~Happy 7th Birthday~

to Jordis Li Meng! Happy Birthday to you!! It is very hard to believe that this little girl has only been in our family for less than two years. It seems like she has been with us forever. She crawled in my lap last night to give me a hug and kiss goodnight and she whispered to me, "Mama, you know it's my birthday tomorrow?" Of course we remembered! We surprised her at school this afternoon with cupcakes, fruit punch and all the utensils! (BTW, I cropped this photo as one of the little boys in the background had his finger up his nose!)



She is still tiny but mighty. She seems to blossom before our eyes! We love you Jordis Li!! XOXO



Today



Fall 2008



Referral photo

Our four-legged kidz

So I have been a bad blogger lately. I actually had plans to add to our blog, but things can get hectic around here sometimes. I took some photos of our four-legged kidz lately. Oreo is the "old" lady of the house. She was pretty overwhelmed at first by our family. She spent a lot of time in the basement and would come upstairs after the girls went to bed. She has decided that maybe we aren't so bad after all and spends lots of time in front of the food bowl (hence the big belly) and lounging around. Of course, when your belly is so big, it feels good to lay on your back in the chair!



Eegan is starting to get along with Oreo and Pugston now. I wish there was a way that I could get a great shot of his eyes. Unfortunately, all I pick up is the glow when I try too. He is not 100% siamese, but he definitely looks the part. His eyes are very blue and crossed! I sometimes wonder if he really can see very well. Eegan sleeps with Jordis every night.



Then there is Pugston! Pugston was given a second chance at our family by an icestorm. I had a new home all lined up for Pugston and the day that I was going to take him there we awoke to a ice covered outside. Of course, I didn't think that it was a good idea to try and drive on ice, so Pugston was reprieved. He took his opportunity the evening of the ice storm to suck up big time to me. And they say they are dumb animals! He has really turned out to be a good dog. He does have his days though. Ever since the Fourth of July night, he will NOT go outside when it is dark. He was scared by fireworks and seems to think they are waiting for him outside! Then he will only come home when he is good and ready too. I let him out one morning and when I started looking for him so I could go get Kendalan from pre-school I found him at the neighbor's house playing with their dog, Hank. I had a treat for Pugston and was doing everything in my power to coax him home, but he just looked at me like "Who is this crazy woman?" Hank is getting pretty old and our neighbors house is now for sale. I don't know what Pugston will do without Hank to play with!





You will notice in the first photo of Hank and Pugston that the neighbors black cat is laying on the bench. When I started coming closer the cat decided to peek at me from behind the bushes! The dogs just kept looking at me. Hank is chewing on a tennis ball and Pugston was trying to get him to drop it! Boys and their toys!

School & Sleep

Other than missing the photo op to get all four girls' photo before school the first day, school is off to a great start. All four girls announced after the first day that they were excited to be back in school and everyone is happy with their new teachers. We are still having issues with the early morning wake up call. My take on bedtime is that it should be early. The girls think that 8pm on a school night is too early. I really think that they should be IN bed at 7:30pm so they can be asleep by 8pm at the very latest.

My girls have THEIR bedtime routine down to a science. I start telling them at 7:15 that it is almost time for bed. They automatically kick into slow motion. Getting pajamas on is stretched out to a 20 minute process. I didn't know the girls could move so slow! In the mornings before school tooth brushing is done almost before they put the toothbrush in their mouth. In the evening they have to brush EVERY tooth at least 5 minutes! I guess this could be a good thing, but it is just part of the ploy to drag out bedtime.

After they brush their teeth it is off to bed.....whoa! Now everyone is thirsty! Sorry girls, you just brushed your teeth you can't have anything but water to drink. My former water haters all of a sudden can't drink enough water! Of course, they can only take little, teeny tiny sips! They then head toward the stairs, but OH we forgot to give you hugs and kisses! (Do they know how to suck up or what?!!) At this time they want to give extra hugs and kisses and maybe if they work it just right they will climb on a lap and get to stay up at least a couple of minutes longer!

This is a typical morning pose after the girls have finally drug themselves up the stairs. They barely make it to the love seat and have to become horizontal again!


