Life with Our Girls!

School Days

2011-01-04T19:19:00.001-06:00

Annabelle is going back to school tomorrow.

I cant believe the Christmas break is over so quickly and we are back to the routine of school. For a little girl who thrives on routine, this will be very good for her, but for a mommy who likes my mornings with this cutie, I am sad! I am also a little worried about Annabelle's return to school because her teacher found out she had Fallopian tube cancer (resulting in a complete hysterectomy) during the break. When she was out for 2 days last semester, it really did a number on Annabelle and she was very clearly affected by the change, so I know it will be hard for her to go back and not have Mrs Moran there to make things the way they usually are. I hate that this poor teacher is struggling with Cancer and my thoughts are of my daughter, but I guess that reveals my own issues. Never the less, we are praying for Mrs Moran each morning and each evening that the Chemotherapy will kill all of those cells before they attach to any healthy organs. She should be returning in about 8 weeks at the soonest so please keep her in your prayers. She is such a sweet teacher and I am happy each time I see her face so I hope Annabelle and I both get to see her soon!

Also-the above pictures is Annabelle's school picture from this year. You can always tell a school picture by that familiar blue background and I CANT BELIEVE my daughter has one already!

It is all happening way too fast :(

My favorite parts of Christmas

2011-01-02T22:19:00.000-06:00

This weekend has been an amazing time of cleaning and organization and I feel so much better now that my house is out back together after all of the festivities of Christmas. I LOVE our Christmas decorations and am always so excited to put them up and so sad when we have to pack them back up. This year was no different, but I had time after cleaning the decorations to really clean and organize a few rooms in our house. We are having two large toys coming over to our house soon from my parents so we had to make space for them and have been cleaning out toys to make room. As I look at my living room minus the beautiful lights, I find myself returning to a few moments of Christmas that I really enjoyed! The first one started the day we got the Christmas decorations out. We did it while the girls were asleep so they woke up and saw all of the decorations out. Annabelle was excited beyond words. She remembered so many parts of last Christmas and was so happy to see Baby Jesus and all of her favorite ornaments on the tree. She spent A LOT of time studying the tree and I think she could tell you where each and every ornament was.

I also LOVED buying the girls a Little People Nativity Set. I decided to give it to them early instead of as a gift and I am so glad I did. When I first showed it to Annabelle, we read the story from the Bible and she acted out the parts with the people. She "re-did" that so many times and it was awesome to hear her rehearse the story of Jesus. When she talks about her memories of Christmas, she never mentions the gifts, but she is very ready to sing to Jesus again and see her nativity. I love that!

The other thing I loved about the preparations of Christmas was the fun Nutcracker musical scene we have had for several years. Each time I turned the lights on, both girls rushed over to lay on the floor and watch the scenes play through. It was so precious!

We even got to go to a performance of the Nutcracker at the Library and both the girls loved watching the dancing. The Nutcracker is a wonderful memory for me of my childhood Christmas celebrations and I love that I am able to share one of those memories with my cuties.

We had lots of places to go for our Holiday Celebrations, but some of the memories that I cherish are our Christmas Eve Eve celebrations with Italo's brother and family. We went to their house and made a delicious meal of Gnocchi, salad and zucchini. The kids were so excited for present time, but were very patient until we finished eating. Maggie attached herself to both Anthony and Isabella and they were so generous to give of their toys and time to entertain both of the girls.

After Maggie went to bed and the presents had been opened, the older kids baked Cupcakes and played until they were ready for icing! The had such a great time decorating the cupcakes and they sang Happy Birthday to Jesus with the most excitement I have EVER heard. It was awesome!!!!

We spent the night with the Frigolis and went home to rest up for our next party. Christmas Eve we went to My Dad's house for some delicious gumbo and good company. The girls had a little slumber party so we could play games and everyone came in to give them good night kisses. It was so cute seeing them with each person. Maggie was so eager to hug and kiss everyone! She is such a sweetie!

That evening, after we played a round of a new game, we had to leave to spend the night at my mom's. We set up for Christmas surprises and then we went to bed praying that the 2 late nights in a row would not make Annabelle as miserable as we were fearing. She did not have a good day the next day but we pressed forward and survived the day. I did REALLY enjoy Christmas morning with our Birthday party for Jesus and watching the girls play together with their Christmas surprises. We wore Matching Christmas jammies again and I forgot how miserably hot there were. But Annabelle seemed to get a kick out of it, so I think we will go for it one more year while their jammies fit and then we will relieve ourselves from the torture!

We were very excited to find out that my brother and his family came back into town sooner than we expected, so we enjoyed some extra time with them that morning. The girls were so excited to see more cousins!

After Christmas day was over and we were able to get the kids in their own beds, they sunk in to the familiarity and were more than happy to go to sleep. The next day, we spent the whole day together as a family just relaxing and opening our presents to each other. Canadians (or maybe the English) have a tradition of the Boxing day the day after Christmas and that is the say they open their presents. We think it is a good idea and think we will make it our tradition as well. Maggie was SOOOO over presents, she was actually crying when we handed her a presents. It took 3 days AFTER this for her to finally open her final few presents. It is fun to see them with all of their new treasures and I am enjoying looking at all of the pictures my husband took with his, I mean my, new camera. The girls even look at the camera when we set up the self timer because they love looking at the flashing light :) BONUS

Next year...we will HAVE to do something different so we dont have a repeat of this crying over presents! Poor girl.

But, they have lots of fun with their new toys and have been actually playing together throughout the New years weekend! Such a blessing to see since it is so rare!

