Off The Top of my Head...

I never got my pictures of the girls in their Easter dresses uploaded here. Stink!!
School's out for summer. Sigh...
I am shocked and saddened about the wreckage happening through out the mid-west due to storms.
Dave's Grandpa has cancer in his bladder. The treatment for his cancer is unknown at this point. We should know something about his treatments next week. Dave's Grandpa and my mother-in-law are in need of a lot of prayer.
Julia had a preschool graduation today that I almost missed. I didn't even know there was one until this morning. (How Embarrassing!) I almost got "the worst mother of the year award", but I worked it out and took off work to be there! Julia is not actually graduating from preschool though. She will be in preschool one more year before starting kindergarten. She just happened to be the youngest kiddo in her class.
We missed Julia's dance class tonight because school got out early, and apparently I am extremely dependant on the regularity of our schedule. Plus, I can't seem to remember what day it is lately. I almost forgot that I have to work tomorrow because the amount of time I have been able to work has been so sporadic with the girls getting out of school and all that I am not sure whether I'm coming or going.
Hopefully we will have someone to watch the girls this summer. It'll be some long days for them if they are here by themselves all day. (Just kidding-I wouldn't leave them here alone. My house would be an even bigger wreck!)
I saw today on the Dr. Oz that show that drinking two cups of tea per day will help ward off ovarian cancer. I guess I will be obsessively drinking two cups of tea per day for awhile...(not that I'm complaining- I like tea.) After watching the show, I was worried I had ovarian cancer for about 30 minutes. (This is why I can't watch the Dr. Oz show.) I decided that I was just being a hypochondriac, and that I don't need to worry about having ovarian cancer until I have some real symptoms. But, it did cause me to go ahead and schedule my yearly. Yuck!
I really wish we had some rain in Houston. I wish we could borrow it from Arkansas.
Did I ever mention here that Lydia is completely potty trained? She has been for about a month now, and I'm so proud of her! She has started demanding that she get to wear snow white undies exclusively. Not gonna happen though.

A project from Julia's school:
My mother's hair color is light blue.
She is 13 feet tall.
Cooks me dinner, makes me lunch, and tells me not to disobey the teacher is what she does best.

(This information is extremely good to know.--I guess I should correct my driver's license hair color from dark blonde to light blue.)
It's past my bedtime. I try to get to bed early because if I don't, I start thinking I'm wildly hilarious while writing on my blog or making facebook comments. (I usually end up embarrassing myself.) Plus, I get the munchies really, really, really bad. So, Good Night!! Love, Amber

Bedtime Prayers

Beware: You may experience cuteness overload. Proceed with caution.

These are the precious little prayers the girls learned in school this year. They pray them in the morning and before lunch. Although I ask them what they did in school every single day, it wasn't until I went during school hours that I learned about these sweet prayers. I went to the school last week b/c Lydia's teachers wanted to celebrate her birthday early because she has a summer birthday. She got to wear a paper crown, go in front to be sang to at chapel, eat mini cupcakes with friends and see me during chapel and lunch. It was so much fun. I am so glad that I got the opportunity to experience what really goes on there. And, in case you were wondering, my girls will be going to the same school next year! Love to you all, Amber

Buggin'

I'm stressed. I'll probably hate myself for writing this later, but honestly, I don't want to pretend like our life equals roses and rainbows all the time. Sometimes life is hard. And sometimes I overreact and become anxious over nothing. But, I just don't like it that we had to spend $3000 (that we don't have) on maintenance on our van in the last year. I also don't like it that we are going to have to spend $750 more this weekend on yet another engine maintenance tune up. I don't like it that Dave's car heaved it's last sigh as it died two weeks ago, and that we had to buy another one. I don't like that Dave's Grandpa is bleeding internally and that Dave's mom, who is recovering from surgery herself, has so much to go through emotionally and physically as she cares for her father. I don't like that I feel like I work so hard but stay in the same place. I don't like it that I feel like a bad mom a lot of the time because I have little patience and not enough time to spend with my kids. I feel frustrated and overwhelmed. I'll make it through as I have umpteenth times in the past. But, right now I'm not going to pretend like I like any of it. This too shall pass.... Amber

