3 Girls, 1 Guy and a Zoo!

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Successful Thanksgiving!

We had a GREAT day! Tons of food and great company. I should have taken more pictures...oh well, nothing I can do about it now!!! LOL

The spread

The official turkey carver

The girls minus one...not sure what the looks are for!

Jennifer got to taste her first food, she was not impressed

Junior wanted in on the pictures too!

I hope you all had a great day too!!!

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Thanksgiving is right around the corner...

What are your plans?

This year we are hosting Thanksgiving at our house. Two army wives and their 6 kids are coming to spend it with us. I think this is the first time I will have cooked the turkey by myself...I'm pretty sure my Mom is going to be sick of hearing from me that morning! LOL

It's kinda fun because everyone has their own traditions. And this year we get to combine the traditions of three families. I'm excited to see if any rub off and stick with us!

I'm cooking the turkey and gravy, stuffing and squash. I'm also making pumpkin pie, and serving pickles, olives and cranberry sauce - without the berries ;). The other wives are bringing potatoes, rolls, cranberry salad, corn, green bean casserole , sweet potatoes, Twinkie pie, and gingerbread cake. I think we should have plenty of food!!! I'm hoping to top the day off with an evening of games and chit chat. Unfortunately Doug has to milk cows, but hopefully he will be able to partake in most of the festivities.

Great news is.....he is not milking on Christmas!!!

So what are your plans for Thanksgiving???

Monday, November 15, 2010

Photos...

I realized that I was in dire need of some updated "good" photos of the girls! Knowing that I'm going to need to get a few Christmas cards out got me up and moving in that direction I think! ;) Speaking of those cards, I picked out the card we are going to use and have it all set to go as soon as I get my code. I'm in love...

Anyhow...back to the purpose of this post...

Does anyone else with small kids struggle to get good photos? Marissa HATES to get her picture taken. Always has, and probably always will. I can bribe her or ask her to smile and she does, but its forced or fake or something. You know what I mean??? After taking close to 100 pictures the other day, I finally got 2 of the 2 girls together that I liked and one of each of them singularly that I liked. If it was just up to Madalyn we would have had it done at like picture 4...she is such a ham. Any tips or ideas to make photo shoots more fun, and ways to get kids to smile like them??? (Does any of this even make sense...I kinda feel like I just went in circles and didn't make any sense at all! LOL)

Friday, November 12, 2010

Shutterfly Offers Free Photocards to Bloggers

My sister in law forwarded this offer to me and I couldn't pass it up! Every year we send out photo Christmas cards to friends and family. Between my family and Doug's family, plus friends, we usually send out close to one hundred cards. This year, just like we everything else, we are trying to cut back and ironically were planning on bailing on the whole card tradition this year. That was until I received the email from Cristale.

I have heard a ton of good about Shutterfly, but I have not actually had any personal experience with them. I looked through their site and the stuff they offer and it is all so neat and I love the designs. Not only do they do Christmas cards and photo cards, they also have wall calendars and my personal favorite...photo wall art!

I have fallen right in love with their holiday photo cards. They are so cute and simple! They have the best layouts I have seen. The hardest problem is going to be picking!!!

So give it a try...I know for a fact this works! Check it out here and you can get your free 50 Christmas cards too!

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Calling All Mamas!!!

When Doug and I were looking at car seats for our girls, safety was the #1 reason why we chose our seats. We wanted them to have awesome reviews in crash tests and yet be affordable. We looked at the Britax car seats, but we just could not afford them. So yesterday when I saw one of my fellow blogger friends post about a Britax carseat giveaway, I had to check it out and of course enter to win it! Want a chance at it too? Go on over to The Cloth Diaper Report and see for yourself!!! Good luck!

Monday, November 1, 2010

Cancer Stinks Big Time!

It seems like you hear about cancer sneaking up in more and more people. Meet my cousin Chris and his family.... He has been fighting Stage IV Lung Cancer after being a non-smoker for his entire life.

(From left to right...Cal, Sam, Kim, Chris and Ben)

(Chris' daughter Jenna)

This morning I received news that Chris' fight to cancer ended and he is now with the Lord, fully healed. Praise God for that! My heart goes out to Kim, Jenna, Ben, Cal and Sam. Praying for peace for that family and that God would be with them in a very real and special time as they work through this together as a family.