MERRY CHRISTMAS and Happy Birthday Jesus!!

First Day of School

2010-10-25T21:53:00.000-05:00

For those who have fellow toddlers, you may know the song from Imagination Movers called-First Day of School. That is the song that Daddy and Annabelle listened to-and Annabelle sang along to---on her way to her first day of school today. He made a video, but it is REALLY hard to watch because he is was driving a stick shift while holding a video camera! I am glad Daddy and Annabelle will get to have this special time together each morning while I let her little sister keep sleeping, but it was hard to kiss her goodbye this morning and say goodbye. This week, our wonderful Aunt Jill is going to pick her up from school, but next week, she will start taking the school bus home. I think it is kinda funny that Daddy takes her to school in a yellow car and she comes home in a yellow school bus :) She thinks that is pretty cool!

I heard nothing but good reports from everyone today and Annabelle was her normal silly self when I made it home so that is a good sign. We dont see any of the quietness that we saw after her visit on Thursday. I am sure it will get a little harder as the week progresses but so far so good! She picked a good week to start though because two of her classmates of birthdays this week and there is a party on Friday for Halloween! So fun :) Thanks for all the prayers! We prayed before she left this morning and she was smiling the whole time we were praying for her. Such a sweet memory for me to send her off with covering from her heavenly father and physical protection from her wonderful Daddy!

Something Different...

2010-10-21T20:40:00.000-05:00

Today I walked down a hallway of little lockers in an Elementary School. The last time I did this was visiting my nieces and nephews at their schools. Today was different because at the other end of those lockers was a classroom designed for MY DAUGHTER. And on Monday, she will have a locker with her name on it, be given assignments, attendance taken, ride a school bus and all together be a BIG girl.  The days of deciding to take a day off of work to spend the day with her, staying in our PJs longer than we should on a work day or just enjoying story time together in the mornings has come to an end and now she will go to school.

She has been in daycare since she was 3 months old, but this is different.  I know have parent teacher conferences scheduled, attendance rules and an elementary school with my daughter enrolled in it. How did we get here so fast...I was supposed to have 2 more years before this happened!!!

I know it will be such a great opportunity for her and I know she needs some extra help getting ready for Kindergarten because of her difficulties, but this is not exactly what I was emotionally prepared for when I started this process. She will be in an inclusion classroom designed for children with disabilities. What that means is that all but 3 children in her classroom are "non-diagnosed" children and my daughter is diagnosed with a disability that requires "special ed". So here we go...

Today she got to play in the classroom while Italo and I attended a meeting to discuss her goals. She was SOOOO excited to go to her new school and almost bounced down the hallway into the classroom. She walked into the room and when we came back it was a different story. She left with the weight of the world in her head and was VERY quiet on the way home. I was emotionally overwhelmed so I am sure she was as well. Watching her for about 30 mins in the classroom confirmed that we were doing the right thing with this new path, but it was heartbreaking to see her with the other kids. I can not wait to see how much she changes in this environment because it will be so great for her, but when you almost think she was getting better on her own and then get smacked in the face with the reality that she is not and still has a long way to go, it is hard. It is hard to see your daughter hurting,  It is hard not to be able to help her.  It is hard not to have the answers.

I know that God has all of this under control and I know that He will provide comfort to me and Annabelle through this process, but it is really hard right now! We would sure appreciate your prayers for us over the next few weeks as we transition to our new normal. And look out for a big girl getting off a school bus on Monday with a backpack as big as her :)

Parenting is like being a Referee

2010-10-03T19:44:00.000-05:00

Parenting is a really tough thing to do. I have been thinking a lot about what it can be associated with, and I determined that it reminds me a lot as being a referee in a soccer game.

See, the main objective of the referee in soccer, is not to ensure the flow of the game, or the enforcement of the rules of the game. The main objective of the referee is to ensure the well being of the players on the field – and that takes precedence over anything else.

In the same way, as a parent, the main objective is to ensure the safety and wellbeing of my children (and any other that they may be playing with at the time). There is, of course, the enforcement of the rules as well. Rules are established to ensure the order. In our house, we have defined some rules as guidelines to follow. Such as Maggie will be asked to return a toy to Annabelle if she takes one of Annabelle’s special toys. This is kind of like a foul be called on the field. Toy is returned and playtime carries on – no big deal. Other times a yellow or red card may be used. If one of the kids hits or pushes the other intentionally, then a Time Out may be enforced followed with an apology, a hug, and a kiss.

Of course, there is more to parenting than being a referee to them, such as actually playing with them and having all kinds of crazy laughs together. But at the core – there are a few primary goals. Their safety and wellbeing is always at top of my list.

The never ending saga.....

2010-09-26T15:09:00.004-05:00

I have always loved cars. Even from a young age, the attaction to these four wheeled machines was just there. The love manifested itself with the purchase of Matchbox cars. Soon, I started to realize that some things are just built better than others. I loved my Matchbox car collection that was built in England; but when the plant was moved to China, the quality of the toy just flat out dropped! I still have a little collection left, and suprisingly, I the cars that I didn't manage to totally distroy are still kept in a car case hidden inside my desk at work. We have a new china cabinet at home, I may just take over a shelf to put them on display again... :-)

Anyways - that was a totaly off the topic paragraph to say I have been working on my real car again. Amy's car is 3 months away from needing an inspection. The check engine light would turn on and off on it's own last year, and I snuck it to the shop while the light was off. It was a lucky moment that delayed the need to really correct the problem for another year. :-)

This year, the light is not going off - it is a pretty solid yellow light that never seems to have an off day. In reading the codes, I get P0141 and P0400. The P0400 code is related to the EGR system. When I took the tube out a while back, this is what I saw:

I cleaned it out pretty good and put it all back together. I think the light went off for a moment once, but that was it. Not nearly long enough to get a new inspection sticker.

