...a day in the life

Fall is upon us...

2009-09-13T17:52:00.000-07:00

We have had a wonderful, full summer. I have been able to not work most Fridays (which is Nate's day off), so we went on day trips those Fridays we don't have anything else going on. We mostly went to the beach, but have also visited a state water park. We love the beach! Reagan is half fishy like her dad, Abbi likes it for a little, then wants to change and lay on the towel with her blankie and milk. One of our favorite parts about living here is that everything fun we love to do is an easy day trip, hence the frequent beach trips.

Nate co-directed at teen camp in june, helped out at junior camp in august, and was just the guest speaker at a junior high weekend retreat. youth group has been growing great the past few weeks since we have started up again for the fall...I have a very gifted husband...it's so cool to watch him do what he does best.

I am still working about 30 hours a week at work...i'm hoping to transition into a different job in the next few months though...trying to get into house cleaning or something. Please pray for me if you think about it, it's been a rough few months for me at work. it's taking it's toll...

Reagan starts preschool this week...she'll be going 5 mornings a week this year. Can't believe she'll be in kindergarten next year...wow!
Abbi is as cute and active as ever...she is so fun. She seems to talk more and more each day, constantly surprising and amusing us. she's getting good on the potty too.

pray for my family...my grandmother(my dad's mom) is dying...she has had alzheimers for years and we will probably lose her in the next day or two.

sorry no pics of the kids.....next time!

sorry no pics....too tired to find some...next time!

Fun Night!

2009-06-08T18:04:00.000-07:00

My brother, Caleb, was asked to perform at our local AAA baseball game. He, my dad, and my sister-in-law did a concert after a double header. The night itself was long...but had a good ending. The girls did sooo good. we didn't get home until almost 11:00. Here's a couple pictures of the night!

Reagan and Abbi had great fun running all over the place and eating all kinds of junk. What else do you do at a baseball game???

Cabs & Crabs

2009-06-02T18:09:00.000-07:00

Our best friends from Michigan, Gene and Jenny and their boys, Andrew and Ryan, finally came to visit us in DE after trying to since we moved here!!! It was a weekend that was looked forward to for months...we still can't believe it finally happened!

As is the case with all of our visitors that aren't from the east coast, we wanted to show them as much of the area as possible...so we had a jam-packed weekend! it was so much fun to spend time with them and have them see where we live.

We took them to Philly on their first day....everyone needs to experience an authentic Philly cheesesteak at some point in their life....I think they were a hit!

We got up super early the next morning and headed to NYC! We tried to hit as many places as we could before our feet and energy gave out. We just missed the kick off of the Today Show concert series...bummer! But that didn't ruin our day...we had too many other things to see. Gene was all set to do the "tourist" thing! =) THis picture cracks me up every time I look at it.

We took a ride on the staten island ferry...it goes past the statue of liberty...

Our next stop was ground zero...it changes every time we see it. They are working on building something there...there is acutally a few levels already built underground, you can't see it in the pictures though. Going there always brings back so many memories for me.

This cross is so cool....it was one of the original beams of the world trade center and was standing like this when everything else fell around it. They moved it next to a nearby church in order to preserve it. It's a reminder to me that God was still standing when everything else was falling around.

We did a ton more...but you get the idea!

Our last full day of the visit was a little more relaxed...we were all beat from nyc and looked forward to a chillaxing day. Gene had a goal while he was visiting the east coast....to get fresh crabs! yeah for us!

Before...

After...

They were SO good! Nate had never had crabs like that, i don't think Jenny had either.

I think Nate had more fun playing with them!

We had an AWESOME visit with them...i miss them so much...especially Jenny!!! =(

We can't wait for the next visit! We miss you Scobys!

One last picture to leave you with...

Have a great week!

We're Alive and Well

2009-06-02T17:22:00.000-07:00

We have had a fun spring so far...visits from friends from Michigan, Easter with family, a "birthday bash", Reagan's first musical program at church, and so much more.

The girls (specifically Abbi) are getting to the age where it is getting easier and easier to do fun stuff with them. We took them to their first movie in a theatre last week...it went pretty well. We saw "Up". Cute movie.

