Look what I can do!!

Madison's been trying to sit up on her own for about 7-10 days now. This is as close as she's gotten. Not bad, if you ask me!

The kiddos

I took a few pictures yesterday!














I will be happy when I can once again take Jared's picture without the silly faces!

Evie was pretty ecstatic with her new rainboots!

at the car wash

Jared and I made our own car wash this morning while Daddy & Evie went grocery shopping (Madison's napping). Too fun!

New Dress

I'm crazy about Evie's new dress. Can't wait for her to wear it to church tomorrow. Scott thought it was "okay." When I acted shocked, he started saying, "2 gig harddrive, ...processor...monitor." I got it---clothes aren't his thing, just like technology is not mine!

The Greatest Gift of All

During devotion time this morning Jared pointed to a picture of Christ carrying the Cross and said that was his favorite story. I said, "the Crucifixion?" Jared said, "yes, the Crucifaxtion." :) I asked him why and he said, "Because God made Him alive." Jared went on to ask me if Jesus felt better and could He walk again after the nails were taken out. I told Jared that Jesus is alive and well in Heaven with God. Jared concluded by saying he missed Sebastian.

Way too sweet. I shared the simple Gospel message with Jared who expresses a desire to be in Heaven with Jesus one day. We closed with prayer and he asked God to give him a baby brother that we could name Sebastian---this was totally his idea.

I just had to share with whomever was interested in reading my blog today.

Our little Valentines!

Evie was so proud because she finally got her pants on by herself....too bad she forgot to put her panties on first!

I just love those expressive eyes!

Video Extravaganza

It is seldom that the husband is allowed to post. However, my darling wife is on the phone and I have been given the "POWER" to post. Attached are a series of videos of the kids in the attempt of seeing Madison try and crawl. Bet this is the last time I am allowed to have access!!!

To follow the story of how we ended up you need to start at the bottom of today's post and work your way up. Otherwise it will not make a lot of sense!!!

Wanting to crawl

Madison is trying, not there yet but getting there.

Dancing Machine

Note the styling moves of our little girl. J-Lo ain't got nothing on this!!!

Jared's Airplane

For Christmas Jared received an "Airplane-a-day" calendar. Each day is a new style/type of paper airplane he gets to build. However, the very fine print reads something like this.. "Manditory: Minimum SAT Score of 1580 (2398 on the new SAT scoring system) or PHD in Mechanical Engineering is required to perform assembly of planes will be required. If you do not posess the minimum requirements the end result will be a folded piece of paper that has the flight capability of a rock."

That being said, I have been able to successfully build most of them, though their flying ability leaves something to be desired as you will see.



Written by Scott!

Are you STILL talking?

Another video, but note the expression on the Madison's face!!!

Evie talking on the phone - START VIEWING HERE!!!!

This is one of Evie learning a "LIFE SKILL"!!!

The comments & questions of a five-year old

This morning I sat down with Jared and told him that Sebastian was really sick and had died last night. The following is a list of questions/conversations that have marked my day:

Right after I told him:
Does he feel better?
Does Daddy know?
How do you know he died?
What do they do with dogs that die?
I want another dog...today.
Can we get another dog and name him Sebastian?

Mid-morning in the car:
Jared: I really care about Sebastian. I love him.
Jared: I want to name a stuffed animal Sebastian.
Mommy: Do you want a new stuffed dog?
Jared: No, I want to name something I already have.

This afternoon in the car:
Jared: How did Sebastian die?
Mommy: He had an owie inside that was bleeding and they couldn't find it.
Jared: Why couldn't they find it?

"Evie, do you miss Sebastian? Because he had an owie that bled a lot and they couldn't find it and he died. Do you miss him?"


In the car after school:
Mommy: Did you tell Miss Marla that Sebastian died?
Jared: Yes, she asked me if Sebastian was in Heaven.
Mommy: And...
Jared: I said, "No, he's in the ground."
a slight pause....
Jared: Mommy, is Sebastian with God in Heaven?
Mommy: No, dogs don't go to Heaven; only people go to Heaven when they die. Dogs stay in the ground.
Jared: How do they bury dogs?
Mommy: They did a hole, put the dog in it and cover it with dirt. (yes, I actually said that)
Jared: What do worms do to dogs?
Mommy: What?? Worms don't do anything to dogs.
Jared: What do worms eat?
Mommy: I don't know.


Tonight, when we said our prayers and I asked Jared what he wanted to pray for, he said: "I want to ask God to make Sebastian alive again because I miss him."

Yes, I am exhausted tonight from the endless, though intelligent, comments and questions about Sebastian. It's interesting to "see" Jared's mind at work.

Rainy Day

How could I not take a picture of Evie in her "rainy day" outerwear?? :)

September 28, 1994 - February 5, 2008

Well, tonight we said good-bye to a beloved family member, Sebastian. He had a seizure this morning around 11 and Scott took him to the vet, where he had a second seizure. This afternoon we discovered that the seizures left him with no feeling in three of his paws and the vet was pretty sure he was blind, too. Blood tests revealed he was anemic and the cause was traced to a ruptured tumor that was bleeding into his abdomen. With all that said, we made the only decision we could. Me and the kids went to the vet's office tonight, with Wendy's kids meals---the kids ate while I visited with Sebastian and said good-bye.

Look what I can do!!

Yes, she's holding her own bottle! I can't believe it myself....and I took the picture. I was at the pediatrician's office today and she was fussy. I got a bottle of juice out and then needed to tend to Evie, so I left the bottle hanging out of Madison's mouth----she grabbed it and held it up.

I know these milestones are going to come, but, somehow, they still catch me by surprise.

Almost 5 Months

Our littlest angel will be five months old tomorrow. My, how time flies!

The Girls

Here are a couple pics of the girls from this last week. In the last ten days or so, Madison has started to attempt crawling. She gets up on her hands and knees and has actually moved one knee forward once. She's good at propelling herself backward! :) She is still in the fiftieth percentile for height and weight (completely proportional at this point---how weird given my first 2 babies), but she has moved into Evie's old 6 mos. clothes....I think it's because almost all her clothes are hand-me-downs and are extra pre-shrunk. Anyway, she's wearing Evie's old Valentine's Day onesie below, which is size 6-12 months. Scary!

Old as dirt

A conversation with a five-year old:

Jared: Mommy, what happens when you get old like dirt?
Mommy: Well, then you're old.
Jared: But what will happen when Daddy gets old like dirt?
Keep in mind that Daddy is in the room with us! :)
Mommy: When Daddy gets old I guess we'll put him in a rocking chair on a front porch somewhere.
Jared: Why?
Mommy: Because for some reason, old people seem to like to sit on the front porch and rock.
Jared: Daddy, let's put you on the porch!!!!

Too funny! Of course, Scott thought it sounded like a great idea!

Baby Dedication

Madison was dedicated at our church yesterday. We had a picture of us taken before dedication. The three latter pictures are from after dedication...while we were in the Children's Wing. Evie was in her class, so she's absent from the photos.

Jared was less than cooperative for the photo shoot, as you can tell. Feel free to leave a comment with suggestion captions for the photos. :-)