Well, I have a very funny (and very grose) story for everyone. Last Friday, Elizabeth had to have x-rays on her head because of a very large knot. I might have shared that before. Anyways, to encourage her to sit still and reward her for being so brave, I took Ri and Elizabeth to McDonalds to play in the tunnel. They were having a ball. It was wonderful to see them having so much fun. At one point, Elizabeth had to potty. As is ALWAYS true, when Ri hears that word, all of a sudden he has to potty too. So, I headed to the potty with both in arms. Success! Both did what they needed to do and off they went running back into the tunnels. It could not have been 5 minutes later, and Ri came to me and said he had to potty. Well, lately, at soccer games and just about anywhere we are, he makes 3-4 trips and often really only goes once. It seems to be a fun game. He did have his "look" of concern, so I told him that if he had to go, that was fine, but we were going to go home after that. He then responded with his hand and words "no" and off he ran. Evidentally, he didn't have to go. I started to clean up since we had been there a long time already. Just as I finished, Ri came around the corner from out of the tunnels with a very panicked look. I instantly knew that look of fear. Then he lifted up his shoe for me to see the wonderful deposit that sat right on top of it. Oh no! Then he game me his pained look again ... the look that says "I'm not done and I have to go NOW!". I picked him up as fast as I could (so as to not draw attention to myself and to the deposit on his shoe) forgetting what was down his leg (and now on my arm and side of my shirt). Did I mention I was at McDonalds? In the tunnels? Well, guess where Elizabeth was? Yep, at the top of the tunnels and not wanting to leave just yet. Have you tried to attempt to retrieve a 2 year old quickly? It doesn't happen! So I stood there, now feeling quite panicked myself. I realized at that moment that I had nothing with me. No diaper wipes, no change of clothes... nothing. Having 2 potty trained kids is a blessing... but I often forget that I just might need something to clean up any accidents. So... I ran to the van in hopes to have some change of clothes. I had something and ran back into the McDonalds and placed him on the toilet. I then went to grap paper towels to soap down him, the floor, the seat... etc. Guess what? They are air only in that McDonalds. No towels.. nothing but air machines. Remember, I have Elizabeth too, I can't just leave the bathroom. So I grabbed Ri, stood him in the sink and proceeded to wash him down. The sink clogged. As I stood there trying to clean him, trying to figure out how to clean the stall, at least 4 women came in - --- totally disgusted with the whole scene (can you blame them?). I had to quickly yell at 2 of them not to go into the stall that Ri had been placed on. I finally got him cleaned, prayed the drain would unclog and then went to work on the toilet and floor. I threw his clothes away (nothing to put them in) and managed to go back into the restaurant. I then realized that I needed to clean up tunnels and go get Elizabeth's shoes. I did, I even told the manager so that she could use disinfectant on it. Then I left. Elizabeth kept saying something stunk. I then realized it was me... it was at that point that I saw how I looked. : )

Well... that is the story in my life as mom of 2 little ones. Hope you weren't too disgusted and found a little humor in my life.

I love these picks of Erin and Elizabeth. For the members of the team I'm on... this is that picture for the scraplift.





Have I ever mentioned that God created Erin with some flair for art? Well.. she helps out every once in awhile with my scrapping. She saw this layout (the original one) and made a few changes. I chose to put the picture of Daddy and the little ones, but she made all the other changes. I really like how it turned out. The only thing she wanted out were the tags with TRUST, SPIRIT, etc. I kept them because the layout is for my designer. I will have Mark choose before I print it in a book.

