My brother -- maybe Picasso style

Just in case any of you wondered what my brother looks like here is a sculpture of him ...... or otherwise known as Untle Mike - by Isabella.



Honestly, I had nothing to do with this. Isabella was playing with play doh and Amelia had just woke up from her nap. I was back changing Amelia when Isabella, very excited, yells "MOMMY, I JUST MADE UNTLE MIKE! I made his nose and his eyes and his ears and his chin and his hair!!" (and his tent, not pictured here, and not sure why he had a tent) She is very proud of this creation, so I had to take a picture. Now you all know EXACTLY what my brother looks like. :)

Father's Day

I know Father's Day was a week ago, but I still wanted to post. I definitely didn't want to overlook my husband. He is such a good daddy (and husband!) and our girls absolutely adore him. Every day when he comes home from work, you will hear squeals throughout our house as our girls are racing to the door. And he normally comes in the door, kisses me, and then gets bombarded by them. He is either holding both of them in his arms or they are tackling him on the floor. Isabella, especially, thinks the sun rises and sets on him. :) Her daddy is the best, strongest, silliest, daddy who can fix anything - in her opinion. Just the other night she asked him to fix something for her and he said "I'll try, I can't fix everything though" to which she responded by laughing and saying "Daddy, you're silly anyway." :) I've been so amazed at how early a little girl wants the approval and attention of her Daddy. She will put a little dress on and say "Daddy will be so excited", "Daddy will think I'm so pretty", "Maybe Daddy will dance with me". I can tell her a hundred times a day that she is beautiful, but she wants her Daddy to tell her and when he does, because he always does, she gets this sweet little shy look on her face, like "Yay, my Daddy thinks I'm pretty". And its not just hearing that she's pretty, she wants to please him in other ways -- like shouting "Go Blue" even if its in the middle of a NFL, NBA, or our hometown baseball game instead of Michigan sports, she doesn't know who is playing, but she knows that Daddy loves it when she yells Go Blue. Amelia hasn't gotten into all of that yet, but I know its coming, it's sure to come, they will both end up being Daddy's girl. And that's Ok, seeing how sweetly he loves them, plays with them, disciplines them, prays with them, makes me know how blessed they are to have him for a daddy. There is so much more I could say, but I won't type forever. :) I am thankful that God has given me my husband and has given us the privilege and responsibility to raise our two beautiful daughters together!

Praise the Lord update

My dad told me last night and then my cousin Sheryl (Norma's daughter) posted an update today about my aunt, here is what she said... "I have been sick and not able to visit mom in the hospital. I did talk to Melva (our cousin) last night and the cancer has not gotten into moms bones and she doesn't have the congested heart failure. She does have the bacteria you get from hot tubs. How I don't know. I want to thank everyone for their prayers for mom. It really means a lot to know that there are people you have never met, praying for your loved ones. " PRAISE THE LORD!! My dad told me this last night and what a huge answer to prayer. Because of my aunt's symptoms, the drs were thinking that it was going to be congestive heart failure, but the test results said no. Thank you Lord! And when I personally heard that the "stuff" (for lack of better term) on her chest had spread, I was so afraid that the cancer was either spreading or something, but it hasn't -- again, thank you Lord! I really do appreciate all of you who have prayed for her, some of you have mentioned it on here and some of you, I know are praying but don't comment much on my blog :) All of the prayers are greatly appreciated. And I echo my cousins sentiment, it is really encouraging to know that people I have never met in person are praying! Please continue to pray that she will feel better, that she will be able to fight this infection away quickly (due to her lower immunity from chemo she can catch things like this easier), and that God will continue to strengthen and encourage her and all those around her. I am still praying for complete healing and it is an encouragment to me personally to feel that God has not told me to do otherwise.

Last of the beach pics

.... and lots of them. :)

These first ones are pictures from our evening at Harbour Town. We went there to eat and then got on a sightseeing cruise to see dolphins. The kids loved seeing the dolphins and as you can see above, they let you take pictures of the kids "driving" the boat. Isabella really thought she was driving. She hopped up on that seat and started steering back and forth -- praise God she wasn't really driving or we all would have been sea sick. :) And in the picture to the left, I was hurrying to get a picture of my girls before we got on the boat and I mentioned something to Isabella about wanting a picture of her with the lighthouse that is on her skirt, so of course she ignored me and pointed up at the lighthouse instead -- yeah, sorry baby couldn't get you both in the picture.

This picture really cracks me up, I decided that maybe I could get a picture of my girls with the lighthouse in the distance, but then the boat made a loud noise so I have a few pictures of Isabella with a similar look on her face, trying to smile for mommy, but more of a terrified smile of that noise. This one was the funniest. :) Thankfully she didn't stay scared too long, as exhibited in these pictures below where she is being my little silly girl

Even with her silly faces, look at those dimples?!? And here's a cute one of my niece, Olivia. She was sitting next to me for alot of the cruise so I was taking pictures of her and she leaned right into the camera and smiled -- it was so cute.