Eaves dropping

A few night's ago, I woke up to some whining coming from the baby monitor. I got up, and went up stairs to  check on the girls. They were both sort of under the weather, and I wanted to make sure neither of them had any unwanted bodily fluids spread on their sheets. When I got up there, they were as quiet as mice and sleeping like babies. So, I went back downstairs, and went to the bathroom. When I came back out, I heard the crying/whining again. I thought it was really wierd when I heard a sound like a spurt come through the baby monitor. I was tempted to ask Dave to make the trip upstairs, but I decided that would be too mean since I was already up. So, I went up again. When I got there, the crying had stopped again. I stayed up there a few minutes to double check all was well, and then I came back down. When I got back downstairs, I heard the whining through the monitor again! I noticed that it sounded a little like a baby cooing instead of whining. So, I listenend a little longer. I heard more spurting, and thought "that sounds like an infant cooing". Along with the cooing, I heard more spurting and "talking"! Pretty soon I heard the babies parents coming in and talking to the baby. I switched channels on the monitor to keep from eaves dropping too much, thinking it was really wierd that our monitor had picked up on someone else's monitor. Kinda freaky, really. I wouldn't want someone listening to our personal household conversations over our monitor. Maybe I'll start turning it off unless the girls are sleeping.--I don't know. Hopefully, I won't be listening in on any more household's tonight! Mostly because I don't want to lose any sleep! Happy sleeping to all of you! -Amber

My Mother's Day

On Wednesday, the 11th, Dave and I will have been married for 9 years. It feels wierd to say. I remember when I was a teenager, I  knew some couples similar to who we are now. It felt like being married a decade was such a long way from who I was at the time. And yet, here we are. Thanks be to God.

To celebrate our anniversary, my parents took our girls for a few days. Dave and I slept in yesterday, and this morning. We had a wonderful time shopping on Saturday, and hanging out the way we did before kids came into the picture. We now know the freedoms Saturdays once held- before we had our bright and beautiful kids. Weekends were still ours to do with as we pleased. This weekend has seemed sweetly awkward because it has been wonderfully slow-paced. We enjoyed making plans for just the two of us, and not packing snacks, blankets, kiddie books, sippie cups and extra clothing with us. But, like most parents, one of our favorite things to do while we are away from our kids is to talk about them. So, we did a lot of that too.

When we planned to have the kiddos go to Mimi and Papa's this weekend, we didn't realize that this was also Mother's day weekend. So, on this mother's day, I am missing my girls, but enjoying my marriage. I suppose that in a way, this is a kind gift to my girls and to us. One of the biggest blessings we want for our girls is for them to have parent's who love each other.

However, I am afraid that Julia and I are both suffering from seperation anxiety. My mom texted me a few hours ago telling me that Julia was feverish and exhausted, and I haven't been feeling like myself since last night either. I wasn't really hungry yesterday, and I've only had one small meal  all day. My stomach has been upset and my muscles have been achey, so laying around has been very nice. Instead of going to church as we planned, Dave and I stayed home and watched the podcast of what was happening at HFBC from our couch. I missed being there in person, but I feel blessed to be able to see it here if I can't see it there.

Dave and I just got done watching The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. It was amazing, awesome, fantastic, superb and fabulous. In other words, I would reccomend it highly. It wasn't exactly like the book, but the overall story was still intact, and I loved every minute of it. We planned to go to hear some live music at a local park, and go for a jog there before or after the concert, but just like our church plans were cut out, these may be as well. We'll see.

Now we are waiting on pins and needles to here word from my parents that Julia has awaken from her nap. If she is feeling really down in the dumps, we will be making an unplanned 5 hour drive to Louisiana to pick her up and love on her. I can tell you I wouldn't be dissapointed to do just that (I miss her and Lyddie lou), except that it would cut some of Dave and my anniversary time short. Either way, I'll be a happy camper.

Word just came from the rents. Julia woke up much happier, but still says her forhead hurts. She seems much more like herself though. She talked to me a few seconds, and then went back to terrorizing my parent's dog. I could hear her in the background. "Willie, willie, willie, willie. Go potty, Willie. Willie, willie. Willie."

