Plenty To Praise

just some fun

2012-01-30T21:26:00.001-05:00

Came around the corner to catch Anna sitting in the stairway basket…how silly.

A friend gave us this dog costume; the girls have had fun playing dog/owner. They were even eating “dog biscuits” today and asked for newspaper for a pee spot! What imagination!

snow?

2012-01-30T21:22:00.001-05:00

Okay, so a week ago we really had snow…not so much now. It was 48 degrees today, Maria was so excited to go out in her light coat. I won’t complain, but I have to wonder is winter just tricking us? We’re waiting for the big snow of the season!

The girls were throwing snow toward the window, where I was safely behind snapping pictures!

Maria reading

2012-01-19T20:38:00.004-05:00

We have plenty to praise God for; Maria's interest in reading.

Sherman: The Ruthless Victor

2012-01-19T20:14:00.002-05:00

As a part of a series of short biographies on generalspublished by Thomas Nelson, Sherman: The Ruthless Victor serves as basicintroduction to the famous (infamous?) Union Civil War general William TecumsehSherman. Authors von Hassel and Breslin make Shermanaccessible as a person, filling out details of his upbringing and experiencesof life outside the military and Civil War years. However, the content is heavily tiltedtowards his life before and during the war, with very little space given towhat he did after the conclusion of the war. As I understand the purpose of this entire series on generals, this bookfares well enough – it is certainly written to engage the non-expert and introducereaders to a well-known person without too much focus on military strategy or battles. Neither author is an academic historian ofthe Civil War, which perhaps helps them to focus on understanding theperson. However, even as a generalintroduction, I believe it would have benefited from at least nominal use ofprimary source material for substantiation of claims, or even just to give anidea to the reader of how General Sherman thought and wrote. There is no quote from Sherman in the wholebook longer than a phrase of a few words (and neither are there any footnotesto help people track down more information on a certain topic, although thereis a brief bibliography). All in all,this biography is a sufficient, but plain, introduction to a very interestingperson. Note: this book was provided for reviewcourtesy of booksneeze.com.

learning

2012-01-13T19:16:00.001-05:00

Maria doesn’t look too excited, but she was pleased to show us her alphabet she wrote, on their new easel, made by grandpa. She needed very little help and didn’t look at anything except her b/d chart to figure out which way they face. I was impressed…she even included two versions of capital J…one with a cap, and one without! Now I just need to get a video of her doing some reading, she’s doing really well.

Helping Daddy make pizza dough…messy fun.

Winter?

2012-01-13T18:09:00.001-05:00

We spent some time earlier this week at the park since it was so unseasonably warm and we knew that snow was in the forecast for later this week…and it arrived overnight, causing a 2 hour school delay here.

We were noticing how the lake is barely froze, not sure how much it normally is at this time of year, but it has to be more than this small thin amount, due to the average 40 degrees we’ve been having.

The ducks and geese didn’t seem to mind the mild weather.

We walked along the beach and notice deer, raccoon, geese, duck and some dog tracks.

Then we spent some time at the ship park. “Iceberg dead ahead” Maria wanted us to reenact the Magic Tree House Titanic book!

Anna was done on the swings!

We have plenty to praise God for; mild weather to enjoy the outdoors.

New Year's Christmas

2012-01-08T21:54:00.002-05:00

Well, I got a new camera for Christmas, so I took way too many pictures trying out different settings, but it was fun and they turned out well. I'm really happy with my purchase. Plus, we purchased a new computer as Larry's and my gift to each other, and I used part of my reward money from the pedometer usage this year. So, I waited till the new computer came to fiddle with downloading and editing pictures...so these are from the New Year's weekend when my family had our Christmas gathering.

My dad. I was impressed with the zoom quality from across the room.

our nephew Trey.

My two grandmother's, my dad, and his brother, my Uncle Bob...Anna was entertaining them...she did this very well ALL night long. Seriously, could she be any more different than her older sister?

our nephew Easton

Anna with our niece Everly.

She was talking and looking up at me...but this is G.G.

Brother Andrew and wife Therese...in "their" chair.

Maria is pretty excited about these sequins...good job Aunt Michele.

yum, yum...cookie cookbook. And yes, a picture of me...quite a rarity, thanks honey!

Anna's Gordon Food Service marshmallow man...he fit well in her new stroller. My brother works for GFS.

Aunt Michele helping Maria with the dressing of her new Strawberry Shortcake.

Maria and Trey enjoying a movie together.

What a fun holiday!

We have plenty to praise God for; new technology to capture and keep up with memories and family.

more Christmas!

2011-12-27T21:59:00.001-05:00

The pinata we made while we were learning about Las Posadas...keeping the points of the star on were quite difficult, but duct tape helped me out! The kids enjoyed beating on it today, and most of all enjoyed the candy!

Our second snowfall, and we had fun!

So pretty too.

Snow in sand buckets...much fun.

We hosted the Saunders side of the family for Christmas this year.

Look at that determination, tongue out and eveything!

As you can see everyone got in on the fun of one of the best gifts!...even grandpa!

Maria...

and Uncle Justin!

Anna liked her new gloves...

and thought they would make nice socks!

We have plenty to praise God for; more celebrating with family...one more to go!

Christmas day!

2011-12-25T15:42:00.002-05:00

We have plenty to praise God for; the birth of a King, come to save us.

Merry "Christ"mas

2011-12-24T21:51:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas from the Saunders

Can you tell who our little ham is?

Daddy was already at church...maybe in the morning we'll get him in the picture.

New pajamas for Christmas.

