Affliction

I'm positive I've mentioned on here at least 100 times already how much I love AWANA.  Spending Wednesday nights with kindergarten through 2nd graders is an encouraging experience.  We're on the final countdown to the end and we've got kids passing their books.  There is nothing more exciting then seeing them accomplish that.  They are so proud of themselves and I couldn't be more proud of them either.

Not only are those little ones passing their books, but so is Zoe.  She passed her book last night too.  She's positive she's going to get a Cubbie pin, a ribbon and that she will bow. 

In addition to all the book passing, last night was affliction night.  All the kids had to come with some kind of injury.  It is funny to see them with bandages on their knees, arms and head.  The kids loved it.  D & E were made up like they had gotten into a fight. 

One thing we also did was have a measles night.  For every verse the kids said, they got to put a sticker on their leader.  I had 19 measles on my face!  I was not to be outdone...

Apparently we're going to have a measles/mani/pedi night this weekend! 

The Whirlwind of Life

I don't think I've ever gone 2 whole weeks without putting something on this here blog.  It was a much needed break.  It seems like now that winter is over (except on my blog design!) our schedule has been picking up.  Two weekends ago we celebrated the life of a woman who was like a grandma to me.  She was a woman of faith and had a heart for children's ministry.  She will be greatly missed, but only for a short while.  We will see her again.

That weekend led right into picture week.  It's kinda funny how all these things happen at once.  On Monday Zoe had class pictures.  I'm most excited about these because I can never tell Elijah from Michael or Grace T from Grace E.  Zoe picked out an old Easter dress with tulips all over it, pink tights and her black Mary Jane "school shoes."  Daddy got her ready for school and sent me a picture.  She looked adorable in her tulip dress, pink tights and brown Converse high-tops.  Apparently the "school shoes" didn't cut it on picture morning, but the brown Converse did.  She looked adorable and I was secretly hoping she was in the front row.  That's a memory we need to keep!

Thursday was dance pictures.  This is the one that had given me heartburn for a good while.  With dance class, there are rules on how the girls are supposed to look.  They want them all to look the same.  That meant a high ponytail with ringlets, blush, lip gloss and mascara.  I knew the mascara wasn't even a topic I was going to touch when the mention of a curling iron sent Zoe into near hysterics.  No sense in putting on mascara if she's just going to cry it off.  I met my mom at the church (the mid point between her house and my work) to get Zoe ready.  Sure enough, the moment I plugged in the curling iron you'd think I was cutting off her big toe by all her screaming.  After the first curl she realized that it wasn't a) loud nor b) painful that she relaxed and laughed at all her tears.  Then she slapped on a little blush all by herself and some concearler to cover the scratch she gave herself that morning. 

She looked adorable in her outfit, all gussied up and ready for her pose:

Surprisingly she's asked me to curl her hair everyday since then.  She loves how curly it is and that it doesn't even hurt!  I'm seriously thinking another bathroom is needed since we are all about the primping now.

Shuffle Ball Change

Zoe is in dance class.  It's a tap/ballet combo.  She loves to tap dance, which makes me smile because tap dancing is one of my favorite things to do.  The ballet is a bit harder because of her slight cerebral palsy.  Normally you wouldn't ever know Zoe had any challenges.  Unless you knew we spent many months of her life in physical therapy, I still don't think you'd be able to tell.  All the tip-toeing and stretching that is included in ballet is hard for her.  It's great that she does it, but not something that I think will interest her long-term.

The tap dancing?  That's her bread and butter.  She loves to work on her shuffles and her top tapping.  I find she does it while we stand in line at the grocery store. 

This week, we got her outfit. 

She's definitely a show-stopper!

We May Need More Bathrooms

It's becoming apparent to Neil and I that, when you have three daughters, one bathroom just isn't enough.  We've already got problems in the mornings because D spends a good portion of that time doing her hair and make-up.  Then having to re-do her make-up because it's too much for N's or my liking.  We have struggles already with getting D out of the bathroom so the other girls can get in there.

Zoe isn't much of a primper yet.  She hates having her hair combed.  She hates using anything but a scrunchy in her hair.  Don't even mention brushing teeth because that just brings out the tears. 

I was a little surprised on Monday.  I took the day off since Zoe is on spring break so we could have the day together.  We started the day off with manicures and pedicures and then after lunch we went to the YMCA to go swimming.  Zoe just got a couple new swimming suits and Dora goggles, so we had to try them out!  Normally she's a girl that hates having a drip of water anywhere on her face.  I will admit she totally gets that from me.  N is a fish.  He swims underwater, dives and all that stuff.  He used to be a competitive swimmer.  Who knew!  I'm more of a frog.  I like be in the water, but I like my head above the water.  I have this nasty little reflex where I breathe in as soon as my nose hits the water.  I don't know why I do it, but it makes swimming a little challenging.

Zoe, armed with her Dora goggles, is a fish.  She loves going underwater, blowing blubbles and generally just getting completely wet.  I'm so proud of her.  She conquered a fear of having her face wet.

Not only did she conquer that fear, she conquered another one:

The blow dryer.  Anything that creates a loud noise is the enemy.  She runs into her room while I vacuum, while I use the blender, while I shampoo the carpets, when we run the garbage disposal...I think you get the point.  This week, she totally grabbed that blow dryer, asked me to turn it on and took care of her hair.