Emily is still very sick. She does not have meningitis nor does she have strep. I guess there is a virus going around with all these symptoms. Poor thing. I took her to the doctor without a headache. After running around a little (errands in town) and being in the heat, she got home and her head was throbbing in pain. She just sobbed and sobbed because it hurt so badly. She is on antibiotics because she is developing an ear infection as well. Sam is now down with this and Elizabeth is beginning it. Last night her temp was 100.6, but I was able to get tylenol in her system before it went to quickly. I always fear a seizure with her. She woke up this mornng pointing to her throat. Please pray she does not get it like Emily (Sam either). Emily is very tough. I am afraid a 2 year old will not be able to deal with that kind of pain so well. Pray the rest of us stay healthy too :)

Emily went camping with some very good friends. I thought this pic was very cool. She is the one to the left on the top bar!!
Boy does this picture remind me of Gotcha day! They still are good buddies.
What can you say about this picture! So cute! I think she is practicing modeling skills. Ugh.
Ri is a little tired after a long hike at night with Daddy, Jacob, MOmmy and Elizabeth.
I couldn't believe this picture when I took it. I loved it, so I had to do something with it. I was challenged to use Ashalee Wall's designs and do something simple with it. This was the result.
I was challenged to do a page without any pictures. Boy.. that was tough!
Preschool pictures!

All of a sudden, Elizabeth has become very interested in pretend. She insists that the baby eats breakfast with her. She takes the baby potty and even disciplines the baby. It is too cute!


I think that it is safe to say that Elizabeth truly loves preschool. We have both Ri and Elizabeth enrolled in the Early Intervention program in our county. They qualify because of their history. We decided that having them attend one day a week would be good for each of them. Well, I think if Elizabeth had her way, she would go everyday (just as long as I was in the room with her!). Last week, when she was sitting on my lap and all the kids had gone to school, she heard the school bus backing up in our driveway. She jumped off my lap yelling "I gotta go, mom... bye". She grabbed her backpack and tore out the front door. She ran as fast as her little legs would go. Before she was halfway to the bus, it left. She stopped, turned around and walked slowly back. A few minutes later we were in the kitchen. She still had her backpack on and I heard her say to herself... "I was too late". I smiled so hard knowing that what she was too late for was the bus. The next day, the same thing happened. Off she flew, trying to catch that bus. Friday afternoon, she heard the bus dropping Jacob off. She grabbed her backpack and ran yelling "bye". Again.. halfway there, it drove off. This time my heart started hurting for her. She looked like she had lost her best friend. Her head dropped, she just stood there holding her backpack... sad. Then she slowly walked back to the house, looking a little confused as to why this bus keeps forgetting her. She walked in and didn't want to talk. She just put her backpack down and slowly walked off. It broke my heart. We just tell her that one day, when she gets bigger, she will ride that bus!

They are adorable walking into preschool with their backpacks on. They crack me up. But, I am having no luck leaving her. Please pray about that. She still is freaks out with sheer terror.

On another note... EMily is very sick right now. We struggled all day yesterday on whether to take her to the ER or not. She was in urgent care on Saturday and we were told that it was probably just a virus going around, but they were not equipped to test for meningitis and if her symptoms got worse then we should go to the ER. She exhibited almost all the same symptoms she had when she had viral meningitis 2 years ago, except her headache was not as severe this time. We decided not to take her because we are pretty confident that it is not bacterial meningitis. There is a slight possibility that it could be viral... but as we discovered last time, there isn't anything you can do but ride it out. It is not life threatening. We knew based on her symptoms that they would do a spinal tap and if it was meningitis, we would be hospitalized for 2 days while they waited for results to see if it was bacterial or viral. It is a horrible thing to see your child so sick and not really know what is the best thing to do. But after 2 phone calls to the doctor-on-call, we opted to just observe her. SHe still feels extremely sick, but the severe pain in her neck is not as bad. That is a great sign that we made the right choice. I will take her into the doctor today.

There is so much to right, I just can't seem to find the time. I am working on designing some things to try and become a digital designer for scrapbooking. Plus, I was chosen to be part of a creative team for a designer at oscraps.com. Her name is Ashalee Wall. It has been fun, but certainly has taken me out of my normal "box". The 3 layouts I posted were all from challenges using Ashalees things.