We have plenty to praise God for; the birth of a Savior, who is Christ our Lord.

decorating cookies

2011-12-23T14:30:00.000-05:00

Dance thank you

2011-12-16T21:14:00.000-05:00

She just went on and on for this thank you note...I think she liked her class!

Pretending to be a cranberry, can't you see it??

Maria has really enjoyed her 10 week dance class experience. Her teacher Miss Bonnie has been amazing and so patient with the 3,4, and 5 year olds in the class.
Here is a couple minute clip of part of her final class.

We have plenty to praise God for; wonderful teachers who do an amazing job.

Starting December

2011-12-12T22:03:00.000-05:00

The tree lighting ceremony in Culver.

Always fun with friends.

It was so dark the girls red eyes correction makes them look funny!

The girls set up their Playmobile Nativity set with our stuffed cloth one...personally I like how the wise men are napping on cushions, and notice they took off their cloaks before resting. Even the angel gets his own spot. Mary and Joseph and a shepherd are all sharing a double bed it appears!

And just in case you wondered how they all arrived in Bethlehem, let me just tell you it wasn't by foot!

Our first "real" snowfall of the year.

Anna was SO excited, and it was great having a friend over that day to play with them. Mom got a great workout by pulling each girl twice around the yard..."faster, faster" "sorry girls, that was as fast as I could manage!

We pulled out our kit to make the Gingerbread House today, did you know it's Gingerbread Day, anyway, the girls were most excited about eating the left over candy bits. We did make gingerbread men to eat since the house it for show for now at least!
We have plenty to praise God for; the excitement and anticipation of the arrival of the Christ child.

Ending November

2011-11-29T15:00:00.001-05:00

Can you tell Anna likes to see what we have taped of her on video? ')

Anna wanted to wear sponge curlers, which only lasted a half hour!

Maria busily creating.

Anna wanted her picture taken in her sweater with the pointy hood.

Anna and Everly were having fun together at Thanksgiving.

Going in for a kiss.

Gotcha...the nose is close enough.
We have plenty to praise God for; family to celebrate Thanksgiving with.

starting November

2011-11-03T19:53:00.002-04:00

Larry went to IWU to hear a speaker today, and we were able to visit my good friend Jackie and the kiddos had a wonderful time playing together. Ages 4,3,2, and 1 and they had lots of fun!

Liam didn't understand the girls directions to "do a silly picture"
Check out how they have changed from the previous visits here, and here.

A girl that was part of the youth group I helped counsel in college is a teacher near Indy. She is doing a Flat Stanley project with her class. We were excited to take Flat Perris, our doll around Culver and pose for a couple pictures.

We have plenty to praise God for; everyday fun.

Strike

2011-10-30T17:56:00.001-04:00

We took the girls bowling on Fri. in lieu of trick-or-treating. So, we took dress up for them to wear.

Watching in anticipation.

Three cute girls!

Their 1st bowling experience.

They loved it...except when Maria dropped a ball on her toe.

SO happy with herself.

The girls were so crazy, can we say tired. Who needs bowling when you can spin and roll around on the floor.

Forever friends are the best friends.

His attempt to block my picture of him, and he ordered me to delete it after I took it.

Can you tell Anna is SO tired...at least they both fell asleep on the way home and didn't fully wake when we carried them up to bed.

We have plenty to praise God for; fun with friends!

Review of The Love and Respect Experience

2011-10-30T17:46:00.000-04:00

I started a new program through Thomas Nelson Publishers on BookSneeze.com to recieve complimentary copies of books they publish in exchange for a review. So here is my first review.

I found the book The Love and RespectExperience by Emerson Eggerichs to be a great way to connect withyour spouse. With a subtitle like “A Husband-Friendly DevotionalThat Wives Truly Love", I wondered how he would set up thereading differently. He explains at the onset that the instructionsare the key point that make this a husband friendly book, so I wouldnot skip over these to get straight to the devotions at all.

The author has set the book up in sucha way as to make it work to do the devotionals in a variety of ways. Maybe you would rather do the reading and questions separately anddiscuss it together later, or work on the devotional as a couple. Each chapter has a Bible verse, writing, insight, action and prayer.

If you have never read Love and RespectI think you can still get a lot out of this book and the devotions itoffers. I did find the structure to be a bit disjointed as thediscussion questions are in a section at the end of the book.
Overall I think that Dr. Emerson Eggerichs does a good job ofmaking a friendly devotional book to help you connect with yourspouse and God.

Disclosure Note: Thomas Nelson has beengracious enough to give me a complimentary copy of this book forreview purposes. The opinions expressed are my own.

carving the pumpkins

2011-10-26T22:48:00.002-04:00

Maria wanted her to be scary with mean sharp teeth, Anna's is the typical happy face!

We have plenty to praise God for; two girls willing to get into the guts!

a fall day

2011-10-26T22:34:00.001-04:00

We have plenty to praise God for; when daddy takes big sister with him and little sister gets an outing with mom all by herself.

the pumpkin patch

2011-10-26T22:27:00.001-04:00

Playing in the corn box is their favorite!

The perfect one!

We have plenty to praise God for; seasons to enjoy.

Apple picking

2011-10-20T15:39:00.000-04:00

Last week we met for playgroup at Countryside Orchard, just south of Culver. We brought home a huge bag of apples, and full tummies. I think both girls had at least two apples apiece while we were there and one on the ride home! We love going there, it's our 3rd time.

Anna and her buddy Scotty!

traveling

2011-10-11T15:40:00.002-04:00

Bird nest hats the girls made at the library storytime.

We visited my sister just after her birthday. Here is Aunt Michele opening Maria's present...

a necklace she made for her.

