Spring Project!

It's Spring Break!  Yay!  The kids can go outside and play, have fun, enjoy the fresh air...

Nope.  It's in the 30's and 40's here this week.  But I did find something fun to do anyway!  We made our own spring!  I haven't made tissue paper flowers since I was a kid, but I knew we would have fun!

 

Miss M carefully crafting her masterpiece.

 

Miss Y...just in case they do actually smell beautiful!

 

Look what I did!

 

Hiding in a "bed of peonies"!

Wish they would have enjoyed their afternoon!  ;)

 

 

We are planning on having the flowers around for Easter, since we host this year.  It should make the day beautiful!

 

 



Thank You

Thank you to all of you who have prayed for our dear, sweet Gracie.  We lost our precious girl to osteosarcoma (bone cancer) on March 1st. 

I apologize for not posting this sooner, but it has been too hard to type the words.  Gracie is no longer with us, but is still just as loved and cherished as she ever was.  Our hearts are broken and we miss her day after day.

Our Gracie went through a lot.  When she was young, she had both knees "done".  She had a degenerative eye condition that slowly ate away at her irises, but that didn't stop her eyesight!  She had allergies. She was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in August of 2011...and beat it.  Her sister, Faith, knew there was something wrong.  She saved Gracie's life.  And in November of 2012, we thought she had a form of anemia.  Unfortunately, it was the beginning of the bone cancer.  Eventually, the cancer in her little vertebrae would grow, and grow rapidly, taking its toll on Gracie's tiny body. 

To tell you just how tough she was, you need to know, as we learned, that bone cancer is among the most painful of cancers.  Gracie was in very much pain.  Our wonderful family veterinarians and an oncology veterinarian at UW Vet Hospital put her on multiple prescription pain pills, but we learned that even high levels of pain medication would not eliminate her discomfort. 

Gracie was not about to let the pain discourage her.  Even though the cancer eventually put pressure on her spinal cord, paralyzing her back legs, she was still the very hungry little girl we always had.  She was still happy.  She was still so loving.  And boy, was she tough.

Through all of this, we have had the two best veterinarians anywhere.  We praise God for them in our family's life.  They went above and beyond to help Gracie, and were incredibly supportive to us.  We are blessed!

Gracie was so funny. Her favorite toy the last few years was any yellow rubber ducky she could get her paws on! In fact, she was kind of OCD about it. She would take that ducky and bury it in her blanket. Then she'd move it to someone else's blanket and practice burying it there! When it was time for bed, she'd take that silly ducky with her. She was so obsessed with yellow duckies...never let her eyes off of them!

While we were waiting for Miss M to come home, Gracie would go lay in the nursery.  Sometimes we would find her in there sleeping on the floor.  She knew there was a baby coming, and she was waiting, too. 

If I wrote down all the wonderful stories about Gracie, I'd be typing for hours.  This post would never end!  Gracie was, and will always be, one of the most special blessings given to us by God.  We have said for years that we have been so blessed to be her mama and daddy.  I have always said she was beautiful on the inside and the outside.  She had a HUGE heart that filled her entire little self, an incredible sense of smelling your thoughts (she could smell you thinking about getting the cheese out of the fridge), very good knowledge of the system of drive-through frozen custard windows, fabulous eye to mouth coordination (including catching treats, other food, toys, and snowballs), she was a "hostess with the mostest" (everyone came to see her, of course), she loved Christmas and emptying her stocking and sleeping under the tree, loved everyone's birthdays and helped them open their gifts, and she loved.  Loved us.  Loved life.  Loved her sister Faith.  Loved to eat.  Loved to play.  Loved.

And is loved, forever.

 

 My beautiful, beautiful girl.

 

 

 

 

Please Pray for Gracie

Our little Gracie is sick.  Right now we are not sure what is making her ill, but we need your prayers.

Tuesday we take her to the University of Wisconsin Veterinary School for an evaluation and diagnostic tests.  They are fabulous - incredibly compassionate and knowledgeable.  This place is highly respected, and people bring their beloved furbabies here for treatment from all over the midwest. 

Please keep her in your prayers as we seek to help our little Gracie get better.  She is an amazing little girl; so loving, gentle, smart, and silly.  We love her with all our hearts!

There are no words for this one...only love.

 

 

 

 



Christmas Cookies!

Of course, Miss M is an old pro at Christmas cookies, but this was Miss Y's first year making and decorating Christmas cookies.  What fun!

First, you gather 'round Baba as he rolls out the dough.  He's not fast enough, of course, for two eager pastry chefs!

 

 

Then comes the decorating!  Waaayyyy too much fun!

 

 

 

 

 

Last, of course, is Quality Control.  This is a job we all take very seriously in this house!  What if the cookies don't taste right?  We need to be sure!

 

 

 

Miss Y was very excited to try her first Christmas cookie made by herself!

 

 

Miss M...being a ham.



 

Good thing we had our QC team to make sure our final product was acceptable! 

Fall Festivities

I'm behind.  WAY behind!

Being a mama and a school teacher gives me precious little time to do anything other than be a mama and a school teacher.  But boy, do I love being a mama!  Just look at what my kiddos have been doing this fall!

We LOVE the zoo!  Here is a cute picture from one of our recent trips to the zoo. 

 

You gotta take a rest at the zoo...it's a big place!

This is a trip we took to a local apple orchard.

 

Miss Y pulling the wagon!

 

 

 

Miss Y checkin' out the apples!

 

 

 

Miss M getting ready to take a wagon ride.

 

 

 

Miss M and Miss Y on the wagon!

 

 

Admittedly, we are not big Halloween people.  As long as we keep it friendly, fun and not icky/scary/gory, I'm okay with it.  Neither one of the girls likes seeing the scary decor in the stores.  They both turn and walk the other way. 

On the big day, the girls had fun dressing up and collecting sugary treats!

 

Miss M as "Dancing Olivia" and Miss Y as a zebra.

 

 

Miss M (Little Miss Plan Ahead) decided in August that she wanted to be "Dancing Olivia".  Not just Olivia, but Dancing Olivia.  If you don't know who Olivia is, check this out.  She was determined to have a fun costume, and we had a great time shopping for costume pieces!

 

This was all so new to Miss Y, and she wanted to be another famous character, but decided on being a zebra.  We had a great time hunting for "zebra wear".  She even has a tail made from a zebra scarf (sorry that didn't make it into the photo!)  Baba made the zebra top from a white zip hoodie and a thick permanent marker.  Go Baba!

 

 

Miss Y's Birthday

We were very blessed as a family to be able to celebrate Miss Y's first birthday at home.  We had family and friends gather for the celebration.  There was a pinata, gifts, cake, and fun!

 

The requested birthday cake style.

 

 

 

 

How does this thing work?

 

 

 

Having fun with a favorite birthday gift.

 

 

 

First Day of School!

Today was Miss Y's first day of school!  We are so proud of her!  Baba took her to school and walked her to her classroom.  She had her backpack, her lunch, and everything she needed for school.  Miss Y had met her teachers more than once, so she knew who she would be spending the day with. 

 

The official First Day of School Photo

Of course, Mama was worried all day!  I prayed - a lot!  Oh, how I wished I could have been a fly on the wall!  When the day was done, Miss Y walked to my school.  She had so much to tell me! 

We are so proud of Miss Y and how much she has grown in the short time she has been home.  I praise God for her!

We are also so thankful for our school staff.  They have made great efforts to make Miss Y feel comfortable and happy at school.  They have had some wonderful ideas and have made sure she is getting the support she needs to be successful in school.

Miss Y is growing so much on the inside.  I am so proud of her, and I am so blessed to be her Mama!