FINALLY!!!

I was running so late this morning for church since my alarm clock didn't go off...my real clock or Sarah...but I did take a few seconds to throw Sarah in her chair for a quick picture in one of my favorite dresses of hers. AND I ACTUALLY GOT A SMILE IN PRINT!!! I've been trying for weeks to get her to smile for the camera but have never been able to get one! I've still got to get one on video because they way her face lights up is precious. But for now...I'm thrilled to be able to show you how much she smiles like her daddy...she's got his little "smiling eyes" that squint up when she breaks out into a full smile. And just so you know...the Lord's still breaking me and my vain thoughts down....right after I got these shots of her, she spit up all over the front of her dress while I was frantically putting her in her carseat to leave. So I didn't get to show her off in this sweet little dress! That'll teach me to be so vain, heh?

Comfy Cozy!

Brent was trying to soothe Sarah last night while she was fussy so I could get the kitchen cleaned up before I fed her. I came in from the kitchen and found them both sound asleep! The sight was enough to melt even the most frazzled mom's heart! He spent many nights like this when each of our kids was first born so I could get some sleep at night. I'm so glad I got this picture so we can always have the reminder of how little our kids started out...and what a great Daddy he is!

Something that made me laugh!!!

My Mom-in-Law sent this to me this morning, and it made me laugh! Especially since a mom with 4 boys sent it to her! These are not things I've learned from Daniel...dont' worry! But it's worth a good laugh...and Jen, I don't think I'd let Jordan read this list...if he can have that much fun with a matchstick and silverware...no telling what he'd do with the clorox and brake fluid! :-)

• A king size waterbed holds enough water to fill a 2000 sq. ft. house 4 inches deep.
• If you spray hair spray on dust bunnies and run over them with roller blades, they can ignite.
• A 3-year old boy's voice is louder than 200 adults in a crowded restaurant.
• If you hook a dog leash over a ceiling fan, the motor is not strong enough to rotate a 42 pound boy wearing Batman underwear and a Superman cape. It is strong enough, however, if tied to a paint can, to spread paint on all four walls of a 20x20 ft. room.
• You should not throw baseballs up when the ceiling fan is on. When using a ceiling fan as a bat, you have to throw the ball up a few times before you get a hit. A ceiling fan can hit a baseball a long way.
• The glass in windows (even double-pane) doesn't stop a baseball hit by a ceiling fan.
• When you hear the toilet flush and the words "uh oh", it's already too late.
• Brake fluid mixed with Clorox makes smoke, and lots of it.
• A six-year old Boy can start a fire with a flint rock even though a 36-year old man says they can only do it in the movies.
• Certain Lego's will pass through the digestive tract of a 4- year old Boy.
• Play dough and microwave should not be used in the same sentence.
• Super glue is forever.
• No matter how much Jell-O you put in a swimming pool you still can't walk on water.
• Pool filters do not like Jell-O.
• VCR's do not eject "PB & J" sandwiches even though TV commercials show they do.
• Garbage bags do not make good parachutes.
• Marbles in gas tanks make lots of noise when driving.
• You probably DO NOT want to know what that odor is.
• Always look in the oven before you turn it on; plastic toys do not like ovens.
• The fire department inAustin , TX has a 5-minute response time.
• The spin cycle on the washing machine does not make earthworms dizzy.
• It will, however, make cats dizzy.
• Cats throw up twice their body weight when dizzy.
• 80% of Women will pass this on to almost all of their friends, with or without kids.
• 80% of Men who read this will try mixing the Clorox and brake fluid.

Just in case anyone was wondering...I took Sarah to the doctors office today and weighed her on the digital scale there...she was 12 pounds 5 ounces (with her diaper and clothes on) so I figure she's really more like 12 pounds 2 or 3 ounces. That puts her right around the 65th percentile. Most people won't care, I know...but grandparents might! :-)So we're past the magical 12 pound mark that doctors say is when a baby should start sleeping better...I'm planning on having a talk with Sarah about that tonight! Although I can't complain...she slept 6 hours last night and then another 4 1/2...life is so much better for everyone when the Mommy is able to get some sleep!

Something fun worth trying with the kiddos...

Saw this idea on TV the other day while I was nursing and thought I'd give it a try. The kids and I did it today and it really worked!

Roll out pizza dough to 1/4 inch and cut out circles (I used my widest mouth glass) and then cut out a smaller circle from the inside to make a donut shape. Deep fry in oil that is 350 degrees or so for 30-45 seconds on each side until a light golden brown. Dredge them with a brown sugar and cinnamon mixture or pop them in a paper bag with powdered sugar and give it a good shake.

After we did it by the recipe, I smooshed all the scraps into little donut hole shapes without rolling them out again. They turned out much better--the rolled out ones were just poofs of air, but the smooshed ones were more cakelike. The kids had fun smooshing them into different shapes and shaking them in the lunch bags of powdered sugar...I wasn't watching Daniel too carefully who was eating one while he was shaking his bag...I turned around to a cloud of powdered sugar all around Daniel and the kitchen floor--he was shaking it while it was open--he can be so much like his momma sometimes it's scary! Next time I do this, I won't bother with rolling them out and trying to make them look pretty...they're homemade donuts...who cares if they look like real donuts!

Happy Birthday, Great Grandma Griffin!

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She's 6 weeks old today!!!

Our sweet baby Sarah is 6 weeks old today! It's hard to believe we've had her in our arms for that long already, but it's true! She seems to be tall...people keep commenting on how long she is. She's sleeping about 6 hours now at a stretch each night, so I'm only having to get up once to feed her...life is so much better when you get sleep :-) And she has started to smile at us! Life is better with sleep, and those 4:00 feedings don't seem so hard when she stops nursing to flash a big smile at me!

Brent was commenting the other day how different it is to hold Sarah than it is to hold Hannah. He was reminiscing how he used to hold Hannah the same way he holds Sarah now and how much Hannah has changed. So Hannah thought it would be funny to see what she would look like if Daddy held her the same way he used to. Couldn't let a photo op like this go by!

Amazing...and almost healthy!

My sister called the other day mushing and gushing about this recipe someone had given her. I thought nothing could be as yummy as she was saying and really only be 1 point on the weight watchers' point system...so I thought it would be something fun for "Hannah-Mommy Time." I have to say they are really, really good and super simple! And for all you pumpkin haters out there...the muffins come off as a "spice muffin" more than pumpkin...trust me!

a box of carrot cake mix
small can of pure pumpkin (not the pumpkin pie stuff)
1 cup water

mix all of this together, put in muffin pans, bake at 350 for 13-15 minutes

They make 12 muffins--but be careful...at only 1 point each, one can justify eating quite a few of them...not that I speak from experience or anything! :-) Now you know why I don't bake very often!

Our Little Girl is Growing Up!!!