Then after all the love is passed around, they are down the stairs to bed, right? WRONG! Minutes after the thump, thump, thumps are down the stairs we hear thump, thump, thump right back up with someone telling that "ZoraLin is in our room!" Or "I forgot my (insert any stuffed critter here)." Back down they go...YES! Mom and Dad head off to the freezer to get a popsicle (the good kind that are reserved only for parents!) A head pops up from the stairway. "Mommy, what are you eating?" "Can I have a bite?" Of course, if they go to bed and don't come back up at least a couple of times we sit up here thinking "Maybe we should go see what is going on?" "Could they really be asleep?!"

Then on the weekends we wind up with a bed full of girls. We love family bed time! Lots of tickles, hugs, giggles, dog piles...you name it!

First Day of School!

School started this morning! It can't be true! Where did the summer go?! The girls were all talking last night before bedtime that they were not ready for summer to be over either, but they all bounced out of bed quickly this morning. Much quicker than I was ready for them too. I think that we will hear moans of "I don't want to get up!" very soon...possibly even tomorrow morning. ZoraLin was very bright eyed as she waited outside her new classroom.




Since we had toured the new school a few nights ago, Jordis knew exactly where her classroom was and took off skipping down the hallway to join the other kids waiting for the bell.


Kendalan did not hesitate to enter her classroom and make herself right at home. No tears for our little girl, just get on with the learning!



ZoraLin models her new glasses. She picked them out all by herself! We think she did a pretty good job even though she was way out of the "box" on what she chose! Jordis and ZoraLin had their backpacks on and were ready to go at 7 AM. Kendalan was inside pouting at this time. She was mad because I wouldn't do her hair just the way she wanted! Mad Princess the first day of school...what a way to start!




Girls all ready for school. Oops! Mommy messed up and missed RaeAnne! I was busy doing hair pretties when the bus came. As RaeAnne is in 4th grade and a "big girl" now, she decided to ride the bus to school and let Mom & Dad take the "little girls" to school. They grow up so fast!!


This is a photo of my three Overbrook kiddos in front of their school. The problem with having a divided school is this; All four will get on the bus in front of our house just before 7 AM. They will then ride the bus into Carbondale. At Carbondale they will exit that bus and three will get on the Overbrook bus, RaeAnne will board the Scranton bound bus. School starts at 8:10 AM. Reverse the process at 3:20 PM. Last year the school bus would drop the girls off at 3:35 PM. It will be interesting to see what time they will arrive this year. In that 15 minute ride from school to our house Jordis has been known to fall asleep on the bus. Last year someone actually had to carry her to the house one day after she fell asleep and they couldn't wake her up to get off the bus! I can only imagine what will happen on a much longer ride home. We will be alerting the bus driver to make sure she is awake and manages to get on her second bus home!

Putting on the Glitz!

Once ZoraLin gets an idea in her head that she wants to do wild horses can not drag the thought out of her head. This week she was determined she HAD to have some press-on nails. Her Daddy showed her reviews about press on nails and how long (not very) they last. That did not worry ZoraLin
Looking pretty good...too bad they don't last long!

The Rainbow Bridge

This poem has special meaning to our family. We have had many pets cross over this bridge in the last few years. Very recently our dog Wyatt made this trip. The girls are very sad that Wyatt is no longer here with us, but it made them feel much better knowing that he is now playing with Trouble, Nermal and Shadow while waiting for us.



" When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food and water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable. All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing: they miss someone very special to them; who had to be left behind. They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. The bright eyes are intent; the eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to break away from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster. YOU have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart. "




We will miss this mug around here.

99 Things

I saw this on Debbie's blog, and I loved it, so I thought I would do it as well :-)

Here are the rules:

Bold the things you’ve done and post this list on your blog then leave me a comment and tell me you did this I can go see!

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyworld
8. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Written something that was published
11. Bungee jumped or parachuted
12. Walked across the Golden Gate Bridge
13. Been in a fist fight
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Seen the Rings of Saturn with a telescope
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when not ill
24. Built a tree house or snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Fired a gun
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Visited the Leaning Tower of Pisa
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke!
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal
44. Visited Africa
45. Cried yourself to sleep
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Visited the Eiffel Tower
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Pretended you cooked something from scratch when you didn't.
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie or commercial
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold something door to door
62. Gone whale or dolphin watching
64. Donated blood, marrow, etc
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Held onto a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten frog legs or caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Time Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Done something illegal
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Sang a solo
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Climbed a mountain
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had surgery
89. Directly saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Seen a loved one die
94. Given birth to a baby
95. Visited the Alamo
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Sent a text message while driving
99. Been stung by a bee