Reagan finished out her first year of preschool. She went two mornings a week this year, she will go 5 mornings a week in the fall. That's a big change, but she loves school, so hopefully she'll do well. She's getting sassy these days...Nate thinks she can do no wrong...i know better. =)

Abbi is her usual spunky self these days. She is talking more and more each day and makes us laugh a lot. Her newest thing is that she always wants to wear her "bunny, bunny" pjs...too bad it's a sleeper and it's getting hot out now. she even pulls it out of the laundry basket!!! this too shall pass...(I hope)

The newest Norman news is that WE ARE ADOPTING!!! We are in the midst of the process right now. We began the process in February, and are slowly, but surely taking it one step at a time. We have completed our homestudy and are waiting for the homestudy report to be written. Meanwhile, we have begun to prepare our dossier (a 29 document packet that will be sent to the country we are adopting from). We are hoping to adopt a little boy, age 3 years old or younger, from Ethiopia. Please pray with us as we continue in this process! it has been a dream of ours for years to adopt and we are amazed at the hand of God in it already.

Hopefully I'll get more consistant at this...
Enjoy the spring weather!!!

We're Sicky!

2008-10-29T17:36:00.000-07:00

Being sick is no fun. my girls had coughs that started last weekend. While i was at work on monday, my mom called to tell me that abbi's sounded a lot worse. i called and got an apointment for her an hour later. turns out her cough was pneumonia!!! (spl?) also bronchitis on top of that. they gave both her and reagan a prescription. i woke up yesterday with a horrible cold....grrr...

anyway...
Nate's parents came from michgan to visit last week. We always have a great time when they're here. we went to Philly, Atlantic City, a pumpkin farm, the park...we had a fun, full week! we plan on going there the week after Christmas.

a few pics of the day in atlantic city. it was such a beautiful day!!!

one of my favorite things to do at the beach when i was a kid was to look for shells. my dad still has a shoebox full of my collection in his shed. it was fun to share that activity with reagan.

here are a few pictures of the pumpkin farm. they had a ton of chickens that captured the girls attention forever.

Abbi had a little chicken walk going on, it was so cute! don't you love her glasses? she insisted on wearing them.

unfortunately we did not get one good picture of the girls with pumpkins. oh well, you get the idea.

we have a full weekend this week too. tomorrow night is our church's candy carnival, friday night we're going to a friend's church in PA for a huge fall festival there, and Saturday night we have a youth group hayride. i love fall activities! it got really cold here the past couple of days...brrrr!!!

i hope everyone is enjoying the fall season!

Who Would Tag Me???

2008-10-14T18:04:00.000-07:00

So i've been "tagged," meaning i have to write 7 random things about myself and "tag" others to do it as well. well, you can all relax. i won't tag anyone, but i will post things about myself. thanks to my best buddy Gooch for tagging someone who hasn't blogged in weeks!! she's always been good at motivating me. this is for you gooch!

#1. I failed swimming lessons as a child. Who does that? me. everyone got a turtle patch and i only got a blow pop. i have vivid memories. sad, i know.

#2. I took almost 9 years of piano lessons and hated every minute of it. my brothers (as most of you know) are both very musical, i am not. i can read music, which i great, but that's about it.

#3. I cry at resturants if they mess up my order. Ask Nate, he'll confirm. Almost every time we eat out my order comes last, is wrong, and i'm too upset or hungry to send it back for them to get it right. i just sit there with tears rolling down my face.

#4. Speaking of food....i absolutely HATE hot sandwiches. The thought of eating a panini makes me puke in my mouth a little. i like grilled cheese, that's about it. no ham or anything else in it though. I think hot lunch meat is the worst. yuck.

#5. This one is embarrassing: i sucked my thumb until i was a teenager, 14 actually. i always had issues sleeping at night, and sucking my thumb seemed to put me to sleep. i tried to hide it all the time(obviously). my parents tried every incentive and reward to get me to stop, nothing worked until i began braces. they gave me an expander in my mouth that filled the roof, therefor i couldn't even fit my thumb in anymore. problem solved. only took 15 years.

#6. I look forward to Christmas all year. seriously. i LOVE the holiday season. time with family, great food (no hot sandwiches), gift giving, learning more and more each year about Jesus and why He came, excitement in the air, decorations, etc... my excitement seems to have began earlier than usual this year. i am way pumped already. i can't wait until the day after thanksgiving so i can bust out Christmas videos and cds. LOVE IT!