Hannah's 5th birthday was Monday...it's hard to believe our little girl is 5!!! But then again, she acts like she's 15 most days! She seems so big and grown up compared to Baby Sarah, but then again I know it's all perspective...last night she came down with the stomach flu that's going around and she seemed so little and helpless!

Hannah was so excited about opening her presents! Her favorites were the princess suitcase from Grandpa and Grandma Kelley (she rolls it around the house with her everywhere she goes--she has all her favorite things in it that she has to have with her at all times!) a wallet from Grandma and Grandpa Griffin--complete with her own pretend credit cards (Grandma Griffin saved all the little credit cards that come in the mail as well as used up gift cards and put them in the wallet for Hannah to pretend play with--She loves having her own credit cards--especially the ones that have the mastercard or discover logos on them so she can be just like Mommy and Daddy!) and a red purse from our friend, Jessie Markham, that had some really fun things in it--like Skittles Bubble Gum! (The purse and the wallet made it into the suitcase--that tells you how much she really loves them!)
Hannah helped me make her cake--she begged all day to know when we were going make it...she loved putting on the sprinkles that she picked out, too!
She wanted Mac n cheese and hot dogs for her birthday dinner...we got off easy with Hannah...Daniel wanted steak for his birthday dinner! :-)

What a fun reminder!

This picture has nothing to do with the post, but was so adorable I couldn't resist! Hannah was so excited to crawl into bed with me yesterday and hold Sarah the same way Mommy holds her!
Now the real reason for posting...my friend Marsel reminded me of a man that goes to our church in Chicago. (I know we've been gone for over 2 years now, but it's still "our church"--and always will be!) His name is Mr. Rippberger, and he's everyone's Grandpa. He's the candy man--always giving gummy bears or worms out to all the children after the service. And he teaches the 4-5 year old Sunday School class. And he loves babies! He always used to play with our babies' "pudgey wrists" and tease us by asking us why we put rubber bands around our babies' wrists! How I miss Mr. Rippberger and his wife, Linda, who just have a way of making you smile when you talk with them! Leslie, their daughter, oftens posts comments to our blog...so Leslie, if you read this, please let your folks know we love them and miss everyone at New Hope...and we love you, too, Leslie...she's one of those down to earth people that you can just be yourself around! Sigh...I'm longing for a mall right now...I know, Brent, I agree, too...we're right where the Lord wants us...even though there's no mall! :-)

She's changing so fast!

I can't believe how quickly time is flying! Baby Sarah is changing so much each day! Her wrists are getting that baby "pudge," and she's getting that "Griffin Look." I'm not sure exactly what that means, but 2 people now have looked at Sarah and said, "Oh yeah, she's a Griffin, that's for sure!" I hope that's not such a bad thing :-) Daniel and Hannah don't look a thing like each other, but apparently all 3 of our kids have something in common as far as looks go.

Sarah is 4 weeks tomorrow...she's sleeping much better now, which means I am, too! Last night I fed her at 9:30 and was too tired to stay up until her 12:30 feeding. She woke up around 2:30 wanting to eat. She woke up again at 7:30 ready to eat...so I'm getting quite a bit of sleep...which is a good thing! God is so good to give us exactly what we need exactly when we need it...apparently I needed sleep as much as I thought I needed it!

BTW...Hannah said something funny the other day while Grandma Griffin was holding Sarah. Daniel and Hannah love to kiss on Sarah. Hannah had just given Sarah yet another kiss, when Grandma Griffin said, "You're going to wear a hole in Sarah's cheeks !" Hannah looked at Sarah in a funny way, and said, "Look she's starting to crack!" Hannah noticed the tiny little blood vessels that were showing on Sarah's cheek and thought she really was wearing a hole in her cheek from kissing her! Only a four year old would think that way!

Murphy's Law at it's best!

Just a simple thought to ponder...why is it that a baby will only make "ickies" in a clean diaper?!? Never fails...change a baby's diaper and she is sure to make a mess of it within minutes if not seconds...try it, you'll see!!! The results will be best around 3-4 in the morning. One of those things to make you go, "hmmm..."

Thank You!!!

A special thanks to both sets of grandparents who came and helped us while we were adjusting to life with a newborn! My parents came before we were induced and stayed for a week or so after Sarah Grace was born. Brent's folks came and stayed 10 days with us after my parents left. It was so nice to know that Daniel and Hannah were taken care of while I was figuring out the nursing thing all over again, and that the laundry was being done, and that I could sleep and know that dinner was taken care of for when Brent came home. They made the transition to baby-hood again much more bearable. Thanks Mom and Dad! What would we do without such wonderful parents? But could someone please tell me how to do laundry...it's been so long since I've had to do anything around the house, I think I need more help--when are you guys coming back?!?

WOW!!! That's Cold!

Windchills could get as cold as -45 tonight and into tomorrow morning!!! The actual this morning when we got up was -16!!! Who knows how cold it got during the wee hours of the morning! Yikes!

Family pictures

We went and had our pictures taken today after Sarah's doctor appointment. The girl gave us a CD of our pics we ordered so we could email them to friends and family. I figured posting them on the blog fell under the same category. (BTW...I checked the copyright on the CD and it said we couldn't print them at a photo studio or kiosk--so legally it seems fine to post them on our blog--one doesn't live with a computer programmer without having to check these things out!) Our family picture was an after thought--we had one more picture available so we had our family shot taken instead of wasting it! Wish I had taken more care getting ready this morning!
Daniel turned 7 in September, Hannah will be 5 on February 19, and Sarah is 15 days old. Where does the time go?!?

My how quickly they change...Sarah's 2 weeks today and she's changed so much from the wrinkly, cheese head we met for the first time 2 weeks ago! She's slept for 4-5 hours at a time for the last several nights so we're on the downward side of the slope for no sleep! It's amazing what you can do once you get a good night's sleep! And several naps thanks to my parents and Brent's parents who have been helping out a ton with a certain proud brother and sister!

Sarah seems to really be favoring Brent's pictures from when he was a baby. His parents think so as well...but unfortunately, she's got my thighs!!! We're enrolling her in baby aerobics next week!
Sarah's cord finally came off so we were able to give her her first real bath...she wasn't too happy about it to say the least!

The gorey details...

There's not that much to tell really, but here's the story...