Last week I thought I'd see if I could correct it by clearing all the passages into the valve covers. There is one tiny hole on each cover that can be clogged with sludge. I thought I'd see if I could remove the vacuum hoses, and clear them out. I guess I should have known that rubber hoses on a 10 year old car would have become brittle to some extent. Some were impossible to move, and ended up being busted. I ended up going to AutoZone and purchasing some new generic hoses to replace the busted ones. When I put them all back together, I noticed that some of the other hoses I thought were fine were starting to crack. I kind of gave up hope of it correcting the issue, but I did clear out the two tiny little holes on the valve covers.

Yesterday, I went to go get the tires rotated and balanced. Nothing like waking up early Saturday morning to go get tires rotated if you ask me... Yes, I really don't like doing this. If I could, I'd buy the equipment needed to do all the balancing of tires in my own garage. Anyways - I learned that the tires are no good. Steal belt is starting to show through on some of the tires. Looks like I'll need to get some new ones by December if I really want this car to pass inspection. I have a new tire I want in sight by the way - but just need to wait a little before I can get it.

Today, for some reason I felt a little more inspired to correct the other issue. I went ahead and tackled the P0141 issue - which is a bad oxygen sensor. I went to AutoZone and purchased the needed replacements. I jacked up the car, pulled the old ones out and put the new ones in (it really was that simple). I think it will clear the code after a few start/stop cycles - but we will see.

I also went ahead and ordered all new rubber hoses needed to the EGR valve system as well, so hopefully it is just a vacuum leak that is keeping that pretty yellow dash light on, and a few good replacement parts will correct the problem.

Thank you Game...

2010-09-20T15:22:00.000-05:00

At small group past week we were talking about things we felt entitled to and Gladice suggested that we play the Thank You Game at the end so we would start to realize how much we had instead of focusing on what we may not have.

I decided I needed to play the "Thank You Game" specifically for Annabelle so here is what I am thankful for about her:

She is very predictable
She stays in her room at night no matter how long it takes her to fall asleep
She tells me she loves me
She likes to give kisses to her friends and family members
She loves to go anywhere I am going
She loves Jesus and can not go to sleep without saying her prayers (and brushing her teeth)
She asks about and for her friends
She gives the best hugs ever
She has a very grateful heart-she always asks who gave her things and realizes that everything is a gift
She does not let me be in control
She finds absolute delight in going to visit people

Thank you Lord for giving me a daughter than makes me rely on you everyday!

Stories

2010-08-31T10:59:00.000-05:00

You need to understand that the One who is writing your story, has bigger plans for you than you would ever have for yourself." -Paul Tripp

This was the facebook status for two of my friends this morning. Powerful huh!

The reason I find it so powerful is because I need to believe it is true with my head, my heart and with the way I live my life. In my head, I know this to be true. I have since I was a small child. I was told by countless people that this was true and I believe it. However, I do not let this thought transform how I live me life.  IF I did, I would live a surrendered life. I would not try to control my thoughts, my emotions, my actions and my desires. I would not get angry with the my life when I see the shape of other people's life.  I would not covet my neighbors lifestyle, my friend's children, my husband patience, I would embrace where I am in my life each and every day and would live a life surrendered to the process of growth that God has for me.

I love to watch movies, read books and hear people talking about their life...their stories. Each time I do, I see a glimpse into the reality of someone else's life and when the person is a Christian, I hear how the gospel of Grace transformed their life. It cant helped but come out, because when Christ gets a hold of your life you will be forever changed. I enjoy seeing people in all areas of that reality. I guess that is why I like reading blogs because I get to read stories each and every day.

I am happy to share my story with those who want to hear it, but most of the time I have a hard time accepting that story for myself. Why? Because there are parts I dont like. There are labels and "titles" I have that I dont like because of that story. The biggest title I have that I dont like is SINNER! I have seriously messed things up. I live a life that is marked my selfishness, self indulgence, pride and guess what...it does not seem to be getting better.

Here is the good news...God can work in my life and use me for GOOD even though my story has not been completed to perfection! Don't believe me? Take some time to read any story from the Bible about our "heroes". Adam...Abraham...Jacob...David...Paul...I could go on. God did amazing things with those men, but he did it IN SPITE of them. Not because they were special, successful or powerful, but because God was. I think that most remarkable thing about all of those men is when they laid their head down for the final time and left this world, they probably recognized how powerless they were and how great God was.

When I was a little girl, I would sit in my window sill, or in my tree house and dream about the life I would have one day. I would act out "scenes" from that life. I would play all the roles of the husband, the kids and myself and no one ever got frustrated, no one got tired, no one disobeyed. I had a great time :) However that little girl grew up...I realized that not everyone was going to act out the role of husband, child, friend, parent like I did when I was acting as them. And I realized that I was not going to act the way I thought I would either. I never dreamed of yelling at my daughter because she would not get in the car. I never thought I would get frustrated with my husband for wanting to put his arm around me because I was so hot from running around that I could not take one more heat source on my arm.  I never thought that I would get frustrated with my daughter because she was trying to pull her way up my leg so I would hold her instead of making dinner. I never thought I would be divorced. I never thought I would be a working mom. I never thought I would not understand how to teach my daughter. I never thought I would.... BUT I DID!