#7. __________________________________________ I've left this one blank for you! I'm sure you all can fill out something random about me that i can't think of right now. let me know what it is!!

Hope to write again soon....i mean it this time!!!!

did i post this already?? can't remember. it's from Elizabeth's(my sister-in-law) sister, Lauren's wedding in june. don't we look hot? it was so hot outside the camera kept fogging up.

About Time

2008-08-03T18:58:00.001-07:00

It's been a long time!!! I knew this summer would be crazy for us, and it is!! I have no pictures to post tonight, but there will be many to come soon. To sum up the last 2 months quickly:

June:
~Family beach day
~Nate went to teen camp for a few days to help direct
~Went to michigan for a family wedding/vacation

July
~Nate went to the amazon/Peru for 8 days
~Laura went crazy while he was gone =)
~Laura and the girls went to Virginia for a few days
~Laura and the girls went to Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster with friends (thanks Laura!)
~Youth groups trips: tubing down a river, beach, 6 flags

August
~Caleb, Laura's little brother, got married!!!!! This past weekend was very full and busy, and not over yet! My brother Chooch is still here from Ohio, so we'll be doing more family stuff the next couple of days.

Obviously a lot more has gone on in the past couple of months, but i can't remember anything else right now! I'm SO tired!!!

more to come soon, i promise!

random

2008-05-14T18:16:00.000-07:00

You know you haven't cleaned your house in a long time when your three year old asks "Mama, who's coming over?" because she saw you mop the kitchen floor! funny how they pick up on stuff at such a young age.

Speaking of picking things up...reagan was singing "Zacceus" tonight at dinner, we look over at Abbi and she was doing the motions! It was so cute!

In case any of you have wondered Purple (reagan's birthday fish) is still alive and swimmin'. Abbi LOVES it now...she says "purpa, purpa" and tries to climp up reagan's dresser to reach it.

speaking of climbing...abbi is dangerous!! she tries to pull out the drawers of my bedside table so she can climb up to get on the bed, she climbs up the dining room chair onto the table, pulls out the kid's chair, climbs onto the kid's table, stands on that and then climbs onto the window sill (or pulls the glass items off of it). My mom found her standing in my bottom dresser drawer she had pulled out while i was at work the other day. she also walks straight off of couches and even stairs! she's working on the turning around thing to get down, but has by no means mastered it.

Reagan is into ballet things lately. she wears a little dancer skirt all day long now, even to bed sometimes! We've been watching the florida revival on God tv, she dances around and sings "fire, fire." =) She calls it watching church and "bam!" (check it out online if you don't get the God channel, God is doing amazing things)

How's that for a random post!?!?! goodnight!

snuggly girls...

Snuggly girls...with their daddy sleeping away!

Abbi's Photo Shoot

2008-05-12T18:30:00.000-07:00

We had family pictures taken after Reagan had just turned one, then took her by herself to get some more. I wanted to duplicate the picture that was taken of Reagan with one of Abbi. Make sense? Can You guess who's who?

Pose #1

A little brighter...

Pose #2

I'm sure you could tell, but Reagan's poses are the first ones. I had to take pics of the photos since i don't have them on the computer. Pretty close, huh?

Here's a couple more of our favorites that we didn't get:

I think that Abbi was about a month older than Reagan was when the pictures were taken, but it's still pretty darn close!

Take A Bow

2008-05-12T18:20:00.000-07:00

Cute, typical Reagan story...

While sitting down at the dinner table tonight eating the lasagna i had made, reagan looks up from her plate and says, "Mama, you made good food....take a bow!"
Nate and i cracked up, even Abbi laughed, although she wasn't sure why.

Here's the little princess herself enjoying some luxory...