Maybe we are back to our original plans? We'll meet my parents half way between our house and theirs, close to the Texas border after work tomorrow. We'll have dinner with them and bring our girls back home. I guess I'll just have to keep you posted!

Thanks for reading along with what's up with us today. To all my friends who are mom's: I hope you have a wonderful, fun-filled, happy Mother's Day. And to Mom, Ruth and Christie, I wish you the happiest Mother's Day Ever!!! Many blessings to you and yours! Love, Amber

Easter Pictures

I'm so sad that I haven't had the chance to post before now. I'm becoming a bad blogger. --This is a snippet of our pre-Easter activities. We had a wonderful Easter. Praise the Lord for dieing on the cross and then rising again! Love, Amber

Brazos Bend State Park

On Saturday, we went a state park that is south of Houston, about 40 mins from our house. It is known for having tons of alligators. The rumors were absolutely correct! (The alligators are used to having humans around, and don't attack, but we took precautionary measures. We made it a point to stay back when we saw them, and keep the kids in a stroller/carry the kids the whole time--just in case.)

First, we met up with our wonderful friends, the Ottens.

And visited the gift shop where they showed us this milk snake. Both girls got to touch him.



We saw dragonflies under glass.

 And saw some animals that had undergone taxidermy, like this raccoon.

 We got to "pet" a baby alligator. Lydia was afraid of it at first. But, Julia really wanted to hold it.

Then we went exploring.

We wanted to see the alligators, in the wild. This little guy was sitting under the dock, staying in the shade to keep cool.

 Look at this view! This is the prettiest natural landscape I've seen in these parts.

 There's a look-out tower on one of the trails. We got a friend to snap this picture of us from the top.

 See the alligator on the walkway? He's well disguised, but he's there.

 This is a picture I took from the top of the tower. That reptile looks small from the tower, but that's a farse.

Here's one last picture of my two sweeties at the park.

We had such a great time at the park with our friends on Saturday! We learned a lot about wildlife in this area, had a wonderful picnic lunch together, and got in our exercise for the day. It was one of the best days I've had! More Texas exploration will be coming for the Stewart family! Love, Amber

My Kids are Crazy for Spring.

On the way home from church last night, I didn't turn on the music, or start asking the girls questions about their evening like I usually do. I was in my own little world, and apparently so were they. When I came out of my trance, I heard the girls pretending that Julia was the mom, and Lydia was the doctor. They were vehemently arguing about who was going to go get the imaginary, invisible baby and hand it to the other. When they couldn't come to an agreement, I told them that they needed to start talking nicely to each other or they were going to have to stop talking for a few minutes. They decided to change the game at that point. Both of the girls become lady bugs. Julia told Lydia that she was going to be the nice one, and Lydia would be the grumpy one. Then Julia was the grumpy ladybug. Then Lydia was the grumpy one again. Then the game changed yet again. Julia was the mom, and Lydia was the cat from the circus. Hmmmm..it was an entertaining half hour ride home. My girls' imaginations are definitely in full bloom--right in time for spring! Happy Spring to you all!! Love, Amber

No Time Like the Present!

Yikes! I can hardly find time to blog these days!! I figured that I better get on here, even if I don't have anything witty to say....

The weekend before last, Dave, the Girls and I went camping with our Sunday School class. The retreat was a lot of fun and extremely exhausting. I think I'm still recovering....
Some of the highlights of the trip:
--Laughing at Lydia for calling our friend Terrance "My Terrance". The thing is that with her little toddler pronunciation, it came out as "My Parents". She kept saying "Dere's My Parents!" while pointing at Terrance. People kept pointing to Dave and I and saying "You're parents are right back there, Lydia." It was not us Lydia was looking for!
--Enjoying the most adventurous hay ride I've ever been on.
--Observing the most beautiful, magnificent, glorious layers of glittering stars.
--Not wearing make-up the whole weekend!
--Visiting with some wonderful people.
--Watching my kids play with tons of kids at any given time.
--Camping out where there are real bathrooms with running water and showers.
--Playing in the bouncy house with the kids.
--Having church with my kiddos just a few steps away.
--Eating some bites of Dave's peanut butter cup smore. (I hardly make my own desserts anymore. This time, I just ate off of Dave's smore, and ate the rest of the girls smores. I guess I sub-consciously believe the calories don't count if I don't "own" the dessert.)
--Trying deep fried oreos for the first time. --Thinking about it both delights and disgusts me.
--Not doing a bit of cooking the whole weekend.