And of course, here's my little cutie-patootie. I thought she would be afraid, but she wasn't -- at all -- to the point that we couldn't put her down because she would have walked right over to the side of the boat. And I love this one of Isabella and my dad. She probably stayed with him most of the cruise -- such a Papa's girl.

And then, these are from our last evening at the beach. I have no idea WHAT Isabella is doing or where she learned these poses -- I promise I did not ask her to pose like that. She's such a little nut. I'm sure its somewhere in Cinderella. :) And Amelia, the best way to get her to smile now is to sing "If you're happy and you know it...." she automatically smiles and starts clapping her hands. I wish Amelia was smiling in this picture of her on the little boardwalk, but she's still so cute. Actually getting her to stand still here was a miracle in itself, she kept running from one end to the other, just stopping when we would say look, theres a turtle or look there's an .....

...alligator! We saw lots of alligators that week, or maybe the same alligator lots of times, but either way the kids were thrilled to see them. Last year we only saw the alligator a couple times (well, I didn't see them at all) but lots of turtles. And that's it, that concludes my beach pictures --- or at least I think so, for now. :)

Update on my aunt

Please continue to pray. Right now, the doctors are thinking that my aunt may have congestive heart failure -- which is a common side effect of chemotherapy (I didn't know this.) They are still running some tests to find out for sure, but they are thinking this is most likely. The stuff on her chest has spread, last week it was 6 inches and this week it was 12 inches. I'm not sure what this means, I don't think they are yet either. I think the drs are coming in today to check that out. There was some mention of it being a side effect of medicine or something like that. So we will find out (hopefully) today if this is the cancer that has spread that quickly or something else. I'm sorry I'm so vague, we don't know a lot right now. Hopefully my dad will hear today from one of his other sisters more information. Please pray obviously for my aunt in general, I know she is in alot of pain, I know they have her on medicine, but I'm not sure how much this helps. Please pray for God's peace and that her spirits will be lifted instead of discouraged-- I know it has to be so discouraging to not know what is going on, and to have to be living in pain. Please pray for wisdom for the drs to know how to diagnose and handle everything. And also pray for my other aunts and cousins as they are up there with her and are having to deal with things first hand. I know that it has to be really hard on them to see her in pain and not know exactly what is going on.

Joy

Sometimes your joy is the source

of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy. -Thich Nhat Hanh

Please Pray

I just wanted to come and ask for prayer for my aunt Norma (Nunu to Isabella). Those of you who are closest to me already know that my aunt has been fighting breast cancer for some time now and I know that you are already praying for her. I have mentioned my aunt on here before, but I haven't asked for prayer on here much, not because I don't covet prayers, but just because I know she (as well as other family members/friends we are praying for) read the blog and I don't want them to feel as if every other post is about them and embarass them. Anyway, I just got a call from my mom and she said that Dad got a call that my aunt has been taken to the hospital. The type of cancer she has is inflammatory breast cancer, its very aggressive and she has been undergoing different types of chemotherapy for a long time now. Just last week, she had gotten some good news that the tumor had shrunk some. She actually has a tumor in the breast and on the outside -- I'm not sure if I'm explaining that right but when we went up last month, Norma had this unbelievably painful looking sore (tumor) on the outside of her chest. I don't even know how to describe it to you, it wasn't just a lump it looked like a huge open wound and just looking at it made me hurt for her and it bothered me to think just how painful things must be for her. She doesn't sit around complaining about anything, but you just know that it hurts and of course going through treatment is bad enough with it wiping her out for a couple days. From what my mom said, they took her to the hospital because that tumor on her chest has gotten bigger over the last couple days. I just really covet your prayers for her now. I don't know what God's ultimate will is for her life, but I know that He is in control. And I know He answers prayer, so until He tells me otherwise I will continue to pray for healing. If earthly healing isn't His will, then He is still faithful and He is good and He loves her more than any of us here on earth love her.

More Pictures

I wanted to post some more pictures from the beach.

Plus I thought I would show off my girls and show you the clothes I was sewing that kept me busy the couple weeks before our trip. I didn't really realize I had made so much for them, but I made them each 5 outfits, embroidered their name on 2 dresses. I had so much fun and one of these days they will either look back at pictures and like the outfits, or say "Aw, come on mom, did you have to dress us the same and in homemade outfits. " :) Anyway, the first pictures in pink and black, although its not the best background, but I took a picture last year of the girls on these steps (and actually in pink and black) so I did the same this year - I'm going to try and do that every year we go there. The alligator dress, I made because we see alligators down there and Isabella loves that-- but I of course had to make it look girly with the purse and pearls. And I couldn't get Amelia to stay in the picture, but not to worry, she has a matching dress as well. Then I thought I would post some pictures from the day we went to Hunting Island. We had a good day, but everything we did was "a day late and a dollar short". We got to this place that we love to eat 15 minutes after it closed, we didn't make it to the pier in time to fish because it closed .... you guessed it 15 minutes before we checked, we got to the nature center 15 minutes BEFORE it closed (at least the kids got in there) and it was such a windy day that we couldn't lay/play on the beach. The guys did get to take the kayak out on the lagoon but even that was so windy that only Kenny, my brother and my nephew Tyler went out for a long time because paddling back against the wind was pretty hard. The younger ones did get to take a quick little ride in the kayak and I think Isabella is hooked -- she's going to enjoy going out with us. Also the guys were the only ones that went up the lighthouse -- didn't realize there was an age limit on that, but due to steep steps they said they had to be so tall or at least walk all the way on there own. They might have been able to walk it but Kenny said he was so glad he didn't take Isabella because when they walked out the door up top the wind was so strong it felt like it could blow you away -- it would have really scared her. At first I felt bad thinking, "Great, we recommend this place and the day is not going like we planned and then Isabella said while on the beach, "Good summer days!" She cracks me up, where does she come up with this stuff. Anyway, here's the pics from that day.