We arrived at the hospital in Iron Mountain at 5:00 Thursday morning for our scheduled induction. We were admitted and situated, (all the stuff that goes with being induced) and my IV of pitocin began at 6:10. I wondered if it was a bad sign that the nurse tried twice to get my IV in my left hand (and by tried, I mean...tried--I have the bruises to prove it!) before she went and got another nurse who successfully was able to get it in my right hand (but not without difficulty!) Dr. Ryan came in and broke my water around 6:40. The nurse had said that the anesthesiologist was busy but would try to make it to my room in time to get me an epidural. There were 2 of us in labor wanting one. Suffice it to say that neither one of us got an epidural that day! Where in the world are we that a lady scheduled for an induction who has expressed a desire ahead of time for an epidural doesn't get one?!? I repsond very well to being induced and things progressed very quickly. I was fine without the epidural until the last half hour or so when it got really intense, really fast! I ended up pushing through 2 contractions and by 9:12, our little Sarah was out! For all the faults of our little po-dunk town, I do want to say that I had a great nurse who helped out in labor a ton, a wonderful doctor who did a great job and was very kind (much different than the "stupid Polish doctor man" I had in Chicago!) and best of all, an amazing husband who made it all bearable! I can not imagine giving birth without Brent at my side...and I do have to say...after this third and last pregnancy, I can not imagine giving birth again WITH Brent by my side!

We've fallen madly in love with out little Sarah...We couldn't believe we were starting all over again when we found out we were expecting, but now we cannot imagine life without her! Brent and I have both spent a great deal of time marvelling over the intricacies and details of God's creation...her little feet down to her baby toes are such an example of His handiwork! We are truly blessed to have such a beautiful family from the Lord! Sigh...

Details later...here are a few pics...

Okay...so here are some pics from the last couple of days...I'll add details soon...when things slow down a bit...perhaps when she hits college? Suffice it to say...The pitocin started at 6:10...she was in our arms at 9:12...I do have to say, "Where in the world are we that we can't get an epidural even though we want one?" I'll explain more later...for now...here's our little baby Sarah!




Thanks for humoring us and looking at all the pics!

Yeah!!!!

Praise the Lord! We have been blessed by the arrival of Sarah Grace Griffin.

She was born on Thursday, Jan 18th at 9:12 AM. Her birth statistics were:
Weight: 8 lbs. 9 oz.
Length: 19.5 inches

More details to come and I am sure a picture or two might make their way up here.

YeeeeHawwww!!!

It is just a good day all around! We got about 5 inches of snow last night and this morning so everything is beautiful for sure! The kids are getting their school work done now so they can go play outside...I might even get outside with them for a bit...we'll see:-)

We also found out that high speed internet is now available at our house! We've been dealing with dial up (and a slow dial up at that!) connection for the last 2 years, but we'll be getting a DSL connection this Thursday!!! This is right up there with the dishwasher, let me tell you! It's such a simple thing, and it is a great reminder that God is interested in the little things in our lives, and as a loving Father, He delights in doing special things for His children! What a blessing something so simple is!

And speaking of little things...(well...we'll see how little!!!) I went to the doctor's today for my weekly appointment. He set the induction date for this Thursday, Jan 18! Yet another 5 days shaved off the waiting time! And I must say he did this on his own...I was not one to argue, mind you, but it was Dr. Ryan's idea to induce this Thursday since I'll practically be 39 weeks anyways! My friend, Marsel, reminded me today of what a miracle this little baby is...what a precious thought! I cannot wait to hold our little baby and have her snuggle down in my neck...and to realize that I will be holding her so soon is even better! God is so good!

I joked with some friends Sunday about this being my last Sunday to wear a maternity dress...I turned out to be right! And it's another simple thing, but by having her on the 18th, I'll be up and around for my birthday...something little, but it will be nice to have more time between special days...Yippeee Skippeeee!!!

We're in the single digits!!!

Just something quick to make me smile...We've made it to the single digits! I cannot believe how fast these last 100 days have gone by...even faster than the 100 day countdown to getting married went! I head to the doctor tommorrow...Brent's going with me...I think he's afraid I'll chain myself to the examination table until Dr. Ryan agrees to induce me sooner than next Tuesday. I have to admit, I made a big deal out of not wanting to be induced. I still very much want that "I Love Lucy" romantic moment where I get to tell Brent, "Honey (I will probably call him Ricky) I think it's time to go to the hospital!"And I am praying that I will go into labor on my own, however...if it means being able to hold my baby sooner, or better yet, let someone else hold her for a change, I will beg and plead and do whatever it takes! :-) Go ahead, Beth, say I told you so...I don't care! I'm just tired of waking Brent up everytime I try to roll over in bed! I think I might have even woken up the kiddos last night! I'm teasing...but it is getting difficult to move...I am praising the Lord for Pepcid, penicillin, and surgeons who are willing to pull an abcessed tooth from a pregnant woman's jaw so that at least now I can sleep! 9 days cannot get here soon enough! Oh yeah...excuse the stream of conscious form of this blog...it's been weeks since I've been able to put a coherent thought together...and it's only getting worse! :-)

Let me explain...

So maybe I'm flattering myself by thinking that someone would pay such close attention to my blog that they would notice a big jump in my "days left till I'm due" ticker, so I'll point it out...I did get to change it today! I had a doctor's appointment as normal and found out that things continue to "progress" at a good rate, and my body is definitely getting ready for delivery. So I jokingly said to my OB..."I respond really well to pitocin...any chance of being induced?" He said he's not comfortable inducing without a health concern before 39 weeks, but then asked where I lived. I told him Pembine. He then said that since it was a half an hour drive and the weather around here can be so unpredictable this time of year that we could talk induction, especially seeing that I am already in "progress," and this is my 3rd baby, and I don't tend to have long labors. So all that to say that if I don't go into labor on my own before, I'll get to be induced on Jan 23! Shave another 5 days off the old waiting time! I then told him I lived in Crivitz (another half hour south of us) to see if he would shave some more time off, but he didn't buy it! :-) I figured a half hour drive got me 5 days less, maybe an hour's drive would get me a couple of more days! but no... it's good enough to be able to say that I only have 2 weeks to go! I was planning on blogging something fun today about finally being in the teens, but now I can be excited about being down to only 2 more weeks...at the most!

What in the World has happened to me?!?

As I reflect over the past 2 years, I am amazed by many things that are now part of our ordinary lives that I never dreamed would be considered normal for me...and those of you who know me best will totally understand what I mean as you read this list I've compiled...things about MY LIFE that I never thought would be part of MY life!!!

