However God chooses to use her she will be healed - a healing here on earth where we can all see her and marvel in what God has done or a heavenly healing that we cannot see right now but will be His perfect will and who could deny her to be able to walk, talk, see well, hear, touch, smell, and have a perfect body! We love her so much it hurts but God loves her and us even more." Those are the words of a woman who knows what faith and trust in God is all about. She also a woman who is prayed for every day..maybe even every hour. My Gram, as far as I can tell, has a peace about her that passes understanding. She KNOWS where she is headed and she knows its a beautiful thing. She has lived an amazingly dedicated life. She is an example of someone who took a lot of hard knocks in life and kept on trusting God. When she dies the world will lose an incredible person! We are going to miss her SO much! We as her family, need the prayer to deal with the loss of a wonderful grandmother and Mom. My cousin's family does not know much about prayer, but they are definitely learning that they need to rely on a Power greater than themselves. The point is...Isn't it great to be a Christian? We have such strength when we all pull together for the same cause. I think that sometimes we forget how wonderful it is to have a Christian family. What would we do without each other? Sometimes I think we get so caught up in annoyances and disagreements that happen. Forget the little annoyances and disagreements! Do they really matter? We NEED each other! Its a beautiful thing and its a beautiful way to live!

A sunflower day....

2009-07-30T18:02:00.004-04:00

Jade--2

There is a big field of sunflowers near us so we took all my nieces to get some pics.

How funny is this pic?! Those two girls.........

Emma--4

Maria--22 Months

Kasey--5

Kristina--9

Isabel--7

Visiting the Grandparents!

2009-07-09T23:45:00.009-04:00

I was trying to get a pic of my grandma and her daughters, when my uncle Jim's dog, Bailey, decided she should be in the pic, which in turn created much laughter all around.

Uncle Paul and me. Sweet, sweet uncle Paul.

My wonderful Gram!

Aunt Nomie, Mom, and Gram

My Gramps and I on top of Whiteface.

A bear paw mark on a tree on bear den mountain...yes it made me a bit nervous.....

This view is just off my Aunt's road.

Hiking with Dad and Gramps!

Love him!

It rained A LOT the whole time I was there. So finally we just decided to go on a hike anyway. It stopped raining and when we got to the top, we were treated with a beautiful rainbow!

I was able to go and visit my Grandparents in upstate, NY, this last week. First, I have to say, it is such a beautiful place up there! So peaceful and beautiful you can feel it! :-) I have gone on vacation there my entire life. My mom's whole family lives there, so as you can imagine that was the chosen vacation spot. As I have gotten older, I have not been able to visit as often and that means that I hardly ever get to see my grandparents. A while back, my Gramps was diagnosed with congestive heart failure, and in April this year my Grandma found out she has cancer. I have to tell you, up til now, my grandparents have been the picture of health. My grandma worked full time into her seventies and actually retired one week before she found out she had cancer. So, we don't really know what the future holds for either of my grandparents and I knew that I wanted to get up there to see them as soon as possible. I had such a good time. I love those two people. There really is just no one like them in the world. My Grandpa took me on some long hikes and taught me more than I could possibly remember about every little plant, tree and flower that we saw. Its pretty incredible to be taken up a mountain by a seventy something year old man. (I know, I should know exactly how old they are...but I don't! I have been told countless times, but me and numbers just don't get along!) He was in his element. He kept apologizing for slowing me down to which I laughed at! He is amazing. There is a certain amount of fear I have, knowing he goes in those woods every other day by himself, (what will happen to him if he has a heart attack in there?) and then I realize that even if he died by himself on a trail on a mountain, he will have died in his own earthly heaven. I definitely would not want to deny him what he loves so much.

My Grandma had a chemo session on Friday and she was pretty good until Monday. Then she wasn't feeling very well, which makes me so sad. My Gram is a busy lady and it was definitely not normal for her to sit in one place all day long. Cancer is so evil and the drugs you have to take are evil in their own way. The last night I as there, she was pretty much back to feeling normal so that was nice. We had a good time just sitting in the living room watching O'Reilly and Hannity and discussing our country's issues. My Gram had a pretty tough go of it when my mom was young and she has triumphed in ways that are unexplainable. There isn't a doubt in my mind that she is ready--come what may! I am so thankful I was able to go on this trip. Hopefully my fears are ungrounded and my Gramps will keep on going on like he is for years to come, and hopefully my Grams cancer can be licked...but either way, I am so thankful for Grandparents who love God and who set a great example of how life should be lived. I also want to emphasize...at the end of your life...family is what really matters.

Gabby

2009-06-10T14:51:00.005-04:00

Our neighbors decided to get an au pair at the beginning of this year. Little did we know that she would become such a good friend. Gabby is from Argentina, and she is just full of fun and life!

We had so much fun meeting her and learning about Argentina. She very quickly became a close friend with whom I loved to spend time with. It was great to have a friend live so close!

Unfortunately, her host family decided to move to Utah, so we had to say goodbye this week. We are all sad and we are going to miss her a lot.

Love ya, Gab-Gab!

A photoshoot with Kaelah

2009-06-10T14:35:00.002-04:00

I love to take pics of Kaelah. She is definitely my favorite subject. There are a lot of reasons, but probably the biggest is that she is a little pro! Just thought I would share a few of my favorites.

My baby girl is getting too big!

So far behind.....

2009-05-25T20:52:00.005-04:00

SO we went on our annual trip to Amish country this weekend. Lots of fun and food for all! ha! We were traveling some back road and realized that the cows had gotten out. Oops!

Erin and Mom checking things out

A slower paced life....

Jenna, Kristina, Isabel and I enjoying the motel pool

A happy Miss Maria

I was so happy that Aunt Kenda and Jenna came down. Love them!

Enjoying the amish lawn furniture

Taking a buggy ride

Me and Jenna about to get some free stuff.... LOL

The kiddos sitting in an old fashioned general store

The Emmorey kids minus Jeremy plus Kristina. :-)

Catching up...again!

2009-04-12T14:17:00.006-04:00

Emma and Shadley....first pictures together since they were 6 months and a year and a half.

First family pics, ever, I think.

Jade and Emma LOVE each other!

Random pic of me and Melissa. It was on her camera and I like hers better than mine. :-)

Karson's first photo shoot!

2009-04-07T16:38:00.002-04:00

I am putting these pictures on here before Teresa, because.....if I waited for her, you all wouldn't see them til this summer! Ok, maybe a slight exageration but since I have nothing better to do, and she has way too much to do, I am getting the jump on her. When I visited her in Idaho, we took Karson to JC Penneys to get his first pictures done. I thought he did pretty well for his first photo shoot.

We even got a half smile! :-)

Momma loves her little Karson!

My visit with Teresa and Karson!

2009-04-06T12:15:00.007-04:00

I was so excited to finally meet Karson. It was great to spend a week with Teresa. We just relaxed and shopped, and shopped, and shopped! We sat in a restaurant for two hours one afternoon just chatting away. So much fun. There are some friends that are like family and Teresa is definitely one of those.

These pics are all out of order, because I am too lazy to decide what ones I load first. lol

The above pic is me resting at Rhoda's after a terribly, turbulent flight from Chicago to Cincinnati. I was so sick, I almost warned the people around me to move their belongings so I didn't throw up on their stuff. Yeah....kind of embarrassing. Thankfully it didn't come to that, but it felt like the longest 45 minute flight ever!

Karson in his cowboy outfit from Aunt Holly!

I love his smile here. He was struggling with some colic while I was there so the smiles were few and far between.

Trying to keep that paci in his mouth.

Big brother, Kizer and big sister, Elle. As you can see, they love Karson!

Getting a bath

Cute boy! I loved this outfit on him.

Momma changing Karson in the changing room at the mall.

Sleeping in the Boppy

Sleepy boy!

I was so excited to see Callie again! I miss her so much. This is her giving me a hug right after I got there. She would just come up and bury her head in my stomach. LOVE HER!

My first introduction to Karson!

My girly girl!!

Resting after his first photo shoot

Such a snuggly bug. Love him!

Catching up

2009-04-05T23:16:00.004-04:00

Jenna came down to work with Erin for a weekend and then Stacey came down to visit as well! I love it when they come to stay for a few days. These two girls were my first babysitting kids (and my cousins) so we are pretty close. Its hard to believe that they are all grown up and not kids anymore.

Love me some Jada hugs!

Vicky (My roomate) and I after she threw me a little birthday celebration

Diane (Kaelah's mom) and I at my birthday

Uncle Jeremy with Jade

My birthday celebration group!

All my parents grandkids except for Shadley

The cake Vicky got me from the Bon-Bonerie. It was amazing. The detail was absolutely incredible.

Rhoda and I after our own little birthday celebration. Its been a busy few months, but maybe after this one things will slow down a little bit. :-)

Something to think about...

2009-02-22T21:13:00.003-05:00

"We are not presented with a functional God who will help us out of jams or an entertainment God who will lighten our tedious hours. We are presented with the God of exodus and Easter, the God of Sinai and Calvary. If we want to understand God, we must do it on His terms. If we want to see God the way He really is, we must look to the place of authority--to Scripture and to Jesus Christ. "And do we really want it any other way? I don't think so. We would very soon become contemptuous of a God whom we could figure out like a puzzle or learn to use like a tool. No, if God is worth our attention at all, He must be a God we can look up to--a God we MUST look up to...The moment we look up to God (and not over at him, or down on him) we are in the posture of servitude."
Eugene Peterson

I read this quote today off of a friends facebook page and I thought it was worthy of posting. I had a very wise pastor growing up and I remember him saying...."If we understood everything about God...then HE wouldn't be God anymore...WE would." It is such a huge temptation to blame God when things don't make sense or when things don't go our way....but what a shame! God is GOD! HE knows the way that we take...I know that in my own life....when I am in a place where I have NO where else to turn to, that is when I really see God for who He really is, and actually allow Him to work His will in my lfe. Thankfully I am learning to not fall out of that place of knowing that HE is the only one I can and MUST turn to.

Catching up...

2009-02-06T15:04:00.009-05:00

For some reason, my pictures aren't showing up on my pre-post so I have to just type everything at the bottom, since I don't know where one pic ends and the other begins. Liss came to visit for a few days. It is always spending time with her and Jade. Jade is getting so big, and talks a lot. She is very independent (no surprise there!) and loves kids and animals. I was excited to have her pics taken at picture people as well. We had a good time. Rhoda had Elizabeth's pics taken as well, and she did such a good job, the store manager had her picture put up in the studio! She got on that backdrop and just hammed it up! The pics of the piles of ice is from the ice storm we had here last week. It snowed about 4 inches and then we got about an ince or two of freezing rain and then about 4 more inches. I got those piles and a lot more off my car. It was kind of fun cleaning my car off. lol

Karson Levi Sams 1-26-2009

2009-01-27T00:57:00.004-05:00

Karson arrived in the afternoon today. I still haven't heard the exact time. Teresa had somewhat of a rough time, and apparently is still going to have a bit of a rough road ahead of her. She has to go in for some surgery in the morning to fix a hematoma (sp) that occured during the birth. SO I know she would appreciate any and all prayers. Other than that they are all extremely happy and proud of their new little guy. He was two weeks early, so his sugar was a little low, but they have already brought that up and he was to start nursing soon. He weighed in at a whopping 7 pds, 9 oz and was 22 inches long. Pretty big for not going full term. Teresa said that so far he has been pretty quiet and content, so that is good--maybe it will stick! lol Just thought I would share some pics that they sent me.