Some things that were a little less than fantastic about the retreat:
--Picking the delicious meat out of a wonderfully made breakfast casserole. (Lent is over in less than 2 weeks!)
--Eating veggie burgers while everyone else ate pulled pork that had been smoking for 24 hours.
--Trying to get the girls to sleep.
--Hitting my arm on the bouncy house ladder, and getting a huge, ugly bruise. I thought everything was soft in a bouncy house. I wouldn't have dove through the opening had I known that the ladder was filled with metal rods instead of air.
--Realizing the enormous amount of laundry we created while on the trip.
--Wishing I would have packed cowboy/girl boots and/or hiking boots for me, Dave and the girls. Duh! we were camping in TEXAS! It should have been a given. Perhaps if I had been packing in a less than hurried state....
--Cleaning up the filth that accumulated on the outside of our van. Dirt roads will that for ya'.
--Recovering, recovering, recovering.

All in all, we had a fabulous time on the retreat, and I am thankful that we went. On the way home, Julia asked something similar to this: "When do we get to go camping again? Can I have some gum? I would really like to sleep in a tent again sometime. When can we go fishing again? Can I PLEASE have some gum?" We'd been in the car less than 5 minutes when all of that started.

This last weekend, Dave and I had the blessed opportunity to hang out with some fantastic new friends at their house. (Praise Jesus!) We watered our garden and played around the house. We went to church and enjoyed a wonderful and convicting sermon. We also painted our hallway. Dave turned up the excitement by allowing Julia to paint too. Fun times!! It was a wonderful weekend just like the one before it! Now we are on to enduring and enjoying our busy, exciting, spirit-filled week!! Blessings to you all!! -Amber

Spring Fling

Springtime is in the air, and I couldn't be more excited about it. Did I ever mention on this blog before that I really enjoy holidays? Well, I do. And, Easter is right around the corner. However, I must admit that as much as I love Easter, I've never wished for it to come as quickly and as hard as I have wished for it this year. The reason being: Dave and I gave up meat for lent this year. That's right. I haven't had a burger, a turkey sandwich, a bite of chicken or pizza with meat on it for 2 and a half weeks. I'm not gonna lie- it's been hard! I have literally had dreams about eating fried chicken, ya'll! I haven't had fried chicken (except for in my dreams) in over a year. But nowadays, I can't stop thinking about it. It sounds more appetizing than a cookie. It sound more appetizing than a bowl of cookies with ice cream on it dredged in chocolate syrup. It sounds better than anything. So, needless to say....I can't wait until Easter. On Easter, our family of four will be eating marinating pork tenderloin. I was planning on having mashed potatoes, asparagus and lemon cake to go with the tenderloin, as we have had in years past. But, this year, I may be swapping those sides for fried chicken. Pork tenderloin, and fried chicken....how's that for an Easter meal? ---Delicious!!
Anywho....let me share what our family has been doing (besides dreaming about meat).

Enjoying the WARM March air by drawing with chalk on the driveway

Happy Easter!! See Julia's writing above mine? She's doing so well!

Here is one of our beautiful flowers we have growing in the front yard



Our little orange trees are blooming.

  We have two orange trees and a lemon tree. Plus asparagus, edamame, a zucchini plant, a tomato plan, cucumber plants, a strawberry plant and a watermelon plant growing in our backyard. The four of us have loved gardening more than I ever thought we would. (Lydia is still a little disinterested at this point, but sometimes she helps water.) It is very exciting to plant something and watch it grow though.

One of our edamame's that recently poked through the earth to drink in the rays of the sun.