Tribute to my Mother(s)

2008-05-10T19:19:00.000-07:00

My mom prayed at my birthday meal this past week; she thanked God for giving her the desire of her heart when i was born. We joked afterwards asking if i was still the desire of her heart. =) (She said yes) My mom really wanted a girl, just ONE girl though. =) That's why i'm the desire of her heart. She has been a huge blessing to me throughout the years, especially since i've been married. probably because i have more of a appreciation of how tough being a mom can be. She has always been there for me, even when it wasn't convenient for her and she had to sacrifice things in her own life. She watches the girls for me so i can work without having to pay for child care. that is a HUGE blessing at this time in our lives. She brings me necessities like meat and toilet paper when we need it =) not to mention supplies nearly all of the girl's clothes. These are just a few ways to show that i don't know what I would do without my mom, and the example of a wife and mother that she has set for me. I'm proud to say she is not only my mom, but my friend. Mom, I love you and respect you more than you'll ever know. enjoy your day!

This was taken last mother's day:

Couldn't resist this one:

Most comments about mother-in-laws are negative - not so in my case! God has blessed me with the best mother-in-law in the world. i could not have ever imagined having such a great relationship as i have with Mom Norman. She and i have always gotten along (as far as i know) =) and have enjoyed the times we have been able to spend together - like getting lost in jackson when nate and i were engaged. (good one mom)

She has been an encourager, partner in crime, prayer warrior, mentor, laughing partner, friend, and so much more to me over the past 4+ years. i love you mom and miss you so much...see you soon!

To all the mothers and mothers to be out there: HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

Thank You!!

2008-05-10T18:53:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who blessed me with gifts on my birthday. i love birthdays, but more importantly, love each of you. It was fun checking the mail all week long and getting phone calls and emails. I had a low key birthay, but it was special in its own way, as they all are. Thanks again to everyone who made it special.

This is one of the very few (and obviously not so great) pics that were taken at my mom's house during the birthday festivities.

flattering, i know.

**You did good this year Nate, i'm proud! thanks for the THOUGHTFUL gifts. ** =)

As usual, abbi enjoyed the cake more than anyone else!!

Thanks again!

Weekend at the Beach

2008-05-07T19:15:00.000-07:00

About time, i know. i was waiting for nate to transfer some pictures onto a cd for me...that was the holdup. =) It will be worth the wait, i promise. we got some REALLY cute pictures of the girls.

In case i didn't mention it, we had the pleasure of going to the beach a couple weeks ago for the weekend. Friends from church sold their beach house and wanted to get the most use out of it while they still had it, so they offered it to us for the weekend. Wah-hoo! Reagan was SO excited to go, abbi wasn't too sure about it but followed Reagan's lead most of the time.

We left Thursday late afternoon and headed straight for the beach after dropping our stuff off at the (gorgeous) house. THe weather was perfect, we couldn't have asked for a better day. We headed home for pizza, then back to the beach for more pictures.

It was really hard to get good pictures of Abbi - she kept walking either towards the water, or away from us. Luckily we got a few cute ones.

Reagan, on the other hand, was a total cheese ball. she was all about the poses.

Friday we hit the beach again off and on during naps and meals. it was a very relaxed day for Nate and I, we had 3 hours to ourselves while the girls napped. what do you do with all that time?!?!?! we got a little bored, but it was a good bored. we laid out on the back patio, i actually got a sunburn - first of the season!

We left Saturday morning earlier than we thought we would. The girls were up and we decided it was better to get home and be relaxed there for the rest of the day than to get home late and it be crazy.

It was a great weekend, too bad the house is sold!!!

This weekend should be pretty low key - no major plans. we'll be at my mom's house tomorrow for a little for my birthday dinner, then nate and i are attending one of our youth's concerts at school(happy birthday to me). Reagan has a birthday party to go to friday morning and my future sister - in - law has a graduation party on saturday.

Goodnight!

Beautiful Days are Here at Last

2008-04-24T09:26:00.000-07:00

We had beautiful weather the last day mom and dad were here. Unfortunately I was battling a migraine headache thursday night and lingered until friday afternoon, so i missed out on some of the fun stuff with them.

i was feeling better by the afternoon, so i met everyone at the zoo. we are blessed to be in walking distance from the wilmington zoo. it is really small, but perfect for our kids right now.

I may have already mentioned this, but Abbi LOVES animals. doesn't matter what kind. she oohs and aahs over them in commercials, books, toys, and face to face. it's so cute.

I couldn't pass this picture up:

And another cute one of abbi:

The area by the zoo is our own "central park" right in the middle of wilmington. There is a beautiful creek/river?? that runs through the city with gorgeous trees.

you can see nate's bum sticking out as he's holding abbi up there...oops!