We will miss you Chris! ;(

Sunday, October 31, 2010

It's Pumpkin Time!!!

Last night we finally got around to decorating some pumpkins. The girls LOVE doing this. We are not allowed to carve them though, aprrarently it's "killing them". Thank you Charlie Brown! LOL Anyhow, here are some pictures of our adventures....and you know me, I had to post them all! Madalyn was being a clown!

The pumpkin on the left is "Mommy's", made by Madalyn.

The pumpkin on the right is "Daddy's", made by Marissa.

Madalyn's pumpkin, made by her and Marissa's pumpkin, made by her!
Aren't they cute???

I'm personally a huge fan of the Mr. Potato Head pieces to decorate pumpkins. I need to find some more so they can have some more variety.
I hope you all enjoyed your day!

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Homeschooling Craft Day

My biggest fear when I started homeschooling is that Marissa would lack in the social areas of her life. Probably because that is what EVERYONE tells me when I say that we are homeschooling! Either that or they will never be able to make it through college after homeschooling. Regardless, I have joined two homeschooling groups. I LOVE IT!!! The kids have a blast together and so do the moms. On Tuesday, my friend Aubrey put together a rag doll craft. She stayed up till midnight (or later) sewing the majority of the dollies and preparing them for stuffing. The girls had so much fun with this project. It was definitely a big hit with my two!

Stuffing their "dollies"

The best picture I could get of Marissa and her dollie

(affectionately named "Marissa")

Madalyn wasn't cooperating either (her dollies' name changes on a moment by moment basis

Most of the girls and their dollies

Just about the whole clan!

I can't wait till our next craft day!!!

Casen

I went to my parents house to spend some time with Cristale and Casen while they are here visiting. We had a great time and I got to bond with both him and Cristale. He reminds me so much of his Daddy and of course that makes me miss him more, but hopefully he won't be gone too much longer! Casen absolutely loved the girls. Although we couldn't get the three of them to cooperate and be awake all at the same time for a picture, LOL. We are going to work on that next time!

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Nature Hike

Thursday we went on a nature hike with some friends after school. It was a beautiful day and the Black River was really flowing. The leaves were in the midst of changing colors and the scenery was just to die for!

Marissa and Hayleigh

Aunt Laurie and Madalyn...Madalyn's personal assistant

When we got to this part, I got super nervous. I could take pictures but the girls had to sit still. I was sweating like crazy the whole time!

Again I tried to get a cute picture, but they just weren't having it!

And it gets worse...

Ok, Mommy gives up!

But I still got one!

If you were to ask me where I would see myself in 10 years, I never would have guessed that I would be here. However, I couldn't be happier! I'm very happily married to the love of my life and have two girls. We have begun our journey towards adoption and I'm excited to see what the Lord has in store for us over the next couple of years. I'm a stay at home mom who home-schools. I enjoy researching and finding things out for myself. This blog allows me to share with others my passions and keep in touch with family that I wouldn't normally be able to keep in such close touch with.

Daddy is such a blessing to me. We met in college and became best friends. About one and a half years after we met we were dating. The rest is history. Together we have grown in the Lord and learned many lessons even in our few years together. Things haven't always been smooth, but together and with the Lord's help we can accomplish anything. He is the love of my life and my true soul mate. He is 100% committed to his family and the Lord. He is currently working for Dairy One in Ithaca. He loves to ski, ride dirt bikes, tinker on things, mow the lawn :) and spend time with his girls.

Marissa is our oldest. She was born in May 2005. She is 100% Daddy's girl. She is a home body and usually isn't away from home for long and she is asking to go back to our house. She always claims a job and sticks with it till its done. She is very quick and catches on fast. You have to be careful what you show her, because before you know it she is going to be attempting it herself. Madalyn is her best friend. She loves church and loves learning and singing about Jesus. Marissa is now is school and she is doing great. She loves to read and do projects. She LOVES animals and has decided that she wants to be a Veterinarian when she grows up!