Did you know that asparagus are perennials? You're supposed to dig a hole 12 inches deep, put the roots in the hole, cover the roots with only 3 inches of dirt, and then wait for the buds to sprout through the three inches. Once you see the buds, you cover them up again, and wait for them to grow the rest of the way. Isn't that amazing? I noticed a few days ago, that we have one little bud to cover already! Woohoo! If I do decide to have asparagus for Easter, hopefully it'll be from our own garden!

Some of our little asparagus holes.

Some of our herbs. This is cilantro, rosemary and some dill. I have some basil growing in the garden as well.

 Yesterday was fun. We got to go to a little Easter celebration that our community had, and go to a friends birthday party. Julia got to hold a piglet. Lydia held it too, but she got scared and dropped it. She didn't hold it long enough to let us get a picture snapped. Poor little piglet.

Lydia mostly enjoyed looking at the animals in the petting zoo. She petted just a few of them. She's not an animal lover like Julia.

 While we were in the petting zoo, Lydia was looking around and petted the baby deer for a few seconds. (You can see the deer behind her in the picture above.) Obviously while petting it, she was looking down, and sort of moving around to pet different parts of the deer's back. When she looked up, she looked right into the face of a sitting llama. You can imagine her surprise!! At least she didn't scream or freak out. She just jumped back in wide-eyed amazement and quickly moved on. Julia wasn't always an animal lover. Maybe Lydia will grow a little more used to animals sometime too.

An early Easter Bunny hug!

Well, that is what we've been up to lately. I'm pretty excited and proud of my garden. I am happy to say that I hope to take after my Grandma Daiber and continue to have a garden for years to come. It is very rewarding. I'm also very excited to eat meat again, and for Easter to be here. Isn't spring just a wonderful time of year? I feel like the world around me anticipates the celebration of Christ's resurrection just as much as or more than I do. That makes me very, very happy! I hope that all of you are very, very happy this Spring too! With love, Amber

P.S. Don't you just love how my blog looks like an Easter egg barfed all over the screen, and left my page running with colors? Me too!

My Bucket List.

Ok, people. I figure nothing gives you motivation like a list you put on the internet for the world to see. Hopefully, posting my bucket list on here will get me working towards getting this stuff done. I mean, I only have about 100 more years to live, right? Right!

1. Go on a Disney cruise in Alaska with my hubby and my kids.

2. Take Dave, and possibly my girls, fishing for Red Salmon.

3. Learn to play the piano.

4. Speak spanish fluently.

5. Paint more pictures that I frame and hang in my home. --Paint another mural.

6. Teach my kids to memorize scripture, and use it in their day-to-day lives.

7. Own my own small business: I would either like to own a sterling silver jewelry store or I'd like to have a crew of people that work with me to help me flip houses.It changes by the day.

8. Memorize a chapter of the Bible.

9. Become more like Jesus. (First on the list: Be more gracious, generous, and selfless.)

10. Design a room that is not in my own house.

11. Get my real estate license.

12. Run a half-marathon--hopefully at Disney World.

13. Spend a day or two in the wilderness (in a cabin) by myself. Not because I'm mad or unhappy...but just to experience creation in all it's glory with no one else but The Creator.

14. Get in the habit of talking to my syblings and cousins on a regular basis.

15. Have a home that my kids feel comfortable and happy to bring their friends to when they are teenagers-- not because of the size or design of our home, but because I am welcoming and kind to them and their friends.

16. Get an Xbox 360 with Kinect.

17. Do a better job at sending thank you cards, birthday cards, and "I'm thinking about you" cards.

18. Go on a second honeymoon with Dave.

19. Get an R.V. and use it!

20. Keep my fingernails manicured better.

I know some of these things seem intangible or abstact (which will annoy my husband greatly), but they're my goals, and I like them. And, as life goes on, I expect for some of my goals to change- but that's okay too. What is your list of buckets?  Happy Week! -Amber