So, if I could surrender each part of that story to the One who has the power to heal, to restore, to make beauty from ashes...AGAIN. If I could stop being the potter, the author, the artist and let the true master take the reins...Imagine what could happen.

The Black Dog

2010-08-24T16:50:00.000-05:00

Annabelle had her first bad dream last night/this morning....

I was getting ready for work when I heard Annabelle crying in the house. I called out to her to tell her I was in the closet because I thought she was sad she did not know where I was. She came in, tears in her eyes, and just wanted to cuddle. Not knowing what the problem was, I tried to cuddle her and talk to her but she just kept whimpering. After about 15 mins, the reason came out.

She said a dog came into her room, was looking and growling at her and was now under her bed.

I dont know what she imagined, but this was the image that came to my mind. At that moment, I realized that a bit of her innocence was gone. She will no longer think that all dreams are about ballons and cupcakes and she did before going to bed last night (which is her standard answer when asking about what she dreamed of).

We talked about dreams and the fact that they are not real but it is okay to be scared of what we see in our mind. We looked under her bed for the dog and it was not there. When Maggie got up, she wanted to look under her bed to see if the dog was there. She then said the dog's name was Daisy and that it was probably a nice dog.

I wonder if this is really more like the dog she saw:

I will never know, but I think it will be interesting to see what she wants to talk during our bedtime chat tonight before bed....

Lessons from our Kids

2010-08-19T10:31:00.000-05:00

My friend Sherah blogged about her daughter saying No! the other day and I thought her words were so great explaining what our kids teach us about our heavenly father. It has got me seeing the things my kids do through that lense. A few morning ago, Annabelle was enjoying her cereal bar in the playroom while watching one of her recorded shows on the computer. She came running into the kitchen and said, "Mommy my arm is REALLY hurting, It hurts so bad. Can you please help me?" First off, I was tickled pink that she said all of those words. A few months ago this scenario would have resulted in about 15 mins of SCREAMING and me trying to figure out what on earth was wrong. So after I did m happy dance and tried to figure out hos she had hurt herself. I had to giggle a little bit because the source of her PAIN was crumbs from her cereal bar on her arm. I brushed them off, gave her a kiss and she said, "That is so much better, thank you so much Mommy!"

I remember in High School thinking that some people were so silly for getting all worked up about the smallest things and it used to irritate me to no end that these "trivial" things were mentioned as prayer request before each class began. This has stuck around with me slightly into my adult life, but I understand that the WORST thing is some people's life may not be the worst thing in my life and you can't compare troubles with people-EVER! It is all relative but the thing that shook me to the core a few mornings ago was:

God cares about the crumbs on our arm and wants to help us get over the pain!

He may not always brush them off for us but he will comfort us until they no longer bother us or until they are gone.

Amazing that God does not tell us to ask our friends if we should be upset about a certain situation or google remedies to our problems and came to him ONLY after we have exhausted all of our own resources, he tells us to come to Him, lay our burdens down and he will give us rest. He WANTS to hear from us. He WANTS to help us. He WANTS us to be dependent on Him for all of the answers and not just the ones we cant find somewhere else. Nothing is too little or too big for HIM!

In these tough economic times...

2010-08-11T11:29:00.000-05:00

I came across these hilarious pictures of cheap home repairs today. The made me laugh at loud-except for a few I did not understand what they were trying to fix... like the urinals and the camera??? Please enlighten me :)

But the funniest part of this post was how true to life some of those photso seemed! You see my Husband is a very handy guy. If there is a problem with our cars or our house, my wonderful husband is going to find a solution. However, our budget is not in a place where we can put extra away to have money for car repairs or home repairs so when something happens, he has to be more creative than others might because he usually can't spend much on the said repair. I know it puts him in quite the guandry on each of the repairs, but somehow he ALWAYS finds a way to restore the issue and spend very little if any money!

He has repaired his laptop power connection with alumimun foil

He has repaired a $800 broken cable in our car with some basic electric cables

He has replaced our engine mounts for less than 1/8 the cost of the car repair shop

He has pulled the EGR valve out of our car and cleaned it out rather than spending the money buying a new one

He has repaired the damage done by countless animals who decided to make our attic and different parts of our house their home

He has crafted an antenna to get us free of the fees of cable television (i will let him share all about this in his own blog post)

And the list could go on and on! He is amazing at saving us money and doing things on a shoe string budget. All I can say that I have done to save our family money is giving up my preference of highlighted hair for boring brown hair and cooking more meals than we eat out. I really appreciate how handy he is and it allows us to stay out of debt that I am sure we would have if we had to charge these needed car and home repairs!

The craziest part about all this handiness is that it took me a LONG time to come around to letting him do these things!  This whole issue reared its head a few months before we got married. We got married in September of 2005 and in June of 2005, we purchased our first house together. So do the math and that means that there were 3 months before our wedding day that we owned a home. I moved out of my apartment and into my parents house and he moved in to our new home.  It was difficult for me to see him starting to do things on our house and for some reason I jsut did not want him spending time messing arounf with repairs. I wanted to pay someone to do the work so I could have all to myself.  We actually had the biggest fight in a relationship-still to this day-over him repairing a sprinkler system!  We were both furious that the other person would not give in and fought for several hours in my parents front lawn over this issue. It is so crazy I was so resistant to his handiness, but I guess I had to learn to trust him. And stop being so dang stubborn!

I am so happy with all his creative genisus when it comes to his repairs but I really hope we dont find ourselves in the situation that many of those in the link above did and not have some money to buy the materials to make the visible repair attractive!