• I go to another state to do any sort of shopping for things that I need.
• The majority of that shopping is done only at Walmart...not even a Target...Walmart! I walked up to a total stranger not too long ago because I overheard them talking about Iron Mountain getting a Target! I had to have details!!! It turned out to be an urban legend or evil hoax of some sort to get my hopes up!
• I have not been to a real mall to speak of since the beginning part of October. I did a ton of shopping like I did before we moved when we visited Chicago the first part of November, but technically did not hit the mall when we were visiting! And let me remind you that Christmas has come and gone...and all the amazing sales that come the day after Thanksgiving, and the day after Christmas and New Year's Day came and went without me...all the shopping was done on the internet and in good ol' Iron Moutain, Mi--sigh...
• And while we're on that topic...all the shopping and other internet activity is done over a very slow dial-up connection since we live in an area where high speed is not easily available!
• Pembine, the town we live in, has ZERO stoplights!
• Pembine, the town we live in, is 98.9% caucasion and actually speaks English!
• I know the difference between a bobcat and a cougar, also known as a mountain lion
• I can tell you the difference between coyote and wolf tracks in the snow in our back yard in April!
• The lobby of the post office here in Pembine (we're thankful we have one!) is about the size of our bathroom
• The post master knows everyone by name--I walked into the post office recently and the lady asked me if my husband's name was Brent. She had a check for him that had accidentally gotten put in the outgoing mail instead of the inner-campus mail. She didn't even ask me for ID...just handed over the check!
• In the winter time when it gets really cold, people plug their cars in so they'll start...we should start seeing extension cord looking things hanging out of people's front grills anytime now!
• When it gets really cold, people will leave their cars running while they go shopping at Walmart. Seriously...it's not unusual at all to see empty cars in Walmart's parking lot with their engines running! Imagine that in Chicago?!?
• People around here have no problem living in a tiny single wide mobile home but insist on having a 4-5 car garage for all their toys like snowmobiles, RTV's, campers, etc.
• I don't even notice (well almost don't notice) when people use phrases like "Yoos Guys" and end every sentence with either "heh?" or "Yah?" I've even been known to use those words from time to time!
• We burn a good amount of our garbage to save money!
• I let my kids outside to play without going with them! And my biggest concern for their safety is making sure they know what to do if they see a wild animal like a bear or wolf.
• I actually bought my kids safety orange hats so they could play outside the week of hunting season
• I know where the Ranger Station is in our town, and I've had several conversations with our Ranger about my children's safety
• The nearest Chili's is about 2 hours away
• One of our bank accounts only has 4 numbers in the account number...think about that one...they have so few customers with savings accounts that 4 numbers provide enough variations to cover all their customers! We had like 12 numbers or something in Chicago!
• The people here are so incredibly friendly! I can't tell you how wonderful that part is! We're living in Mayberry here, people!

However...I refuse to become a Packer's Fan, I have yet to go fishing, see absolutely nothing exciting about hunting or ice fishing, and if I don't get some "Mall Air" soon, I do think I will seriously suffer some sort of attack!

Sorry for such a long post...hope it didn't bore you too much, but once I got started, I was on a roll!!!

Yippeee Skipeee!!!!

I was lying (laying? I have never been able to remember the correct grammar for that one!) in bed last night moaning and groaning as I tried to roll over and had a fun thought...I'm in the 3 week countdown now! Technically I have 4 weeks until my due date, but one could be technical and say that I only have 3 weeks and 6 days! 4 weeks is so much longer than 3 weeks and 6 days! 4 weeks sounds like a whole month (that's profound, heh?!?) but being able to say 3 weeks to go sounds so short! I'm loving it!

We were sitting in a restaurant booth yesterday, when Baby Sarah started kicking...hard! Now remember...I only have 3 weeks and 6 days left...as I went to sit down I'm sure all of those around me wondered if I'd even be able to fit in the booth! But I did...I just needed to make sure I hunched over a bit to keep my belly under the table :-) Somehow Sarah managed to kick just the right way that she pinched the skin of my belly up against the table and it hurt like crazy! It was such a bizarre thing...like the pain you get if someone pinches that fat part on the back of your arm...just another one of those reminders that those 3 weeks and 6 days cannot get here soon enough! :-)

Happy New Year!

Oops...cant' forget this one...

Is this the same girl who was beating up Spider Man just a few entries ago? She's as much of an oxymoron as her momma is! One minute she's being rough and tumble and trying to prove herself as capable as the next person, and the next she's the ultimate princess wanting to be pampered and fussed over! Poor Brent...we're even adding another girl to the mix in just a few more weeks...just to keep him guessing! :-)

Christmas Morning

Just a fun picture of the kiddos after they had opened all of their presents Christmas Morning. We had a great time seeing what was in all the packages our family had sent to us all! How thankful we are for all that people did for us.

We also have to say a special thank you to our parents for all they did for us as kids on Christmas day! As kids, we had no idea how exhausting it was for you to put everything you bought us together and then play with us! By the end of Christmas Day, Brent and I were begging for a break from it all! It seemed we just got one thing put together, and they wanted the next thing out of the box and put together. And you all understand how trying it is just to get things out of the boxes nowadays! We have had a great time as a family, but we have never been so glad to see 8:00 come around on the clock so we can put the kids in bed and get a break!!! I'm sure there's a whole group of people out there that can totally relate, heh?!?

And so it begins...or continues...

Well...it's 3:48 AM!!! And I'm wide awake Christmas morning. Not because of my excitement over opening presents mind you, but just because I can't sleep! Yes...I know, it's the Lord's way of preparing me for the many sleepless nights I'll have in just about 4-5 more weeks, but it's still pretty annoying right now! I've been up since about 2:30 or so and decided to get up and do something rather than stare at the ceiling. Not much to report going on around here at this time in the morning, that's for sure.

I've officially hit the 35 week mark now. It's been a fun thing to watch my little "baby" move across the counter and finally be covering the "35!" I head to the doctor this Friday and begin my weekly checkups.

I also want to add a special "hey there" to my friend, Erin. Check out her blog on my links to the right....she's got some adorable kiddos. She's also another friend of mine that I've been able to reconnect with through blogging. Apparently she offends rather easily these days, so I want to say that it has been a wonderful time reconnecting with her, too! (I'm teasing of course, Erin... about the offending easily, not about how wonderful it is to have reconnected!!! )


Alright...that's about all I can think of at 3:56 in the morning...I might end up enjoying this time...our house has never been so quiet! Oh wait...I do want to say that the new google version that's out of Beta is almost identical to the old version. I've had no problems with it, and see very little difference. Most of the new features are ones that I won't use anyways, so go ahead...switch over...it's quite painless!

Just trying out the new google version...

Just wanted to see how different or how similar the new google version is now that I switched over.
The kids were playing in their spiderman outfits and decided to have a battle of the spideys...It was too close to call a winner. The judges are still counting the points...need I remind you that a certain 4 year old girl sent a certain 7 year old boy to the emergency room this fall?!? It might be too embarrasing to declare the winner! Yes...that's Hannah's foot behind Daniel's head!But Daniel was not to be undone...he managed to get the upperhand on Hannah and smacked her down pretty hard on the floor...even he was surprised by how hard her head hit the floor! But don't feel sorry for her...she had it coming! She is the epitomy of the phrase, "You better stop, someone's going to end up crying!"
And last but not least...no good wrestling match is ever over until Mommy and Daddy's socks have been conquered! It seems no matter how hard we try to stay out of it, the kids manage to pull us into the wrestling match by trying to wrestle our socks off our feet...however, they don't usually end up on Hannah's head like they did this time!