Trusting God

2009-01-21T12:11:00.011-05:00

Many of you who may (or may not) read this blog, have heard of the deaths of the family of Brent Bigger. I was a freshman at Hobe Sound with Brent many years ago. I wouldn't say that I was a close friend of his, but Hobe Sound isn't a very large place and we all knew each other pretty well. The Brent I knew, was a very fun loving, kind hearted, kid loving guy. Since I heard the news of the accident, it hasn't been very far from my mind. I can't seem to wrap my head around how difficult Brent's life must be right now. How much pain, and heartache can a person endure? I don't know about anyone else, but as I was growing up in a great family, my world was pretty insulated from pain and heartache. I had lost a couple of great grandparents, but I was so young, I really didn't remember them at all. When I was thirteen, all that changed. Family friends of ours, the Bishops, lost their 6 year old son, Brent, very suddenly. I was very involved in Brent's life as a babysitter and as a friend to the family. I will never forget the shock of death. The absolute horror that we would never see him again on earth. It was the first time that it became real to me....and from that moment on, a bit of fear entered my life that had never been there before. Many of you know that I have two younger sisters that are quite a bit younger than I. Erin was about the same age as Brent, in fact. That night when the phone rang, and we found out the horrible news, I started going into my sister's room every night, and giving them hugs and kisses, and telling them I loved them no matter how late it was, because I couldn't stand the thought of one of us dying and them not knowing how much I love them. Weird? Maybe, but death had become real. As I have grown up, I have found that many times, life is generally not the fairy tale that we think it is as young people. I don't mean to sound dreary and downtrodden, but life can be very sad and ugly. I have mentioned before that in the last few years I watched my two best friends struggle with some of the hardest things a person can deal with in life. I stood helplessly by wishing I could take their pain away from them, and knowing that I couldn't. I have faced a few hard places in my own life that I don't really understand, and wish were very different. As I was sitting at the computer today, thinking of Brent and all that he must be dealing with emotionally, my mind went to a funeral sermon that was preached by the great preacher, E.V. Hill. I jumped on Youtube and sure enough, there it was. As I listened once again to a message that I have heard many, many times, my heart was lifted up in a way that has blessed me. He reminded me, that we are so blessed with the Lord's giving, that when He takes, we throw a temper tantrum, and instead of blessing His name, we ask how he would dare to take from us. We are so blessed in our everyday lives and many times we take it for granted. I also love it when he starts describing how the Lord was describing how "Baby" (his wife) was going to be in heaven. It reminded me that we are sad here on earth, but that those people whom we have loved and lost are in a PERFECT place--no more sickness, no more tears.....NOTHING is wrong, EVERYTHING is right. We miss them and our hearts ache for those left behind, but know this....they are in an indescribable place that far exceeds our limited imaginations. That is why I want to walk this road of life as a Christian. Because I CAN trust God...in the good times, in the bad, and in the in between. I would advise you all to take ten minutes out of your busy schedules and sit down and listen to the power and love in this man's good-bye to the wife he loved so much, and then apply the principles in our own lives as we live this messed up, painful, joyous, wonderful thing we call life.

Kaelah age 7

2009-01-18T19:55:00.002-05:00

Kaelah have our own little tradition of getting her pics taken every year for Valentine's Day. The Picture People do some really cute valentines day cards so we like to make them every year. This year is n0 different and I thought I would share some of the best ones.

She just lost her SECOND tooth this week and it is straight underneath the one she lost first. She can't stop sticking her tongue through the holes. It showed up in several of the pics. :-)

New year=changes

2009-01-08T20:48:00.008-05:00

Brooke--11 months

Ashley and Brooke

Ashley 5 1/2

Riley, Vitaly, and Ashley. Vitaly is the new little guy that I am going to watch part time.

So the new year is supposed to induce you to make changes, right? Well....thats what I am gonna do! First thing I did, was quit one of my jobs. Let me explain....I have learned during my years of being a nanny, that the critical part of being a nanny is your relationship with the parents! Not so much the kids. I was so blessed with the Kerr family. Diane and I hit it off like a charm, and she is one of my dearest friends now. I love her kids as if they were my own. I have also hit it off very well with Vicky (the lady I live with) and like her kids a lot, so that job is going well. The other family (Ashley and Brooke's fam) I work for are nice people, but we never really got past the stranger stage, we just kind of stayed in the employee/employer stage. I think I am so used to working for people who just add me right into their family, I was uncomfortable working for someone who didn't. On top of that, they had some pretty strict regimens they wanted me to follow with their kids which was hard to do with the other family as well, and frankly, they didn't make a lot of sense to me. So, I told them they should find someone that is better suited for what they want. I am kind of tired of being a nanny, I want to get into a "real" job. I don't think people give us nannies enough credit for the job that we do. Most people see our job as "easy" and sometimes it is. But there is actually a lot of hard work that goes into raising other peoples kids. A lot of it is emotional.....at least for me....and I think I am kind of worn out with it. So I am working on figuring out something that I want to do and when I find it I am going to go for it. In the meantime, a friend has a friend that needs me to watch her 18 month-old son (the little boy in the pics above) and hopefully that will get me through financially until I figure out what else I can do. Vicky is a nurse and she is keeping an eye out for a job that would work out timing wise, so that is how I am thinking-- for now anyway. So if you all ever think of me, I'd love some prayers to help me find my way. Thanks! :-)

Christmastime!

2008-12-30T09:29:00.004-05:00

I got to enjoy a great visit with Cara and her husband over Christmas! We don't get to see each other nearly enough. I love it when my friends marry men who are just as fun to be around as they are. Makes for some good times.

Jade and Nick worn out from all the Christmas festivities.

Tickle, Tickle, Tickle

Ring around the Rosie on Grammy's bed!

Kissing Cousins

Some of my favorite cousins!

Me and Gram

Emma stuck in a bucket

Playing Mad Gab was so much fun at the Emmorey family Christmas

Aunt Kenda thought we were hilarious while watching us play

Gram thought we were pretty funny too

A little bit of Christmas.....

2008-12-27T17:58:00.006-05:00

Emma and Jade in some Christmas outfits. These two are near impossible to get a good picture of. Wouldn't call this the best but def the best of the ones we took!

Dancing on Grandma's bed.

Nick sleeping with his baby! LOL

Emma giving her daddy an adoring look

Dressed for playing in the snow!

A very high snowbank in my parents driveway. Good shoveling, Erin, Dad and Jeremy!

Mom tried to help Erin up and ended up in some trouble herself!

A very BIG snowball!

I MIGHT'VE pushed her a little bit!

Before the push.....

Another big snowbank! Michigan had a LOT of snow! Over 5 ft this year!

Kaelah finally loses her first tooth at age 7!!!

2008-12-14T22:18:00.000-05:00

And she is still adorable!

A crazy but fun night!

2008-12-05T23:14:00.009-05:00

Timmy the terror!

Egan, Graham and Rosie making popcorn chains for the first time.

Graham with his little chain.

The finished product! They were so proud of themselves!

Well, I am sitting at work tonight with all four of the kids in bed sound asleep, my feet are freezing, and I am wishing that Erin was here to start a fire for me. She is quite good at it, and I am....well, I don't know how I am because I have never tried. But I do know, that I have no clue even how to begin! Anyways, I am trying to wind down from a very crazy night with the Dewitt kids. When I got to work, Amy started telling me how her youngest, Timmy, had about driven her insane all day because he was getting into everything and that she had caught him playing in a toilet that his brother had not flushed. He had a hand towel and two rolls of toilet paper in the toilet, and water all over the bathroom! So when I came in she had just finished giving him a bath, and scrubbing down the whole bathroom. She and her husband got ready and left for the night telling the kids they could string popcorn chains if they wanted to. So I started rushing around getting things ready for that when I heard Graham (3 yrs) start wailing in the bathroom! I ran in there and saw him standing next to the toilet with --to put it delicately--a very big, mess in his pants which were hanging around his knees. Apparently he passed a little gas while he was using the potty and got a bit of a surprise! I had decent clothes on and the mess was such that I was worried I would get a bit "dirty" cleaning it up, and even worse--be stuck in dirty clothes the rest of the night-- so I told him not to move and I ran upstairs and raided Andrews t-shirt and sweat pant drawer. I changed faster than you want to know. Meanwhile, Rosie and Egan are running all over the house finding me a trash bag, paper towels, wet wipes and a hair band (to keep my hair out of things). I ran back down and took care of the mess and put Graham in the bathtub, accompanied the whole time with Graham wailing at the top of his lungs. I finally convinced him that accidents happen like this and he really didn't need to cry anymore, and thankfully he stopped. Whew! So then we went downstairs and I got the popcorn popped and the kids made their first popcorn chains ever. Rosie and Egan did a great job and loved every minute of it. Graham liked it too, but after poking his finger 5 times, with 5 pieces of popcorn to show for it, decided that maybe I should finish it for him. By then popcorn was ALL over the floor and for the first time I began to wonder where their vacuum was. Thankfully, it was close, but unfortunately, it didn't work! These kids are the best kids and they both ran and got brooms and started doing their best to sweep up the popcorn. They worked right along with me until every drop of that popcorn was picked up. I was impressed. And, I remembered why they are the only family that I will give up my precious, free nights to babysit for. :-) So all in all, I have had a very busy, crazy night, but I had a lot of fun as well.

Some more odds and ends....

2008-12-03T13:56:00.002-05:00

All my kids that I presently am responsible for. It goes from left to right:
Riley--5, Kyle--12, Brooke--11 months, Zach--11, Ashley--5
Brooke and Ashley are sisters and the rest are the family I live with. I stay pretty busy most of the time!

Brooke took one look and was not wanting anything to do with Santa!

She likes me pretty well though. :-)

A few more....

2008-12-03T09:39:00.001-05:00

A few more of my little Emma Em! :-)

Emma's Christmas pics

2008-12-02T22:01:00.001-05:00

There are more, but they got messed up so we will have to wait for the rest. Emma is NOT an easy girl to get pics of! But the bribing from Aunt Holly to go get some candy helped quite a bit. :-)

Thanksgiving weekend....

2008-12-01T09:41:00.004-05:00

Emma was the only grandkid/niece home for Thanksgiving so she got a LOT of attention.

My sister in law, Melissa, myself, and Erin.

Emma loves Santa

They had a Mrs. Claus too. Emma isn't shy at all!

As soon as she got on Santa's lap she started playing with his beard, I thought it was so cute!

This is one of Kaelah's old outfits, that Emma fits in now.

Emma loves her Grandpa!

Thanksgiving dinner at the Emmoreys. We sure missed Ryan and Melissa and their families, but we had fun.

First Pigtails! :-)

2008-11-25T18:36:00.001-05:00

This is my first attempt at putting Brooke's hair in pigtails. Surprisingly enough, she kept them in for a trip into town, but then after I brought her home and she started crawling around, they came out pretty fast. lol

Here's the "after" pic!

