Sewing day

This afternoon my friend Karen and I worked on a quilt for our church's missionary closet. We have lots of fun while we sew...but the kids don't get why she spends so much time sewing with me when she could be playing with them!!!
...and I forgot to take pictures of our work-in-progress...I'll try to remember to take some when we get together in a few weeks to finish assembling the quilt top!

Happy Leap Day!

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

One year later...still no CI!

I had planned to post this on the one-year anniversary date of Feb. 16th, but with the unusual schedule of vacation, I just plain forgot! So here goes, better late than never... Last year David was scheduled to receive his first cochlear implant on February 16th. In the month or so preceding the surgery, his hearing had improved and held relatively steady, so his doctor recommended that we postpone the surgery (and we were very much in agreement). And here we are, a year later, and both kids still have their natural hearing and their hearing aids. We never thought we'd get to this point in time with no CIs. In the meantime, they have both made huge strides with their speech, and they have both learned to read...and these things will only make CI rehab easier when the day does come. We were at peace as we approached David's first CI last year, because we knew that our God has a perfect plan for our kids, and He knows what is best for them. But now, a year later, we are SO thankful for this extra time He has allowed for them with just their HAs. We can not fully express our thankfulness for this unexpected blessing!!!

This week's updates

Let's see, a few things from this week... ~The kids had hearing checks and were stable again. Hooray! Next check is March 26th. They also saw their ENT (which they do every three months) and there was nothing remarkable to report there. We see him again in May. ~Abigail got her new brace on Monday and it fits much better than her outgrown one (I will try to remember to post a picture of the finished prodeuct). ~In sad news, our parakeet died overnight Tue-Wed, so yesterday we had to tell the kids and bury the bird. David took it very hard, and it is sad to see your child lose little of their innocence when they experience loss through death, but on the other hand it has spurred some good conversation and questions from him, so it's not all bad. I hadn't realized how much I enjoyed the bird's singing until now...there is no one to greet me with happy chirps when I sit down at the dining room table! ~Today we have to do school, then we need to go to the DMV, the county courthouse (no, I am not in trouble...I am filing some paperwork!), and to WalMart for some groceries and household supplies. ~Tomorrow a friend is coming to sew with me. I'm really looking forward to it -- and then, of course, it's the weekend and my husband will be home -- the best part of the week!!!

FL trip - with the rest of the family

After we stayed with my brothers for a few days, we drove up to Pomona Park/Lake Como to spend the rest of the week with my parents, my snowbird-grandparents, and my Uncle Chuck, Aunt Connie (my mom's sister), and my cousins Amanda & Alicia, who were visiting from NY. We enjoyed a visit to my friend Jessica (thanks again, Jess, it was so nice to see you and now I can picture you in your house...especially in your sewing room!!!), sitting around and visiting, going to the beach, and one day the ladies made baskets. It was so good to see everyone...the only drawback is that we always miss them more acutely after we have been together!!!

Florida trip - special day with Uncle Matthew

My brother Matthew and I took the kids to Silver Springs.

The weather was gorgeous and we had a great day!

Florida trip - special day with Uncle Caleb

My brother Caleb and I took the kids

to a Discovery/Science Center

and then for a hike around an old limestone quarry.

We had lots of fun!

Florida trip pictures part 1

The kids enjoyed some reading time on the way down...(on a side note, the big Richard Scarry books are our all-time favorites for car rides...they are so full of fascinating stuff to look at and read!) I can think of quite a few captions to go along with the look that David gave me for this picture!

^David playing video games with Uncle Caleb...

David plays whole-body style!

^Hanging out with Uncle Matthew before bedtime

Home, safe and sound

Our trip home from Florida went very well today. Despite many sections of highway with ridiculously low speed limits due to construction, one rest stop and our annual twenty-minute stop at "the big cow" (picture to follow tomorrow), and some really heavy rain, we made it home in just shy of eight hours. We miss everybody we've left in Florida...but it is SO GOOD to see Bruce again... ...and I'm looking forward to my Select Comfort bed, too!

Arthur and DW visit Grandma's house

Fun with cousins in Florida

Bakin' in the sun

A nice, restful day here...we woke up in a leisurely way, spent the middle part of the day at the "train house" (my grandparents' place), then came back to my parents's place for a bit of rest, playtime, and a walk out back to see my dad's new pond. We just finished dinner, and the kids are out for their nightly tractor ride with Grandpa before it's time for bath and bed. Although the breeze was a bit cool today, the sun is hot and it was beautiful sitting-out weather...I even got a sunburn...

Hey, I'm on vacation...

Yes, I know I have been neglecting the blog...that's just how it goes on vacation! We had a great few days with my brothers...when I get home, I will post pictures of our adventures together. Now we are at my parents' and enjoying time with them and my grandparents, aunt, uncle, and two cousins. Today is a visit to my friend Jessica (I would link to her blog but she hasn't updated it in forever...hint hint! :) and then home to play with the cousins later today. It's been hot down here...it feels great!