My little Maggie Rose

2010-08-10T22:33:00.001-05:00

I can not believe how quickly my Maggie Rose is growing up! I thought it was time to document a glimpse into our world with her. She now has 8 teeth. The top 4 came in all at once and the two additional bottom teeth are making their way through the gums right now!

Besides a runny nose she has not made too big of a fuss about her teeth.

Maggie is full of life and quite the little kidder. Each morning I go into her room and she plays a silly little game with me where she grabs her paci and her biggest blankie and lays down and waits for me to rub her back. Then I rub her back and give her a little tickle and she jumps up, giggles and then moves her blankie to another part of the bed and starts over. Unless I mention breakfast, this could go on for a LONG time!

Maggie really enjoys eating and will eat more than anyone else in our family! Only once in a blue moon she will tell me she is done, but mostly she just signs "more" and "Eat" over and over again!

She is not a fan of all of our water outings, but is starting to tolerate them more and more. She usually finds the shallowest part of the water and enjoys licking up the water like a doggie!

The other night we went to a splash park and she seemed to like that a little better but after a little while she decided to head for greener pastures!

Maggie is very affectionate and loving. Her favorite thing to search for is a lap that she can sit down in. I dont think she minds much whose laps she finds as long as there is one around :) She has started giving kisses when asked for one and it is so much fun to get them from her! Even if she does give you some tongue with her kisses they are awesome!

Maggie has started to get more sleep during the day due to our new nanny that we LOVE so she and Annabelle are able to go to bed at the same time each evening. That means that all 4 of us pile into Annabelle's bed for prayer time each night and we all exchange LOTS of kisses! Annabelle and Maggie LOVE getting and giving kisses from each other and I LOVE listening to their precious giggles. I wish I could see Annabelle and Maggie enjoying more special sister time but mostly Annabelle plays and Maggie just watches. Annabelle does not really play WITH Maggie but I know she loves her little sister very much. I pray that Annabelle will develop the skills to tolerate playing with her sister over the next few years but until then, I treasure each moment I see them playing beside each other or interacting in some way.

My girl is a serious animal lover! If she sees an animal anywhere is sight, she gets all excited and starts "talking" all about them! My poor cat is chased around the house all day long but so far she has never been caught but Maggie. I wish Makey would let Maggie pet her and sit down with her, but alas that is not in the cards. Somehow she seems to have the same "fleeting" effect on all of the animals she encounters!

Maggie really is a sweet spirit and is at the stage where she really listens and obeys to most of what I saw. I think it is amazing to see her looking for permission and guidance as she goes through her day. She will start toward something and always gives me a little look of-"Mommy is this okay" before she continues. I know the days of this obedience are going to be short lived so I am treasuring them as I see them now. She is starting to push the limits these days and doing things I have asked her not to. In the picture below she is barely touching the water and looking at me to see if it is ok. So sweet....and disobedient at the same time :)

Maggie does not have any words yet, but we find a way to communicate pretty well most of the time. I am starting to teach her more and more sign language until her vocabulary catches up with her. For now, she understands everything we say and is mimicking sounds she hears for words she likes.

My dear sweet Maggie...you are such a joy to my life and truly make each day sweeter with your magical hugs and kisses. You are loved beyond measure by your Daddy, your sister and your Mommy! I pray that I can get to know you more and more over the next several years and unlock the key to your mind and heart so I can find the best way to teach you.

Life of a Mom...

2010-07-20T16:17:00.000-05:00

I came across this article today and was seriously laughing out loud! I guess there are people out there that really think this way, but I bet they will never talk to me about it :)

It is the hardest transition ever to try to get things done and be a mom. It takes me 4-5 times the amount of time to get things picked up around my house then it used to because I start one chore and hear a scream and go running to see what the problem is. I start another one and someone poops or pees on the floor and I have to stop and tend to that. It is not uncommon at all to walk around my house on a Saturday afternoon and see about 10 different chores partially finished. It has gotten progressively worse as the kids have gotten older. I figured it would get better, but maybe that will happen in a few more years!

The other issue is that I am SEVERLY outnumbered when it comes to picking things up. There are 4 people that make a mess and only 1 that picks up. Well, Maggie does like to help me fold clothes but she just shakes them out and throws them on the floor. And Annabelle has started to gather things up and put them away, but I usually cant figure out where she has put them... But the thoughts are nice! :)

As different as my household chores are, it does make it worth it that I get lots of hugs and kisses as payment...and those come from 3 people so I guess I am outnumbered in that area as well :)

A Road map

2010-06-15T16:29:00.000-05:00

How many times have you heard the Bible referred to as road map in sermons from distinguished pastors? I have heard this NUMEROUS times. In fact, I bet I have even said it a time or two in my life. However my pastor made a comment a few months ago in a sermon about the Bible not being so much a road map but a way to learn about the nature and character of God which can transform our hearts and help us reform our steps.

That has stuck with me because it really changed my view on the authoritative word of God and what role it should play in my life. One of the things I figured out was that I was actually a little frustrated that I could not think of the Bible in that way because then I wanted to know-then where the heck is the road map!!

You see-I don't do well without knowing the answers to the questions about where my path is going and why I am on that path and how I can get off of that path if I want to and most importantly what I am supposed to accomplish on the path. I want ANSWERS. Well-guess what...We don't always have the answers-and we don't always get a road map for exactly how to perform each activity in our life.

However, when we DO get a road map-it is such a nice peaceful feeling! What I have come to realize more and more over the last few weeks is that one of the road maps that we do have is received from those whom God has placed in our lives. I wrote about what Community does for me in my last blog post and this has been reinforced even more during the last few weeks.