Watching Trey play a game on his iPod.

Anna loves Uncle Jeff; she was teaching him how to properly play this instrument.

At the park in Greencastle.

Cheese!

Maria giving a dinosaur tour.

Anna the tour guide!

Singing and Dancing and the bag factory

2011-09-27T21:29:00.001-04:00

The girls have been really interested in singing songs from The Sound of Music, especially Maria. Although it was Anna this day that was obsessed with "So Long, Farewell." So, they do get the words a bit muddled, but pretty good for a 2 and 4 year old. And of course Anna has to add some "Twinkle, Twinkle."

For the last part of our vacation we spent some time in Goshen. We visited the Old Bag Factory. And it is just that...an old bag factory that has been converted into shops. They had a small historical part, and this was a cart they used in the factory. At the factory they made bags for items such as cabbage, onions, animal feed, popcorn, and they were the original makers of the Hershey Kiss flags, for about 50 years.
We also went to a wonderful park, which the girls thoroughly enjoyed playing at for at least an hour. Times flies at the park!

We came back today just in time for Maria's first dance class. She was pretty excited and wanted to pick our her own outfit. She said "I really like the teacher, she's nice."

We have plenty to praise God for; singing and dancing.

being gone and a race

2011-09-25T14:33:00.000-04:00

We picked a few apples

and may have eaten a few also.

Our taste tester!

While Daddy was running the Fort4Fitness half marathon, the girls and I got donuts at a gas station and then spent some time at the playground at Lawton Park. We had the place to ourselves as it was only 8am!

All aboard the choo-choo train. I remember taking my "sister" Katie here, probably at least 10 years ago, considering she just turned 20 this month!

Checking out the bridge across the street.

I remember going here as a college student with some friends and some of us may have walked on the cement wall down in the water, although I will never tell if I was a part of that or not!

It was a bit chilly and misty still,

but the sun was shining brightly.

Great job Daddy, we are so proud of you and your PR for the race.

Date night and cousins

2011-09-18T23:56:00.004-04:00

Thanks to my mom and grandma, Larry and I were able to head out for a date night. We went out for dinner, and took a lovely walk down by the lake. We had reservations for the Black Horse B&B just outside of town here, so we headed back to watch a movie as Final Destination 5 didn't appeal to us(it's some horror movie I heard!) So, we were able to relax, watch the movie, sleep in late, enjoy a truly wonderful breakfast, and then spend some time walking around the property there. It was nice not having to worry about the girls, and enjoy our time away, it was LONG overdue! Thanks mom and grandma!

Saturday, Larry's sister came into town to check out, and eventually purchase a new bike! Yippee for her. So the cousins got to spend some more time together.

It's too bad they have absolutely NO fun when they are together!

Love the staggered look here.

buddies
We have plenty to praise God for; amazing family.

Lafayette

2011-09-15T09:03:00.000-04:00

Last weekend we spent time in Lafayette to celebrate Larry's birthday with his family. We decided to visit

Tippecanoe Battlefield, in Battle Ground while we were there. A couple weeks ago we read a book about Tecumseh with Maria and she showed some interest in learning more, so we thought it would be the perfect opportunity while it was still fresh in her mind.

The girls wanted a picture with General Harrison above them.

cute sisters!

We took a short hike on the Wabash Heritage Trail.

We also enjoyed the nature center they had there. It had lots of taxidermied(is that a real word?) animals and a bird viewing window.

The original Daniel Boone sisters!

We spent part of Saturday at the Columbian Park Zoo, which is free, and has recently had some nice improvements. Maria was getting friendly with the pigs.

Our beautiful butterfly.

A real butterfly inside the enclosed butterfly garden.

The farm girls.
We have plenty to praise God for; a few more warm days to enjoy this summer.

celebrate

2011-09-14T21:51:00.000-04:00

It's Larry birthday, so we had a fun day spoiling him with yummy birthday food. Here is the delicious lemon cake I made.

Here is a video of the girls doing a great job singing Happy Birthday.

The birthday "boy"
We have plenty to praise God for; an amazing husband and daddy! We love you!

Family and fruit snacks

2011-09-07T21:24:00.000-04:00

Larry had a meeting in Ft. Wayne, so we spent several days at my parents house last weekend.

Can you tell it was hot? Hence Anna in only her pull-up! I think she had already used up at least one set of clothes for the day through an accident, so it was straight to the bedtime pull-up for her.

Push us Grandpa!

Do you think that they had a fun time with Grandpa pushing them on the swing?

Our adorable niece Everly...moving and trying to crawl.

Uncle Ryan had to lay with them to watch the movie...Cinderella of all things too!

yummy fruit snacks
We have plenty to praise God for; family, fun and fruit snacks! ;)

exploring new places

2011-09-07T21:10:00.000-04:00

This little bunny has been hanging around our house lately...so cute, good thing our garden is at the end stages, or I wouldn't think he's such a cutie!

Now this cutie, she was having so much fun at the playground today in Rochester. It was a huge playground.

We spent about an hour there and then hit the library, which has a great play house in the children's area.