Lastly, I just want you all to know that I have the most incredible husband in all the world. He is more then I could ever have dream of having! He is my helpmate. He really, truly is my better half. I can not begin to tell you how he has "held" me through this transition. He comes home after a hard day at work and instantly begins helping me with the house and the kids. He doesn't complain, doesn't get bitter... just stands beside me encouraging me. I just stand back in awe of who he has become in Christ. He was the tool that God used to bring me to a true walk with Him. He has always been my mentor and guide, and now I look at him and long to be more like him. I praise God for the gift He gave me when He brought Mark into my life!

Sam is running cross country. We are so proud of him. It is something he really doesnt love, but he made a committment to his coach. It has made him so much stronger both physically and mentally. Of all the sports that we have been involved in, I have enjoyed watching Sam grow in this one the most. It thrills my heart to watch his attitude throughout this season. Last night, I finally got to watch him run. Here is a shot from the race. The place the meet was held is incredibly beautiful, so I took advantage of it and took a few shots of Jacob and the kids while we waited.
Sam on the last stretch of his 2 miles. Go baby boy, Go! A funny story - Ri sat patiently while all the runners ran by him. He even stood still when Sam ran by the first time, but when Sam came around this corner, he had had enough! Before I knew it (because I was taking pictures), Ri started running towards Sam begging to be picked up by him. He actually made it to Sam before I could get him. It was adorable. Then he cried a broken hearted cry for the next few minutes because he wanted his big brother!

What do you all think?... don't I need a haircut?


Wow - can you say handsome? Is this my baby boy? He's growing up!


It isn't every 6th grader who will sit by a lake and play with a couple of toddlers. Elizabeth and Ri are 2 very blessed little ones to have such a cool big brother.


"Sam... did you hear me cheering for you?? I thought you did great!"
I couldn't resist this picture. It is beautiful here.


"Look, Ri, I can see myself"


During our morning walk, we went into the field. There is an old tractor that the kids really enjoy getting on. Such a beautiful morning, I had to snap a few pictures.


OK - I had to throw this one in. You guys see the precious, sweet Ri. Sometimes... this is what I see! Yesterday was one of those days. While we were walking, he just plopped down on the ground and refused to go any further unless I picked him up. I told him that he and Elizabeth had to walk. He did not like that answer. So, I walked a little ways and then plopped down on the ground and refused to go pick him up. Both Ri and Elizabeth were crying to be held and I just couldn't do them and the puppy, the camera bag, and walk through the brush to get home. So it became a battle of the wills.

Everyday we spend a long time going on walks. The kids and I both seem to enjoy it. I just carry my camera right along with us. Hope you enjoy them.

I am getting a little quicker at throwing together pages for a scrapbook. Here is my all time favorite of Ri. He was playing around with Daddy's sunglasses at Jcobs game:



I think that Ri will have no problem catching up to Elizabeht in size. Yesterday, we were at the doctor for Elizabeth. I put Ri on the scales and he weighed 26.8 pounds! Elizabeth weighed 28.8 pounds. There is only 2 pounds between them. When we brought him home, he was 5 pounds lighter then her. He also has grown! He is now 34 1/2 inches tall. It blew me away. I have really noticed lately that he has become quite the chunk... I just didn't realize how much he had gained. He has gone from our weak, bony little boy to a strapping, strong, little chunky monkey! In China, he weighed 23.4 pounds and measured 33 inches tall. On August 9th, he had his 2 months check to monitor is weight and height. We were so excited to see that he had gained over 2 pounds and grew 1/2 inch. He weighed 25.8 pounds and measured 33 1/2 inches long. In just shy of a month, he gained another pound and grew a full inch! No wonder my arms are getting tired when I carry both of them!! :)

