Prayers for baby Zion.

As most of you know I'm going to be a Auntie again in a couple of months & our family couldn't be more thrilled for my sister Tricia, and brother in-law Jeremy! Up to this point Tricia has had a wonderful pregnancy & is anxiously awaiting the arrival of little Zion. However, yesterday she received some troubling news concerning little Zion's development & she has asked me to rally prayer support for her and little "Z" right now.

A few nights ago a friend of Tricia & Jeremy did a 4D sonogram for them (just for fun), and she found something that looked a little suspicious during the scan. She asked Tricia is she would mind if she passed on the scan results to her OB & of course Tricia wanted her to do that. Yesterday Tricia was seen by several Drs & they all seemed a little confused by what they are seeing on the sonogram. It appears that baby Zion has a pocket of fluid on the right side of his chest (there is a name for this condition, but I forgot what it is called). The Perinatologist gave Tricia several "possibilities" for why Zion could have this fluid around his lungs and heart, but he really didn't have any solid answers for her either. At this point it's a "wait and see" type of situation. The plan for right now is for Tricia to have a weekly sonogram and NST (monitoring) to keep an eye on Zion's development over the next couple of weeks.

My sister is a very strong woman of faith & she is handling all of this new information in stride. She has not let all of the "possibilities" overwhelm her & she is taking the best approach right now...which is to wait & pray. I would ask that all who know Tricia & Jeremy please do the same. Tricia prayed for this little baby before he even came to be & one of her earnest prayers was that God would protect her children from sickness and grant them perfect health! Right now I know Tricia is standing on God's promises for her and her family. My family and I would love it if you could do the same with us! Please pray that little Zion will be able to greet us in perfect health, and that Tricia will find tremendous peace as she walks through these last exciting weeks of her pregnancy.

Thank you!

A Happy Ending...

After a lonooong week............

Isn't that the sweetest little smile ever! Jon said I needed to show everyone who reads my blog that Channy DOES have a happy side too :-). He really does have a sweet spirit & I DO get to see that side of him quite often.
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McKenna trying to "whistle" like Daddy.

I love watching her imitate the things that she sees us do. Although, I have to admit this kind of direct imitation scares me a little also. It makes me very aware of just how closely my kids are watching the good and the bad things I say and do.

*She thinks her Daddy is the "BEST Daddy in the whole world" (direct quote).
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Guess who is watching his big sis?

*This was a huge moment for us because Chandler does not do very much in the way of imitation. The fact that he wanted to do something his big sister was doing was so much fun for me to see...it really warmed my heart. I pray all the time that my children will grow up to love one another deeply & look after each other. I cherish the bond that I have with my sisters & I really want my children to know that kind of love as well.
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McKenna loves to smile for the camera :-)

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Look who is so proud of herself for taking two steps!!! That's right folks...my little baby is trying to WALK!

I don't know if my heart can take this much cuteness all wrapped up in one little package-hehe!

So you had a bad day.

Daniel Powter
Bad Day



Where is the moment we need at the most
You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost
They tell me your blue skies fade to grey
They tell me your passion's gone away
And I don't need no carryin' on

You stand in the line just to hit a new low
You're faking a smile with the coffee to go
You tell me your life's been way off line
You're falling to pieces everytime
And I don't need no carryin' on

Cause you had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
The camera don't lie
You're coming back down and you really don't mind
You had a bad day
You had a bad day

Well you need a blue sky holiday
The point is they laugh at what you say
And I don't need no carryin' on

You had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
The camera don't lie
You're coming back down and you really don't mind
You had a bad day

(Oh.. Holiday..)

Sometimes the system goes on the blink
And the whole thing turns out wrong
You might not make it back and you know
That you could be well oh that strong
And I'm not wrong

(yeah...)

So where is the passion when you need it the most
Oh you and I
You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost

Cause you had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
You've seen what you like
And how does it feel for one more time
You had a bad day
You had a bad day


*They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and I have to say I agree.

I have plenty of days where things seem to turn out right & everything is going great...but today was not one of those days. Today was something of a disaster & a reminder that with each passing year (and each new child) I am becoming the old fuddy-duddy parent I swore I would never become. Yes, today was one of THOSE days! You know the kind of day I'm talking about. The one where you hear your own parents voice ringing in your ears as you scream timeless threats at your children like...."if you hit your sister one more time, buddy, it's gonna be the last thing you do today!.........."your gonna be sorry if I see you do that ONE. MORE. TIME!

Today I found myself daydreaming about a magical "pause" button for my children. One that would freeze them mid-whine and suspend the insanity I live in for just a moment. Just long enough for me to catch my breath, or maybe long enough for me to take a bathroom break by myself (hey, a mom can dream). Tonight I told Jonathan that I want to go back to work....and more than just a little piece of me really means that.

I love all of my children dearly & I know that what I'm doing right now has great value. With that in mind, I console myself with the fact that "this too shall pass". However, I think it may be time for me to try to put more than just ONE little finger back into the "grown-up" world. You know things are getting pretty bleak when you dream about waiting tables on the side...just for fun. Oh, help me!

Let's give this another try.

Can someone tell my Mom that these kind of bangs are not in style.


Aww...Maya's first haircut!

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There is a little story that goes with these next photos..........

*I noticed a couple of weeks ago that every time Maya goes to do her "business" she will stand up (well, I guess it's more like 'pull up' on something) and do a little bouncing action, followed by a tremendous amount of grunting and growling, then finally she will crawl over to my leg and cry and whine because the "Princess" doesn't like to sit in a soiled diaper.


So.....I started to catch her at the "grunting" stage & I ran her to the potty chair. To my delight and surprise she would poop in the potty every time-LOL!

Just another way I'm saving a little $$ these days!! Hey, you have to do something drastic when you have been diapering TWO little butts for the last three years! I'm still hoping that Maya will give Chandler a few potty training pointers!

*I sincerely apologize if those photos were offensive to any of my readers. If so, I would suggest you....get over yourself! Seriously, if you don't think those pictures were hysterical then this may not be the place for you. If you can't laugh at the plight of a potty-training mom (living in potty-training hell...is it OK to say hell...well, I guess I just did), then what can you laugh at?
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OH, BROTHER!!!! My freaking computer is acting up again! I was going to add a few pics of the kids doing some slave labor in the back yard, but that will have to wait now. Stay tuned for my "Trip to MN post"...........

Trouble...GRRRR!!

Dear Readers,
Computers are either a blessing or a curse.....today mine is a CURSE! During my last blog posting session my computer decided to play dumb & it will no longer attach pics to my blog posts. My computer-genius hubby will try to rectify this problem ASAP, but in the meantime you will have to wait patiently (try not to lose too much sleep over this) for my "update" post to be completed.

*You may now continue your regularly scheduled programming...

-Amber

"Little White" update!

OK, so I've been a little lazy as of late...that's an understatement for sure. But, as you will see from these pictures I have had A LOT going on. I'll give myself a "pass" this time, but I'll try not to let it happen again (at least not in the near future).
Now for the "update". McKenna finished up her first year of preschool on the 16th of May. She really loved her school & I can't say enough good things about the program. I LOVED being able to have a FUN place for McKenna to escape to twice a week, because I have to admit that our house isn't always the magical "fun factory" that I'd imagined it would be. That darn "reality" thing sure bites sometimes! Sending McKenna to preschool was one of the smartest parenting moves I think I made this year. I saw my little girl blossom into quite the little "social butterfly" and begin to make friends outside of our family "circle"....and boy did she make new friends (even a couple of "boyfriends" hehe)!

This was her best friend at school. She and Taylor played together All THE TIME! McKenna's teacher told me that she had to make sure McKenna and Taylor could stand next to each other in all of the organized events or else the two of them would cry for each other....how cute is that!
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McKenna and "Miss Julie"

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McKenna and her "Bucket-O-Loot"
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