Yes, I know the sun is in Garrett's eyes in this picture (trust me he told me :) but how could I resist, it was so cute. It was taken when we took a little walk and the kids got to see thousands of fiddler crabs.

Here's the guys at the top of the lighthouse.







There are 2 stories to go with the picture of Isabella, below. First of all, she loves to look for sea shells, of course most of the time I will point out the WHOLE pretty sea shells and she picks up broken pieces of a shell instead. Hunting Island is such a good place to find seashells, when Kenny and I went there 4 years ago, we would go out walking in the morning and each day we would find sand dollars as well as some other unusual shells. Anyway, Isabella found her "true love" shell there. I wish I would have gotten a picture of her holding it there. She didn't call it true love until we had left the beach. If you've seen Cinderella 3 you will understand why she calls it "true love". When my mom asked her who her true love was she said "My true love is my parents" How sweet and silly is that -- and she usually doesn't call us her "parents". :)


The other reason I love this picture is just my sentimental self. Four years ago this August, Kenny and I went to Hunting Island and camped for a week. We had just been through all kinds of stuff, especially that year and this was a confusing, yet sweet time for us. I remember feeling like God was taking us through trials, but that he was working in our lives. Do you guys have places like this, places that you love because of a particular way you felt while you were there, places that make you feel extra close to God or yearn for that closeness? Several of the mornings when we would walk on the beach we would see this little girl with her grandmother searching for sea shells. I said to Kenny "One day, I hope we can bring a little one back here and watch them enjoy things like this -- that little girl looks about 3 or 4..... so I guess it might not be anytime soon" And here I am, not quite 4 years later and I am bringing not just 1, but 2 precious girls back to that same place. (Granted, the little one would prefer to eat the sand/sea shells) And it definitely doesn't seem like its been 4 years. Its not the best pictures I've ever gotten of Isabella or anything, but for me to see this, its hits me and I just have to say "I hear you Lord, Thank you!"

Just a few beach pics

Very few beach pictures for today, but actually I don't have alot of pictures of the girls on the beach. My mom has more so I will probably get them from her. Sitting in the wet sand making a sand castle is not the wisest time to be holding an expensive digital camera -- nor is it easy while chasing this little hula girl down the beach. :) And as it is every time we go there, we don't spend as much time on the beach as we would like. For some reason the last few days at the beach are always windy -- not your typical breeze, but the kind of windy where the sand is blowing and stinging your legs. Isabella LOVED the beach, she loved playing in the sand, destroying the sandcastles Daddy would make for her and she and Garrett loved playing in the shallow (to us), up to their waist, pools that are there when the tide is out. Amelia loved the sand and running in it -- but unless the water was just under her butt, she wanted nothing to do with it. (As evidenced in the only pool picture you will see of her -- I am not raising little fish I guess) These pictures were taken Monday morning, Kenny and I got the girls up and ready quick so we could get down to the beach. We enjoyed our time as just our little family, but that wasn't the reason we did it. Most of you know or have read how my Amelia loves her crib, naps, sleep! - so we had to be aware of her schedule. Unlike Isabella who will just get more hyper and silly when she gets tired, Amelia actually gets cranky - so by 11:30 she is ready for her nap and one of us would have to take her in. She is still taking 2 naps, so we would also split the naps duties later in the afternoon. The upside of this is that we put her in the pack and play and she's out. I'm not sure when babies typically give up their morning nap, but I'm not seeing that happen anytime soon for her.
And for my little hula girl pictures, I found this little suit/skirt set last year at TJ Maxx for $4 and I couldn't resist saving it for this year. This morning on the beach was one of those days where you realize that its not just you that think your kids are cute, but lots of other people do to. :) As Amelia was running around the beach people kept talking about how cute she looked in her little skirt and then they would pass by me and tell me how pretty she was and then one older couple stopped and said "Can we please take a picture of her?" So some couple in their 70s is showing my little hula girl to their family. :) When Isabella saw this couple taking a picture of Amelia, she came running across the beach yelling her typical welcome "What's your name?" to which this nice little old lady responded "her name is Amelia." I kind of chuckled and then explained that they were sisters. :) So here's the beginning of my beachy pictures -- I'm sure to get more from my mom of all the kids playing together. And I have another 6 days worth of photos to post. :)

Blogging Etiquette

Quick question, before I begin all my beach posts.... when someone asks you a question when they comment, which way do you answer, in your comment section or in theirs??