Thanks again mom and dad for a wonderful visit, can't wait for the next one!

Nate and the girls and I are heading to the beach for the weekend today. friends from church offered us their house, so we're taking them up on it! reagan is soooo excited, she can't wait to play at the beach!! i'm sure i'll have a super long post sometime next week, hopefully you're not sick of pictures of us by then! Have an awesome weekend!

Gotta Love NYC

2008-04-23T19:00:00.000-07:00

Still catching up...
We headed for NYC for the day with Mom & Dad....and Reagan! We have never brought her before, except for when she was in my belly. =) She loved NY pizza, who doesn't?

We watched probably the last ice skaters of the season at rockafeller center. it was such a beautiful day! we were blessed with gorgeous weather the entire day.

The flowers were all beginning to bloom, another week and they would have been awesome. I love this picture of reagan.

Mom and Dad wanted to visit the world trade center site...there is a memorial set up there with pictures of future plans for the site.

It was a great day to go to central park...everyone else thought so too. There were people all over the lawns, the excitement of spring was in the air for sure. This is Reagan and I (obviously)with Dad pointing in the background.

finally, a good picture of reagan and I...before the accident. By accident, i mean my cell phone unclipped from my jeans and slowly tumbled down the rock we were sitting on into the water. unfortunately, it did not tumble slow enough. i reached for it (it felt like slow motion) but it was too late. Donald (the duck) and all his buddies are enjoying my phone now.

Last picture of our day in new york. we had a great time, as usual. can't wait to go again!

A Visit and A Birthday Party

2008-04-21T19:05:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe it has been almost 2 weeks since Nathan's parents were here. they came for a few days around Reagan's birthday. We looked forward to them coming for months, it went by too quickly!!!

Mom & Dad (norman) were in guatemala in february and brought the girls back these dreses, they are so cute!

Reagan looks like a little model, and abbi is a mess! =) This is a monkey backpack they brought reagan from there too. it is so cute! (please forgive Reagan's messy hair)

It seemed like reagan celebrated her birthday every 10 minutes while they were here...probably because she did!! The first night we all went to Toys R Us to spend the Christmas gift cards mom and dad had mailed the girls (we wanted them to help pick out the presents with the girls), then they kept pulling presents out of their suitcases that family and friends had sent from Michigan! (thanks jenny and jason!)

Rain outfit from Uncle Jason:

Love it!

Reagan talks about going to Chuck E Cheese for her birthday all year long and tries to get us to go there for our birthdays too. We know that trick. This is her waiting to leave that day...

She loves all the rides, she invited 2 friends from church to go to her "party," Ella & Maive...they're sisters and friends of the girls. Reagan adores them, especially Ella, so she was excited to have them there too.

great thing about chuck e cheeses: adults love it too! my dad kept running out of tokens!

We had my parents over again that night for dinner and cake...and more presents!

Nate's dad iced REagan's cake...luckily everyone likes icing!

Both Reagan and Abbi had special time with grandma and grandpa norman while they were here.

Reagan got a princess dress...she put it on right away and wore it until it was time for cake!

Abbi is not shy when it comes to food!

I think Reagan had a great birthday! This picture says it all!

Due to the length of this post, I'll write more about mom and dad's visit in the next one.....peace out until then!

back to life, back to reality

2008-04-20T11:34:00.001-07:00

Nathan and I returned home late last night from taking some of the teenagers in our youth group to acquire the fire in baltimore, md. we had a good weekend with them, but saturday was a LONG day! I am so tired right now. Nathan is sleeping even as i sit here typing.

the night before we left, abbi was up a few times in the night with a fever and throwing up. not fun! we were off to a tired start for our weekend. i hated to leave her like that with my mom, but nate needed me to go. needless to say, mom had a tough weekend, i know she was glad for us to get home.

those of you with kids, don't you hate it when you finally break down and take your kids to the doctor and all they do is tell you it's viral and send you home?!?!?! i hate that!! it happens to me all the time. i left church early because abbi was still miserable, took her to a clinic where she cried for a full 20 minutes while waiting to be seen, and they send me home with a "call your doctor if she gets a fever again." grrrr!!

anyway, i'm tired so everything seems worse than it probably is.