Madalyn is our youngest. She is 100% Mommy's girl (nice of them that they split us up so that one isn't quite so overwhelmed isn't it?). Madalyn knows what she wants and goes for it. She has no fear and is usually the leader of my two even though she is younger. She does love to shadow her older sister though. She is my girly girl, but also my one that is always getting messy. She loves her hair done, to get dressed up, and shoes! We are in trouble with this one! She loves school and is super smart. She has decided she wants to be a "snow plow driver" when she grows up. She is also going to build a house RIGHT next to us and live there so she can still see us every day ;)

Case was actually our "oldest child". Sadly we said goodbye to him on October 29th, 2013. He was a black lab/ red-tick coonhound. He loved to roam the fields, swim, play ball, catch frisbees, go hiking and spend time at the barn. He also very much enjoyed those black and white cats that roam in the dark and have stripes down their backs...or he must have because he kept getting sprayed! He hated to be abandoned by his family and preferred us to all be in the house by 9pm or he started pacing. His biggest dislike was winter. He hated the cold and would rather hold his potty all day long than to go out and pee. Even when he did go out he barely makes it out the door and he was starting to go! Haha He was our "little boy in a doggie suit" as my aunt says. We love him and miss him like crazy.

Cali is our first cat together as a married couple. Sadly we said goodbye to her on October 8th, 2014. We got her from the barn shortly after we moved. She had to be one of the softest cats you had ever felt and of course one of the best looking calicos. LOL She was a great mouser and spent alot of her time in the basement hunting. She had a funny quirk. When she got ready to settle down and sleep, she parted the hair on her tail so only a few hairs were sticking up and then she proceeded to suck on those hairs.

Beaker is a litter mate to Cali. She is a great mouser. She loves to sneak outside when she gets the chance but if you say her name she quickly darts back in. She is VERY attached to Doug and is always coming up to him purring just as loud as can be begging to be picked up. Beaker of course never does this to me. She doesn't like change and isn't fond of strange dogs, although she has gotten much better with the dogs. She will still swat at Molly but it's not angry, it's almost like she is playing.

Sid was our Marshall Ferret. We said goodbye to him in 2012. He was amazing! Great with kids and other animals, but a total goofball. He definitely lived up to the typical ferret personality and a total thief! Sid's favorite thing to steal was pacifiers. He would take them right out of a baby's mouth if given the opportunity and then take off running! He always hid everything in the same place, so at least we knew where to find them, but of course they were always ruined. Anything rubber was in danger of ending up in the said spot. We definitely miss having him around.

Chloe is Cairn Terrier. She is a blast to have around and I'm definitely sold on the terrier family! She is great with the kids and loves spending time outside. She is a great woodchuck hunter and will sit at an occupied hole all day till she catches one. Even in the winter time she will spend forever out there and come back looking like a snowman. She loves to swim and will swim in any temperature water. She loves to mother other animals. Whether it be kittens from the barn, Case, or her own litter of puppies, she is a great mother! We have since fixed her. Although I'm sad there won't be another litter, it's for the best with the probability of us moving and having to find a new vet.

Meet Molly, our newest dog addition :) After taking some time to heal after losing Case, we decided that our household wasn't the same without a big dog around and we were missing something. So we took the plunge and went full out this time. Molly is a purebred, mis-marked mantle, Great Dane :) She has grown into one good looking pup! I'm still in love with this old picture though, so I'm not changing it! She stands about 31 inches at the shoulder and weighs over 100lbs (although honestly I'm not sure how much over because I can't lift her anymore!) She is great with the kids and loves to cuddle. She shares our bed and is the biggest baby ever. She is very protective and does not like when anyone is pinned down. She is right there to break up the "fight" LOL We love her to pieces!

When Doug's sister and her husband started breeding rabbits, I had a feeling deep down that it was only a matter of time....Here she is! Peterette started out as "Peter". When Madalyn realized "he" was actually a "she", she settled with Peterette. :) Peterette is a flemish giant, which according to what I have read is the Great Dane breed in the bunny world! Figures right? She is super sweet, very laid back and loves to be cuddled and pet. She'll stick her nose out of her cage when you enter the room just so you will scratch it!