I LOVE THE BLOGGING WORLD!!!

I've been at this blogging thing for a while now, but it just seems to get better and better! I logged on this morning to see what was new on the good ol' web while Daniel was working on his school work, scanned a few news headlines (who need's TV news when you Yahoo and Google!) and then checked email. There was an email saying a "Josh" had left me a comment on our blog. I went to this blog to see who it was since I hardly recognized the picture :-) and found out a friend from the Chicago area had found our blog! I haven't talked with Josh for ages! He's the cousin of a friend of mine from Northland, so I've kindof kept up with what he's been doing, but it was so great to hear from him! He was my teacher's aid one of the years I taught, and we worked on the yearbook together, and he ended up being an usher in our wedding. I've been able to get back in touch with so many people and keep in touch with so many through blogs! I love it!

Brent headed off to work this morning despite the freezing rain that came down last night. I was lying there in bed when I heard him come back in about 15 minutes later (I know...I have a rough life!) The main roads were fine, but the back roads to campus were really slick, so he turned around and came home! Yippeee!!! Vacation starts a day early for all of us! Which also means I will probably get to go shopping this afternoon! Can life get any better than that?!? Well...it could I suppose if there were a mall for me to go to instead of just Walmart and Shopko, but I'm not thinking about that right now :-) It's a good day! :-)

Love My Family!!!

I often remember my single days and the longing I had to be a wife and mother. There were so many times that I wondered if the Lord would ever allow it to happen! Now I look at where the Lord has brought us, and I can't help but marvel! I am so blessed to have a loving husband and 3 children to nurture! (well...we're only nurturing 2 right now, but it won't be long til we're caring for 3!) God is so good to me!

Why should he love me so?

I have the best man in the world for my husband!!!(I know there are those of you who would argue that your man is best, but it's just not true :-) ) He took his one day off, Saturday, where he could do anything relaxing and spent it installing a dishwasher for me! The Lord provided the funds for us to buy a built in dishwasher, and I thought it would be simple to install! And for a man like Brent, it was...it was simple, and TIME CONSUMING!!! He spent literally all day Saturday tearing out the cupboard, running electrical lines, redoing plumbing under our sink, and hooking up the machine! When I thanked him, over and over again, he simply said, "Because I love you!" Let me tell you right now, that I have never done one single thing to deserve such love from anyone! Let alone such an amazing man! Again, I just have to say, "Why did he choose me?!?" I don't know, but I do have to say that I am so glad that he did!

Along those same lines, let me say how much I appreciate his careful attention to detail...I was watching him (and I must admit getting a bit perturbed at the care he took) as he cut out the cabinet where the dishwasher was going to be. And I even asked him why he was being so careful about something that was just going to be thrown out (or burned!) He told me he was trying to save the pieces for the trim. I thought he was off his rocker and walked away...but when the day came to a close and he put the pieces that he had so meticulously saved back in place, it looked like a professional job for sure! That's my man! Nothing shoddy about his work! :-) I, on the other hand, have been known to just hack away at things, and come the end of the day, it looks like our 4 year old had been at work!

More happy news...as if having a dishwasher after 2 years without one isn't enough...we're on the second half of my hundred day countdown! Only 48 days till our due date is here!!! The last 50 or so have gone so quickly, I can't wait to see how fast the rest of the days go! Can't wait to see our precious little Sarah...or whatever flavor of the week her delivery happens to fall on!

Christmas--the Perfect Time for a Picnic!

The other night we had a great time at our picnic under the Christmas Tree! We turned out all the lights in the house and ate pizza on a blanket in front of the tree. Then we played, "Who can find the ornament that..." It was a sort of "I Spy" that the kiddos came up with! It was fun to see them get more and more creative with their hints about what ornament they were describing, and then they would race around to see if they could be the first to find it. It was a great family time! I think we may have found a new Griffin tradition...
It's not often I'll post a picture of myself on the blog, and this is not even a great one at that! That'll teach me not to wear makeup, heh? But I love this one of Brent, especially. I think it captures a side of him that most people never get to see...there's that little glint of something mischievous in his eye that says there's a lot more goofiness under the surface than most would ever imagine! I'm so thankful for my man the Lord gave me...there were so many single girls in our singles' group where we met...why he chose me, I still don't understand, but I'm so glad he did! I can't imagine life without him!

It's beginning to look like a lot like Christmas...finally!!!

Grandma and Grandpa Kelley bought Daniel a starter set for a Lionel Train set for his 1st birthday and have added a train or accessories of some sort for each birthday. We've never had a place to set it up, or the kids have been too little until now! We decided we'd have at least this year (we'll have a toddler by next Christmas who will probably try to eat it!) to get it out and enjoy it under our tree! The kids were so excited when we ran a trial run of it on our kitchen table. It was the highlight of their Friday!

It's so hard to believe that it's December!!! We finally got our tree out and decorated which is helping start the Christmas mood, too. The kids had so much fun putting their ornaments out and were excited to see some of their favorite things in their ornaments. We buy an ornament for each of the kids that represents something that they have loved that entire year...or at least try to! Daniel has a Buzz Lightyear, Scooby-Doo, Veggie Tales, Hot Wheels, etc. and Hannah has mostly little dolls that look like her including Dora. But this year we found the perfect ones for them at the Hallmark store. Daniel has one that says, "Game On" and has little video game controllers on it (there's nothing that sums up this past year for him better!) and Hannah's says, "Fabulous" and has a little purse, cell phone, nail polish, sun glasses and lip stick on it (and that sums up Hannah totally, too!!!) Yes...Hannah's in a tank top in this picture. She went digging through some of her clothes and dressed herself again. She loved having a tank top on and didn't seem to care one bit that it was December 1!!! Vanity, vanity, all is vanity...she's so like her Momma!!!

I can totally relate to this, heh?!?

Robin, a friend of mine sent this to me today...I couldn't help bu laugh and totally relate! Thought you'd enjoy it, too! BTW...the doc's visit went well and uneventful. Everything's totally where it should be...still only gained 13 pounds! Yahoo...it might be easier to lose this baby weight than I thought if I don't gain too much more! And I've made it to the appointment every 2 weeks instead of monthly now...I think it will really help the time fly by...or at least that's my theory!

Did you hear about the teacher who was helping
One of her kindergarten students put on his cowboy boots?
He asked for help and she could see why.
Even with her pulling and him pushing, the little boots
still didn't want to go on.

With the second boot on, she had worked up a sweat.

She almost cried when the little boy said, "Teacher,
they're on the wrong feet." She looked, and sure enough,
they were. It wasn't any easier pulling the boots off than
it was putting them on. She managed to keep her cool as,
together, they worked to get the boots back on, this time
on the right feet.

He then announced, "These aren't my boots."