GOOD NEWS!!!
I have realized that spring and warm weather hit delaware much soon than michigan. yeah for us! sorry friends and family in Michigan, hopefully it tempts you to come visit us soon! =) This past week was beautiful, i even wore a tank top a couple of days.

sorry for the random post...i'll write better stuff in the next couple of days. enjoy spring!

fyi: these pics were taken a few weeks ago at the very first signs of spring.

Adorable

2008-04-12T18:26:00.000-07:00

my girls are too much!

Cuteness!

Visit from Kir - Dawg

2008-04-12T18:12:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago Kirsten, one of my best friends from ELIM, called to ask if she could stop by on her way to DC...i was so excited!!!

i hadn't seen her since she and I went to visit our friend Sarah in minnesota over a year ago. Kirsten just came for one night, but it was so good to spend even a little bit of time with her, it had been way too long!

I miss you Kir, thanks for the visit!

Just 'cause she's so darn cute

2008-04-12T17:52:00.000-07:00

my baby and me!

i love this picture of abbi and I....she has the cheesiest grin, or maybe i do! =)

i can't believe how big she is getting! my baby isn't a baby anymore! =(

Easter Festivities

2008-03-30T11:37:00.000-07:00

long post ahead!!

Easter lasted over a week for us. It began with an Easter egg hunt at our church a week before Easter Sunday. Reagan was definitely into it and surprisingly, Abbi got the hang of it as well. It was cute to watch her drop her eggs in her bucket. It was COLD out! I thought the hunt would be inside since they were calling for rain, so the kids weren't dressed appropriately. Oops!!

Abbi was so mad that Reagan was eating candy and she wasn't, so we gave her a candy necklace to gnaw on....it kept her happy for an hour!!!

My grandparents came to visit Easter weekend. They stayed at our house the first night, then with my mom the rest of the weekend. We spent a lot of time at my parent's house that weekend. It was fun since we don't get over there that much. We colored eggs, Abbi ate them instead.

Easter Day!!!

Sunday after church Nathan hid eggs for Reagan in my mom's yard, Abbi was sleeping so she missed out. =( Reagan had a lot of fun. Nate made the mistake of telling her that only the big eggs had candy in them, therefore Reagan flew past the smaller ones and didn't even bother to pick them up! We finally convinced her it was still fun to pick up the small ones too.

I love this picture of Abbi: what a face!

We taught Reagan that Easter means "Jesus is alive!" so she would know it wasn't about eggs and bunnies. She still tells us, "Jesus is alive!"

Time to Catch Up

2008-03-29T19:10:00.001-07:00

It's been almost two weeks since i've written anything - we have had a busy couple of weeks! Easter came and went with no posting, how did that happen?? It will have to wait still...i have something else fresh on my mind i am excited to post.

Nate and I just returned from NYC!!! We left on Friday morning with our friends, Tim & Jess Neiger, and returned Saturday evening. Tim and I were close most of my teenage years, he went to my youth group. Jess was my best friend from camp since i was 16. My two best friends married eachother! They have 3 beautiful girls who's ages are stairsteps with my own girls. it's always adorable when all 5 are together. Anyway, we got a hotel for one night, something we don't usually do when Nate and I go to NYC, but wanted to this time. We got an awesome hotel in a great location for a suprisingly good price.

Friday we spent the day around rockefeller center and times square taking it all in. we watched the ice skaters at rockefeller, made plans to try to be on t.v. during the early show the next day(we vetoed that saturday morning), took pictures, went in fun stores, all the usual stuff one does there.

We went to the world trade center site...construction is still going on, we looked at the "future" pictures of it. It brought back a lot of memories of my time at NYSUM (the internship i did in NYC for six weeks during the 9/11 attacks).
We had pizza in times square, went to toy's r us, a few other stores, wondered why armored cops were standing around, turned down many offers to attend a live taping of some comedy show, etc...

We also rode the staten island ferry there and back just for kicks. We were scared of rain all day since the weather was calling for thunderstorms, but it held off all day!!