After the library we ate lunch at McD's and of course had to play there too. I had to do a bit of birthday present shopping for daddy with the girls, and then we headed home. The girls were tired, and bedtime at 7 was great!
We have plenty to praise God for; outings to new places.

time away

2011-09-07T20:58:00.001-04:00

Two weekends ago I spent a sister's weekend with my big sis, Michele. It was some much needed away/together time! Larry had a fun time with the girls and my sister and I really enjoyed having some sister time. I got there Thurs. afternoon and hung out that evening. On Friday we headed downtown Indy and enjoyed the Etiljorg museum. Neither of us had been there before. After, we hopped across the street to Friday's for a lunch. The weather was clear and perfectly warm. On Saturday we spent time around the house, doing crazy things like hanging pictures(that have been collecting dust under her bed for several years since their remodel) purging closets of dressy business attire that she wore over 10 years ago when she worked in Indy. I left that evening and made it home in time to hit the hay. I loved my time away and time I spent with my big sister, I love her!
I have plenty to praise God for; big sisters.

matchy, matchy

2011-08-24T13:55:00.000-04:00

Is Hello Kitty everywhere or what these days. I remember when she was first cool...way back when. Well, at Kohl's the other day Maria spied a HK purse that she wanted, but for $15 I talked her into making our own version. I had seen this skirt at the thrift store. So for $.50 and a little ingenuity we had our purse, and she didn't have to save her allowance for months!

I simply sewed the legs closed on the inner pair of shorts. I attached a ribbon, which just happened to match perfectly on either side for the strap. Then I twisted a loop of embroidery thread and attached it behind the button closure. And a bonus, the purse already has built in outer pockets. Maria already used it for church with her new dress below.

The girls ready to head to church in their new matchy, matchy outfits. My mom got this adorable fabric and had a pattern to make the dress. I had just enough left after making the dress to do this bow top for Anna. They both just happened to have matching capri/pants. Aren't they adorable, and the pigtails, too much!

grandpa's boat

2011-08-22T14:37:00.001-04:00

Waiting for grandpa...on the wrong pier, oops...long story!

Not too sure about that water yet.

Maria trying Grandpa's glasses "you looked funny Mommy"(due to the prescription). Anna was wearing Daddy's sunglasses.

Do you like our leash, she was pretty fearless about the water once she got used to it.

Boy, how Maria's changed! This was 3 years ago, when we first moved to Culver.

Ha, just noticed Grandpa is wearing the same shirt. That's pretty funny!

love this one!

August

2011-08-21T22:40:00.000-04:00

Anna was wearing the backpack as a hat!

We discovered the girls painting each other with sidewalk chalk...and it doesn't come off easily. Good thing it was bath night!

Sweet corn is the best!

fun with cousins!

2011-08-11T08:14:00.001-04:00

just stuff

2011-08-10T08:17:00.000-04:00

This is a dress that I wore when I was little...for my preschool pictures actually. Can you tell I was crying and I did not want my picture taken.

On Sunday the girls protested their naps, and their frustrated mommy yelled "Everyone get your suit on!" SO we spent a couple hours at the Webster beach...a great solution.

Silly sisters having fun playing together.

the lake and bouncin'

2011-08-09T08:20:00.000-04:00

having a friend to hold hands with makes a walk so much more fun!

Ouch! Anna wasn't watching where she was walking and met up with the sidewalk!

On our way home from the lake we stopped to get some bouncing in and ended up with two very tired girls!

quite a pair

2011-08-08T08:46:00.000-04:00

Since the girl have basically outgrown their matching sis PJ's, I thought I should get a picture for posterity sake!

They both enjoying swinging together. This particular morning, the marching band was practicing and heading around the side of the school multiple times. Each time they would stop swinging and Maria would yell, "March". They would march around for a bit till the band took a break. It was funny to watch.

splashin'

2011-08-08T08:20:00.002-04:00

A friend met us at the splash pad with her two boys and the kids had a great time!

Do you think she's getting tired?

We have plenty to praise God for; having fun splashing.

a week of projects

2011-08-06T22:23:00.001-04:00

From this.....to this! Anything has to look better than the lovely blue marble like laminate counter top!

A coat of primer, coat of base color, two coats of color applied with none other than a paper towel! Many, many coats of polycrylic, and lots of time to set.

Now the wall behind just has to be repaired!

The once wallpapered half bath underwent a skim coat of drywall mud, sanding and a repeat of two previous steps and then priming, and two coats of yellow paint...geesh, I am sure glad it was such a small bathroom. And for goodness sake people, if you are going to wallpaper, use sizing, someone will thank you later!

My double towel bars, one for washcloths, I still need something to go on the walls perhaps, but it can wait.

Kind of turned out to be an Ecuador theme, as several of the items I brought back have yellow...who would have thought! And the shelf was once HOT pink, and I got it free from a garage sale! That picture is a favorite of mine, taken by a Ecuadorian street photographer. The subject is a street kid.

The old drab linoleum was replaced by some nicer looking tile! And it wasn't too bad to install, just a killer on the knees.

Caulking and the rug, which I already owned, help to complete the look.

The very, very dark brown door getting a face lift. It will eventually get a large glass window to install (from Crestview Doors, a great option for a door refinish) to allow more light in, and it had some scary block architectural things on the outside... totally forgot to document those things!

Yes, more yellow! (the paint is a story in itself. I got it at the Habitat for Humanity Restore, a great place if you have never been to one, for only $6) It was a nice paint, Dutch Boy brand, and basically a plain white color. I tried to get Lowe's to color it for me...she refused, and was pretty rude. The great guy at Ace told me, oh, no problem, we'll get you fixed up...and he didn't even charge me! I LOVE ACE!

and a new door handle, which I got for over 75% off last year!

Those strange holes are from the blocks that were on the door. Hopefully the new window and trim will cover them, or I will be filling and sanding those things!

And more drab linoleum replaced.

Now I'm in the market for a new rug!

