Caught sleeping on the job

It's Do or Die Time

..... for the blog, anyway. As you can probably tell by the fact that I haven't posted anything personal in a very long time, I just haven't been feeling it. :-)

I have found so many AMAZING, inspiring blogs since starting out with this thing, and I think I developed a major case of "performance anxiety". I would start to post, and then think that's not deep enough, or funny enough, or that's TOO deep, or just plain old TMI, LOL. I've started to write many entries only to hit delete instead of publish. Not to mention the whole "Followers" thing!!! I wish that was never created at all.....it somehow felt like a personal scorecard on how interesting my life was----OUCH!

Well, I don't expect any of that to change-- HA! However, this blog wasn't started to be deep or funny or inspiring......it was just to share some cute pictures and a story or two with my friends and family, so with that in mind, I am going to try to do better!!

How 'bout for today we just start with a few cute pictures???

Emma (rear, right) with her classmates before the talent show in March

Emma (far right) before the Drama Club Presentation of Sleeping Beauty
in February

My two sweet girls!!

A beautiful candle my inlaws got me for my BDay (in February)

Father-Daughter Dance

Karl Em Vivi

Vivi with her new ring from Daddy


Ok, so I know it's their night, but I had to take a peek!



Karl and the girls ROCKIN' the Conga Line, LOL

Last night was the 3rd annual Father Daughter Dance at the kids school. The first year was perfect because it was Em's first year a big sister and she could use the "date night" with dad! Well they had so much fun that an annual tradition was formed!!! Last year they went again and came home drenched in sweat, LOL....it seems Em and dad got their groove on the whole night! While other girls eventually branched off and danced w/ their friends, Em picked her dad as a dance partner all night long and he is such an awesome father he obliged (he probably danced more with Em that night than with me in 13 years of marriage, LOL) This year Karl had to divide his attention between two princesses at the ball, and I had to get a peek at the action!!

They really don't want moms there, and I've held off as long as I could, but I found out they needed a little help with coat check, and found the perfect opportunity to spy! Not! Coat check was pretty busy, and every time I went into the gym, Em and Karl got shy! Luckily there was a nice dad there who knew what I was trying to do, and offered to take my camera and take some pictures for me! Some of them came out a little blurry, but they are priceless glimpses into their special night!!!!

This was Vivi's first year there, and she had a blast! Initially she was a little disappointed that she couldn't wear her white dress.....she thought she was going to get married to her prince (Ian, LOL) there....but once she figured out what the night was all about, she got right in there. I have no idea why she thought it was a wedding, other than maybe in every Disney movie, when there is a dance it is to find a bride for the "prince", LOL....too cute! Anyway, enjoy the pictures -- they all looked great!!!

Yaaaaawwwnn

One of the reasons why

Vivi is skating!

Yaaawnnnn......stretch......yes, I admit it. I have been hibernating---in real life, and the bloggy world, LOL.

As you can see in the first picture, we have been getting a bit of the white stuff. And it is COLD!!!! I have done my best not to strap my boots on and go out there in it, but it looks like winter isn't ending anytime soon here, and Karl got the rink ready! YAY!!! We thought it was ruined as it was buried under lots of snow, and somebody walked on it before it was frozen---oops! However, due to the power of google, I found some instructions on how to make your own zamboni, a "Homeboni" for your outdoor rink. Amazing!!! Karl got right to work on it, and, since winter doesn't appear to be going anywhere, we may actually have a few weeks to skate!

I love it when he gets to be the hero like that! We live on kind of a main road, and the unfinished rink has been the subject of quite a bit of speculation this year, but now the kids can finally say YES the rink is ready. It's time for a little skating party I think!

Merry Christmas, Everyone!!!

From our house to yours, now.....at 5:00 AM, LOL, and for the rest of the year!!!!!

Merry Christmas, and God Bless You all! I know that we have been blessed beyond measure!

Love,

Jen and the gang

A Very Late Vacation Post

Well, I'm finally getting around to posting about our Disney trip!!! It was actually a really fun trip! My parents and baby (25 yo) brother came along, and we did the parks like nobody's business, even though it was our chilliest FL visit yet! We also got to meet up with Karl's parents one day at Sea World. We even went out the one morning it rained, because we didn't want to waste a day, you'll have to look through the pics for our poncho pic--still smiling, LOL....... I LOVE Disney!!! It is such a grand and magical place! I love the themed rides, and the shows, and Fast Passes (there is one thing we couldn't do without when visiting Disney)

Vivi was NOT loving the characters.... AT ALL! Or anything mouse related!!! The highlight of her whole week though, was when Cinderella (whom she does NOT consider a character) waved "just to her" at the parade.......she is still talking about this and has the princess wave down pat, LOL.

Ian and Em were both big enough to go on almost all the rides this year--and they did all the rides they could--Tower of Terror, Rock N Roller Coaster, Space Mountain..... Emma also loves water rides, LOL which didn't quite fit into my plans with a high of a breezy 60 degrees on a couple of days..... But a few minutes of the puppy dog face, and Daddy and Poppy were like putty in her hands.... soon to be wet, runny, soggy, ahem....chafing putty, but putty nonetheless, LOL.....