My particular new challenge is trying to uncover what it looks like to raise a little girl with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Last week, Annabelle was diagnosed and since I have had the privilege of talking to 2 particular "road maps" about how her little brain works. Her grandfather and her daddy.  They are able to put adult understanding into a 3 years brain that quite frankly-baffles me! I know they will not always have the answers that I so desperately trying to figure out from Annabelle but it is so nice to hear their truth about their brains work.  So now instead of looking at something that Annabelle does and saying-WHAT? into blank air, I can saw-WHAT? to my husband and he can say-"maybe this is what is going on." So refreshing.

I know that they will not have all the answers-they aren't supposed to...but it is great to have some insight and a map that is being constantly filled in. And I get to learn the lesson that God is enough to sustain me AND Annabelle as we both navigate through the rest of the years God has planned for us. God is GOOD!

So Happy Together

2010-05-26T10:50:00.000-05:00

On Sunday, I FINALLY got to see Babies. It is a great movie that I have been anxious to see since I saw the previews a few months back. I was hard pressed to find someone who wanted to see it, but finally my friend Katie-the trooper-said she would go with me. It was different than what I was expecting and really it was like watching a home movie played to music with a few sounds here and there.  I thought it would have been more documentary like with voice overs explaining what we were seeing or explaining traditions etc, but it was just video of 4 babies in 4 parts of the world. Here is how I would rank my desire to raise a baby in these parts of the world:
1. Namibia
2. Japan
3. San Francisco
4. Mongolia
I had pretty strong impressions from my first choice and last choice locations and the reason for both is the same. I CRAVE community. In fact when I thing of Namibia I decided that this is the absolute best way to raise babies. Of course it would take some getting used to-walking around topless, letting babies poop on your leg and cleaning it off with dried corn, licking your baby to clean them, but looking beyond the creature comforts what I thought was amazing and quite exciting was the fact that the mommy had another mommy there with her doing everything together. They walked to the river together, they ground their rocks to make paint together, they made meals together, etc.  Each time they showed a scene, I had tears in my eyes thinking how great that would be.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, the baby from Mongolia lived in a remote field with no other family around. In fact the whole movie I only saw one other person besides the family and that was a doctor that came to weigh the baby on a house call. The baby from Mongolia was PRECIOUS and would provide a lot of entertainment on his own but I could not take that as a only form of contact.

Thinking about this over the last few days I am starting to see how much my emotional well being is controlled by those around me. When Annabelle was born, I had one friend who was a mommy.  My sweet friend Kim.  Landen was 7 months old when Annabelle was born and I had serious adjustment issues. I will never forget being in my chair holding Annabelle shortly after she was born and Kim calling me to check on my and feeling like I was talking to the guru of motherhood. It felt so nice to talk to someone who knew where I was. She provided advice and a listening ear to a mommy who was losing it! Fast forward 2 years and Maggie joined our family and I had LOTS of mommies to help share in the journey. We had friends come over to eat dinner with us, babies for both girls to play with and mots of people for Mommy to talk to. In fact, the day we came home from the hospital, 2 good friends were at our house staying with Annabelle while she took a nap. As it turned out, Kyle had to take Ryland home to nap because she was keeping Annabelle up and so Sherah and Talitha stayed at our house for several hours waiting for our sleeping beauties to wake up. God orchestrated those few hours just for me! I dont know that I would have been able to tell anyone that I needed people around me in those early days but it made such a difference.  During my maternity leave, I had play dates, outings and all kinds of fun with my family. I was loving life and I can not say that about my early days with Annabelle.

This past weekend, my very talented husband was working on a home repair project ALL DAY on Saturday. To be honest I still dont know exactly what he was doing, but on a day I look forward to hanging with ALL my family, we were one man down. My family was not complete without my fun husband and I started to get really sad. Now, to be honest, the way that sadness showed up was being quite angry with him for taking so long, but honestly, I just wanted to go to the park or get some ice cream or WHATEVER else he wanted to do together as a family. After a few days of contemplation, I realized that I need people much more than I every thought I did.

Of course this can go to an extreme that is unhealthy-co dependence, but I really dont think I have an unhealthy need for this type of togetherness and I think it is quite biblical to share life with people around you.  Recognizing that I NEED anything from other people is honestly a little hard to admit, but after 35 years I finally am able to say it-and finally able to recognize it.

So for those who read this and are part of my "hit" of people time-THANK YOU. You all make life easier to enjoy and stir my heart for the Lord!

Then and Now

2010-05-10T12:46:00.000-05:00

One of the reasons I was most excited about going to Santiago was because that is where Italo and I went for our Honeymoon almost 5 years ago. We spent about 2 weeks there in a wonderful hotel room in downtown Santiago. It was a magical time for us getting to know each other on a new level and I LOVED learning about the city that Italo lived in for about 5 yrs. Since I was not able to speak the language he took really good care of me and I LOVED sitting back and letting him make all the decisions about how we were going to get some place and him ordering for me etc.

This trip was different because we spend all of our time with our family and we had the small matter of 2 small kids to accompany us! It was nice to spend time in Mom and Dad's house and the girls LOVED sleeping in the same room. I am thinking we might just move them into a room together soon since they liked it so much---and we will get a guest room/play room out of the deal :) We did not really do much on this trip that we did on our honeymoon but the final day we were there, we did visit the Santa Lucia castle in downtown. When I told Annabelle we were going to a castle, she first said-YAY SAND. Then I told her it was not a sand castle but a REAL castle and then she said-"I want to see the Princess!". It took a while to get there that day and so we heard about the Princess and the Castle quite a bit that day!!