Swamplands

Last weekend, and the first part of the week, Dave, the girls and I went to Louisiana to visit my parents, my maternal Grandma, two of my aunts and my cousin, Hayden. I am very glad that we got to see family and it was nice for my girls to get to know their Great Grandma, Great Aunts and 2nd cousin better. However, to be very honest the trip did not go quite as planned. We were very sad when rain canceled the Kids Mardi Gras Parade and the King Cake Party. We were not free to tromp around and "play" like we had hoped to, and the girls got a little cantankerous due to confinement. But, even though the rain made for some dreary days, we celebrated Louisiana the best we could regardless of the weather. We had a shrimp/craw fish boil. We visited the swamplands of Louisiana. I got to sing for a special at church with my aunt and mom, while my grandma played the piano. There were definitely some fun times despite the dreariness. Here are a few of the shots I snapped while we were there:

(Disclaimer: I do not have very many pictures of people on this post, and that makes me extremely sad. I brought both of my cameras on this trip, but one of them had dead batteries, and no memory card, and the other one had a full memory card with pictures that I needed to put on our computer. sigh.) 



Lydia in all her cuteness!

I wanted to take pictures of the rest of us at the swamp, and we used my parent's camera to do just that, but we haven't gotten them from my parents yet, and it's been way too long since I posted anything on my blog. So, I just wanted to get what I have on here, and hopefully I'll have the opportunity to add the rest later. --Don't forget to wear green this Thursday for St. Patty's Day!! I wouldn't want any of you getting pinched! Love, Amber

Fantastic Antics

Here are a few things I left out of the previous post. I didn't mention some of the crazy things my crazy kids did while we were gone. Frankly, although I find these things hilarious, thinking about them makes me exhausted. I think you may know what I mean when you read what my girls did.

First, Lydia ESCAPED while we were all sleeping....

It's 5 a.m., and most of the people staying in our room had not slept much at all. Let me back up....I'll remind you that we left Thursday, got to a friends' house in Dallas late, drove all day Friday, and then arrived in Topeka at dinner time on Friday. My mom, dad, brother, sister, nephew, and the four of us were all planning to stay at a parsonage at the church that my family and I attended when we lived in Topeka. We were told that the house was undergoing some updates, but I was a little scared for the safety of my crazy kids when we walked into the house and realized that they'd pulled up almost all of the carpet in the house, and it was mostly sub-flooring. Preschoolers run around like crazy, and I could just see Lydia getting up in the middle of the night to fall on the little nails by the wall that used to hold down carpet.
Anyway, we went to dinner with my grandpa and aunts and thought about where else we might stay. We called some hotels, but ultimately decided to stay at the retirement home where my grandpa lives. They only had one room/suite available, so we all stayed together. We already had bedding since we were planning to stay on the floor at the the parsonage. So, the 9 of us piled into a 2 room suite. In the very early morning, Lydia got up and waltzed right out the door while we were all sleeping. She met up with the manager of the retirement home who was making coffee for the breakfast served at the home. He talked to Lydia for a few seconds and then asked her where I was.
"Asleep." Lydia replied.
"Let's go back to your room then, ok?"
"Okay."
He followed her back to our room, and then shut the door behind her. Hearing the door shut, my sister got up and said, "Amber, I think Lydia was just in the hallway."
I was shocked, and went to Lydia to make sure she went back to sleep on her little nap mat, then went back to sleep myself. It wasn't until the next morning that we realized the extent of Lydia's wanderings. We found out when the manager came and found us at breakfast and said, "Whose is the little blonde?" (Maybe I'll wise-up before I claim her so very quickly next time.)

The second antic I blame on my parents.

They brought their little dog, Willie, with them on this trip. He's a maltipoo--just small enough for Julia to hold and boss around. During the birthday party, while I was taking pictures and decorating, Julia was introducing Willie to the elderly people who were eating lunch. I heard that evening, after the party, that Julia went to one woman imparticular, plopped Willie on her lap and then told her all about the dog and his habits. There was no indication of invitation from this older woman. Just Julia, imposing herself and the pup on this sweet lady.When she was done explaining the life of the dog to this poor woman she said in a kind but authoritative voice, "Okay, you're done holding Willie now. See you later, bye."

Unfortunately, I think it's the case that the girls are watched more loosely when we are at family gatherings. We all sort of expect that someone else is keeping tight watch over them. However, I know that I'm still ultimately responsible for their behaviour. Hence the exhaustion accompanied with these antics.

Grandpa Mitchell's 90

I am so, so far behind on blogging. I wish I could keep up with blogging, and housework, and everything better, but I've been just plain tuckered out the last few weeks. Part of the reason for that is that my Grandpa turned 90 on February 20th of this year, and we drove up to Topeka to celebrate him and his 90 great years. Unfortunately, we don't make it to Topeka, KS to see my Grandpa often, but I LOVE it when we do get to see him.

Here's the birthday spread. The cake has a hunky picture of Grandpa on it from when he was younger. I think my aunt wanted to add it to show how handsome he's always been.

This is Lyd with her second cousin, Vince. He's two, and his mom, my cousin Melanie, is expecting a daughter in 3 months. The girls loved him.

This is some of the crew at the party. I was taking the picture.

My Grandpa requested this shot because he wanted a picture of the oldest and youngest guys at the party. Raymond Mitchell- 90 years old, Josiah Hazelet- 6 months.

Looking at picture albums

 Before Grandma Mitchell passed away (it'll be 10 years ago in November), she started giving things to me and my cousins. They were things she specifically wanted us to have. (I have a yellow porcelain bird that is kept up high, out of reach from grubby little hands. There is a little piece of paper on the bottom telling me who Grandma received the bird from.) I truly believe my grandma knew it was almost time for her to go to heaven. One of the things she gave my cousin Melanie was her picture collection. She told Melanie that they would work on organizing them together, but shortly after that, Grandma died when her brain aneurysm burst while she was speaking at a church function. So, Melanie was left to finish the task on her own. But, instead of simply organizing the pictures, Melanie made scrapbooks for all of us, and gave it to us this year at Grandpa's party. They are so neat and well-done. Sentimental as I am, I'll cherish it forever! (Thank you, thank you Melanie.)

This was the day before Grandpa's party. My dad's cousin was telling Julia that she knew someone else named Julia . Julia was happily surprised by the news.

This is my bro and my little Lyd. Alex's middle name is Ray--after my wonderful Grandpa.

We had a wonderful,wonderful time in Topeka. I only wish we would have had a little more time. It was a whirlwind of a trip. One of my favorite things about it: Lydia pronounces Topeka as To-pizza. Love that.

                                                                                                           Thanks for reading, Amber

Family

In a little less than a week, I will get to see my Parents, my sister, my brother-in-law, my brother, my mother-in-law, and my step father-in-law. I won't get to see them all at the same time, but I will get to see them all for a short time. My grandpa turns 90 on the 20th, and I am excited to celebrate him, his life and his accomplishments. Dave, the girls and I will be driving to Topeka KS, for a very short trip, and then turning right back around and coming home. It'll be great to see everyone, but it is also a little bittersweet for me. I guess I've just been missing my family. Not just missing them like, "I wanna see you for a few hours," but missing them like..."hey, let's do life together". Almost unbelievably, there was a very short time when my parents, my siblings, my sibling-in-laws, and both sets of Dave's parents all lived in the same town, at the same time. We hung out. We saw each other at church, we randomly got together on weekends, we had surprise run-ins at the grocery store, and sometimes family would stop by our house to see our girls and love on them for a while. I miss that. still.

Maybe someday we'll all be back together again, living in the same place, at the same time, but honestly, we're all so spread out, that I have no idea how we could find a common ground. (Our immediate families are in WY, OK, MO, LA and TX) But, like I said, maybe someday....hopefully someday.

But, for now, I will enjoy seeing them when we can get together on weekends and holidays. I'm sorry to be complaining about it on my blog...but I'll be chalking all of these wishes up to mushy Valentine's Day thoughts about family, love, and loved ones. So (please don't) sue me. But, please do eat a lot of chocolate on Valentine's day, thouroughly enjoy your loved ones, drink in the blessings God has given you, and love like life is poetry in motion. But, don't get all mushy about it like I do. It just comes across as complaining. Know that I love you, blog reader. HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!