Christmas 2009

The cutest little Joseph and Mary ever! Drew and Madeline played their part with perfection!

This is truly the best part of Christmas. Oma has this fabulous tradition every year. She loves to get her costumes out and have all the grandchildren act out the story of the Birth of Jesus. This always helps us to remember the real reason for the season and gives us all a great feeling. How did Uncle Paul get in there?....we have fun with it too!

Christmas wouldn't feel like Christmas without music. We all enjoyed listening to this wonderful quartet! My brothers are terrific singers and so is Lopaka.

This was Madeline's favorite present! Madeline thrives on stage!

Madeline and Uncle David with their guitars. What fun!

Teenager

Joshua actually became a teenager about 5 months ago, but life is so busy with a teenager in the house, that I'm finally posting about it.

He had about 15 teenagers come to his bowling party. We all had a great time!

(Madeline wanted to be in a picture holding balloons, of course.)

I cannot believe it's already been 13 years since Joshua entered our home. We didn't know exactly when he would present himself, since ultrasounds gave us 3 different due dates. He did pull a fast one on us, though, by coming before any of the due dates. I remember feeling like I just got the best (a little early) Christmas present ever! We were living in a tiny 1 bedroom apartment with no money, but I remember feeling like I wouldn't trade this little guy for all the money in the world. Joshua was easy going from day one. He rarely made a peep. I was told I'd be up all night with my newborn, so the first night we came home from the hospital, I couldn't sleep at all! It wasn't because he was fussy, though! It was because he was sleeping soundly and didn't make a peep. I think I woke up every half hour to make sure he was still breathing. I remember thinking he should cry when he's hungry, but I'm sure I can count on one hand the number of times when he cried.

Joshua grew and grew and grew (and now he's taller than me). Joshua now has a deeper voice than his father (sorry Mike) and his feet are the same size as his father's. I'm getting used to the deep voice, but at first I would wonder who that man was in the house.

(Joshua invited Zachary and Cameron to bowl too....he would never leave out his brothers!)

Joshua is good at just about everything. He has proven to be the dream child. Sorry, I really don't like to brag, but I'm going to. Joshua loves to do well in school. (Is this normal for a teenager??) Joshua is in the 7th grade, but has tested into all 9th grade classes and still pulls off straight A's. How does he do it? He's smart and responsible. Joshua also loves to read. He's the child that would sit on the playground with an 800 page book while all the other children are running around having a grand ole time. Joshua does love to play outside, though........if he's playing competetive sports. This boy thrives when it comes to competition (not a great thing all the time, but we're working on that part). Did I mention that Joshua is responsible? He is a superb babysitter, housecleaner, lawn mower, you say it and he is right there helping out. He's the oldest (and so was I, so why do I repeat the activity of slave-driving my oldest??). Well, he so happily helps out and I don't know what I would do without him...really! Joshua is also musical! He is a concert pianist (or I think so) and he plays the saxophone like no other! Joshua, what in the world would we EVER do without you!

We LOVE you!

Little Piggies

I just love these little piggies!!!

I Walked Out With a Mullet

I haven't had a bad hair cut for years. I've been looking for a new hairdresser since we moved across the country. Guess what? The lady who just cut my hair will not be my new hairdresser. It was one of those moments when you realize you better just get the heck out of there before she makes it worse. She gave me way too many choppy layers all over and left a lot of length in the back and let's just say......... it looked like a MULLET. The good news is that now I know a mullet does not look good on me (not that I ever wanted to find out if a mullet looked good on me). I was so upset by this bad hair cut that I decided to go get another hair cut at a different salon. I am normally a very thrifty person and I will go as long as 9 months without a hair cut, but this was one cut I couldn't live with. In order to fix the cut, however, many inches had to be taken off to get rid of the mullet, so now I'm left with hair that's quite a bit shorter than I had wanted. The 2nd cut was better, but honestly, I wasn't too impressed with that one, either.

I've decided, however, that I need to get over this silly incident. There are people I know who are struggling with things far worse than a bad hair cut. I really have a LOT to be thankful for. First of all, my hair grows pretty fast and I am thankful for that! I am thankful that I can go running whenever I feel like it because I have two legs and a healthy body. I am thankful that I have 4 beautiful children. I am thankful that I get to care for them. I am thankful that I get to help my children with their homework. I am thankful that I get to buy groceries and cook meals for my family. I am thankful that I get to take my boys to baseball. I am thankful that I get to put bows in my daughter's hair and enjoy her beautiful smile and personality. I am thankful that I get to volunteer at my children's school. I am thankful that I get to serve at church. I am thankful that I get to clean the house and do the laundry. I am thankful that I get to go for walks and to the park with my children.

I have had running injuries before where I couldn't walk. I've been on bedrest during a pregnancy before. I know how hard it is to not have all of these blessings. I know that I should be so grateful for what I have and I am! Finally, I am grateful that I get to go pay for two bad hair cuts because my husband has a job!

More Fall of 2009

Air and Space Museum with our kids and cousins.

Before our run the day after Thanksgiving.

It was beautiful running weather!

The ladies and cooks on Thanksgiving Day.

Most of the kids ready for their Thanksgiving Feast.

Not the best picture quality,

but I had a great visit with Rachel and Emily!

D.C. Zoo field trip!

I had a great time with Cameron and his friends.

Rich man, poor tooth fairy.

Cameron lost 4 teeth in one week!

Random Halloween shot with friends and family.

Pedro, also known as Zachary.

Banana, also known as Cameron.

Cupcake delivery boy,

also known as Lopaka.

Some cute little trick or treaters.

Caroline, Owen, and Madeline.

Madeline Turns Three!

Madeline wanted cupcakes again for her birthday this year. I think she must love cupcakes! This year she wanted to help me make them, so we had fun making and decorating cupcakes together!



Blowing out the candle.



More dress up dresses and happier than ever!



Too many shoes? A girl can never have too many:)



Madeline loves her baby dolls!



Dancing!

Since his daddy might not like this picture, I just want to remind him that....TOUGH GUYS WEAR PINK! This is Maddie's cousin that she loves to play with almost daily!


All the ladies that Madeline was giving a dance lesson to.

From left to right: Mom, Oma, Maddie, Grandma, and Aunt Joni.

Madeline's Uncle made a special appearance all the

way from England to visit Madeline for her birthday.

What fun!

We have been so blessed to have Madeline join our family. She is so sweet, cheerful, and fun to be with. Madeline is a loving girl, who is always right there to help you with whatever you may need. Madeline loves to give hugs and she loves to make people happy. Madeline was early with just about everything. She is a talker for sure. She loves to talk with everyone!

She is our beautiful, smart, and happy little princess! What joy she brings into our family!

Some of the things we were up to last fall......

We visited the Baltimore Science Museum last October. (I know, it's taken me a while to post this stuff.) We all had a great time digging for dinosaur bones, putting bodies together, and Madeline LOVED the huge water play area! Grandma and Grandpa Olivier were there with us at the museum.

Yes, we were crazy again! This is us after the marathon. My brother Paul and I ran the Baltimore Marathon last October (all 26.2 miles) and Mike ran the half (13.1 miles). Paul was kind enough to run the whole thing with me. I came in close to my best time (4 hours and 10 minutes). I think Paul wouldn't want me to leave out the fact that this was his worst time (like I said, he was kind enough to run the whole thing with me). This was one of the most fun marathons I've run! We're all gearing up for our next one here soon.