Check out this beautiful little family! ;-)

2008-11-23T19:09:00.004-05:00

Ryan, Maria, and Mary.

(for those of you who haven't read the comments.....No, Ryan doesn't have a lot of static electricity in his hair! lol Its just a flower arrangement BEHIND his head. Who knew?!! Lol)

Nothing new....

2008-11-21T16:45:00.003-05:00

Riley enjoying a cupcake and having trouble with the frosting!

I love to bake now that I have people who will eat my baking, but Kyle is not much of a sweets eater. He mentioned one day that he likes "white" cupcakes, so I decided I would indulge him a little bit. This pic was taken after we grabbed them out of their piping hot pans, slathered frosting on them and then tried to eat them with frosting dripping everywhere. I thought our mouths were pretty funny. I must say, I made it work much better than he did! lol

I just wanted to share some cute pics of the snow princess! She wasn't in a very princessy mood though, so not the greatest pics, but still, the outfit is too cute not to share pics of!

Jade--18 months

2008-11-17T16:24:00.002-05:00

Jade is getting sooo BIG!

She is HARD to get good pictures of. Not the most cooperative child when it comes to taking pictures.

So cute!

Oh, Be Careful......

2008-11-12T20:57:00.004-05:00

Carrie Carter put a music video of this song on her page a few weeks back. Not being a huge listener of ANY type of music, I had not heard it before. I was immediately impressed with it. The words are so relevant to our lives today in this materialistic, me first world that we live in. As I have gotten older and have struggled here and there with my own salvation, I have learned that sin is not a sudden thing that just overpowers you and takes you into a deep dark hole. Instead, it is a slow, steady walk down a road that has destruction at the end of it. The devil is no dummy, after all, he is the best deceiver in the universe. He knows that if he can get us started on that road to destruction, with something that seems harmless and "not too bad!", than before we know it, we are in way over our heads. But the other thing I have found out is that God is ALWAYS there ready to forgive. Isn't that amazing? Even if I make a clear, knowledgeable, wrong choice, when I humble myself and ask for forgiveness, He forgives! Another thing that has really struck me is the unforgiveness of other believers when someone does make a wrong choice. How is it, that we as believers think that we are above God when it comes to forgiving someone? Think about it. God forgives all manner of sins and yet sometimes we as humans will not let one of our fellow brothers or sisters in Christ live down wrong choices that they have made? How dare we?!!! We are human, and in that humaness we make mistakes....all of us. And some of us, even leave God and make choices we know are wrong. But if God is willing to forgive, shouldn't we forgive as well? Is it really our place to make sure they "pay" for their wrong choices? I am pretty sure there enough consequences of sin, that the sinner doesn't need the rejection of the people that are supposed to be their spiritual family. Anyway, enough of my soapbox! My church had this song as the special music after a wonderful message by our pastor. The presence of God was so strong, it was absolutely amazing. Even though I was very familiar with the song by then, it was even more powerful reading the words as they flashed across the screen. I challenge anyone who reads this little note to read the words and apply them to your life. Make sure you aren't on the slow descent down the wrong path.

"Slow Fade"

Be careful little eyes what you see

It's the second glance that ties your hands as darkness pulls the strings

Be careful little feet where you go

For it's the little feet behind you that are sure to follow

It's a slow fade when you give yourself away

It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray

Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid

When you give yourself away

People never crumble in a day

It's a slow fade, it's a slow fade

Be careful little ears what you hear

When flattery leads to compromise, the end is always near

Be careful little lips what you say

For empty words and promises lead broken hearts astray

It's a slow fade when you give yourself away

It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray

Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid

When you give yourself away

People never crumble in a day

The journey from your mind to your hands

Is shorter than you're thinking

Be careful if you think you stand

You just might be sinking

It's a slow fade when you give yourself away

It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray

Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid

When you give yourself away

People never crumble in a day

Daddies never crumble in a day

Families never crumble in a day

Oh be careful little eyes what see

Oh be careful little eyes what you see

For the Father up above is looking down in love

Oh be careful little eyes what you see

A Great Weekend....

2008-11-10T08:45:00.008-05:00

Except for Kim--All previous "GBS" girls! Lisa (Graham) Pond, Teresa (Graham) Sams, Kim (Ensley) Matlock, Rhoda (Bell) Miles, Myself, and Carrie (Glass) Carter all enjoying Chipotle!

The day that Teresa called me and told me that she was going to have a "dirty, rotten, stinkin' boy!", I got the brilliant (if I do say so myself!) idea to have her come out for a baby shower. Since most of her close friends live relatively close to me, and her mom and sister live about 7 or 8 hours away, I thought we could maybe pull it off. And we did! You know those friends that you have that no matter how much time has passed....it is like you just saw each other yesterday? That is how the whole weekend was! It was so much fun! It was basically a weekend long party.

Kaelah and Ally. Teresa nannied Ally for about two years before she got married and KK and Ally became best buddies! They were so happy that they got to play together at the shower.

Erin got us this beautiful cake from the Bon-Bonerie. Well, she accidently ordered a "Girl" cake. So twenty minutes before she picked it up I called them and they did a wonderful job fixing it! You never would have known that it had anything to do with a girl! They always do a spectacular job. For those of you that live in the Cincinnati are....you really need to look them up if you haven't already done so. Especially if you like baked goods.

The mommy to be and the cake--you can't even tell she is pregnant in this pic! lol

Poor Elizabeth partied a little too hard and needed a nap right in the middle. So the last half of present opening was accompanied with the cutest little snores! lol

Back Row: Joy Barnett, Lisa Pond, Carrie Carter, Rhoda and Elizabeth Miles, Mary Emmorey, Ma Graham, Ally and Kaelah, Erin Emmorey, Kim Matlock, Diane Kerr, Marla Kouche

Front Row: Brittany Pond, Sharon Weckel, Teresa Sams, Arlette Makcen, Holly Emmorey

It was a great group and a really fun afternoon, full of wonderful memories and lots of laughter. Its is so nice when you get together with the people you are close to. It has a great way of reminding you of why you came to love them in the first place!

The shower Spread :-)

Teresa and I

Sisters!

Rhoda and Erin waiting on Pizza at Deweys! (another place you cincinnati people need to visit if you don't already!)

The three musketeers. We spent many hours together in college!

Seriously, how short am I? Ugh! lol

Yeah, Rhoda makes me feel tall! These two girls have been the best friends a girl could ask for! I was told once by someone in authority in college that I needed to find "better" friends. I wasn't sure who he was talking about, but I told him in no uncertain terms that the friends I had would be lasting friendships that would last a lifetime, and that I wouldn't trade my friendships with them for the world! I told him that our friendship was based on being "real" not on who was the next step up the ladder. (As you can tell, I am still a bit miffed at the audacity of his comment) I was so right! These two girls have gotten me through some pretty rough spots, and I like to think that I helped them get through some rough spots as well. Between us, we have had quite a bit of hurt to deal with and we have been there for each other every step of the way. Love them!

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-02T23:02:00.005-05:00

Unfortunately there is no rhyme or reason to some of these pics. I tried to load them sequentially, but apparently, my brain isn't working...Rhoda and I met up with the Kerr family (the family that I nannied forever) and went trick or treating in their new neighborhood. Luke felt like he was too old to go anymore so he stayed home with his mom and helped hand out candy. Seth had the good sense to get on his bike and he most likely hit every house in the neighborhood! lol... smart boy. So that meant that Kaelah, Elizabeth, Rhoda and I tromped from house to house. We had so much fun. It took about two houses before Elizabeth was pointing at the next one and shouting, "moie, moie!" (her word for more!) By the end of the night we had walked quite a ways and Kaelah was getting tired so Elizabeth shared her stroller. Every bump we hit made them giggle. The really cute, belly laugh! So that is what the top picture is about.

I think after our first row of houses, Lizzie bit had already gotten a sucker out. Smart kid!

This is Brooke and Ashley in their costumes. We had fun laughing at the "scary" Tinkerbell with her stitches. Of course I have a personal preference to Brooke's cheerleading outfit!

Here is Scary Seth.

Even though Luke didn't want to trick or treat, he made his own costume and still had fun with it. He is such a great kid!

Kaelah the scary little devil! Check out those eyelashes!

This is Graham. He was a "dragosaurus" lol

Rosie decided at the last minute to be a Bumblebee--she is so pretty!

And timmy was the cutest little lion! Very hard to get a picture of this little dude.

And last but not least! Egan the gladiator. When his mom told him he was going to be a gladiator he was upset because he didn't know what a gladiator was, so his dad sat him down and let him watch PARTS of the movie Gladiator. Egan loved it and was quite happy after that to be a gladiator.

Girls weekend away!

2008-10-30T13:37:00.002-04:00

I went to Detroit with a couple of friends of mine for the weekend. I grew up in Michigan, but have never been in downtown Detroit before. What a sad, messed up city. Extremely run down and in many places just totally abandoned. One of the only cities I have ever been in where there are abandoned skyscapers in the skyline. Very sad and messed up. Anyways, besides that, we had a good time. Liza is from Puerto Rico, and she is loads of fun. Carissa is from Detroit and we play volleyball together and hang out all the time. We all have a good time together.

Carissa, her sister, Timeri, and I. We were laughing hysterically, because every picture we took Carissa's eyes were closed!

Finally one with her eyes OPEN! lol

We laughed at Liza because she was so cold. As we were walking to our car, we couldn't find it for a minute, but when we did she squealed and ran to it as fast as she could! She was not prepared for a cold Michigan night!

The three amigos!

Don't look if you gross out easily!

2008-10-30T13:26:00.002-04:00

Ashley and her family went on a mini vacation last weekend. I was surpised when I got a text from Leslie (her mom) that said that they had just gotten back from the hospital and Ashley had gotten 5 stitches because a dog bit her. The family they were visiting have an older Chow mix and I guess he didn't take a liking to Ashley. No one really knows what happened, and Ashley doesn't remember what happened. But the dog bit down on her nose and completely severed her septum. I can only imagine the sight that met Leslie's eyes! YUCK! And scary. Thankfully it is a good place to get a bite (if there is such a thing) because the scarring should be minimal. Of course she does have a Grandpa who is a plastic surgeon, so I guess either way, she will be fine. lol

Photoshoot for Elizabeth and Brooke!

2008-10-23T14:26:00.003-04:00

Elizabeth loves to go and get her picture taken. She thinks its great fun. In fact, when it is time to leave she cries! lol

The photographer had a great time taking her pics.

Such a pretty little girl!

You can see the scratch on her cheek, compliments of Co-Co

The little lion!

She was trying to find her lion ears!

Ya gotta love Halloween!

Grr!

Unfortunately, Brooke did not share Elizabeths fascination with getting her pics taken. She took one look at the photographer and started screaming bloody murder. The ONLY reason we got these two smiles is because I was tickling her thigh....it worked twice and then everything went downhill from there!

She is smack dab in the "stranger danger" phobia right now. Its so embarrassing when someone leans in to say, "Hi cute baby!" and she starts screaming like they poked her with a pin!

