Audrey- I mean MiMa's Birthday

Thursday was MiMa's birthday! This made for one exciting day for Audrey- she couldn't wait to "bo em' out" (blow the candles out) and open MiMa's present. She did both but before she did that, Pops called and asked if he could come over a little bit early for dinner and take Audrey outside. PERFECT ~ this gave Chris and I time to prepare the Shrimp Stir Fry we were making for dinner. Out they went and to work Chris and I went. I just laughed my head off when I went out to see what they had done..... MiMa didn't blow out one candle. (she was happy to have Audrey do it)

MiMa got a cermanic tea set for tea parties with her granddaughters.

Pops and Audrey with the snowman on top of the mailbox- "she" is wearing Audrey's sunglasses.

This snowlady is wearing Audrey's pink bike helmet and has blue sidewalk chalk for eyes.

This is Audrey on Friday afternoon checking on the snowmen- we had to do this several times today and she also watched them from the windows a lot throughout the day.

This snowgirl is slowly getting smaller and I am afraid Audrey will be sad when her new friends are gone!

small town: BIG news

About 6 months ago- seems like 6 years ago- our beloved Dairy Queen closed it's doors for good. Business was good but the owner was tired and didn't want to keep up with the hours anymore. It was a sad day in Sabetha history. There were many, MANY memories made at the Dairy Queen- families would flock there after games, spelling bees and concerts, date night ice cream in high school, ice cream cakes for birthday's, happy hour drinks after school and the list goes on!

Well, yesterday Dairy Queen is back- well, not really but DK saved the day. DK Burgers and Treats opened yesterday and the town just got a little sweeter! This family of 3 and a half had to go get a lick last night and the place was packed. Chris had to wait in line for quite a while for our 2 cones and a dish of soft serve but it was worth the wait! (the drive through was seven cars deep) My cone was gone by the time we got home (and it's a short drive home) and Audrey sure enjoyed her "i team". It tasted the exact same as Dairy Queen ice cream does so this PG Momma is happy and back to her new years resolution of packing on the lbs. Now, I can't wait to try the burgers and fries.......

Happy "hump" day!

Seriously- pun intended. I must be in 8th grade again- I have an annoying zit right on the top of my nose and dang it -- it hurts! It definitely is a hump and might even obtain a name if it doesn't calm down in the next day or so. (yes, my brother Jacob named one of his zits once b/c it was taking over his face)

Enjoy your day and may it be a blemish free one!

Sweet Little Things

Just a few sweet things on this snowy Tuesday:
* Audrey going green goth with a marker, why I have no idea-- she's a toddler
* a beautiful light snow falling pretty much all day
* a warm home
* a big fatty sweatshirt of my husbands that's been my garb all day
* a clean bathroom- the cleaning wasn't fun but looking at it shine now is
* Nana & Poppa taking Audrey after her nap this afternoon so Mommy could have some alone time- ahhhh- thank you Nana & Poppa ~ this alone time is so sweet
* reading time with my fun novel

California comes to Kansas

Uncle Ben & Aunt Christina were in Kansas this past long weekend. The weather cooperated and gave them just a small taste of the weather we experience everyday. A beautiful snow was on the ground on Sunday which was pretty sweet!

We:
got some "farm" time in with Pops
enjoyed a "Butchy" burger while the kids had fun with Abby the babysitter
opened presents
played a lot of Cribbage and many rounds of the "name game"
the boys sat by the firepit - yes even in this COLD weather
went to church
ate a lot of good food - thanks to MiMa for the MANY meals and yummy bread pudding
had a lot of fun cousin time (inside trampoline, Newman the dog, Elefun, bath time, lots of books, green caterpillar-"monster" etc)

Thanks Ben & Christina for coming home- we love seeing you. We'll see you in March- that's not long at all.

A Birthday Celebration

Demelia (Audrey's older and more mature friend) turned 4 today. We had a little "party" for her and her friend Kellen. It was a fun morning for all. Here's what the party entailed...

Baby Brodders

Audrey loves to give Mommy's belly and Baby Brodders a kiss and then a hug. (and sometimes she finishes it off with a sweet slap)

Ro is OUT!

Luke just called and said they are heading home! What a great feeling. Roman got so excited when he got to ride in the truck. It's all about the little things when you've been in a tiny hospital room since Thursday.

Thanks for your prayers for Roman & Luke and Robyn.

Roman Luke on Sunday

Hi All,
Thank you for your concern, support and most of all prayers. It's so amazing to see that so many of you read my blog and then most importantly- follow through with prayer.
Our Ro is better, not completely but better. He received his 12 hour IV of meds and things are looking up. He had a good nap this afternoon and then got us as visitors and a sucker with Cousin Audrey. This evening after we left, he ate a "somewhat" Roman sized meal: whole bowl of ice cream, 1 1/4 bananas, 5 chicken nuggets, part of a grilled cheese and strawberry milk. He's got a lot of catching up to do since he hasn't eaten in a week. He was even was playing with some toys in his room which is a first. Hopefully tomorrow they get a good report from the Doctors and possibly a chance at going home.
I couldn't choose which pictures to post because they were all so good- so I did a slideshow. Enjoy and thanks again for your prayers- please continue.