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day, especially to my forever valentine...I love you and miss you, Hon!

We're in Florida

We're in Florida...we had a quick, uneventful trip down and are now hanging out at my brothers' apartment, waiting for them to come home from work. I'm going to try to grab a quick nap before I rummage around for dinner ingredients -- one of the things I have been looking forward to about this visit is having a hot meal waiting for them when they get home from work -- I remember those days in my life when that was a very rare treat and I enjoy getting to share that treat now!

Getting ready for a trip

The kids and I are getting ready for our annual Florida-pilgrimage...this year will be a grand New York-in-Florida reunion -- we will get to see not only my parents and brothers, but also my snowbird-grandparents and my Uncle Chuck, Aunt Connie, Amanda, and Alicia (my mom's sister and family), who will be down for winter break! Needless to say, I don't have much time to post today, and tomorrow I will be on the road, so my next post will be from my brothers' place in Florida...

Some life lessons we learned this past week

~It is not a good idea to rinse off muddy eyeglass lenses by swishing them around in a puddle...on a concrete driveway. ~Yankee candle jars do not stand up well to being dropped from the mantel to the marble fireplace-hearth. ~Even at ages 3 and 5, the kids are not old enough to start out the day in the clothes I want them to wear when we go out and about in the afternoon...(but then I'm one to talk!). We had quite a few interesting moments this past week! Today has been a wonderful day -- the first in a long time that we have been able to just enjoy being together and without a schedule to keep to -- it's beautiful out, so the kids played together very happily outside for about four hours, Bruce and I sat on the porch swing and watched for a while, then we went inside and played Scrabulous (Facebook's online version of Scrabble) and I WON! Nobody ever gets to beat Bruce in any game that is even remotely knowledge-linked, so it was a very exciting moment for me...besides the fact that it was just fun to get to snuggle on the couch and play a game all at the same time! We love to spend time together just as much -- no, even more than -- we did when we were newlyweds... Now Bruce is getting ready to make us his fabulous French toast for dinner while I bathe the (VERY dirty) children...what a nice day!

Our first "real" puppetry show

Yesterday we went with my friend Greta and her two oldest children on a field trip to Atlanta's Center for Puppetry Arts. We had a great time and I think I enjoyed it as much as the kids! It was a black-light puppetry show, which was very cool, and the quality of the performance far exceeded my expectations. We'll definitely go again!

Lego Artist

David has finally stopped being frantic that his Lego 'things' having to look just like the diagram and yesterday he started to create things from his own imagination. I know this is nothing earth-shattering -- generations of children have built cool things with Legos -- but I was excited to see him start to create! Those of us who love to create things with our hands know how much satisfaction there is in it...!

Rainy day

Two already-bathed kids + one mostly white dog + Georgia red dirt + several hours' worth of rain equals...A MESS! A huge mess. But I know that these days of the sheer pleasure of stomping in puddles are short-lived...all too soon, the knowledge of messes to clean up afterwards and schedules to keep will outweigh the joy of mud puddles...so enjoy your mud-puddle days, my little ones!

...I should have taken an "after" picture...

you wouldn't believe the mess...but I didn't think to take a picture because I was too busy trying to figure out how to get all three from the front door to the tub without getting mud everywhere!!!

Carousel ride

Today the kids got to ride the carousel at the mall...

thank you, RaDora!

And I couldn't resist taking this picture of Abigail's hair (below)...people ooh and ahh over her hair almost every time we go out...

Happy birthday, RaDora!

Happy birthday, RaDora!

We love you!

Super Bowl XLII

Hooray for the NY Giants!!! Yes, I was cheering for them...and although we haven't stayed up for an entire Super Bowl in quite a few years, there was no way we could quit and go to bed last night! That was the best Super Bowl that I've ever watched...

Happy birthday, Grandpa!

Happy birthday,

Grandpa O'Gorman!!!
We love you and hope you had a good day.

Sorry we didn't call you today...

but we'll call tomorrow, so it'll make

your birthday last longer! :-)

Friday night with family and friends

Last night we met Chris & Eugenia (Bruce's brother et al) and Ron, Sue, & John Shankle (friends of ours who also transplanted here from Chicago) for dinner at Bobby G's (which is owned by another Chicago transplant and has the best Chicago-style food that we've ever had outside of Chicago!). It was great to see everybody, and the food was delicious, too!

Exciting news from David

This week David came to Bruce and me to tell us that he had accepted Jesus as his Savior. A conversation with him confirmed that he understood what it was all about, and we are rejoicing that he is now not only part of our family but part of God's family as well. There is no more exciting news that we could receive from our children!