Saturday was a beautiful day....the sun was shining, it wasn't too cold. We went to the empire state building, decided it wasn't worth the money, took some pitures anyway, then headed to the central park area. We went to FAO Schwartz (the toy store on home alone), the MAC/Apple store, and best of all, took a carriage ride through central park. Sounds cheesy, i know, but it was so relaxing and pretty out - it was great! Then we went to queens to get some pizza from one of our favorite places there, after that we headed back to delaware.

it was a full, fun, great weekend; can't wait to see them again! Thanks so much Tim & Jess, we had an awesome time with you guys!!! double bean dip! =)

A Princess and a Monkey

2008-03-16T19:58:00.000-07:00

My little princess

my silly monkey

Reagan has been very "girlie" lately. God definitely has a sense of humor. Those of you who know me well, know that i am not a "girlie" girl. i grew up with two brothers and loved getting dirty and playing sports. Anyway, Reagan is all girl. She is into skirts and dresses right now, won't wear much else unless we have a fight. She is also very much into mommy's makeup, and i mean "into" in the literal sense. Nathan took a nap with her when i was gone last saturday. She got out of bed, he figured she went to watch t.v. in the living room or something. He later woke up to the smell of nail polish. Reagan was standing by him with RED nail polish painted halfway up to each knuckle on each finger. Although very upset with her, Nate was also impressed with her nail painting skills at the age of two (almost 3). She told one of her teachers in class today at church that she was naughty after the teacher commented on her pretty nails.

Abbi never ceases to make us smile these days. We have always called her "monkey." She came out looking just like one with cute spikey hair all over her head. I bought her a monkey backpack at a school swap shop a few weeks ago. She let me put it on her and walked and crawled around with it on. She kept looking over her shoulder to make sure her "buddy" was still with her. She really loves to kiss and cuddle stuffed animals, it's so precious. She will crawl up on Nathan's lap if he's sitting on the floor and give him kisses. Cute! We're sad she's getting bigger, but she is so much fun. She is into regular cups at dinner and will kind of freak until we give her one. She also bit a chunck out of her crib the other day. I'm not kidding either, we need to tape it so she won't get splinters in her mouth! Maybe we should call her "woodchuck" instead of "monkey!"

Visit from Jodi

2008-03-11T19:19:00.000-07:00

Jodi Otto, one of our friends from Michigan, came to visit us last weekend!

We were really looking forward to her visit since she was a "taste of home" for us. We had a great weekend, despite the rainy, dreary weather that threatened to ruin it! We spent Friday showing Jodi Philly (in the van because of the rain), and of course getting Philly cheesesteaks! She was definitely a fan!

(isn't everyone???) Even Abbi enjoyed it, although there's not much food she doesn't enjoy! =)

After Philly we decided to go to IKEA since it was still raining and we didn't want to go home yet. IKEA is always a good idea, even if you aren't going for any particular thing. We each bought a couple of things then headed home. We spent the rest of the day vegging out and playing cards.

I had planned to hang out at the beach on Saturday if it was nice out, but the weather had other plans. it was a yucky rainy day again. jodi and i went shopping, she got her first Rita's water ice (there aren't any in Michigan), and played some more cards.

Sunday...THE BEACH!!! it was a beautiful day, although cold and windy. Nate and Abbi headed to church; Jodi, Reagan and I to for the beach! We walked on the shore for a little, admired the beautiful sun shining on the water, then hit a couple of outlets! It was a great day. We went to youth group that night, afterwards Jodi had to borrow a suitcase to pack all the stuff she bought! tax free shopping, gotta love it!

We're so glad she came, and can't wait for her next visit! Thanks for a great weekend Jodi!

Visits from Friends

2008-03-05T18:50:00.000-08:00

*****Pictures added!!!*****

One thing Nate and i really miss is our friends!!! We literally have friends who live all over the country, and some out of it too! We have had a FULL, busy life since moving here, but have definitely missed our "old" friends. Speaking of...

Nate and i had a fun day last saturday. Three of our friends from Elim (the Bible college we both attended) who all live over an hour away in different directions, came to visit for the day! Lisa Brown, Krista Richardson, and Jess Smith all came to see us and the girls. we had a great day: went to philly where they had their first authentic philly cheesesteaks, drank coffee and ate oreos, and played some crazy card games. we had a ton of fun and can't wait for the next mini-reunion!

speaking of friends coming to visit, we're picking up our friend Jodi from the airport tomorrow. She is a taste of home for us, she's coming from MIchigan! we are so excited to see her! i'll write about our visit next week. have a great weekend!

ps: we'd love to see more of our friends sometime soon.......hint, hint!!! =)

shout out to a best friend

2008-03-04T19:21:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Gooch!!! i love you!