She bit her tongue, rather than get right in his face and
scream, "Why didn't you say so?", like she wanted to.
Once again she struggled to help him pull the ill-fitting
boots off his little feet.

No sooner had they gotten the boots off when he said,
"They're my brother's boots. My Mom made me wear 'em."

Now she didn't know if she should laugh or cry. But she
mustered up what grace and courage she had left to wrestle
the boots on his feet again.

Helping him into his coat, she asked, "Now, where are your mittens?"
He said, "I stuffed 'em in the toes of my boots."

Playing Catch-up!

Wow...I got really far behind posting! Sorry about that...I sat down several times to update the blog, and the site was having problems. I know I should probably switch to the new google version, but I'm trying to hold out until they get more of the kinks worked out of the Beta version. Anything with "Beta" attached to it usually means "we want you to find all the problems with this product and report them to us so we can fix them before we release the final version which will be a much more stable product than the beta" or at least that's what Brent tells me! So here are some of the posts that I've been meaning to update and am just getting around to it! One of my favorite pics is the one of Daniel on his scream machine striking a pose with his orange hat on backwards. My first thought when I saw the pic was, "there's still a bit of Chicago left in this boy whether he realizes it or not!"

I head to the doctor tomorrow for my 32 week visit. It's getting closer and closer...my friend, Marsel, reminded me that I'm in the 50's now in my countdown!!! And with the holidays here...I'll be hitting the doc's office every week before I know it! That's a great thought! This pregnant thing is getting really old, really fast!

You can dress them up and make them go to work, but when it's all said and done, there's a little boy in every guy that makes them love playing with a blowtorch!!! Although I must admit this was probably the only fun part of the project Brent's dad helped us with while they were visiting. Our holding tanks for our well were quite old and had begun to leak all over the floor of our laundry room. It sure does come in handy when there's a civil engineer in the family who's in charge of the water works for his area coming to visit for Thanksgiving when there's a project like this to be done!!! What a help it was to have his expertise and brawn to help Brent (since I still don't understand any of it even though Brent explained it all to me several times...I try, I really do try to think on the same level that Brent and his dad function at, but this pregnant home-school mom of a 4 and 7 year old brain just doesn't get it!!!) They replaced 2 huge ugly metal tanks with a bright shiny blue on that's less than half the size of one of the old ones and it's doing a better job than the 2 old ones combined! It all makes sense to Brent so I suppose that's all that matters! Brent and his dad are so much alike not only in the way he looks, but in the way they act...the more I talk with my mother-in-law, the more I realize that I'm looking at Brent in 20 years when I see his Dad! And at the risk of being too sappy for such a practical man like my father-in-law...I'm so thankful that Brent's got such a great example to follow! You can't begin to understand how much we appreciate all your help over the years! Take heart...the good news is...you'll be too old when it comes time for our roof to be replaced in 25 years!!!

What a great time we had with Grandma and Grandpa Griffin during their visit! Grandma was a huge help to me in the kitchen and playing with the kids...which Daniel and Hannah both loved very much! Coloring is one of Hannah's favorite pastimes so anytime she can find someone who's willing to color with her she's in hog-heaven! And they played so many games together, too! It was really nice, too, to have her help with fixing all the food for the crew...and the clean-up! She's always assigned to gravy duty...I watch her make it everytime, but just haven't gotten the hang of it yet! We've only been doing this for 8 years...I should be figuring it out soon enough, heh?!? Thanks for all your help and loving!

These are some of the greatest gifts ever!!! Grandma and Grandpa Griffin brought Daniel and Hannah's Christmas gifts with them when they came to visit for Thanksgiving. They bought each of them a Razor Scream Machine. It's a metal heavy-duty throwback to the big wheels we all played with as kids. It's adjustable so it should fit up to a 12 year old! Daniel's so excited that he can ride it without having to turn the front wheel around to keep his knees from hitting the handlebars! And it comes with a cool handbrake, just like a bike...it didn't take Daniel very long to figure out to spin out into a 180 everytime he stopped! And I do want to draw attention to Hannah...she's all girl...notice the pearls and ribbons on her gloves? It wasn't warm enough for her to be out without gloves, but it was too warm for her to wear her winter gloves, so her church gloves came out (and ended up being ruined in the process!) I thought it was a perfect testament to our Hannah...trying to keep up with Daniel by being rough and tumble, while wearing her pretty pink pearly gloves! That's my girl!

This last week of Thanksgiving/Rifle Season (don't the two always go together?!?) was absolutely beautiful weather for us! Most of the days were in the 50's! We couldn't bear to keep the kiddos inside when this was probably the last chance to play out in the "warm" weather. So I did the unthinkable...I bought my kids safety orange hats! They loved them, too! I was still a bit uneasy with them being outside, but gave in since they were having so much fun! We have 4 acres of land that is surrounded by hundreds of acres of wooded land that is used for hunting, so I do have to say that my concerns about stray bullets were not completely unfounded! I do have to admit it was a strange experience to look out from my front porch and see a big ol' deer hanging from our nieghbor's tree! Just another reminder that we're not anywhere near Chicago anymore!

Where in the World are We??? Yet Again!!!

Brent and I were watching TV last night and caught just a snippet of the lead story on our local news channel. Well...as local as Green Bay...there's not really a news channel for just our area! But we caught enough of it to hear , "600,000 hunters head to northern Wisconsin..." Brent and I just looked at each other and laughed...600,000!!! That's a lot of hunters...no wonder it's not safe for our children to play outside! We were out of town last year during the week of rifle season so we didn't see what really went on...but let me tell you! We've not seen this much traffic on our little roads ever! We'd love to have any of you come for a visit, but I would highly recommend choosing another week to visit!

Not your normal school for sure!!!

This announcement was sent out to all the students at Northland today...just a statement about the area we live in! Definitely not something you'd see being announced at Bob Jones or Pensacola!!! You know it's bad when they cancel the public schools the week of deer hunting season because attendance would be so low and it's not safe to stand around outside waiting for the bus! We can't let our kids play outside during this week without wearing safety orange! Our neighbor actually had a bullet hit her roof the first year we moved in!!! (no...it wasn't Brent practicing!) Safety orange and camouflage, here we come! But for all the quirky things...I love it around here!!!

TO: ALL STUDENTS
FROM: SECURITY

The gun deer season will be open from Saturday, Nov. 18, through Sunday, Nov. 26. All areas on Northland property outside of the main campus and all surrounding property owned by Northland Board members will be strictly off-limits to students during this time.
The rifle range will be available and supervised to sight in rifles during the week before hunting season. Students must sign up at the Safety/Security office for a time slot. The rifle range is off-limits to students at all times except for those time slots that are scheduled.

Well...

I only have a quick minute, but hope to post a picture of my ultrasound soon...

