3 Girls, 1 Guy and a Zoo!

Friday, March 30, 2012

Day at the park, take two!

I went on a picture craze I guess! I didn't realize how many pictures I took! Oh well, I know you don't mind. :) So here we go...

This is Joyanna Rae, my best friend's newest addition...Look at all that hair.

She is 13 weeks here!

This is Josiah, he is another one of my weekly kiddos.

He is 7 months old.

Runnin' a muck!

Marissa looks like she is having a blast doesn't she :)

Hanging on tight!

Loved watching the teamwork, as they all tried to figure out how to make this balance.

Future fireman?

"Makin' dirt dust"

And that is how it REALLY works!

Jennifer swinging!

I love her so much, she is such a sweetie!

This picture is probably my favorite. Amanda is truly my best friend. She has been there for me through the good times and the bad times. She is always an encouragement to me and always knows exactly what to say to make me feel better. In the ups and downs over the past year, I'm not sure what I would have done without her. I'm really dreading Sunday and having to say good bye to her and the kids. Our pastor told her last night when we were at prayer meeting, after singing, that he thinks the best solution is for her to just move here. I'm all for that! I love you Amanda! Thanks for coming and spending the month with us! :)

After a long day of playing hard!

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Day at the park, take one!

For the month of March, my best friend and her three kids came to stay and visit. We had a blast. It was a little crazy but surprisingly, not overwhelming. During the day we had 7 or 8 kids, under the age of 6, 3 dogs, and 3 cats...with 2 adults! Amazingly enough though, all the kids got along really well! There was never an odd man out. Which made our job a whole lot easier!

Spring decided to come early, so we decided to ask for extra seats for our extra kiddos, and take a picnic lunch to the park. The kids had a blast and were all ready for nap time when we got home.

(I took extra pictures of my best friends kids, seeing as they are leaving and I won't get to see them for quite a while. They live in Georgia :( )

This is Junior

And Jennifer

Ouch!

That is quite the look!

Here she comes!

I tried all day to get a good picture of her smiling with her big dimples.

Love that look!

One of my extra kiddos during the week.

Lucas!

Madalyn was playing telephone with Junior.

Junior had to come see how this actually works!

Marissa climbing

Buddies...Lucas isn't going to be happy next week when he comes and his friend is gone home :(

Everyone needed their picture taken sliding. LOL

Junior

Lucas

Madalyn

Marissa and Jennifer

Jennifer all by herself!

Stayed tuned for take two tomorrow :)

Friday, March 23, 2012

I'm back!!!

I'm sooo behind! My dad has been bugging me to update my blog. So I'm finally doing it!

These pictures are from a while back. Marissa rarely takes naps anymore but she cuddled with her best buddy and fell asleep. :)

I love the effects of this picture so I had to post this one too!

We decided it was time to trade the car in for something with a little more room. After months of searching and researching, we decided on a Honda Pilot. We found a great deal on a 2009 and we went for it. Here she is!

We LOVE it! It's a much safer ride than what we had before, and the extra room has come in handy with babysitting every day.

I have a TON more pictures and posts coming...so stay tuned!

Thursday, March 8, 2012

The two sides of Chloe

I seriously wish that I would have had a before picture! I think this is as thick as Chloe has ever been and today was the day that I couldn't take it anymore :)

Her pile of fur next to a coffee mug for comparison.

I seriously didn't think we were ever going to get through all that fur. But with two of us working at her, it only took us about an hour and a half!

She is passed out now. We wore her out!

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!