My last project was a bust....moral of the story, follow directions very carefully! It said to mix the silver roof coating with an electric drill and mixer attachment, which I did not have. So, I figured if I shook it up really well for several minutes that should work (kind of annoyed now that they guy who helped me find it at the hardware didn't shake it in the machine!). Well, can you see when I finally got down keep enough to actually hit the silver sediment part...so, now I have a mostly black roof, which totally defeats the purpose of the silver part! The sun room will be hotter now, not cooler, thanks to my oops...luckily it was only and $20 mistake, and a bit of effort. Guess I know what I(or maybe Larry) will be doing next time we are up there. Let's hope that at least the leaks we had been having in the sun room are non-existent now!

We have plenty to praise God for; the ability to repair/update/modify our house to make it a home.

grandparents, cousins and singing

2011-07-22T08:27:00.002-04:00

Last weekend the girls and I headed to my parents. We spent some time with cousin Trey. Maria has been asking, "when am I going to see Trey?" I got to hang out with one of my bestest girlfriends and help her do prep for her son's birthday. We spent time with GG, at her house, per request from Maria, who said "we never go to GG's house." Mainly because when we go home, she comes to mom and dad's house. SO we spent several hours at her house, most of the time which she spent reading to Maria, she was in heaven!

Anna seriously contemplated checking out the depth of the landscape pond...the girl keeps us on our toes!

Checking out a bird nest.

enjoying some time on the swing.

Sunday we attended the baptism of this beautiful niece, Everly. And we had a lovely lunch afterward, yum.


Aunt Michele knew how to keep her happy!

Cousins having fun and making LOTS of noise.

After lunch, we had to jet down to the Follinger theater in to hear my dad sing in the Summit City Barbershop Chorus. We had yet to be able to make it to one of his concerts and he has been in the group about a year now, I believe. He is there in the back row, third from the right. How appropriate that they had a naval theme, since he served in the Navy himself.

Maria enjoyed listening to grandpa, even though it was quite toasty in the outdoor theater, at least it had a roof!

We have plenty to praise God for; grandparents, cousins and singing.

fun at the beach

2011-07-21T22:25:00.000-04:00

Some friends came today with their kids and we beat the 100+ heat by hanging out at the beach. I do believe I got a bit of sunburn despite putting sunscreen on multiple times, hopefully I am the only one! The kids played well together, had fun, and were dog tired by the end of the day!

We have plenty to praise God for; friends to help us enjoy the beach as we escape from the hot weather.

random days

2011-07-09T08:51:00.002-04:00

We had a pajama day and I pulled out some motor skill activities that had been floating around in my head for a while. It kept them occupied for quite a while, and left me able to complete my kitchen tasks of baking bread, making bagels, zuchinni bread and doing some laundry! Pajama days rock!

Maria was using a stick to pick up some beads, they also used measuring cups to scoop and pour the beads, the metal bowl gave great sound effects.

Using clothespins to clip/slip on the edge. Maria did the clip kind, Anna worked on the old fashioned slip on kind.

Using a pair of craft tweezers, she transferred the craft puffs to the opposite bowl.
There was also a tray of craft sticks to sort by color.

Don't even ask, we don't know why she was doing this, but it really reminded me of the character, Mushmouth, on Fat Albert.
That's our randomness for today!

beaching it

2011-07-08T08:44:00.001-04:00

Eager to hit the beach perhaps?

One can never be too careful in the lake!

Sharing the troubles of the day.

Maria has loved her swim lessons. Here she is jumping to the instructor. She did it without any help!

Fun on the 4th

2011-07-06T21:31:00.000-04:00

We started our patriotic attire on Sunday so that we could fit it all in!

silly sisters

We headed to a friend's house for a cookout and some small fireworks. The kids were thrilled!

Check out Peter leaping next to Maria.

They did get a bit scared and all scooted back.

Anna trying out sparklers for the first time.

Maria too.

We have plenty to praise God for; our freedoms.

bonding with cousins

2011-07-06T21:05:00.000-04:00

We had visitors, which the girls were very excited about spending time with. Their cousins are very close in age, so it was fun to have them spend the night, oh and Aunt Emily and Uncle Justin too! I now know what it would be like to have two sets of twins since their ages match up so closely. We spent alot of time playing in the yard, and later after dinner we had to head out again as they thought running in circles through the house was great fun!

They all played so well out in the yard, that I actually was able to water and tend to the garden. The sandbox was a bigger hit than the pool, which surprised me on such a toasty day.

All 4 Monkeys!

The Dixie

2011-06-25T21:36:00.000-04:00

We took advantage of the nice weather today and took the girls on the Dixie, Indiana’s oldest stern wheel paddle boat. The Dixie has cruised Webster Lake since 1929. Larry believes he rode it as a child when their family rented a cabin on Webster, and I rode when I was a high-schooler at Epworth Forest Church Camp.

You could almost see part of our house if you looked closely through the other houses above the girls heads!

Maria said, "look that one is riding on the other's back"...yeah, something like that!

A blue heron

The Dixie

We have plenty to praise God for; time away at our lake house.

good medicine

2011-06-24T22:26:00.001-04:00

I think some of the best medicine is a visit with a good friend, and when you multiply that by 4, it's just awesome medicine. It is just what I needed. I have been missing these girls!
We hosted the get together at our lake house and it was loud, crazy, and at times chaotic, but wonderful, fun, and a blessing too! I count myself SO blessed to have friends from my childhood who are still a part of my life now. I wish for my girls this type of friendship, but know with the ministry lifestyle it will be somewhat harder. I count myself fortunate to have never moved, and my parents still live in the house I grew up in.

missing a couple of girlies

missing Zane

the IPad is fun for all!

snack time


check out those splits!

the seagull approaching to steal some crackers

stealing seats

deep in conversation

Don't ask?? :)

cutie patootie

We have plenty to praise God for; the blessing of friends!