Everything went really well yesterday at my ultrasound. There's only one baby (thankfully!!!) and it is definitely (no doubt about it!) a girl! While she's a big baby, she's not huge...so everything stays the same. She's the 84th percentile right now and the doc said he doesn't get concerned until the 90th percentile. Because of my history of big babies (a 10#5oz and 8#11oz-er) and my height...he figures this is normal for me. I was hoping to shave a couple of weeks off my due date, but we're still on for Jan 28th--and he doesn't see a reason to induce--so I may get my "I Love Lucy" moment after all--"Honey...I think you should wake up" or "Honey...I think it's time to come home from work" or "HONEY!!! IT'S TIME!!!"

I do have to say it was so sweet to be able to see our little munchky on the monitor...she was pursing her little lips and moving all around...I'm really hoping the holidays make this time go fast!!! I can't wait to hold her in my arms...and let Brent have a chance to hold her, too!

Excuse the grin...check out that belly!!!

You'll have to excuse the cheesy grin (is there ever anything but a cheesy grin on my face?!?)
and check out how big I'm getting!!! I still chuckle every time I catch a glimpse of myself in a reflection somewhere...and I'm still startled by this big ol' belly...and I still have 2+ months to go!!! Is it any wonder the doctor thinks I'm having a big baby?!?

I'm getting bigger and bigger, but closer and closer!!!

Yahoo!!! I'm already 25% of the way through my 100 day countdown until D-Day!!! And I may be farther than that if the Doc decides to set an induction date earlier than my due date! And I do have to say that these last 25 days have flown by! With the holidays so quickly upon us, I have a feeling I'm going to be letting Brent have a chance to hold this baby before I know it!!!

A quick note of interest...I woke up Sunday morning at 3:30 with contractions!!! I had 5 of them...very painful, too, I might add...back to back with only about 15 seconds in between each one. It's amazing the thoughts that can quickly go through one's head in that short of time! Thoughts of...NICU in Green Bay, remember to grab church clothes for the kids, yahoo...we get the tax break after all... :-) But they stopped when I sat up so just a round of Braxton Hicks...I forgot how painful contractions are!!!

First Snow!!!

Well...it's finally happened...knew it would sooner or later, but unfortunately it's sooner than later! We had about 8 inches of snow this last Friday...It was beautiful for sure, but crazy to drive in. Daniel was in the Fall Play on campus so we had to go out in it to get him there...a normal 20 minute drive took about an hour! And of course, I didn't get any pictures, and now it's starting to melt so it's not half as pretty! I'm sure we'll have plenty of opportunities to get more pics this winter! If you check out Tricia Fipps' blog...there's a link on the right side of my page here, she's got some great pictures of the snow...and some really cute kids! :-)

Wednesday's the big Ultrasound day! Can't wait to try to see again if it's a Sarah or a Joshua...and how big the baby is! And of course, it's always good to see that there's just one baby! :-) I'll be sure to clue you all in...I have a feeling the Doc will start talking about setting a date to be induced...I may not get my "I Love Lucy" moment after all...but if it means not giving birth to an 11 pounder...I'll probably be okay :-)

Yipppeee!!!

I called my doctor today to see how I fared on my glucose tolerance test. I was expecting to have to go in for the 3 hour test since I did with both of my other pregnancies...but I was really happy to find out that everything was just fine! And my blood counts were fine...even my iron. I guess I'm tired because I'm pregant...go figure! The nurse even said I must be eating right and living really healthy...if she only knew!!! I was so excited after I hung up the phone, I celebrated by eating a hostess cupcake! I'll show her healthy! :-) Less than a week til we get to see our little munchky on the ultrasound screen! Yahoo!!!

It's a real live tea party!!!

We're having so much fun with Grandpa and Grandma Kelley visiting us! It was really quiet this morning, so I went wandering through the house trying to figure out what was going on...this is what I found! The kids were having a "real live tea party" with Grandma...Grandpa was the server making sure the kids has enough "tea" (which was really lemonade since neither of them like tea!) They were thrilled to be using Hannah's dishes with real food. They had special little delicasies, too, to go with the tea...cheezits and cheese popcorn! They invited me to join them for a special tea party tomorrow afternoon at 3:00pm! They even made a formal invitation for me! Really too cute! I might break out the china for tomorrow's tea party and make it special...we'll see how I'm feeling after church! I've been so tired lately! I'm guessing my iron is low...could it be since I've not taken my prenatals for quite some time now!?! I know, I know...but I just forget! :-)

My view of eternity refreshed!

I received news today that a friend of mine passed away from cancer. I've been reminded over and over again as of late how fleeting this earth is and how eternal heaven is. I know that's not a profound statement by any means, but it's been driven home again today in my thinking as I grasp the understanding that this dear lady is walking with Christ in a completely different way today. How precious it will be to see our Savior face to face and to fully understand the wonder of His love when we get to go to heaven. Oh that I would live with that thought more and more each day. What a privilege it is to know that we will someday get to go to heaven. That's really what our earthly life is to be about...investing for that one day when we can see our Lord! But how distracted I often become with the cares of this world!

One a completley different note, I had a doctor's appointment this morning. I was talking with the doctor about how big I am getting. He was very reassuring (much unlike the "stupid polish doctor man" I had in Chicago--who was a very good doctor, but had the bedisde manner of a bedpan!!!) and simply said that most women feel that way around this time in their pregnancy. But as he measured me, he agreed that I am getting bigger than most and ordered an ultrasound to see how big the baby is! It's exactly that same as it was with Hannah. We were not completely sure with her first ultrasound that she was a girl and ended up with a second ultrasound due to my size that confirmed that she was indeed a girl! So we're hoping that on Nov 15 we'll be able to confirm whether or not we are having a girl! If you remember, at 20 weeks we were only about 85-90% sure that she was a girl!

What an amazing blessing!!!

We found out on Thursday that we needed to make a trip to Chicago back to where we moved from to take care of some paperwork. We were unsure what to do and how to handle the situation, so we decided to embrace it and have a mini-vacation with the fam! I cannot tell you how glad I am that we decided to stay a couple of days and visit with friends! The biggest treat was being able to spend Sunday at our former church, New Hope Baptist in Naperville. We love our church in Norway and know that it is the Lord's will for us to be there, but there is something so special about our church in Chicago. The Lord used each of the messages in a special way in my life. A simple discussion about worshipping the Lord in spirit and truth from our hearts (as opposed to just an outward, fleshly reaction) was such a challenge to me. Why do I do the things I do? The Lord is most concerned about the state of my heart, not the actions I take. And the special time with old friends was priceless! We were able to spend some time with our pastors, the McGeochs and the Alberts, too! And our kids had such a good time playing with the Albert kiddos, too! So sorry that their oldest, Kristina, was sick and couldn't get out much! Our lives have changed drastically since the Lord moved us to Northland, but being back in Chicago made us feel as though we were back home! I praise the Lord for the chance to visit, and of course the realization that we don't have to deal with that crazy traffic every day anymore! I'm pretty sure that we've seen more cars in the past 2 days than we've seen total in the past 2 years up North!!! :-) It was great seeing you, too, Leslie!!! How we miss everyone!!! Thanks for receiving us back so warmly!