Yep, tears and everything

This is the one that where we finally gave up! Look at those tears and the red face. She is looking at me, like"PLEASE save me!"

Miscellaneous....

2008-10-23T13:56:00.003-04:00

My boss, Leslie, came home from work last Thursday and said she has tickets to go the Sarah Palin rally Friday, if I wanted to go! Of course, I wanted to go! I don't work for her on fridays, so I was trying to think if I could go with just Riley, the little girl that I do work for on Fridays. but because Leslie had Brooke and I had Riley, we decided to go late even though that would mean we wouldn't get a good view. As you can see from the pic, it was not the best view, but we could still see her and we could hear her so it was a good time!

Riley was a pro. Not one complaint the WHOLE time! She totally entertained herself and was as good as gold.

This is Brooke and her mommy, Leslie. She was also pretty good. She should have been sleeping, but being the nosy baby she is, she had to stay awake so she didn't miss anything.

Teresa was asking to see some recent pics of Elizabeth, and it just so happens that I had just taken some! :-) This is her kitty, CO-CO. She loves that kitty right to death (seriously, almost to death) It is a great kitten and it pretty much lets her carry it everywhere. Though she does have a few scratches to show some escape attempts were tried. :-)

She is just the cutest little thing ever! :-)

Jenna comes for a visit!

2008-10-21T17:29:00.003-04:00

Our cousin Jenna came to visit for the weekend. Well, actually, she came to work for the weekend and then we convinced her to stay a few extra days! We had so much fun.

I hardly ever get to spend time with my cousins anymore, so I was so happy to get some time with her. As you can see, when we get together, there isn't a serious moment!

Too funny!!!

I think we all gained a few abs we laughed so hard.

We are such dorks, but that is the fun of it. We are so happy you came to visit Jenna!

Fall pics at Sharon Woods

2008-10-21T11:32:00.006-04:00

These are all the kids I nanny for right now.

These kids are the Hickey Family. Kyle is 12, Zack is 10, and Riley is 5

Kyle

Zack

Riley

Enjoying the fall weather and leaves

Ashley 5 years

Ashley and Brooke are the other family I nanny for.

Brooke 9 months

My cousin Jenna was visiting this weekend and she loves photography as much as I do and has actually taken some classes for it, so I convinced her to stay a couple of days extra and we tromped around Sharon Woods and took pics of my kids! It was so much fun and the kids even enjoyed it as well, so that is a big plus! :-) Thanks, Jenna for the beautiful pics!

Saying goodbye to "Bubba"

2008-10-13T10:33:00.005-04:00

Many of you know that I was a nanny to a household who owned an Irish Wolfhound Kennel. I will never forget my first look at those giant dogs as I pulled in their driveway. Somehow I knew just by looking at them, that they were totally safe, even though they were as large as some ponys. I was a bit dismayed when I realized that they were house dogs. You see, I was NOT a dog person. I liked dogs.....I just didn't like to touch them, or get their hair on me, or slobber, or anything else remotely resembling dog residue. But, I needed the job, so I dug in, and boy, did I change! I fell in love. NO joke....I really did. I love this breed. They are a spectactular dog in many more ways than their incredible size. When my boss was 7 months pregnant with Kaelah, we found out that one of the dogs was going to have puppies. I was kind of excited, but my pregnant boss wasn't quite so thrilled. I think spent a couple of nights and a day without sleep while 8 months pregnant, on her hands and knees delivering 12 puppies. The puppies are so small in relation to the mom, that you have to help with the delivery, else they accidently, fatally injure the newborns. Anyway, I digress. Of those 12 puppies, they kept 2. My sister is holding both of them in the above picture. The light colored puppy is my "bubba", Riley.

He was the biggest puppy of them all, and he was the sweetest thing you ever want to know. He was cuddly and had the best personality. He and Kaelah grew up together. She used to crawl up on his back to get in her chair that she liked best. In this second picture, Riley was probably about 3 or 4 weeks old.

Here is Riley at about 1 year. He never grew into the typical "wolfhound look." They generally have much more hair on their faces. He got burrs in his facial hair when he was about 6 months old and I had to trim them out and his hair never really grew back. I don't think Scott (owner) ever totally forgave me for that one! lol The thing about Riley is, he had personality that wouldn't quit. He loved certain people and that was all there was too it. He loved my brother even though he only saw him about 3 or 4 times a year. He never forgot Ryan and even this last July when Ryan saw him, he got so excited he about mauled Ryan right to death!

Here he is with another puppy from a batch years later. He was always very tolerant of the puppies.

And very tolerant of the kids. They could do about anything to these dogs and the dogs would just lay there sleeping.

Seth trying to take a nap on Riley.

Our Christmas picture one year. He loved me to take him in the car. If he was out of the house when I was going home at night he would sneak in my car before I could stop him and then sit down. I would have to literally drag him out of the car.

Me and my baby! Oh....the stories I could tell. The time I came home from somewhere and the halloween candy was gone from the middle of the table--wrappers and all. It was like they just vanished. Or the time I took him to get groomed and when I came back he came close to destroying their waiting room because he was so happy and relieved to see me. The night that he disappeared and they finally found him in a neighbors in ground pool. He was most likely in that pool for over 5 hours. He was close to drowning, and the old lady was in the pool trying to help him when the firemen came, and they were too scared of him to help her out. She had to prove to them that he wasn't mean before they would help. No food was safe from Riley. Even food that you THOUGHT was far enough up or back....well...think again! He was like a magician when it came to stealing food. Whole pizzas have been consumed, loaves of bread, tons of chocolate, plastic bags that were attached to bread (which was embarrassingly excreted while on a walk with me!), and I am thinking he might have even gotten a big roast or ham or something like that. He could curl himself up in a tiny ball when He needed to. He really thought he was a lap dog, even though he weighed close to #160 and stood over six feet tall on his hind legs. When I would sit down, he would get up on my lap and just curl up and relax. Yeah, he was something special......

Riley only jumped up on people he really liked. That meant basically, myself, my brother, Ryan and Scott and Diane (owners). I went over for a visit a week ago or so and he got so excited. He knew when I was "supposed" to be there and when I wasn't . If I was there at an odd time, he would get very excited. I think he was always hoping that I would take him on a walk. Wolfhounds in general have very long tails and about a year and a half ago, Riley got his caught in a door, and yanked it out without the door being open. This ripped off all the fur and skin from the bottom of his tail. Now, imagine a 2 to 3 ft tail-- wagging....yeah, it was not a pretty sight to come home to. It was like someone was massacred in the house. Because his tail is so long and he gets so excited and wags it and hits thing, his tail never really healed up completely. It would get close at times, but then he would wack it on the table or something and it would crack back open. Because of this, we think it weakened him and he developed cancer, and he had to be put down last week. This wasn't the plan, Diane likes to just let them die as long as they aren't in pain, but the vet said he would be better off, so she made the decision. We are so sad and we will miss him. All wolfhounds are magnificent and have great personalities, but Riley was just something special. I considered him "my" dog, because he loved me so much, even though I didn't live in his house. Please forgive my rambling rememberances, but I just wanted to go down memory lane a little bit for my dear, sweet doggy. :-)

Addendum to previous post....

2008-10-12T23:23:00.002-04:00

Thanks for all the positive feedback. Its good to know that there are other people who feel the same way I do. I just wanted to make sure that I made it clear that my post was not a jab at conservatism. It was a jab at people who feel secure on how they are on the outside, but take no thought of how they treat others. I see people who are less conservative, belittle those who are more conservative and vice versa. As human beings we are not going to agree on everything and what we need to figure out is that it is OKAY, if we don't. It is NOT our job to make everyone toe the line according to our own beliefs. It is God's job to make sure that HIS children listen and obey Him. If you are a child of His, all you need to worry about is how YOU are doing with your relationship with God. ( Obviously, I am not talking about the commandments or other things that are clearly spelled out in the Bible. I am talking about those things that might be a bit ambiguous.) I just didn't want someone to take this wrong, and feel like I was looking down on others who may be of the more conservative persuasion. :-)

Actions speak louder than words!

2008-10-06T23:26:00.003-04:00

I am sitting here at the computer contemplating what I am about to write. I am wondering if anyone will read it, and if they do, if they will understand it in the way that I am feeling it. I am fairly certain that the majority of my blogging buddies have been raised in similar surroundings as I have myself, so those are the people that I am addressing in this little soap box that I am about to get on. As I mentioned in an earlier post, most of the people that I hang out with are non-christians. I also mentioned that I have been feeling really heavy hearted about being able to show them Christ. They are very turned off to even the mention of spiritual things. The very next week, after that post, I went out to dinner with a couple of friends and amazingly enough, the conversation turned to spiritual things. I want to tread carefully here, but I have to say, I was incredibly saddened and angry at the stories that I heard that night. To my utter shock, both of them were raised in fairly conservative churches. I was so surprised, I couldn't hide it from them, and then they started talking about their experiences growing up in the church. One friend told how her parents sacrificed so much to give to the church and then it ended up that someone had been stealing from the church, she also remembers how they would have potluck dinners and one lady would stand guard over her crock pot of potatoes and you would enter her black list if you took any potatoes from any other crock pot. She talked about the way people fought with each other, how they argued over things like carpet colors and decorations. She said that eventually the church went in 5 different directions and her parents never went to church again. I can't even remember all the things that she told me, but unfortunately I have heard similar stories too many times from too many other people. Then my other friend started to talk about her experience, how her parents didn't dress her like all her "conservative" friends and she went to public school, so the parents in the church didn't want their kids hanging out with her because she was a "bad" influence. She said she was so confused by that, since she was a really good kid. She remembered wanting to go on a youth trip, and how the pastor basically discouraged her from going and then finally told her dad that she "needed to have a "C" average to go." My friend was practically a genius and had always had straight "A's", but remembers to this day how rejected she felt by that pastor and her church, overall. I think you all can imagine where I am going with this. There was plenty more that they had to say, but I'll spare you all the gory details. My point and the reason for this soapbox is this....The church is supposed to be a safe place, a beacon of hope, love, and togetherness. It is for fellowship with our Christian brother. It is for the spreading of the gospel. Not for leaving children with the impression that it has left on my friends! The image of selfishness, foolish pride, greed, murmurings and complainings, grudges and the inability to accept people that look different or maybe do things differently than we think they should. I was flooded with the knowledge that some of our churches are going to have a pretty big price to pay on Judgment day. I know that no church is perfect, nor will there ever be one that is. I also know that each individual is responsible for his or her own salvation. But I have heard these stories and seen them played out over and over and over and over. I have felt rejection in my own life from something similar, and so has quite a few people close to me. ENOUGH! Maybe if we would obey Scripture and "set our minds on things above" the color of the carpet or who eats your potatoes, or what someone wears, won't matter so much. Is it worth it to hold onto our "rights", when it might mean the soul of someone else? If someone has wronged you, is it worth someone's soul to hold a grudge? In the long run, would it really hurt you, that much, to say your sorry, even if you don't think you were the one in the wrong? Isn't that what it is all about? Saving the lost? Doesn't the Bible have something to say about "loving your nieghbor as you would yourself?" You see, as a church, people are watching us all the time, they are seeing how we interact and when our actions don't hold up to Scripture and what we say we believe, it convinces them, that it is all a farce. When pastors preach the Bible and then don't live up to their own preaching, it gives them a pretty powerful excuse to walk away and never look back. On the contrary, when God is preached and love and acceptance is shown, souls are changed, forever! I was happy to tell them, that church doesn' t always have to be that way, and that I loved the church that I grew up in. I was able to tell them that I had a pastor whom I loved and still do to this day. I was able to tell them that my church became my extended family. I was blessed with so many friends and "family" that I would not have had otherwise. Those people that were my family, growing up, are still my family today. People like, Jo and Gary, Larry, Bro. and Sis. Eldred, Linnie and Dorothy, Mr. and Mrs. Coxon, and so many others who have had a profound interest in my life and helped to shape me into the person I am today. That is what makes a church great. My dad was one of those "outsiders" who found God through the church that I grew up in. Do you think he would have stayed more than a minute if he felt rejected or saw people fighting over the petty things that people fight over? What if he had found out that some people wouldn't let their kids be around him because he didn't look like they thought he should look? I think he would have headed out and never turned back, and I can only imagine what my life would have been like, then. Thank God, there were some people who were bigger than pettiness and helped to influence my Dad for Christ. I said all that to say this.....the next time someone offends you, or someone does something you don't like, or someone hurts your feelings (because lets be honest...its going to happen), just remember, there are souls who are going to be influenced for ETERNITY, by how YOU react. (disclaimer: this message is as much to me as to anyone else)