Father's Day

2011-06-20T23:19:00.001-04:00

Actually on Friday, but the girls were having such fun playing dress up I had to get a picture. Every couple of minutes they would show up downstairs in new outfits...some were not proper to put on the blog!

We surprised daddy and took him to Mexico Lindo in Knox for Saturday lunch. He was in dire need of some Horchata! Anna entertained us by asking to go "potty" about 5 times! Only one of which did she actually go, but she is doing awesome on potty training. She routinely tells us when she has to go, rarely having accidents anymore, and even waking from naps dry. Nighttime is probably a long ways off, but I'll take whatever I can get!

The girls both loved their enchiladas...

and the chips of course. Anna loves guacamole...the chip is just a delivery method!
After lunch we decided to make a drive to Valparaiso to get some dessert...I found out that a place there has Horchata ice cream...so, we just had to treat daddy! Not often we drive almost an hour for dessert!

On Sunday the girls enjoyed playing with their matching Aquadoodles...Maria was drawing a rainbow and gold at the end...

Anna of course said she was drawing the same thing, imitation is the best form of flattery.

Maria's rainbow and gold...she said it wasn't in a pot!

Happy Father's Day to the best Daddy around!

zoo business

2011-06-13T22:26:00.000-04:00

We have a wonderful day at Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. We headed up with Larry's parents and we able to see one of his dad's cousins, and ate our lunch at their condo. The girls were so excited to see all the animals and really did well with such a long day. Bedtime was a quick one, and let's just hope they sleep in a bit??
On an equally exciting note, Anna has been potty training and had a "no accident" day!

We have plenty to praise God for; wonderful weather for spending together enjoying the marvels of God's creation.

laugh

2011-06-11T18:26:00.000-04:00

Anna is finding herself quite funny these days...at the very end Larry caught her doing it.

yum

2011-06-11T18:14:00.000-04:00

fresh from our garden...and they were quickly devoured as they accompanied some shortcake.

at the farm

2011-06-09T21:18:00.001-04:00

Our playgroup headed up to a farm for the morning last week. Anna liked these chickens, but didn't care for the turkeys hanging around on the other side. They were a bit creepy looking and scary sounding!

Anna(in the hat) helped out by feeding some chickens, and also ended up with feed in her pocket, a snack for later perhaps.

Anna trying to feed the goats, only she failed to open her hand, a vital part of them actually getting to the feed.

Maria and good friend Elisabeth "riding a horse".

The girls grooming the horse, Taffy.

Let's go check out those geese mom!

on second thought...

Anna making friends!

Happy Anniversary

2011-05-29T18:49:00.000-04:00

Our 6th Anniversary-Culver (Maria-4, Anna-2)

Our wedding day

One year~DeMotte

Two years~DeMotte (Maria 5 weeks old)

Three years~on vacation in New Jersey(Maria 13 mo old)

Four years~Culver(Maria 2 years, Anna 6 days)

Five years~North Webster at our lake house (Maria 3, Anna 1)

We have plenty to praise God for; we are well on our way to 50 years! Here's to celebrating many, many more.

Preschool Graduate

2011-05-28T10:20:00.003-04:00

Maria is officially done with Junior Preschool. She has had a wonderful year with the best teachers. We plan on homeschooling her from this point on. Here are some pics from her first and last day and graduation.

This is a picture on the first day last fall, and a picture from this week. Look at how she has changed, her scrapbook said she grew two inches!

The last day of school they took a trip to Hawaii, so they had to wear their suits. I think Maria was actually believing that they were going to fly there!

We have plenty to praise God for; a little girl who loves to learn!

Twinkle, Twinkle

2011-05-27T22:47:00.000-04:00

One of Anna's favorites!

A two year old

2011-05-26T12:49:00.000-04:00

Some two year old pictures of Anna. See the complete album here.

Birthday plans

2011-05-26T12:01:00.000-04:00

the girls ready for church on Anna's birthday

We headed up to Mishawaka after naps to go to an evening church service. We packed a lunch and played at the park.

intently watching some kids on the merry-go-round.

I like to swing.

We have plenty to praise God for; a super day to celebrate our two year old!

Pay it forward and misc. projects

2011-05-26T08:27:00.001-04:00

felt play food for Maria's birthday

a bicycle basket for Maria's birthday

Pay it forward apron #1 for Kirsten

pay it forward apron #2 for Michelle

pay it forward apron #3 for Emily

pay it forward apron #4 for Robyn

pay it forward apron #5 for Mindy

Matching doll/child apron for Maria's friend's birthday.

I made myself some new PJ's

I made some new curtains for Anna's room.

I may have already posted the monkey I made Anna, but she just got it for her birthday, so here it is again.

The local Tri Kappa did their Chairs for Charity again and I redid these two chairs.

How do you like my Flower Power Duo?

more Maria birthday

2011-05-25T08:12:00.000-04:00

thanks again to Grandpa for some more pictures from Maria's birthday!

I want that piece!

end of the season

2011-05-24T08:09:00.007-04:00

Only one more game for the season, and although she has had fun, she says she doesn't want to play anymore...we'll see what next year brings. Thanks to grandpa for these pictures!

2011-05-23T08:01:00.006-04:00

Goodbye friend! Anna has a good buddy Isabel that is moving back to Croatia today with her family. We will miss you Blanka and Isabel!

We have plenty to praise God for; friendships no matter how far away you are.