Once we got everything loaded up in the car for our departure that evening, we dropped the bags off at the church so we would have more room in the car as we drove around the city. We then started the long journey of going around the castle. It is quite beautiful and it brought back a lot of good memories of our time there while we were on our honeymoon!

Almost 5 years ago, I stood on these stairs looking at my husband and dreaming of the life we would share together. I sat in front of this fountain with a wonderful man I was privileged to call my husband and wondering what life would be like in 5 years

Now 5 years later, I sit on those stairs looking at my husband loving the life we have and sat in front of that same fountain with my girls wondering what the next 5 years will look like for our family. The one thing that is FOR SURE is that I love my husband more today than I did 5 years ago and love the family that God has created in the 5 years he has allowed us to be together.

Thank you Jesus for all of your blessings!

Silly Pili

2010-05-06T23:13:00.000-05:00

Italo's mom has a friend here in Chile named Pili. She became a Christian shortly after his parents arrived in Chile and has been a dear friend to Mom and Dad and also to Italo when they moved to Chile. At the time of their relocation Italo was about 15 or 16 yrs old and really bonded with Pili. On my first visit to Chile, she was SO sweet to me and said that she had prayed for me for years. Of course she did not know who she was praying for but she was faithful to pray for a wife for her friend Italo. I felt so priveledged when she told me that and really felt that quite often during our honeymoon as we meet different people during out stay. I am sure it is a little wierd to Pili that we came back to Chile with 2 more people in our family than the first time we came here but she is still so sweet and gives great hugs when you see her.

At the birthday party for Dad on Saturday, Pili came to the party and when Italo introduced Annabelle to Pili he did so by saying her name was Silly Pili (Pilly). The name stuck and Annabelle has asked about several times since they first met. On Sunday I got the priveledge of meeting her granddaughter who is about 5 1/2 months old and is a true doll. She is very cuddly and sooooo cute. Her name is Emilia (pronced Amelia) and it is has been very fun to talk to her Mommy about raising babies in Chile. Natalia got married and within a year was pregnant with their first child. She said all she ever wanted was to be a Mommy and wants 5 kids by the time all is said and done. She and her family live with her parents, Silly Pili REALLY spoils her little granddaughter.

Her room is truly made for a Princess. The little crib is decked out in beautiful blankets and a canopy. She let us borrow the bed for Maggie to sleep in and Nati was very suprised Maggie would go to sleep anywhere we put her. Maggie is always a very easy baby to put to sleep but because she was not feeling well, she was even easier. So Nati asked me how I got her to sleep and I told her that I contiioned Maggie from a young age that once the door closed for a nap or for bedtime, it did not open again until it was time to get up. Natalie was very eager to learn more but Silly Pili wanted nothing to do with such TORTURE! It was really funny.

The property that Pili and her family lives on is gorgeous and we were able to get lots of fun pictures of Annabelle.

When we arrived, we were invited to go outside to eat some appetizers and everyone was beyond amazed that I would take my girls out in the fall/winter weather with bare legs. Everyone was very concerned and finally brought me some tights and a coat for Maggie. I think they all felt much better once she was decked out right for the weather. I was glad too because it was a lot colder than I thought it would be and did not know we would be outside. However, I had a lot of worried moms to take care of the girls!

After Maggie woke up from her nap we tried to get some family photos and I did not put the warm wardrobe back on and Nati and Pili were cringing the whole time. Finally Nati brought me the coat and put it on Maggie saying she just HAD to wear it! It made me laugh but I really thought it was super sweet of her to care for my little girl like that. The family photos did not turn out very well but the new picture at the top is from the attempts. As Italo said, at least we were all in the Picture ;)

That evening Nati and her family came over with a lot of other folks from the church and "watched" a soccer game and ate some Completos (Hot Dogs). No one but Italo and I actually watched the game but they all enjoyed their food, friends and good conversation. Nati actually speaks VERY good english and I really enjoyed chatting with her about kids. She really liked all the modern ways of doing things with kids including keeping them on a schedule and NOT feeding them Coca Cola in their bottles but those around her thought she was peculiar. It is quite remarakable how different even the smallest things are in regard to babies and it was very nice for me to take a step back and see what other people thing is normal.

Besides the conversation with Nati, I also really enjoyed my first taste of a Chilean Hot Dog-Completo. It was different and ingredients I would have never thought belonged together but it was quite good. The Completo is made with a large roll and a hot dog complete with Avocado, Tomatoes and Mayonaise. YUMMY

Cesitar!

2010-05-06T22:23:00.000-05:00

As I have said, we came to Chile primarily to celebrate Dad's 60th Birthday. However as an added benefit we got the priveledge of celebrating a 5 year old's birthday as well! Cesar Alfonso Bergen was born on May 4th 2005 in Santiago de Chile. I have only had the opportunity to see him a few times since that day. The first time was a few days before my wedding day. He was a VERY cute little ring bearer.

He was only a few months old at the time and of course I was super busy getting married so I did not get to see him very much. But he was super cute and I was so glad that I got to meet him! The next time we saw him he was about 18 months old and we made a trip to MN to visit Bruno and Heather and Mom and Dad fro Mom's birthday in September of 2006. He was a very compact ball of energy. Super cute but he was more interested in his cousins than with boring old Aunt Amy. The next time I saw him was September 2008 when he and his Mama came through Dallas on their way home from Maui. We only saw him for an afternoon and he did not talk to me very much since he was primarily speaking Spanish. He and Annabelle seemed to have a great time playing together!

