Say What???

My niece Karly has suddenly become the Word Police. If someone says something, anything, that this cute little 3 year old deems to be "inappropriate" she is quick to tell them that they have said a bad word (this includes words that are not bad as well - like gosh and darn). It's kind of cute but also kind of annoying - it got to the point that every time I said "Oh my ...." followed by any other word she blew her police whistle and busted me.

So I decided to give myself a break and teach her that some words were okay to say - and maybe even fun. We learned that golly is okay and so is gosh. Then I decided, being the fun aunt that I am, to teach her a fun word - dagnabbit - now really, isn't it a fun word to say?? The only problem is that the way she hears it said and the way she repeats it are not exactly the same. :-) But she is convinced that this is how you say dagnabbit.

Blog Makeover

I wanted to say a big giant THANKS to Diana at Custom Blog Designs for redesigning my blog. I love the way it turned out and Diana was so great to work with. If you're looking for a great blog redesign I highly recommend Diana's service! Thanks again Diana!

In love.....

I think Riley really likes his Christmas present from my mom and dad which is a Snowman with a squeaker - just what he asked Santa for! He's been like this all day! I think he thinks that Ella might want to take it from him - little does he know that she couldn't care less. :-)

Cookies Everywhere!

Yesterday my sisters and the kids came over to bake cookies!!! We had a fabulous time! I turned the dining room table into a cookie decorating station and the kids all got to decorate their own sugar cookies! They did such a great job and I was so proud of them.

My sister MK from TX:

My gorgeous niece Lindsay:

The sugar cookies before being decorated

The decorations await

During the decorating - the kids had so much fun personalizing their own cookies:

Karly decided it was much more fun to play in the decorations than to put them on the cookies - why not? She was having fun!

All of the kids and their masterpieces:

The finished products! Aren't they gorgeous?!

Kelsey, Lindsay and Holly look so proud!

And what's more fun than baking and decorating cookies?? Well playing in the dog's dish of course! :-)

We baked well in to the night hours - but it was worth it. We had a great time and the kids loved taking their cookies home with them.

Oh Christmas Tree

Just a glimpse of our tree.  I so love the holidays.  I love decorating and baking and being with family.  My sister is coming in from TX tomorrow and I am very excited to see her and my niece. 

It was kind of bittersweet putting up the tree - every year Crombie would suddenly discover the angel and sit at the bottom of the tree and bark at her.  She never did anything to him but he made sure she knew he was there.   :-)  I miss him terribly. 

And look who is starting a Vera Bradley obsession very early!! 

Twinkle Twinkle

Boy is this girl cute!  Not that I'm a biased aunt or anything.... :-)

They're Growing Up

Happy Birthday HollyB! Love you.

Cool Giveaway

This very cool blogger is hosting a Fiestaware giveaway! Head on over and enter to win! You can even choose your favorite color! Very fun!

A long, long time ago....

I remember a time when I was going to be better about keeping up this blog. Well that day came and went and here I am....months later and no better at it than I was. Lots of things have happened since I updated last but I'll just hit the most important.

We unfortunately lost Crombie in June. His heart just finally gave out and he couldn't make it anymore. We miss him terribly and our house has not been the same since. Riley grieved hard for a couple of weeks but he got some special attention and that helped him get over it. Ella? Well I'm honestly not sure she noticed. She's kind of into her own world and I don't think she thinks much about what might be going on around her. Kind of a Diva.

Some new pictures of the nieces/nephew - okay well they are not "new" - they are from June but I'll post some NEW pictures soon.

Cutie Pie

All of the "N" kids

Goodbye is so hard....

Goodbye my dear friend. You will never be forgotten. You are at peace now and without pain but we miss you terribly. Our lives will never be the same. We love you.

Happy Anniversary to Us!

I can hardly believe it but it has been a year since we were logged in with the CCAA. Surprisingly the time has gone fairly quickly and we hope and pray that the next year goes as fast....although I don't really want to age that quickly so it's a blessing and a curse. I suppose if we survived the big Earthquake of 2008, we can survive anything. Seriously???!!!! We live in Oh1o for goodness sake!

Happy 14th Birthday Kelsey! Love you!

No Time Like the Present...

No time like the present to get back to this blog. I honestly had no idea how long it had been since I had updated. Time flies (or melts) as you age I suppose. At least that's what I hear. :-) But I'm going to make an effort to get back here more often.

Nothing to report on the adoption front. According to RQ today referrals are only up to January 9th, 2006. At this rate we should travel somewhere around 2012! Well not really but that's exactly how it feels! Some days are much harder than others. At least I have this to keep me busy! Isn't she cute??????

Crombie is doing good with his heart condition. He had some bad days after Christmas but he's doing much better now. He has gained some weight and seems to be doing pretty good. He's still on more medications than most of the residents in the nursing home down the street but as long as he will take them we will keep on keepin on. Here he is getting lots of sympathy and love rubs from Lindsay over Christmas. Rough life. And Ella and Riley are doing great. I think they are getting cabin fever though!

We are very ready to get the boat in the water and get the house at the lake opened for the season. This has been a long winter and I'm so looking forward to getting out on the lake! The kids are too. It's been too long since I've been able to go barefoot! That reminds me - I desparately need to get a pedi before the season starts! I've put that off too long.

Last night we went with my parents to see the Golden Dragon Acrobats - a Chinese acrobat group. They were amazing! I highly recommend seeing them if you ever have the chance. Amazing! Did I already say that? Well they were!

The sun is reportedly supposed to make an appearance this weekend - we will see if it really happens - I have my doubts. We haven't seen the sun in so long that if it does come out I may end up with a severe burn! Have a great weekend.