Okay...I DID get sucked into one of her "get us all wet" schemes once, and it was THE WORST time of all!!!!!!! We had been to a few shows at Sea World, and Ian and Em always wanted to sit in the "Get Wet" section.....well, they never actually got wet! LOL So when we got to the Shamu show late and there were only seats in the front, I bravely plodded forward to the 5th row (completely empty) saying, Oh look, this is PERFECT! Oh. My. Gosh. They were selling towels, and ponchos (which we didn't have with us that day) and we chuckled at the tourist traps and braced ourselves for the entertaining, DRY, show...........

BIG mistake, people! At the Shamu show, when they say you are gonna get wet.....they are NOT kidding, nosirree......I saw the first one coming and ducked with Vivi on my lap to shield her. After the shock wore off, I picked my head up, only to be wearing a saltwater "faux-hawk" of wet hair, LOL. Sorry, no pictures, because the camera got soaked too. And can you say wet t-shirt contest????? I had a white shirt on, and thankfully, modest underclothing, because everybody for the next 2 hours knew what I had on.....the name of the show was BELIEVE......I didn't, and I should have, LOL.......

Regretfully, in all of our busy-ness, we did not get to meet up with my friend Terrye....we have known each other since we were waiting for referrals of our daughters from China, and I was really looking forward to meeting her, but it just didn't happen. Terrye is just the sweetest soul with the biggest heart!!! I might just have to make a special trip down there one of these days to meet her and her precious Grace.....

There are too many pictures to post individually, so I made a slideshow of some of our favorite moments....ENJOY...and in case I don't post again before that....have a very Merry Christmas!!!!!!!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

"Not Me!" Monday

Ok, I am hopping on board! If the button is too small for you to read and you don't already know what a "Not me!" Monday is, it says Being brutally honest and living to tell about it. MckMama started it and if you follow the link there you will find dozens of undoubtedly more humorous and interesting Not Me posts about silly/ embarrassing/ shameful things that people have done! I love it!! Anyway, here are some recent "Not Me's" from my life.......

I did NOT vow to keep in mind the reason for the season again this year, only to go to Disney in the first week of December and completely forget said Reason for the Season!

I have NOT neglected my Jesse Tree! Nope, not me!! That would be NOT be hypocritical, since I did NOT even set up a whole ornament exchange for it!

I have NOT gotten caught up in "To Do Lists" instead of enjoying precious moments with family that will be gone all too soon!

I did NOT give my husband his own list of "Man Jobs"......Nope! And I definitely did not actually call them that when I told him I was NOT going to do them because well, obviously, I am NOT a Man, LOL.....

I did NOT skip putting a personal note on the Christmas cards this year, because I was NOT rushing to just check the box of getting this task done. Ooops! Didn't get one??? I did NOT run out of ink after 12 cards, and abandon the whole project! I'm so sorry, friends and family!!!

I did NOT make three separate batches of cookies "for Santa" and friends, only to plunk down in front of a movie with the kids, and eat them up! Nope, definitely not me!

Oh my goodness! I have never done a Not Me Monday, and I'm NOT sure I should even post it, because I might lose some of my 6 readers! LOL I am feeling oh so guilty and lazy! For the record, I am a lot more focused on the right things now, but I feel like I really blew a couple of weeks of Advent badly......

It's Disco this year, baby!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

New Buttons!!

No Hands But Ours & The Elison Project

Lord Christ, You have no body on earth but ours,

No hands but ours, No feet but ours.

Ours are the eyes through which your compassion must look out on the world.

Ours are the feet by which you may still go about doing good.

Ours are the hands with which You bless people now.

Bless our minds and bodies,

That we may be a blessing to others.

St. Theresa of Avila

I wanted to draw your attention to the "No Hands But Ours" and "The Elison Project" buttons on the right hand side of the blog. One of the things that I LOVE about the internet is reading about inspiring people, their stories, people that make me want to be a better person myself...I am blessed to know some of these wonderful ladies personally. The website they have all collaborated on is no doubt going to bring some families together!!! No Hands But Ours is a super helpful wealth of information about adopting a child with special needs!!! One of the biggest obstacles to venturing into the world of special needs is the unknown. And of course, there are unknowns in all adoption, and parenthood in general.....but this website helps demystify it, and at least you can get an inside glimpse of what many of the common special needs are and what they entail. After all, knowledge is power!

Just take a minute, read through their stories, even if you are not thinking of adopting a child! Maybe you just have a heart for orphans, and want to help bring them home to their families. Then you will want to click on The Elison Project. The Elison Project was created by an adoptive mom who has such a heart for the children left behind, that she wanted to create a way to help bring even more families together, specifically those adopting a Waiting Child {special needs child}.

Their courage, their faith, and the way that they welcome each new member to their families will inspire you, whether or not you are planning to adopt a child. And if you are thinking of adopting a child, you cannot miss either of these pages!