3 Girls, 1 Guy and a Zoo!

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Relaxing

Marissa and her positions! LOL She cracks me up!

Totally comfy and unaware that anything exists except cartoons at the moment!

Madalyn and Grandma were enjoying some snuggles too :)

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Easter Egg Hunt ( a week late )

Actually, I say a week late, but really it was perfect timing. I really enjoyed having Easter to be centered around Christ and the extra activities to have a day of their own.

Daddy went to a Men's Conference in Boston Massachusetts, so the girls, the dogs and I headed for my parents. Mom and Dad went and got on sale candy (another perk to having it after Easter!) and stuffed eggs. My mom is pretty amazing and has the eggs color coordinated with EXACTLY the same candy in them, even down to the color! This made it nice because the girls only found their eggs and we didn't have to worry about someone being slighted.

Dad on a mission to hide "Madalyn" eggs

Mom working on hiding "Marissa" eggs

The "finders", excited and ready to go!

And they are off!

Grandpa giving pointers :)

Last egg found for Madalyn! Hurrah!!!

Sorting and emptying their loot

We had such a great time. I didn't think the girls remembered the hunt or that it was that big of a deal for them, since this year was only their second year. However, I was wrong and they were very disappointed when we didn't have one on Easter. I'm so thankful my parents are passing down traditions that my grandparents did with us as kids. It brings back so many memories for me, watching the kids find all that candy!

Friday, April 13, 2012

Flashbacks

Warning...
This post might take a while to get through!
(LOTS of videos)

Doug and I were reminiscing a couple of night ago and went back in time on the blog.

We ran across these two videos-
http://youtu.be/sESWoFxCHQQ
http://youtu.be/ZYMjE2qgWUA

We laughed and smiled a lot. That seems like forever ago! Where did our babies go?

Of course that only led to looking up more memories. I figured I would share them with you :)

Enjoy!!!

Marissa and her buddy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfkSQpOVB6k

Marissa and Case again

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RecsCCESBtA

Marissa milking Case?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4V8_jp55G7c

Marissa and the Chocolate Cow

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HnigjOEjTE

Philippians 4:13

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-M-ZuHryEZ8

"Mano" hanging out

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtaWnPwicgU

Scootin' Madalyn

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fANl5QyR9Y

"Hi" Madalyn!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_t8JCoiFex8

And here is the promised video of Madalyn's 1st birthday cake :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTnWyQa5i1Q

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Birthday Party for a Special Little Girl

It was an honor to go and help prepare and celebrate Zoe Jean's birthday.

She is a sweetheart through and through and I love her to pieces!

Waiting patiently for everyone to stop singing so she can have her cake!

So sweet!

I couldn't get over how polite she was eating her cupcake!

Tomorrow I'm going to post a video of Madalyn's 1st birthday and her 1st experience with cake!

Zoe puts her to shame!!!

She even shared some with Aunt Sarah :)

YEAH! Present time!

The girls decorated tissue paper for Grandma Benedict to use for wrapping paper.

They did a great job!

I love her looks

Marissa made this card for our gift

We got her this! She isn't walking yet, but she knew exactly what to do with it.

Love it!

She loves books so naturally every card was a big deal, but she especially loved this one.

It's time for Zoe to be the present!

Zoe and her best friend Lydia and their mommies :)

Marissa :)

Madalyn :)

Getting ready to fight the Pinata!

Marissa's turn

Madalyn's turn

By this point in time they are really trying hard to kill the stupid thing!

Aunt Katie finally had to come to their rescue!

I think everyone had a good time and the food and decorations were beautiful!

I'm glad we were able to go and spend some time with friends :)

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!