As for mental growth, Ri is soaring. He is able to repeat just about anything now. He is getting quite brave with most physical attempts. He climbs ladders very easy, he refuses to let me help him walk down stairs, he can jump and run (and is even able to run a little quicker). He is still very interested in how things work, pouring stuff into any container, carrying anything he can in any type of container that has a handle, coloring (on anything that is around him) and exploring and doing anything his sister does. If Elizabeth can do it, then you can bet that Ri will do it too (or at least give it his all). He is totally potty trained and unfortunately has discovered how cool it is to be a little boy when you are outside and no potties are around! The bad part is, he is becoming quite independent in using the potty and will go, often without telling me. So... put 2 and 2 together and you might end up with a little man pulling his pants down at times it really isn't appropriate (like at a garage sale or a soccer game :) )


As for favorite things: His absolute favorite thing is food! He loves it. He also loves destroying things (I don't think he sees it that way though). He investigates everything, is very indendent and loves, loves, loves to keep up with Elizabeth. Elizabeth is probably his favorite (but often his biggest rival) as well as Daddy. He loves being outside with his Daddy (and lights us bigtime when Daddy comes home). Oh... did I mention his love of shoes?? Oh my, it cracks me up. He has to have his shoes on as soon as he sees them. He also loves to put on the kids soccer socks. As soon as he sees them, he plops down on the ground and puts them on both feet. If he can only find one, he cries and cries and hunts all over for the other. Another favorite things to do is put socks on his hands. As for toys, he loves just putting them into other things. One of his favorites is some magnetic sticks and balls that we have. He loves pulling them apart and putting them back together.

Well, for now, I must go. It has been a hectic morning and between all the interuptions, it has taken me 2 hours to complete this. Enjoy the next few pictures. Sam has pointed out to me that being the 3rd child is not so fun when it comes to pictures. He says I have gone crazy with the little ones and he and Jacob have hardly any. He is right. I have got to begin focusing on them. It is just that at 2 years old, they are so fun to take pictures.


Jacob played in his first soccer game of the season. They won by quite a bit. It was so neat to watch him play. He has become very strong and an excellent soccer player. Here are a couple of pictures from the game:





This one just makes me laugh. THey were so much fun on the day that I took this shot. I had fun coming up with this page too. Mark is not so thrilled with it, but I really like it.

The next one is one of my favorites of Elizabeth.

Have you ever bought something and within minutes or less... had buyers remorse? Well, you can't call us the smartest parents in the bunch. We are weak at times, though I am attributing our weakness to an answered prayer on our daughters part. Last week, Mark heard a puppy crying in the corn field. Puppy?? That is all my daughter needed to hear. She has wanted a small puppy for years. She has begged and begged and begged us, but we are very firm parents! No is NO!!!, especially when it comes to another animal around our house. Mark and I have had enough of puppies and dogs and cats to last us our children's lifetime. Well, after searching long and hard, we found out that the crying was of a beagle puppy. Emily had praying that God would help find that puppy and that Daddy would change his mind about letting her have one. She prayed all afternoon. And.. despite the pain she was in and the medication she was on... she searched and searched and prayed and prayed. To her dismay, God chose not to allow her to find that puppy. And so, a week goes by without another word about puppies.

Then we went to Johnstown to the Swappers Market. It is a very big deal for Johnstown and a lot of fun to go. The boys, the little ones, and Mark and I went. Emily had gone to work. We had fun checking out everything. Elizabeth and Ri found the puppies and loved looking at them. It was easy to just look because we had no desire for a puppy AND they cost almost $400.00. Easy to say no! Then the boys went a little further and found more pups. They had fun checking them all out, knowing that we would not go home with one. Then Sam found beagle puppies at a very good price. Somehow.. I have no clue how, before I knew it, Mark was saying that was fine with him. I think it caught him off guard too. Sam has been earning his own money lately and very eagerly asked, expecting the answer to be no, if he could buy the puppy. Before we knew it, he was on the phone to Emily asking her to go in on the puppy too. Jacob volunteered his money too. Soon, they all had agreed to take care of this puppy. It was a very strange feeling. Despite my not wanting this, I never found myself saying "no", but rooting them on. What is even funnier is that we were both having "buyers remorse" even before the money was handed over. So... that is why I am attributing this little puppy to the prayers of our daughter, Emily.

Here she is: