3 Girls, 1 Guy and a Zoo!

Tuesday, May 9, 2017

Helicopter!

As we came out from watching the trucks get x-rayed, the kids got to watch the helicopter land!

Once everything got shut down, the pilot let the kids climb all over in it!

It was a little chilly standing outside ;)

Marissa couldn't get over all the controls!

Group shots...

Checking out the camera...everyone was so good with the kids!

Monday, May 8, 2017

The 1st "activity" at our special day!

They brought in the drug dog in...a german shorthaired pointer that responds to 2 languages.

Super cool!

He was by far the coolest!

Just doing his job...

He is even trained to find people :)

After the kids left the dog area, they went to a vehicle and were giving instructions to search it completely. I should have taken a picture of all that they found, but I didn't! :(

Regardless, they had blast digging around finding all the hidden goods!

Graysen just wanted to drive LOL

Next was off to the truck bays to watch the big trucks get their loads x-rayed. Super cool!

I had no idea that this even took place!

Friday, May 5, 2017

About a month ago when we were up visiting Mom and Dad, Dad invited us to come back for "bring your kid to work" day at the border. After telling us some of the things that they had planned, the girls were all on board and we were excited for our big day. Doug even ended up taking the day off and coming with us too!

I took about 300 pictures on this trip, so this day is going to get split up quite a bit ;)

Graysen even got to come with us!

There was a pretty decent amount of kids that come

Everyone loves Madalyn's glasses ;)

The red mats were a HUGE hit!

We wore Graysen out!

Stay tuned Monday for the 1st of the activities! What an amazing day!

Thursday, May 4, 2017

Marissa is 12?!

I thought I was prepared for this....I thought Madalyn was going to be the tough one this year...

Yup, I was wrong!

How the heck did we get to 12???!!!!

She is so grown up now! It just seems like yesterday that she was little and now she is such a young lady...wearing the same size shoe as me, almost as tall as I am...

I say this every year, and I mean it every time...I'm so blessed to be her mom!

Happy Birthday Marissa! You made me the mom I am today!

Thank you for being you!

Tuesday, May 2, 2017

Our weekend...

We had an amazing weekend at my parents house.

Because of that, I have over 300 pictures that I need to edit and upload...

I had plans of getting that accomplished and have the 1st post up today, but yesterday and today were chuck full of things that had to be seen to 1st. The lawn was one of the first things on the list to get done before the rain for 7 days straight hits. Everything has greened up really nice! I was able to get quite a few things finished yesterday so thankfully I've lost my overwhelmed feeling this morning. Yesterday Doug and I both went to bed feeling pretty over loaded. Today is just a full day. We have a funeral at church to help out with, and class tonight. Food is already made for both though so that helps. And it's a new day! Praise the Lord for that...what a beautiful morning! As I sat at the kitchen table watching the sun come up this morning, my mind was full. I'm floored at the fact that my girls are so big now! Marissa is going to be 12 in 2 days and Madalyn is going to be 10 in a little over a week! How exactly did that happen? I'm so proud of them, who they are, their hearts, the ladies they are becoming... I guess I should save the rest of my sappiness for another post, ie. a birthday post! LOL

On another note, we only have 3 nights of "classes" left after tomorrow!

I'm so anxious to have this step accomplished and to actually be able to use what we have learned!

Monday, May 1, 2017

A special little visitor...

Last Tuesday morning the kids got a pretty special surprise! My friend Cari brought over a lamb that was only a couple days old. She was abandoned by her mom and they are hand raising her. She sure was sweet!

John LOVED her and I'm pretty sure was set that she was staying ;)

Madalyn and Marissa loved her too :)

It happened to be a day that I had the girls too...Lily fell for her too :)

I love this picture of her...so proud!

I think we hit the stage where he wasn't going to let go LOL

At my house, you just never know what we might have show up!

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!