I told N that we'd need to think about that extra bathroom sooner than we thought.

The Night I "Met" Lance and A Giant Ram

It's been quite awhile since I've made an appearance on here.  It's because I've been running.  I'm gearing up for the 1/2 marathon in 53 days.  While that seems like a long time, it's right around the corner.  Because I need gadgets and fun things to keep me going, I've purchased the Nike + system.  I love it. 

You have a little sensor that goes in your shoe that looks like this:

It's like a pedometer in your shoe.  What's even cooler is that it talks to your iPod/iPhone so you can keep track of how far and how long you've run.  You can pick workouts based on time, distance, calories or an open-ended one.  Then you can pick a playlist from your music library to use during the run. 

I'm in love with the little system.  You even have the option to select a "power song."  Basically when you're totally wiped out, you hit the "Power Song" button and it will play the song that will get you all pumped up.  Mine is set to Eye of the Tiger by Survivor.  Nothing will pump you up quite like that song.

I've been using it for a few weeks now and still don't know everything that it can do.  My friend Lindsay and I decided to train together.  We've signed up for all the same races and we run about the same, so we're keeping each other motivated.  In one ear is my earbud listening to my music and the other ear is to chat and listen with Lindsay. 

One of the races we decided to do was the Only Fools Run At Midnight.  A local chapter of the Lion's Club puts on a midnight race on a weekend close to April Fool's Day.  It's 3.5 miles that are run in the dark.  I was a little nervous about running at midnight since my normal bedtime is 8:30, but you have to make memories!

Part of all the running of races that I like are the shirts.  I want some tangible thing to show that I actually ran the race.  It's been fun collecting shirts this season so far.  I've a green one from the St. Patrick's Day run.  I've got a white, long-sleeved one from a running clinic that I'm doing.  Now I have this one:

Don't be too jealous of that giant ram!  All the white actually glows in the dark.  I know, I'll have to hide this one from all company that comes over for fear that they'll steal the ram.

I'm not entirely sure why they chose to use a ram this year.  Last year was a mallard and the year before that an owl.  Perhaps they wanted something that not only didn't have feathers, but that looked intimidating in a sort of Cabela's way. 

The best part about this was at the end of the race, I ended my Nike+ workout and it went through my time, the pace, the distance, the calories and just as I was about to shut it off, a man's voice appeared in my earbud.  It was Lance Armstrong!  He congratulated me on my run.  Who knew that he cared!

It was a good night for wildlife and living strong.  Next up, racing for the cure.  That one might take awhile!

She's ONEderful

One year ago today a sweet girl entered our lives.  She's our only niece, H-J. 

We had the incredible opportunity to spend a week with her at Thanksgiving.  I thought she captured our hearts before that week.  I was totally wrong.  She has all of us wrapped around her finger. 

She's smiley, funny, kissable and sweet. 

It's safe to say she just has to make this face:

and she will have anything she wants.

It also helps that we're buds.  She's teaching me to do the supermodel pose.  She's lightyears ahead of me.

We get to love on her again, for a full week, in June.  We're counting down the hours.

Happy birthday H-J!  You've been a onederful blessing to all of us already.  We can't wait to see what God has in store for you this next year.  We know it will include several days of kisses on your cheeks, hugs and spoiling you rotten when your parents aren't looking!  Okay, even when they are looking! 

We love you completely sweet girl. 

Aunt Kelly, Uncle N

and your crazy cousins

It Was A Weekend of Sweat

This weekend was full of putting one foot in front of the other rather quickly.  I had to do some training for this 1/2 marathon I've signed up for.  I really think all the regular exercise is paying off because I'm not nearly as sore as I was at the beginning of last week and I've run the same amount.  I'm praising the good Lord for endorphins that keep me motivated.

It wasn't just a weekend of sweat for me.  Oh no, D & E had the AWANA Games this weekend.  For those of you who don't know what I just said, we play games at AWANA on Wednesday nights.  They're games like tug-o-war, relay races, bean bag tosses and balloon relays.  Once a year you have the opportunity to compete against other churches.  It's not like just playing on Wednesday nights in our home gym.  No.  There are line judges and circle judges and rules and more rules. 

There's also excitement.  You're competing against other girls you've never met before and that creates this hyper-adrenaline fueled atmosphere.  It was so fun to watch D & E play in the Games.  E made a rule that she doesn't run, so she wasn't in any running games.  She did participate in the tug-o-war.  Which really impressed me.  I would rather run than get my hands all blistery from a rope.  When she puts her feet in position and pulled, girls at least 6 inches taller than her jerked forward.  N and I were completely impressed.

D ran in a a relay and did a great job with a bean bag toss.  She was also always paying attention and cheering on her team. 

The girls and their team took 3rd place.  That's not a small win.  There were two churches who obviously have their kids practice the games every week and in their sleep.  They were spot on, no disqualifications and really deserving of their wins.  Our group is more the Troop Beverly Hills of AWANA.  They'd rather earn ribbons and medals by singing a worship song in a sequened dress than pulling on a rope or running!

We couldn't be more proud of our girls.  D & E were amazing.