Our First Artist Series

I know, I know, I know...I had every intention of getting a picture of Brent and me in with the kids before artist series tonight, but it did not happen!!! I spent too much time on Hannah's hair (she really wanted curls!) and Brent was working on getting Daniel's manly tie tied to look right (it's still too big for him!) We were 5 minutes late leaving as it was, and my makeup was still undone! So you get pics of the kids only! But we're told after all that most people only care about the kids anyway!!! So with all that said...we all went to artist series tonight at Northland. The SMS Men's Chorus came and sang for us! It was a wonderful time! They mixed in a number of traditional sacred stylings with some spirituals, and there were even a few classic barbershop numbers. The kids had a great time and even sat still through the entire program! Brent was so kind to surprise us with tickets! It's actually the first time Brent and I have gone to an Artist Series together as well...so it's special all around!

How Ironic is that?!?

Just the other day I sent an email to my friend, Marsel who lives in Atlanta, talking about our lives here and how the Lord has allowed me to adjust rather easily...even for a city girl living in the middle of the Northwoods. I told her that we see several deer just about every day in our yard, but thankfully no bobcats, bears, or wolves yet this year...that we know of. But, last night as we were pulling into our driveway (we have a rather long drive) after church, a bobcat shot right in front of our van! It was booking it, but we got a clear look at it, and there's no denying it...a bobcat! As we drove up to our house, a mouse ran in front of our van and we saw 3 deer take off, as well! I told Brent about the email to Marsel and that I was definitely going to be on the look out for those bears and wolves, now, too! And one other thing that I saw the other evening at dusk was a bat...they are so common around here that people actually gather on top of some hill just over in Michigan and watch them swarm out of caves come spring time. Bears? Wolves? Bring 'em on...but no matter how common they are, I'm not sure I'll ever be okay with bats! or mice for that fact! 94 days and counting!!!

Am I really still that far away for "D-Day?"

I put the counter on my blog to encourage me...but let me tell you...everytime I look at it, I still can't believe how much longer I have to wait to meet our baby! My pregnancy is going relatively smoothly right now, but I can't believe I still have 103 days!!! I'm hoping it works like our engagement time went...once we hit 100 days left, the time flew by! But I do have to say that there's a lot that will happen to me physically before the 100 days are left until "D-Day!" My kids keep asking me how much bigger I'm going to get (as if they can't imagine me getting any bigger than I already am!) Daniel thinks it's really funny that he can't get his arms around my waist anymore...I'm not so humored, to say the least!

But on a happier note, we're getting our new furnace and water heater today! That's a huge blessing to see the Lord replace our 28 year old furnace with a brand new, much more efficient, propane furnace. Our old furnace is fuel oil which is dirty and needs much servicing...God is so good to meet our needs and provide us with a new propane water heater, too. The men say that it should cut our electric bill each month by $40-$50!!!

As an ode to my "City-Girlishness" the biggest dilema for me was where to place the big white propane tank so it would be seen the least amount...everyone here has a huge white propane tank in their yard...it's as common to see those as it is deer! But the men who set up the tank told me I could put a cute little white fence with flowers around it to hide it if I wanted. They even said we could paint a scene on it if we wanted (they clearly don't know that I will probably end up doing just that!) The kids and I decided we'd do it half princess and half hot wheels to make everyone happy! Now...just to convince Brent that pink and purple with hot wheel flames is better than plain white! Like that will ever happen!!!

Some helpful info to help you out!

There are definite perks to being part of a techno geek family! One of them is being able to ask your husband just about anything you want to know about the internet, and he has the answers! Here's my latest question and the answer that I thought you might find helpful and interesting. It didn't take a rocket science to figure it out, but I wasn't sure what to google to find the right websites...enter my knight in shining armor!

There are some very helpful websites to aid in wading through the email warnings you get. There are some really sick people in the world who are willing to do whatever to scam you...who's not aware of all the phishing expeditions people go on!?! But there are also some very well-intentioned people who send on fake warnings or promises of riches from huge companies that are absolutely not true! I've included some websites Brent suggested that will tell you whether or not the email is valid. They all seem to want you to subscribe to their site for a fee, but you can search for free. They'll give you the info you want without a subscription. Two user-friendly, don't need a degree in computer science, websites to use include:
http://www.truthorfiction.com
http://scambusters.org

Hope this info helps! I plan on using these sites often, mostly out of curiosity than trying to make millions from Microsoft!

Saturdays are the best!

Yes...I realize it's Thursday, and I'm a bit behind on the posting! Humor me...I'm pregnant! Anyways...We had such a great day on Saturday! We slept in, watched cartoons, put legos together, played croquet, and then ended up at Dairy Queen for blizzards (as if we won't get our fair share of those soon enough, heh?!?) The highlight I think was just spending the day together doing activity after activity as a family! The weather was beautiful, too. Grandma and Grandpa Kelley bought Daniel a croquet set for his birthday and we were able to play several games! Must admit I didn't do too badly for my first try. Of course, Brent won...he always does...it's no fair! but I came in second...not bad unless you consider I beat a 7 year old and a 4 year old! Our coordination levels are pretty much the same (the kids and I...not Brent and I!) It was such great family time--and it was all free to us! We had coupons for Dairy Queen BOGO Free and gift certificates! You can't beat that!

I'm all for being unique, but perhaps I should not encourage this!

Hannah decided that her capris and t-shirt were not unique enough the other day, so she decided she would add her own touches to her wardrobe. Yes...those are striped capris, a polka-dot skirt, her slip, a hot pink long sleeved t-shirt and a sweater! She was quite proud of herself when she came into my room to show me her latest design! Daniel and I got a kick out of it...You know you're into blogging when your kids suggest putting something like this on our blog!

Everything's On Fire!!!

I LOVE THE FALL AROUND HERE!!! That's a huge change from what I usually have to say, ("Where in the world are we?!?") I forgot how beautiful the colors get right about now! On our way to church in Norway seems to be the best! Coming over the hill and then crossing the Menominee River into Michigan is breathtaking. (Yes...not only do we have to go to another state to do our grocery shopping, but to get to church, too!) The kids and I agree that the colors are so bright and varied that it looks like the trees are on fire.

This is probably the last week or 2 before the leaves fall and raking begins, so I thought I'd drag the kiddos through the dew laden grass and get their feet good and soaked before we left for church this morning. It was hard to get them to stand still...they kept getting giddy about the fun they'll soon be having jumping in the leaves! (Sounds like another blog entry in the making!)

These pics were taken in our back yard this morning...no matter how super-imposed they look!