3 in May

2011-05-21T21:03:00.002-04:00

It was quite funny the last couple weeks to ask Anna how old she was, as her answer was usually "3 in May". I am sure she was repeating my response "She'll be two in May" to the question often asked of how old she is, but somewhere along the line she got it mixed...so, here she is turning 2 in May!
(This is just a selection of the pictures, the whole album can be viewed here.)

She wanted a caterpillar cake, so we had a Very Hungry Caterpillar...not that Anna likes to eat or anything.

we were all singing!

She got the candles out with one blow...she was pleased with herself!

The birthday girls! Mom's was today, Anna's is tomorrow.

excited about gifts, she kept saying "oooohhhhh"

Trying out her Mr. Potatohead glasses, so stylish!

Maria had to help out of course!

Hanging out with grandpa.

We had a wonderful day as the weather was gorgeous for most of the day.

I'm in the moooooood for milk

2011-05-15T08:49:00.000-04:00

I ventured with Maria's preschool to the dairy farm, which happens to be run by a family from the church. Anna came along too, but was not very excited about the cows. I think they were just too big for her taste. She wouldn't let me put her down, and cried for most of the hay ride! Maria was fine with the cows themselves, however didn't care for the smell. I told her I thought they smelled better than Uncle Andy's pigs, but she didn't seem to agree with me. Maybe a return visit would refresh her memory.

a couple days before their visit we happened to crate our own farm at home...Maria had fun, Anna "tried" to be helpful, but was having too much fun smearing our fence! Can you see the horse, goat, cow, sheep, pig, ducks in the pond, the chickens in the pen by their coop(complete with mail slot!), tractor and scarecrow. And check out the bales of hay inside the barn.

The cows in the big barn. We also got to see several young calves, quite a few pregnant mothers, and some half grown calves.

Maria(in pink) and some of her friends from class checking out the milking parlor.

two curious cows

He was letting them test out the milking machine, most of the kids wouldn't put a finger in to feel, but some moms were brave.

The cooling/holding tank for the milk. The milk man comes everyday to the farm!

They gave the kids a little bag upon leaving with a coloring book and a couple other milk related items. Maria spent a good majority of our hour long drive up to the lake house coloring this. Before this she has never had much interest in coloring with any patience. It's just usually scribble all over till it's covered with color...when we asked her how she colored so well she responded, "Well, I'm Beezus, so I can color well" Can you tell we have been reading the Ramona books lately. Just a couple weeks prior she was pretending to be Annie from the Magic Tree House series.

heat wave

2011-05-14T16:48:00.000-04:00

Well, after having such a cool spring we had some very hot days this past week. It felt more like July weather, but it was fine by the girls as long as we filled up the pool. However the water was COLD as it came straight out of the hose and had no warm up period before the hopped right in.

We have plenty to praise God for; ways to cool off when things get hot.

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T15:24:00.000-04:00

We have plenty to praise God for; the blessing of mothers and children.

just playing

2011-05-04T22:11:00.000-04:00

Bubble time

Tent making

what naps will do

2011-04-27T08:21:00.000-04:00

Maria went down for a nap with regular pigtails and woke with one side slightly resembling Pippi Longstocking...it was quite amusing!

happy soccer girl

2011-04-26T08:25:00.000-04:00

This Saturday Maria had her first soccer game. It was quite amusing to watch as the boundaries didn't mean much to them, and they were just this little pack following the ball around. But if you can't tell by the smile on her face, she was having a great time.

First they had a bit of practice/warm-up. She's dribbling the ball, she has a hat on.

In the goal retrieving her ball.

Waiting.

She's wearing the yellow vest over her jersey, but is still wearing the hat.

"Mama", the first thing she told me was "I listened!"

One happy little soccer player.

An Easter Birthday

2011-04-25T20:58:00.000-04:00

I can say that never do I remember sharing my birthday with Easter. And doing some checking there is good reason to that. The last time it fell on April 24 was in 1859, and looks like the next time it happens it will be 2095, hmmm...that will make me 119, don't think that's going to happen. So, it was kind of a big deal for it to happen!

Since Anna was wearing the same dress that Maria wore, I had to take some similar pictures. I am sure you can figure out that Anna is on the left and Maria is on the right. Their age is about 3 weeks different, with Maria being a couple weeks closer to her second birthday. She is a tad taller I noticed, which would account for the shoes being way too big on Anna, but they fit Maria then as far as I could remember.

I awoke to some strawberry/Nutella crepes made by my awesome hubby. He left for church and I got the girls up and ready. After church we had a lovely ham/sweet potato/broccoli lunch. While the rest of the family napped I took a quiet walk on what turned out to be a gorgeous day. The girls played in they yard some after nap, Larry mowed the lawn, and I got some stuff ready for a garage sale.

the sun made me looks like I was angry!

just love the girls expressions in this one!

The girls being silly later in the day!

We have plenty to praise God for; lots to celebrate.

A Candyland birthday

2011-04-25T08:17:00.016-04:00

Trying out her felt ice cream bar.

All her felt food!

new PJ's...so appropriate.

A bike basket to carry all her loot!

art paper

the final cake...she had seen a candyland cake and decided that it was her pick for this year. Thanks to some friends for lending us a couple boards and some extra candy.

sweet tooth beware!

reading time with GG

Think she liked it?

a really cool bike horn!

Playmobile nativity set.

"blowing" out the candles...easier said than done!

almost!

Anna getting in on the action.

cuddle time with Grandpa is so much better than naptime!

sharing my birthday

2011-04-24T08:29:00.000-04:00

2007

2008

2009

2010

eggs all around

2011-04-23T22:26:00.000-04:00

the final result

We have plenty to praise God for; the signs of new life.