Miss Walks Alot

2008-02-26T19:02:00.000-08:00

Abbi was so cute tonight. she waddled around all over the living room this evening. she has only taken a few steps a couple of times, and not even in the past week!! She kept going tonight, it was so cute. She seemed pretty proud of herself too.

Reagan has a favorite "party" outfit these days. every chance she gets she puts on this lavender outfit, she especially likes to dance in it. I had to sneak it in the wash tonight. she's pretty cute, even if her clothes may be a little stinky!

We are very happy that nate is back home. his flight came in yesterday, no problems. Reagan ran into the living room when she heard him. nate picked her up and held her for awhile, she had the biggest, sweetest smile on her face as she laid her head on his shoulder. it was so sweet. Abbi rattled off some "dadas" for him. =)

That's all the updates i have for you today...have a great week!
(sorry no pictures today)

SNOWED IN!!!

2008-02-22T13:46:00.000-08:00

I'm happy to say that we are snowed in today, and there is not even that much snow!

They are calling for ice sometime this evening on top of the snow that is already on the ground. Nathan was supposed to fly out of Philly today at 3 to go to a youth pastor's conference in cincinatti, oh...needless to say his flight was cancelled. the funny thing is that we were talking yesterday and i told him i was praying for snow so he couldn't leave!!! he wasn't too happy with me today when he got the news about his flight. he was able to reschedule one for tomorrow morning...EARLY! that's what i get for praying against what he was. =) I'll take him to the airport, then come home for a little before i go to work (i have to work at 7). my mom will be staying over tonight to watch the girls tomorrow.

We have had a relaxing day, that's for sure. Reagan wants to play in the snow but we are both too lazy to take her out! she's happy to eat hershey kisses instead. She picked out a dress to wear today and told us she wanted to be a flower girl. Cute! She actually is going to be one in june, for nate's counsin Anne's wedding.

Abbi is taking her second nap today, that's unusual for her...told you it was a lazy day, even abbi is feeling it!

I hope that those of you who were snowed in today too had an enjoyable, relaxing day!

Abigail Love's First Birthday

2008-02-12T16:54:00.001-08:00

It's hard to believe that Abbi is one already! she is at such a fun stage right now, we're sad to see her grow up! Our "baby" isn't so babyish anymore! she loves to talk, only she knows what she's saying most of the time. we do understand "dada" "mama" and she is now saying our tortoise's name, "charla" - it's really cute! She turned one on February 6, last thursday. she LOVED her cake. She was the epitomy of a one year old eating cake. reagan was prissy about eating her first cake, kind of stuck her finger in it, that was it. not abbi! she dove in, squishing it in her fingers, even bringing her head down to the high chair tray!

The pictures above are from her actual birthday, but we had a mini celebration the Saturday night before with our friends Tim & Jess and their 3 little girls. We went to Chuck E Cheese for a little (it was PACKED!), then back to our house for cake and the traditional "girls" picture.

Not so fun news....nate and the girls are sick! my mom too actually! Abbi has thrown up once a day 4 days in a row, reagan did yesterday, and nate has felt like it all day today. poor babies! I feel fine at this point. We got hit with some ice today, my sick mama got stranded here for a few more hours. Have a great day tomorrow!

about time!

2008-02-09T21:45:00.000-08:00

So i never thought i'd actually do this, one of my best friends has faithfully blogged for years. i have always admired her for it, but was never inspired enough to do it myself....until now i guess. maybe i feel as if i have reached a nightly ritual that allows me the 10 minutes it takes to share a little of my life with others. i have nothing really profound to say tonight, other than that i hope to brighten your day and give you a glimpse into my daily life in the days to come as i actually have something to "blog" about. thanks for checking this out, i hope to connect with a many of you through this , if only for a few minutes here and there. be blessed, goodnight!

Abigail and Reagan a few weeks ago in their gap "red" shirts...too bad abbi looks like a boy!! =)