Christmas 2009

Sometimes I plan ahead and then forget I planned ahead. (brother!)

I created this slide show a few weeks ago and it's been sitting in my blog "que" and was forgotten about.  I thought I might as well share it even though Christmas is long gone. 

Ro Update

After numerous tests, cultures, probes etc the doctors have decided to go ahead and treat Roman with Kawaski Disease. They are pretty sure that's what he has (with KD it's hard to be 100% sure that's the diagnosis) but at this point the little dude is not getting any better and they need to start with some sort of treatment. He can't stand, can't even hold his head up- he's a sick guy!! So, the treatment (via an IV) starts and we pray that he'll start showing signs of getting better.
We'll head to KC tomorrow to visit him. Hopefully Audrey will be able to see him- she talks about him a lot and Roman has enjoyed listening to a voice message from Audrey. He actually laughs just a little when he listens to Audrey and that's a big deal!

Thanks for all your prayers-- please continue to pray.

Poor lil' Ro!

My nephew Roman Luke is in the hospital at Children's Mercy North. He's sick and the doctors are working hard to find out the problem! Audrey is concerned- she walks around the house "OhRo, sick, hozpitel". Please help us pray for our lil Roman. Him and his parents would appreciate the prayers.

So true!

My friend Tiffany sent this to me and it brought tears to my eyes as I read the words- because it was and is exactly how I feel. I think I should read it each day as a fresh reminder. Enjoy...

"Play with Me, Mom my!"

Laura Thurston, Council Coordinator

I have to admit, sometimes I dread hearing those words: "Play with me." It means that I will be experiencing a strong sense of guilt if I don’t stop what I’m doing to get down on the floor and pretend to be fully engaged in the game of the day. But, by playing with my children, it means that I have to put something else on hold.

This spring, my son will be old enough to attend preschool. My initial reaction was excitement at the thought of being able to run errands with one less child in tow. But as I thought more about it, I became saddened. I was struck by the reality that my children are, slowly but surely, growing up and heading out into the world. The all-consuming demands of infancy and toddlerhood are starting to give way to a chatty little boy who wants to go places and do things with his friends instead of with mommy.

The days are long but the years are short when you have small children. Before you know it they are ready to move on to the next stage of life and they long for your encouragement and support as they venture out to try new things. It’s at these times when I have to admit that I really didn’t mind bringing a brigade of children with me on all my errands, and I’m glad I left the wet snowsuits dripping on the floor so we could make hot chocolate. I'm inspired to grab hold of those times to just be together.

Right now I’m thankful that my children are still small enough to fit on my lap. It’s hard to keep perspective when you are living amongst crumbs on the floor, random pacifiers on the stairs and half-chewed board books. At this stage of life you are just in survival mode, not necessarily thriving mode. But this ride will someday come to an end, so maybe today I'll say yes to the request to "play with me, Mom my!"

Scrapbooking Resolutions

I'm doing really well so far on the 09 resolution regarding scrapbooking. Here's my work this year so far and I added some from the end of 08' as well.

Another hair cut

Today Audrey went and visited friend Debbie at the beauty shop for another hair cut. It had been awhile since we had her hair trimmed and it was time for a freshening up. Audrey did such a good job, she hopped right up in the chair and sat there like a big girl through the whole cut. Debbie curled her hair and it looks adorable- it curled really nicely and makes her look so much older. The sucker afterwards was a big hit! We had to go say hi to Big Bill Simpson next door for a "five" (high five) and then had to go say hi to Daddy too. I'm a bad Mom- I didn't put a hat on her because I didn't want it to mess up the new do and it's darn cold here today!

Just like the good ole' days!

MiMa & Pops (my parents) called this evening and wondered if Audrey would want to go run some errands, and eat dinner with them this evening- I said sure and they were here in 15 minutes and off they went. What's a Momma to do with a house to herself? (yes, Chris was here but he doesn't count- he's not a toddler) So, down to my storage room I went and organized some boxes, put away the last of the Christmas boxes and just caught up. Ahhh - I love moments like that! Chris made a gourmet frozen pizza and we sat in the living room and watched tv, I surfed the net and we ate our pizza in pure luxury. Seriously, you forget what life was like without a child pretty quickly! Anyway, it was a wonderful 2 and a half hours of "freedom" in my own home and I enjoyed each minute! Thanks MiMa & Pops! The invitation is always open.

New Years Resolutions

Audrey's New Years Resolutions:
* get rid of the binkie
* become potty trained (no time line set- just before 2010 please)
* adjust well to baby Brother when he arrives
* learn numbers and letters by recognition

Kara's New Years Resolutions:
* pray more
* read the Bible more
* read more "non-Mommy" books
* gain weight- for the sake of the baby of course
* catch up on scrapbooking- do 4 layouts each week until I'm caught up!
* video tape Audrey more
* remember to use The Five Love Languages http://www.fivelovelanguages.com/ in my marriage

And I will try to do as this song says....