Hosanna, Hosanna

2011-04-19T20:31:00.000-04:00

We have plenty to praise God for; Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!

soccer girl

2011-04-18T14:24:00.004-04:00

She's only had one practice and the first game was canceled due to the yucky weather Saturday, thank goodness. She has her second practice on her birthday this Wed. and then the first game will be Sat. Luckily the grandparents will be here to celebrate birthdays, so they will get to experience the thrill of the game!

2011-04-11T08:35:00.000-04:00

We thought it looked like a goose, but it wasn't a goose...it was spilt milk.

spring beauties

2011-04-10T09:08:00.000-04:00

Have I said before how much I love these girls! How blessed we are.

more cousins

2011-04-09T10:45:00.000-04:00

We celebrated several Spring family birthdays yesterday, including mine and Maria's yesterday. So the girls got hang out with the cousins on the other side of the family. My favorite part of their play was when the two younger ones, who are both almost 2, we standing at the side of the bathtub upstairs screaming loudly and then laughing at themselves...cheap entertainment.

We have plenty to praise God for; time with family.

cousins

2011-04-08T08:55:00.008-04:00

We loved having my brother, his wife, and their two kiddos come visit. The cousins had fun playing together.

Did you say dessert?

Geesh, don't all look SO happy!

oh, Everly has had enough!

Helpful Anna.

We have plenty to praise God for; family.

storytime in the tub

2011-04-07T08:37:00.002-04:00

The girls love tub time, and Maria was having a good time telling a story. Anna, not to be outdone, had to put her two cents in also. She was saying "Once upon a time" quite a bit!

We have plenty to praise God for; imagination.

Daddy's Little Helper

2011-04-06T08:55:00.001-04:00

We have plenty to praise God for; the awesome task of teaching our children.

pigtails

2011-04-05T16:30:00.001-04:00

Not that she will leave them in, but it is possible!

We have plenty to praise God for; our beautiful daughters.

you're not old

2011-03-27T18:22:00.000-04:00

When you get to the age of 95, it's not really considered old is it? I would say my grandmother is more wise than old. We had an amazing weekend celebrating her life.

Aunt Michele, Trey and Maria playing checkers while waiting to head to the party.

The girls sporting their matching dresses that I made back when I was pregnant with Anna.

Even though it was a surprise party, grandma thought that something was being planned...but, maybe at 95 it's good not to be too surprised, we don't need an 911 call on party day!

My two grandmothers. What a blessing to have both of them still in my life.

My Aunt Janis, Shad, her son, my cousin, and Grandma.

Trey with some second cousins playing some boy stuff!

Grandma with her daughters, my Uncle was around there somewhere.

Grandma Unger with great grandkids, besides Everly, who was sleeping, I think.

Easton and Anna playing behind the tables.

Grandma with the girls. They love their G.G.

We also got to meet our new niece Everly, who is a month old already.

We have plenty to praise God for; to be celebrating 95 years for my grandmother and meeting a new niece...it was truly a blessed weekend.

St. Patrick's Recap

2011-03-27T18:04:00.000-04:00

We had a very green dinner...but the girls loved it, maybe we'll have to start a color of the day for our food and they'll actually eat more veggies!

waiting on spring

2011-03-16T21:14:00.000-04:00

The girls(and mom and dad) are more than ready for spring to appear. We went over to the school playground the other evening, and today it was warm enough to head to the park(which is usually colder since it is by the lake). The girls didn't even wear real coats, just their ponchos. Ah, to be free from hats, mittens, winter coats...we love it!
We have plenty to praise God for; the promise of new life.

Fancy Nancy at home

2011-03-12T19:42:00.000-05:00

Much to Maria's disappointment we decided that she was sick enough that she should stay home today and miss the library's Fancy Nancy party...so, we had our own here at home. First I read Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy, then we made some fancy crowns, and made chocolate cupcakes that we decorated(both per Maria's request.) We also watched some of Polyanna...not sure there is a Fancy Nancy connection there, but it's what we wanted to watch. For lunch we drove over and got DQ. Daddy was gone most of the morning until after lunch doing a funeral, so we had to fend for ourselves. I think the girls had fun despite being stuck at home!

dressed all fancy

with their crowns!

just randoms

2011-03-11T14:24:00.000-05:00

The girls were taste testing the cream cheese filling for our King Cake for Mardi Gras...no complaints there!

The King Cake...yum!

Anna trying to climb up a slide at Bremen Bounce.

Maria was helping me to make noodles for our Chicken and Noodles one night.

She is a good helper when she wants to help.

Maria was invited to a Ballerina birthday party. They were playing a version of Duck, Duck, Goose. She is the one standing up on the far side of the circle.
Girls have been sick lately...still. We all had colds that we are just recovering from, but the girls seem to have caught something new, or perhaps it morphed into something else. At any rate, the humidifier is still running, tissues are being used up rapidly and patience is at an all time low with sick, tired, cranky girls. So we hope that mending is on the way soon.
Anna has been very vocal in her "I love you." or "I love ___". In fact at the Ash Wednesday service this week, I had to try to quiet her several times as she was saying it pretty loud! At least she wasn't yelling something less positive, not that she ever does that.
A rather strange find last night was when I found Anna asleep sitting up in her bed against only a very short side rail of her toddler bed. At first I thought she was awake, but when I laid her down it didn't phase her at all.
We have plenty to praise God for; the girls have been lucky enough to only get sick a few times besides your typical cold.

our girls

2011-02-23T17:01:00.000-05:00

dress up time

the big girl bed

vacation time

2011-02-23T16:56:00.000-05:00

old ladies walking with their sticks.

4 generations