Red Flannel Day part 2

2008-10-06T09:50:00.002-04:00

Kaelah in front of some Red Flannels

My dad and Kaelah demonstrating their expertise in head stands.

I just think this is so funny! Check out Jade and Jeremy watching.

A tiny bit of Pilgrim alumni, who celebrated RDF together. :-)

Red Flannel Day

2008-10-06T08:55:00.005-04:00

We had a tradition growing up at my house. It was called Red Flannel Day. I was born into a town whose claim to fame was the fact that they were the originators of the Red Flannel PJ's. For those of you who don't know what those are, just think, long one piece, red pajamas with a drop seat in the back....yep! Thats my town for you! :-) So, we have a whole day set aside to celebrate it. Everyone wears red, there is a big parade and all in all its just a fun day for the family.

The sister and sister in law--unfortunately, Erin didn't make it home this year, because she had to work.

Jade loved the parade. Especially the candy that was tossed her way.

Neller Beller and I! We have grown up together. I don't remember a time when I did not know Danella.

My first babysitting kid ever. Now she is all grown up....my cousin Stacey.

Kaelah went home with me to experience Red Flannel Day. Jade loves her to death and really enjoyed "brushing" her hair. Kaelah enjoyed it as well until Jade suddenly wacked her upside the head! lol

Enjoying the parade.

My baby girl and I.

My niece Emma, Kaelah and I

Jada and I

Growing up....

2008-10-01T12:56:00.004-04:00

Before I talk about these pics, you all just have to check out Kaelah's legs in this picture! She was so fat and now she is itty bitty! I am not positive how old they are. I think Kate was around 3 or 4 months and Kaelah was probably around 9 or 10 months. The boys 2 and 3 or 3 and 4. Okay, so I am nostalgic....I can't help it. This week, "my" kids got to meet up with the "Rhoda's" kids and play. Rhoda was a nanny about the same time as I was nanny. She had a boy and a girl and I had two boys and a girl. So naturally, being the good friends that we are, we did a LOT together. That meant that Will, Kate, Luke, Seth, and Kaelah grew up almost like brothers and sisters. They saw each other almost every day. Seth and Will especially became best buddies and now that they are in school full time, they don't get to see each other hardly ever.

We had so many good times together, I couldn't help but post some old memories to go along with the new.

Seth and Will I think around 3 and 4

Kaelah maybe 18 months and kate around 12 months

And present day buddies. Seth 10 and Will almost 9

Kate (6) is now taller than Kaelah (6, almost 7)...even though they only see each other about 2 or 3 times a year now, when they meet up its like nothing has changed!

Enjoying Sharon Woods once again!

A night at the park

2008-10-01T11:43:00.002-04:00

Graham, sat on this sabre tooth almost the whole time were were there. He loves his animals!

Some old friends reunite. Seth, Will, Rosie, Egan, Kate, and Kaelah

Timmy--who just learned to walk, thought he was totally capable of playing by himself on the playground. Everytime I would hold his hand, he would grab my hand and push it away. He loved the slides....no fear at all!

Rosie and Graham

Learning to Stand.....

2008-10-01T11:34:00.002-04:00

Brooke has some pretty good balance. She is the only baby that I have ever known, that stands up by herself without holing onto anything first. She is pretty funny.

She crouches like this for a while til she gets her balance and then she stands up.

And here she is standing all by herself

I am sure the taking steps part will follow all too soon!

My new home....

2008-09-22T10:14:00.002-04:00

I've gotta say, after about 13 years of living in dorm rooms and apartments, I am pretty happy to be living in a house again.

Here is my room.

My tv watching area...

My little bathroom. :-)
I know this may be a weird post for some, but I know my mom and Teresa would like to see my new place, so this is for them. :-)

Hunter is so happy.....

2008-09-22T09:48:00.004-04:00

For the last year, poor Hunter, has not had too many creature comforts. He had my bed (his favorite), the couch, and the table chairs to sit on. But, in his new house, he has so many places to curl up and relax, he doesn't even know what to do with himself. The bench in this top picture is his new favorite place to curl up, but as you can see from the pics below, he has found plenty of other places as well.

He likes to keep me company, so the other day while I was on the computer, he decided to get really close. It might have had something to do with the sunlight coming through the blinds on the desk as well.... :-)

He knows enough to stay out of Brooke's reach. She loved staring up at him. She was laughing and jumping up and down. He just stared at her and twitched his tail.

He loves to cuddle, so Zach was especially happy when he cuddled up with him the other day. So happy he asked me to take his picture. :-)

Another favorite spot.

The sun is definitely a good draw for him. He dearly loves the outdoors and at my other apartments he hasn't had a whole lot of room to explore, so I am happy for my kitty! He still doesn't get outside, but he has a lot more room to explore and keep himself busy.

His Faithfulness!

2008-09-17T15:39:00.004-04:00

In my moments of fear

Through Every Pain Every Tear

There's A God Who's Been Faithful To Me

When My Strength Was All Gone When My Heart Had No Song Still In Love He's Proved Faithful To Me

Every Word He's Promised Is True

What I Thought Was Impossible I've Seen My God Do

He's Been Faithful Faithful To Me

Looking Back His Love And Mercy I See

Though In My Heart I Have Questioned And Failed To Believe

He's Been Faithful, Faithful To Me

When My Heart Looked Away

The Many Times I Could Not Pray

Still My God He Was Faithful To Me

The Days I Spent So Selfishly

Reaching Out For What Pleased Me

Even Then God Was Faithful To Me

Every Time I Come Back To Him

He Is Waiting with Open Arms

And I See Once Again

He's Been Faithful Faithful To Me

Looking Back His Love And Mercy I See

Though In My Heart I Have Questioned

Even Failed To Believe

Yet He's Been Faithful, Faithful To Me

I think we all know this song, but as my church choir sang it Sunday morning, I was once again reminded with such clarity of the faithfulness of God. We as humans are so weak so many times, and yet He is still there for us, even when we stumble and fall, when we turn our backs on Him and decide to go our own way, He just keeps right on loving us. When we realize once again how much we really do need Him, he is there waiting to take us back with open arms. There is no other relationship in life that is as perfect as God's relationship with us. I play in several different volleyball leagues around here and have become quite close with several people, whom have no interest, whatsoever, in God. He is like a fairytale to them. I have struggled within myself, about how to be a good witness to them. Anytime God is mentioned, you feel the wall go up ten miles high....it is so difficult. I wouldn't say I am the best witness even in the best of circumstances, but I am totally at a loss with these people. I feel like the only thing I can do is to live my life in a way that shows them that having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is real and enticing. My pastor reminded me that no man can come to the Lord except that the Lord draws them to Him. So that has become my prayer, that the Lord in His wisdom and power, will draw them to Him in the best way possible, and that I will be a positive influence for Him in every way. As the song (and Scripture) says, "He is Faithful!"

Out with the girls!

2008-09-17T09:55:00.003-04:00

Some friends and I went to the Reds vs. Cardinals game last night. We had a lot of fun. It goes..Carissa, Whitney, myself and Liza. I play volleyball with Carissa and Liza, and Whitney is a new friend that just moved here from Detroit.

The two Detroit girls.

Liza moved here from Puerto Rica earlier this year. She is so much fun. She is a great middle hitter on our vb team, but she just had to have shoulder surgery. So we are missing her a lot.

Taking pics by ourselves is Hard! lol

Carissa is my shopping/movie buddy. We have a good time together. It was a good game, the Reds actually won, which, I actually prefer the Cards, but hey....what do you do? :-)

The "perfect" storm.....

2008-09-17T08:51:00.003-04:00

As I drove to church Sunday morning, I was thinking about what a beautiful day it was, but noticed it was a little windy. As I left church, once again, I noticed it was windy, but didn't think much about it. By 2:30 in the afternoon, it was so windy, I was getting nervous. Outdoor patio stuff started flying around and as we were watching Riley's dad build her new playset, we watched their trampoline start to bend right in half. I became even more nervous. Vickey the lady I live with decided she should run to the store and get some bread and stuff that she figured we would need, since the electric was off, so I told her I would go with her. As we drove to town, we saw a snapped electrical wire. By the time we parked at Target, I was scared to death. The wind was literally shaking her Suburban so hard it almost seemed like it would roll it over. Traffic lights were out and hanging by a thread, trees were down, signs were bent in half. As we drove home, we had to take several detours because of trees across the road on top of wires.

I was pretty nervous and hoping that a tree wouldn't topple on us. Shingles and siding were flying off houses, and it was obvious that a lot of damage was being done.

Thankfully we made it home safely to a dark house. We grilled some meat on the grill, which we stacked stuff around to keep it lit, and had a good time considering there was no electricity.

Around 9:00 it started to die down and it was over. The next day, I took the kids out to try and find some lunch, and I had Kyle take pictures of trees that we saw on our way there.

All in all it was a pretty crazy day. The thing that amazed me the most is that it was just pure wind almost the whole time. No rain, no lightning and thunder, just a massive wind. Pretty crazy. Our power was out for three whole days. I have gained a new appreciation for hot water, and electricity, refrigerators, etc...

Watch this! Its awesome!

2008-09-11T21:29:00.001-04:00

This man paid for this on his own. I love it!

Odds and ends....

2008-09-09T16:26:00.002-04:00

Here is one of my favorite boys in the world. I have a few, but he is pretty special. His name is Egan, and I begged him to wear his new pajamas because I thought they were so cute and soft. I got his brother to wear his as well, but he wouldn't cooperate for a pic.

This is his youngest brother Timmy. He was tackling him and Timmy was trying to push him off.

This is Ashley and Riley on our first day of working together. They both had outfits with turtles on them, so they wanted a picture together.

Funny story here. This post is really for Teresa since she knows the boys and I wanted to show her and Callie, Hunter's new "friend". I don't think Hunter likes Harley as well as he did Callie yet, but I am pretty sure they will develop a very similar relationship. This was the best pic I could get, because Hunter really did not want to be too close to the dog and the dog wanted to be in my lap so it was pretty complicated to get even this good of a shot. :-)

Emma Noelle 3 years

2008-09-03T21:50:00.002-04:00

So here is Jeremy and Melissa's little girl. She turned three in January.

Usually, she is a pain to try and get a good picture of, but this time around she did a great job. I think the photographer had her number.

Shy Emma

She is getting so big, its crazy.

Her mommy's favorite picture. Love this little munchkin. She is a lot fun.

Changes

2008-09-02T11:18:00.003-04:00

As I looked on my summer at the beginning of it, I was thinking it was going to be a pretty slow, relaxed summer.....boy, was I wrong!! I have been so busy, it has flown by so fast. With watching Jade for thirteen days, taking an unexpected vacation to New York, playing volleyball three nights a week, and a lot more, I have been going 24-7. I have had a lot of changes happening here in the last month. As I posted earlier, my baby girl went to school full time, and I had to take on two new jobs. I have been doing the one job, since March. Two little girls, 8 months and 5. They are great kids and belong to really nice parents. Their neighbor across the road with whom they are pretty good friends with, just got a divorce and is going back to work full time. So, she asked me to move him and help her with her kids ( 2 boys--11 and 9, and a girl--5), and combine the two jobs. So, that is what I have decided to do. So my days are quite busy, and I am THRILLED about not having a huge rent and utility bill every month. Vickey and her kids are really nice and it has, so far, been a really smooth transition. So soon, I will post some pics of my new life. :-)

The "newer" kids

2008-09-02T11:09:00.002-04:00

This is the family that I have been nannying for along with Kaelah since March of this year. Brooke is 8 months and Ashley is 5. While I was home, we happened on an art fair outdoors and this lady had a great booth full of awesome barrettes. I bought one for all of my girls. The one that Ashley is wearing is the little mermaid. I got Rapunzel for Riley the new girl and a pirate for Kaelah. They are all made out of Ribbon and done so well. Brook just has a cute pink clip with a flower on it, that actually STAYS in her barely there hair. :-)

Here is the mermaid. Ashley's favorite princess.

You can't really see Brooke's but she is smiling great for the camera! :-) LOL

some pics of Jada

2008-09-02T10:40:00.002-04:00

My mom is so creative. I wish I had half her talent. She made this headband for Jade. I thought it was so cute and Jade kept it on, which is a feat in and of itself. :-)

Jade running from "Bapa" in her cowboy outfit I got her.

Watching "Bapa" give her bear a hug.

Cute Jadakins!

The soldier returns....

2008-09-02T10:25:00.003-04:00

A happy little family reunion...

Nick left for boot camp in May of this year, and he was finally able to come home for a weekend. He is trying to get into the special forces so he has several challenges ahead of him. He is not the best picture guy in the world. He was trying to obey my instructions and as you can tell, Jade and Liss got the hang of it quite well, but Nick.....he just didn't quite get it....lol

My wonderful Parents!

2008-08-22T19:59:00.004-04:00

I had to steal this picture from my sister, I rarely get a good pic of either of these two, so kudos to Erin! Love these guys!!!!! Two of the best parents in the whole world.

My little girl....

2008-08-21T10:04:00.003-04:00

Well, after 8 years, the time has finally come that I had to say good-bye to being the Kerr Kid's nanny. Over the last two years, I was able to gradually let go of the boys since they were getting older and in school full time, but I have had Kaelah since day one. I was the first person that her mom got ahold of at their house (dad was busy getting the boys to school) and told me with absolute shock (and maybe a little fear) that "it" was a GIRL! After 4 boys, she just didn't think it was possible that she would have a girl. I saw her two hours later and pretty much fell in love right on the spot. She was born on a Friday and Monday I was back to work as usual. Of course her mom was home on maternity leave, but I took care of her while her mom caught back up on some badly needed sleep. Then six weeks later she was off to work and Kaelah was my responsibility. I remember being frustrated many times that this baby had interrupted my easy going job....suddenly, my time wasn't my own any more and I had a TON more work to do, but when it came right down to it, I was in love with a very FAT, short, baby girl with one long strand of hair at the tippy top of her head.

She stayed pretty fat till she was a year old. (Look at those rolls!) She looked like the Michelin Man! :-) The older she got the more fun I had with her. It didn't hurt that she turned into a beautiful little toddler.

Everywhere we went people would stop me and tell me how beautiful she was. It was almost ridiculous. Rhoda and I would just laugh, because we heard it so often. Her one strand of hair grew into a headfull of adorable curls, which was a lot of fun for me, since I have always wanted to have curly hair myself.

Her hair was long enough to braid at 14 months. And the miracle is that she would sit still and watch the wiggles long enough for me to do it. As she got older and her brothers went to school full time, it became just the two of us, and we had a lot of fun together. I remember she asked to do something with me one night and I told her I couldn't because I had to work, she looked at me and with astonishment in her voice said, "You WORK?!!" I laughed and explained to her that she was my work. She was like, "Nuh uh!" She thought we just hung out for the fun of it every day! (which to be truthful, we did even though I got paid to do it) That is just how life was, she woke up and Holly was there five days a week and we hung out. :-) Gotta love it.

So as you can tell, I became very attached. At this point in my life she is the closest thing to having a child of my own. It is hard to believe that I will love my own kids more than I love this little girl. For me, she has been that one source of unconditional love in the human world that every one wants. She is always my biggest fan. She loves me no matter how grumpy I get, she's seen me in my best of times and in my worst of times and she just keeps on loving me. She watched me deal with a broken heart and just hugged me tight and told me she loved me. Some people might think that is bad, that I let her see some of that emotion, but I couldn't really stop it, and she learned that relationships aren't always as they appear to be on Hannah Montana, and that it is ok to be sad, but that you can survive it and be a better person when it is all said and done. And then I was there as her parents got divorced and she moved into a new house. She handled it like a pro.

In a nanny's world, it can get pretty lonely, since all you have to talk to day after day are kids, but with KK, it was like having another little adult there. She caught on to so many things that I had no idea she would understand. If she heard me talking about things on the phone, she would think about it and ask questions, everything from politics to death. When my Grandpa had a heart attack, she went to school and requested prayer for him, and told me about it later. I was so amazed at her ability to understand and empathize with such things. As I go on without her there every day, I am going to miss her a lot, but we will still see each other a lot. As her mom says, I am about the only "family" she has close. So as time marches on, we learn to let go of how things were and accept how they are now. As her mom said, this isn't really good-bye, it is just a different schedule. A schedule that will take some getting used to, but I know that we will stay connected always, and that makes me happy.

The Haircut....

2008-08-19T12:41:00.004-04:00

So here is the before picture once again.....

And the after.....

Kaelah loves it so far. She said she loves it that she doesn't have to put it in a ponytail to sleep anymore, and she loves it that she can comb it all by herself. She looks pretty cute. But, I miss her looooonnnnggggg hair. :-)

New York Visit....

2008-08-19T11:33:00.004-04:00

Ryan and Mary did their vow renewal in Vermont which is close to where my mom's family all live, so we got to catch up a little bit while we were there. This is my Uncle Paul with Jada. He loved her dearly, and they had a lot of fun going, "wheee" in the rocker.

Here is Jada with the Bridal bouquet which was forgotten at the hotel.

My Grandpa took Jade, Liss and I up Whiteface Mountain. It is so beautiful up there. Definitely a must when we visit.

My darling Gramps and I

Jada and I on the cliff......hopefully my mom won't see this one.... :-)

Jade loves babies(and kitties) sometimes to their detriment. This was taken right before she "pushed" Maria down. She loves a little too hard.....lol

My cousins that I rarely get to see. Mariah, Micah, and Billy. It was soo nice to see them again.

Ryan, Mary and Maria on the ferry going back to New York

My sweet mom and aunt

Us girls....Aunt Zoe, Myself, Aunt Nomie, Mom, Mary,Maria, Liss, Jade, and Erin

More from wedding....

2008-08-19T11:09:00.005-04:00

Unfortunately, Jeremy and his family didn't make it up, but here are the rest of the siblings.

And the fam....

This is all the family that we had at the vow renewal. My mom's sister and her husband, and two of her brothers and their families, my Gramps and Gram, and Uncle Paul.

Maria sitting on a special rock outside of the church.

Maria started crying right when the ceremony started so this is how her and Erin spent the service.

Grandpa, Mary, Ryan, Maria, and Grandma

Mom and dad, Gram and Gramps

Ryan and Mary's Vow Renewal

2008-08-15T23:23:00.002-04:00

Ryan and Mary renewed their vows today in Stowe, Vermont. Stowe is a quaint little town, with great scenic views and lots of character. I have several more pics that I want to post, but since I am using dial up at my Aunt Nomie's and it took about 15 min for this one pic to download, I don't think I am going to try another for now.

More of the kids....

2008-08-11T12:35:00.003-04:00

Jade LOVES Hunter. She doesn't understand that he doesn't exactly love her hugs. He is so good with her though. He endures her full length body hugs until she moves and the he takes off to a different "safe" place. Everytime we walk in the door, she starts screaming, "Kittt". Its so funny.

She fell asleep at my friends house. Gotta love this pose.

For those of you who know her, you know that Kaelah has beautiful hair. She has loved growing it long for as long as I can remember. But she is getting really frustrated with the amount of tangles she is getting and has decided to cut it off for school. I think she can donate her hair to Locks if Love and she may even have enough for two donations and still leave her hair shoulder length. I am so sad though, I am not going to know what to do....WAHHHHH

I just thought this was funny. Jade wanted to eat the whole hamburger by herself. She did a great job too.

Crazy, busy week

2008-08-06T12:28:00.005-04:00

So I have my niece, Jade, with me for about ten days. Boy, has that been an experience. Jade is basically pretty easy, but you add in my other jobs and it can get a bit hectic. My days (and nights) are pretty busy. I work a couple of nights a week besides my other two full time jobs for the people that my sister nannies for. I have done this for about 8 years now, so they know me well. They have 4 kids and the youngest Timmy is only about three weeks younger than Jade. They had a blast playing with each other last night. Here Timmy is pulling Jade's hair while Jade laughs.....lol

Cheesy couple of kids.

Jade is already a boy chase it seems.....

Maria and Jade getting to be friends....well, Maria was happy to, but Jade was not as willling at the moment.

Speaking of laid back....

Jade at the pool

Three of my kids, the seven month old was napping

Yeah, this didn't alst long, she thinks she can swim, so the tube is not her friend

Kaelah spent the night and this is how Jade woke her up the next morning.....:-)

Funny Girls.....

2008-07-17T17:12:00.001-04:00

I heard the girls giggling today while I was in the bathroom fixing my hair, so I decided I had better investigate. This is what I found.....

Too funny!!!!!

summer time.....

2008-07-16T09:56:00.002-04:00

Here is one of Brooke's first successful sits. When she falls its pretty funny, since she doesn't try and catch herself at all. She just flops over. This picture makes it look like her legs are a lot shorter than they should be....:-)

Kaelah, Brooke and I. Brooke was too interested in the water to look up. :-)

Brooke's first chance on the swing....

2008-07-15T10:03:00.002-04:00

I took Kaelah and Seth to the park yesterday and Brooke and I just hung out in the shade while they played. They just recently remodeled the park so I didn't realize that they had baby swings. When I did, I decided that Brooke should try them out. I was expecting her to be nervous, but instead....she absolutely loved it. She laughed so hard. It was so cute.

Odds and Ends....

2008-07-07T10:41:00.002-04:00

Justin wanted me to get a pic on their tractors that they had lined up. He is so cute.

Justin with Jada. She loves him.

Jade with her Uncle Jason

Fun with Jada

2008-07-07T10:30:00.003-04:00

Of course Aunt Holly had to play with the hair when she comes home. Jade is HORRIBLE at keeping her hair in ANYTHING. As soon as you are not looking she tears it out. The little stinker. But we did manage to keep her hair up for some pics.

This pic was taken just before she toppled off the swing..... I know, I know, I am terrible. The ground was extremely soft and I broke her fall anyway. :-) Kaelah wore this outfit when she was 2 going on 3 and Jade just turned 1!!! She is destined to be a TALL girl, me thinks!

I absolutely love this pic. She was playing peek a boo with my mom. You can tell both of them were really into it. :-)

Yeah, no smiles for Aunt Holly. I am going to start calling her, little stubborn.....

July 4th.....

2008-07-07T09:53:00.005-04:00

I went to Michigan to see the fam this weekend. We then traveled up north to Harbor Springs, MI. It is so beautiful up there. We had a wonderful time. The day couldn't have been any more gorgeous if we had special ordered it. The people that Erin nannies for is up there for a month so this pic is of Jade sitting on their front porch oohing about something.

How is this for a Marilyn Monroe like shot. The first time we put Emma in the water, she was VERY unhappy, because she had just woken up from a nap, but we tried a little later and this was her general reaction.

Too funny!

Emma and her momma!

There was a parade we watched and Jade decided she needed to give me a hug. I thought this pic was so funny.

My Emma Em and I

The girls all tuckered out and big old Grandpa being the babysitter while we shopped.

The first time we took Emma to the water...if you could see her face you would see that she was crying.

Emma and Erin

Jeremy, Myself and Liss

Jeremy loves Jada

Emma and Erin having some fun watching the parade.

A rare, good pic of Emma. She hates her picture taken.

Emma REALLY loves Jade

My wonderful parents! :-)

The busy weekend....

2008-07-01T10:11:00.004-04:00

There is this great ice cream stand in Mason that makes the cutest cones for kids. Kaelah is addicted. Seth was too cool for the cones, the first few times that we visited it, but he finally broke down last night and got one and he was thrilled with how his Santa turned out. Kaelah of course was thrilled with her elephant. :-)

I don't usually have Seth with me anymore, but their mom was trying to move yesterday so I had Seth and Kaelah. They go from fighting like cats and dogs to having great fun together. This pic is the result of one too many fights and I made them hug till they laughed.

Just a random pic of Kaelah and my favorite doggy dog, Riley. Love him.

Jada and Lizzie Bit had great fun together. Here they are kissing on the stairs. So cute!

Awwwww!!!!

Seth is at the stage where pictures just aren't cool, hence the face. As you can tell, Jada was tired.

Jade and Maria playing together. You gotta love the look on Maria's face! lol

Elizabeth and KK are great friends. They love each other so much.

And my picture of the year so far! I love this. Maria stole her Daddy's cone and had a blast with her first Graeters Ice Cream experience. This is priceless! :-)

Jade's photo fiasco....

2008-07-01T09:55:00.002-04:00

My mom and Jade came to visit Aunt Holly and Aunt Erin while Liss went to Georgia for family day to see Nick. So of course I had to get her picture taken. I never get the chance so I took this opportunity. They got here Thursday night, we immediately went to Erin's and had a good dinner and sat around and chatted. Friday, Lissa left, and Mom, Jade, Rhoda, Elizabeth, Kaelah and I all went to the outlets by Columbus to shop all day, came home, went out to eat with Ryan and his family and then the next morning, went to the zoo, and then shopped and then I had to work....suffice it to say we stayed REALLY busy. Friday, Jade fell in the store and banged her head on a clothes rack and then Friday night, while her and Elizabeth were playing, Lizzie bit accidently fell on top of Jade shoving her head into the cement. So we have two beautiful bruises on the forehead. Wahhhhhh!!!!! :-)

This picture is pretty self explanatory. If any of you know Jade very well, you know that this is a great picture of her personality when she is upset. :-)

But, finally we got a shy smile. Yay!

This was the last picture when we gave up! She wasn't having anymore!!!

Catching up.....

2008-06-23T16:05:00.004-04:00

Timmy came to visit for the weekend. We had a good time. Here we are at the overlook (which you can't tell since it is so dark). Now that he lives so much closer we should be able to see him a lot more. Yeah!

We had a good time at King's Island last week, poor Elizabeth is too short to ride on much, but she really liked this one.

Ashley

Brooke is at the, tongue sticking out all the time, stage!

Thankfully Ashley and Kaelah play very well together. Even though KK is a year and a half older, Ashley is taller (which you cannot tell by this picture). KK is going to be a pipsqueak like her momma!

Elizabeth's adorable swimsuit. She is quite the water baby. Isn't she adorable?!!!

The three munchkins at Sharon Woods

Kaelah, Timmy and I went to the dog show last week. Quinn decided he needed a hat to keep cool. :-)

Brooke the bathing beauty.

Kaelah went babysitting with me at the Dewitts after a long afternoon of swimming. Her hair was still wet and she didn't like the feeling on her back, so she fell asleep sitting forward like this....too funny!

My beautiful Baby Girl! LOVE HER! Look at those freckles!

Happy Birthday Rhoda!!!!

2008-06-02T14:49:00.000-04:00

Jada Enjoying summer!

2008-06-02T14:43:00.001-04:00

Just a couple of Jade. She is so fun these days.

Good friends....

2008-06-02T14:40:00.001-04:00

Love to spend time with Lynette and Justin when I get home.

One of these days I am actually gonna get them to come to Ohio and visit me!

Justin, Lynette and Liss

Bathing beauties....

2008-06-02T14:29:00.001-04:00

Jade, Emma, Maria and ......not so much me! I forgot my swimsuit so I had to borrow some clothes to wear. Emma sure liked being thrown as did Jade.

And some more....

2008-06-02T14:22:00.002-04:00

Melissa and Lissa sticking their heads out of their buggy, so we could get their pic. Ryan and Maria relaxing on the porch swing.

Me and my sis! I love her!

MOre....

2008-06-02T14:16:00.003-04:00

Here are Kristina, Isabel, Kasey and Emma enjoying an amish buggy.

Little miss cowgirl, Jade. I love this pic. She is such a cutie pie.

Shipshewana Fun.

2008-06-02T14:05:00.002-04:00

Well, somehow my settings got messed up on here, so I can't post like I like to, and it is making me quite frustrated. Here are a few pictures from our trip to Shipshewana. Jade is not quite walking yet, but she can walk REALLY fast if she has two people holding her hand. She is incredibly smart and refuses to let go of your hand. You can't trick her--not even a little bit.

Emma, Lissa and I

Emma, Jade, and Kasey sitting in an amish wagon. They thought they were cool stuff!

Memorial Day Weekend....

2008-05-30T10:31:00.002-04:00

Every year, my family goes to Shipshewana, to the Haiti Benefit Auction. It is a great little Amish Community. The Auction has lots of great stuff and incredible food. Its a lot of fun. This year, with the exception of Nick (who is in bootcamp) and Shadley, our whole family was there. I took a lot of pics over the weekend, but have not had the chance to download them as of yet. But, I wanted to share this pic for now. Its Ryan and Mary's girls and Jade. Emma wanted NOTHING to do with the whole thing, much to her mothers dismay. :-)

Kaelah's big dance night!

2008-05-23T15:39:00.002-04:00

I have been taking Kaelah to dance class since she was three years old. When we first started, Teresea was taking her little girl that she nannied as well. I don't know if Teresa and I have ever laughed so hard in our lives. We were hooked from the beginning.

Now, 3 years later, it is amazing at how accomplished she is. She LOVES to perform. She is the youngest girl in her class and pretty much the smallest (by far) as well, but she is a go getter.

Look at that face! I love that girl! :-)

Some of her acro moves....

twirling the tap dress....

My beautiful little girl....most of us would die for those eyelashes

The ballet outfit was my favorite of course....Just had to share for those of you who know her. The recital was a lot of fun and she did a wonderful job.

Happy first birthday, Jade!

2008-05-12T14:34:00.003-04:00

The beginning.....

The middle.....

The End.....

Jade turned one Saturday, May 10th. She was a bit befuddled about unwrapping things,b ut she really enjoyed what was inside! :-) Here she is playing with the new toy that her cousin Emma got her. As you can see, all three of my nieces were enjoying it quite a bit.

Hmmm....what do I do with this thing?

Jade LOVES cell phones. She called her uncle Ryan the other morning without her mom knowing it. Pretty funny.

ooooooo........What is that?

Yummy Cake.....

Random pics from the weekend...

2008-05-12T14:21:00.003-04:00

All of us girls helping Jade celebrate the Big #1--Liss, Erin, Lynette, Jade, Me, Mary and Maria
I think that Jade thought we were doing the wave.....

Me and my Emma Em!

Jada!

Maria--7 months

My big Bro and I--and yes we do look alike!

Emma's First Dance Recital....

2008-05-12T13:58:00.004-04:00

Aunt Holly and Aunt Lissa making over our sweet Emma. Emma is just like both her parents and doesn't really have a shy bone in her body. After all, she already had the guts to ask a piano player at a really nice restaurant to, "please play the 'ABC song'" So we were all kind of surprised when she started crying on her first dance. But after a treat (with lots of sugar) she was pretty bouncy for her second dance. :-)

I think that Emma's favorite person in the world is "my cousin, Jada!" Here she is with one of her friends playing with Jade.

The proud Mommy and Daddy. I should mention that Em is like her daddy in that she HATES to have her pics taken. Which really frustrates this aunt!

Ballerina girl....

She wouldn't move two inches from her instructor

You can kind of tell that she is crying here.

I went to the back and tried to get her excited for her tap dance, and actually got her to pose a little bit for me...

And here she is blowing a kiss.... All in all it was a fun night and our little Emma Em was a hit.

Jade's first birthday pics...

2008-04-30T09:40:00.001-04:00

Jade will turn one on May 10, but she got her pics taken a little bit early.

The cake was especially a hit. Isn't she so cute?

Zoo time....

2008-04-23T15:01:00.003-04:00

The weather has been so great, so we have already taken a couple of trips to the zoo. Ashley wanted to bring a friend, and I wanted a friend, so we took the neighbor girl for Ashley and I convinced Rhoda and Elizabeth to go. :-)

The trees are beautiful right now. That is one thing that I definitely love about Cincinnati. They have so many beautiful flowering trees.

Riley really isn't cross eyed, not sure why she looks like she is in these pics. LOL This is the one and only picture of baby Brooke. She didn't really care all that much about the animals at this point, so she mostly stayed in the stroller.

And here are two very tired little girls after a good afternoon at the zoo.

Maria at 7 months!!!

2008-04-21T13:43:00.003-04:00

Mary got Maria's pics taken this weekend. She is changing so much. She still looks a lot like her Daddy though. She is not fond of strangers at all. As soon as the photographer got in her face, she started crying so I consider this pic a miracle. It is the only good one of 5 pics that they took. She definitely gave them a hard time. But, this one is pretty cute, so I thought I would share. :-)

Volleyball stuff

2008-04-15T14:02:00.005-04:00

We had our volleyball regionals which meant that we stayed the night in Columbus. We went to dinner at the Elevator and had our steaks brought out on a steaming rock and then the rock cooked our steaks right in front of us. Interesting....

Here is most of the team without our power hitter!

Here we all are. From Left to right--MO (our strong hitter), Carissa (middle) Leah (outside), Andrea (off side), Laura (middle), and Myself (setter) It was a great tourney which we should have won. We beat the first and second place teams once each earlier in the day, and we had a game and a half on the first place team in the semi finals when we just let go and lost it all!!! UGH. But it was a good day and we did a lot better than I thought we would, so it was a lot of fun.

Thanks to some great friends.....

2008-04-07T15:01:00.009-04:00

I don't know about everyone else but I have been very blessed with some very good friends throughout my lifetime. I have always gravitated towards having a couple of close friends rather than a bunch of not so close friends. I was told once by someone in authority that I needed to expand my friendship base and I kind of laughed at him. You see, he just didn't understand that the friends that I had would last a lifetime. When I was a senior in high school a friend of mine who had already run the college gauntlet, gave me some really great advice. She told me that if I chose well, the friends I made in college were going to be the friends I would keep for life. She was so correct! Twelve years ago, I walked onto GBS campus VERY reluctantly. It was not where I wanted to be, but it was where I felt I needed to be. And just like that, I became friends with a young lady named, Teresa. Teresa was my guidance counselor through the many pitfalls of GBS life. For those of you that know me, you know that my personality does not lend itself very well, to following rules that make absolutely no sense to me. But thankfully, Teresa was there to help me with my frustration and to remind me that this or that was a rule and I needed to be careful. When Teresa was in school, I made the Deans list, :-) When she wasn't, I didn't. I was able to sort of repay her a couple of years ago, when she ran into some hard times, and it felt so good to be there for her in her time of need. Now, she has unfortunately (for me--not her) up and moved away from me, to be with her man. I am so happy that she is happy and pray that God will continue to bless her in life. But, one thing I know, no matter how far away she moves or how long it is in between times that we talk, we will always be the best of friends. Love ya, T!

Then a semester later, another girl shows up. I really didn't think she and I would hit it off. I thought she was a totally different girl than she was. But, when she started dating one of my really good guy friends we started hanging out more and I realized I had gotten her all wrong. And now 12 years later, she is the best friend that anyone could ever ask for. I wish I could explain how much Rhoda means to me. She has been through so much in the last couple of years. One of the most difficult things that I have ever seen, is watching Rhoda slowly but surely lose her mother. I have to say, I can't imagine life without my mother and Rhoda lives it every day. She loved her mother so much and her mom fought the fight so hard for her kids. Not for herself, but because she knew her kids didn't want to let her go. And then I watched my best friend get up at her mother's funeral and belt out the songs her mom loved so much so calmly and with so much peace, and I knew that she was going to be okay. Rhoda is a caretaker, and a natural born mother and she doesn't mind putting it into use. She doesn't just listen and throw out empty advice, instead, she takes my heartache or my troubles and she makes it her heartache and her troubles. I know that she hurts when I hurt and that is the best kind of friend that a person could have. There is nothing worse than pouring your heart out to someone and knowing that they just don't get it. She doesn't tell me what I want to hear, she tells me what I need to hear, but with such gentleness, it takes most of the sting out of it. In the last couple of months I have been struggling, and I have leaned on Rhoda pretty hard, and she has been there for me every step of the way. I was kind of feeling sorry for myself the other night and I really believe that God brought my friends to mind and helped me realize how truly blessed I am. So I felt the need to be a bit open with my thankfulness for such great friends. Thanks, Rhoda for being the one person that I can tell anything to, and trust you with it 100%. Thanks for being there for me and helping to keep me on the straight and narrow. Love ya girl!

For those of you out there, who have that friend--you know the one--why don't you make it a point to let them know how special they are. Sometimes we get so caught up in the normality of life that we forget how truly special these people are to us, until something happens and we need their support. Don't let their friendship go unnoticed. :-)

Another slight change....

2008-03-25T11:47:00.004-04:00

Here is my before and after pics. Not sure yet whether I like the change or not, but stuck with it for now! :-)

Catching up!!!!

2008-03-25T11:34:00.008-04:00

I haven't had the time to post in a while, so I thought I would try and put a bunch of pics up to show what I have been up to. Maria is finally getting a bit bigger. She is really long, but really petite. She is very shy and is not really up to having anyone hold her other than her mom and dad......wahhh! So poor aunt Holly doesn't get too great of bonding time with her. Her mom says that she is a daddy's girl, and Ryan loves every minute of it. :-)

I know that there are some of you out there who are curious to see Ryan's step kids. Its pretty neat to see him with them, because they love him a lot. This is the middle one, Isabelle. She is the "quiet" one. I think she just turned 5.

This is the youngest one, Kasey. She is 3 going on 4 and a fireball. If you just met her, she probably wouldn't even meet your eyes, but once she gets to know you--watch out! :-)

And this is the oldest--Kristina. I think she is 7, and she is a great big sister to her sisters. All in all they are a crazy trio when they are together, and lots of fun.

Kasey is always asking to go to my house with me to see my cat. She also is always trying to get ahold of Kaelah's flip flops in my car. She loves them!

Liss and Jade came down to visit for a week. Poor Jade got sick again. She was so sick, and therefore quite miserable. But I managed to get a couple of pics anyway.

She loved her Uncle Ryan. And I thought this pic was pretty cute.

She also had a love/hate relationship with my cat Hunter. I had to post this pic, since Hunter so kindly smiled for it.... ;-)

Here is all of Ryan and Mary's kids. Isabelle, Kasey, Maria, and Kristina

Jade modeling an outfit my mom got her. She's so cute!

Jade's Easter outfit. What you maybe can't see is that it has easter bunnies smocked on it. Very sweet.

When I was home recently I had a wedding to attend and my cousins whom I don't get to see half as much as I like to, were there as well. So we decided it was a great time to hang out. So we all went bowling in our wedding clothes. Really cute with the bowling shoes....

As you can see, we had a blast and hopefully we can do it again soon. So that is what I have been up to in a nutshell for the last month. A lot of changes have been happening and for those of you who know me, you know that I have a hard time with change, but things have been going well, so I am thankful for that. My new job is working out quite well, and the family is really nice, so that is a real answer to prayer.

Chef Graham!

2008-02-16T15:50:00.004-05:00

This little guy's name is, Graham, a little boy that I babysit two evenings a week. He was born incredibly big, (which is incredibly weird seeing such a huge baby come from a size 0 mother) and has stayed that way. I took this top picture when he was about 9 months old. As you can see, he was a BIG boy. He weighed in at 30# at 1 year. While I was babysitting him and his siblings this weekend, I was making Janna's awesome Cinnamon roll recipe and Graham was so interested (which makes sense, since his dad is the orignator and owner of Dewey's Pizza). He wanted to help with everything and he stayed on the counter keeping track of everything I did. So I decided it would be cute to re-enact the original picture.

As you can see he hasn't changed much in a year and a half except get taller. He is such a cutie. We had a really great time together, so I thought I would share.

My new job....

2008-02-15T12:37:00.002-05:00

I am going to start a new nanny job March 3. This is Ashley (4 1/2) and Brooke (8 wks). I am going to combine my old job with this one, so that makes me very happy! :-) Ashley is very outgoing and fun, and Brooke seems to be a pretty relaxed baby, so that is good. I have been working part time since the beginning of January and its been really tough, so I am excited to be getting some money coming in again, as well.

"I really want this, Simon!"

2008-02-14T13:55:00.002-05:00

How many of you have heard this line, too often on American Idol? "I really want this, Simon!" As if the fact that they have the musicality of a stuck pig, has nothing to do with being an American Idol. Its all about the fact that they WANT it. I am increasingly dismayed by the sense of entitlement that I see in our children and young people today. As a nanny, I am around all sorts of parents and children every day. I have been amazed at the parenting (or non-parenting) that I experience around these children. I actually watched a mom break down in tears after begging her child to come down from the play ground and being ignored for fifteen minutes. I finally, politely, asked her if she wanted me to go and get him and she stared at me with shock and replied, "I guess I could go and get him." She grabbed him and brought him down and they went out the door. It was like she had never even thought of the fact that she could control his behavior. Seeing the total over-indulgence that happens with these children, it doesn't take a big mental leap, to understand why people who can't carry a tune in a bushel basket think that they deserve to be on American Idol. They are told every day that every thing they do is WONDERFUL. No one loses, everyone wins, right? Wrong. Eventually in life, these kids, who are in total unreality of who and what they are, will run into a Simon. Someone who doesn't pull any punches, and suddenly they are in shock and are totally devastated at the reality that broadsides them. I used to babysit a boy who behaved terribly, when he was old enough to go to school, he would come home depressed because he didn't have any friends. No one wanted to play with him because he was such a brat. And he couldn't understand why, since no one had ever taught him what proper behavior was. Was it really a five year old's fault? Not in my opinion. What a disservice his parents did to him. I say its about time we got control of our children again. Teach them that there is a right way and a wrong way, help them with their weakness, but don't lie to them about their abilities. Bring them up with compassion for others instead of a sense of entitlement that tells them they deserve whatever they want just because they want it! I was thrilled with a line in the movie Incredibles, where Dash is complaining about not being able to do things because he was "special", to which his mom replies, "Everyone's special, Dash, " to which he mutters back, "which is just another way of saying, no one is special!" I love it, get with it people, lets bring some old fashioned reality back to our children! I never liked not being able to sing, but guess what, I knew I couldn't and you can believe that I would never have tried out for American Idol. Does this mean if your kid isn't good at something that you shouldn't encourage him to get better? Of course not! It is always good to teach children (and adults) that is is good to strive to do better at the things that we aren't as good at. Just don't convince them that they are going to be president some day if they have the IQ of a squirrel! Its really about the kids and what is best for them, and sometimes that means accepting hard truths to escape embarrassment later from a much harsher critic or situation. Thanks for putting up with my rant, good luck to all you parents out there!

Little Ballerina.....

2008-02-07T09:28:00.000-05:00

Here are a couple of pics of baby Jade. She is always making this face. It is definitely one of her favorites.

Jade is pulling up to everything these days. My mom says that when you hold her hands and try and make her walk, she absolutely refuses to take a step. Kind of funny.