I was very excited to see him and his sister during this trip and since Alessandra has been in the hospital since we arrived we have gotten to spend lots of time with Cesar because his parents have needed help with him. That was has been quite the joy! For the most part, Annabelle and Cesar have played very well together. When he first came into the house, he had a HUGE smile on his face and was very happy to give me a big hug! Annabelle was very glad to have a cousin to play with and they were SOOOO cute together! As time as gone on, they have started to get in little fights here and there but nothing too major. Cesar is a very sweet hearted boy who likes to play with a venegance. He seems to be comfortable in any situation you put him in and has even proven to be a good translator for me with some of the kids in the area.

On Tuesday we were excited to celebrate his birthday amidst the emotions of his sister being in the hospital. However, the night before his mommy went home from the hospital sick while Mom went to be with Alessandra. The next morning, the birthday boy woke up feeling sick and sleep a good part of the day.

However that evening, we were able to go over to their house and have a little party with him. Annabelle was very glad to have another person to sing Happy Birthday to and of course she knew cake was coming! We went to the mall to buy him a birthday present and even though Annabelle was very excited about this venture she feel asleep as soon as her head hit the stroller!

But when we got back into the car she was happy to be going to the party. When we arrived, the big boys started playing with the Wii and did not give the birthday boy much of a turn.

However once he opened his birthday presents he had lots to keep him occupied. Annabelle took over the new soccer game we gave him but he was a trooper to share his brand new toy. So Sweet!

We had a delicious cake for his birthday but everyone was feeling a little sick and Annabelle, Italo and I were the only ones to indulge in the cake. O well! Annabelle would have been very confused if she had gone to a party and not gotten cake! It was a good dinner for us ;)

That evening Maggie had started to have a fever again and was not feeling up to par but she did enjoy getting a walk in at the mall

And a bounce in her cousin's bouncer

All of that activity tuckered her out pretty quickly and she was REALLY ready to go to bed by the time we finally got home. She was asleep as soon as I laid her down and before I even got a chance to get out of the room ;)

Constitucion

2010-05-04T22:41:00.000-05:00

on February 27th at 3:34 am local time a devastating magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck Chile, one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded. In fact it was the 5th strongest in the world recorded to date.

In Dallas, TX we were awoken about 7:00am local time from a call from Italo's Dad that they and the rest of the family in Chile were ok. We were a bit surpised to hear the news because we had not heard nay news reports of the earthquakes but were VERY relived that we heard from Dad before we heard any news reports.

To drive around Santiago de Chile, you would have to look pretty hard to see any damage of the earthquake. The city was build to withstand this type of disaster and it did a great job coming through for its people.

This is one of many gorgeous glass building totally unaffected by the earthquake in Santiago. There are some cracks in walls and buidling but nothing that you would imagine from such a strong earthquake.

However-the people of Constitucion de Chile did not have the same fate. About 20 minutes after the earthquake the beach resort property of Constitucion suffered a Tsunami that caused remarkable damage to their city. 20 minutes later, another Tsunamu hit and 20 minutes later yet ANOTHER one hit-the strongest of the three. Because Chile has the opposite seasons as the States, February 27th was one of the last weekends priors to the end of summer and the beginning of school. This particular weekend they were also planning a big celebration with fireworks etc to end summer so the resorts were even more crowded than normal. There were 100's of people that has camped out on a little island in the river to get a good seat for the firework show and party and all but 7 were carried off into the Pacific ocean as a result of the 3 Tsunamis that they suffered. Yesterday, we took a trip to see this devastion that the Earthquake and Tsunami has left behind in this city.

This is the island and the water reached as high as the trees. Here you can see where the sea water and sun has burned the trees after the water resided. The 7 people who surived on this island said they did so by climbing up to the trees and holding on.

Within the city, you still see the marks of the Earthquake all around even more than a month later.

This once popular vacation resort in know quite the opposite. The restaurant row of the city was TOTALLY destroyed and there are piles of rubish piled on top of each in the area where the restaurants once were. People have been looting anything valuable from this area since the quake and are still seen doing that on the day we visted to see if there is anything they may want or need.

You can tell by walking around that the city was once quite beauitful and in fact there is still evidence of God's beauty all around by looking at the beautiful waves breaking agaisnt the rocks. However, you only have to turn your bag and see the damage that the water caused.

Now instead of beautiful homes and resorts that overlook this beautiful water, the habitants of this city rest in this houses at night:

Dad has become known as the Apostle of the Tsunami because he has such a heart for the people in the city. The pastor of the church there is in association with him and they have put on a soccer camp for the kids there and the pastor is following up with each fmaily who came to the camp. When we were there yesterday he was talking to the familes and asking them what they needed most. He is brining done about 25 men later this month to help and he continues to follow up with each person he can. It was really cool to see him at his job in that way! For now, as I go to sleep in my comfy bed I will remember all the kids I saw yesterday and pray for them as they sleep in their shelters.

One of the remarkable things about the city is that among the rubble and destruction you do not have to look very far to see a proud Chilean flag blowing in the wind.

It is great for them to have such pride in their country and determination to rebuild what they have lost. I am so glad that I was able to make the trip-long as it was (about 15 hrs in all) and hear from the people who live there and minister there what it is really like.

As hard as it was to see all the destruction, it would not be a typical Frigoli day if there were not laughs and giggles along the way. We also had 2 amazing meals!

This was Chicken with Sausage, Muscels and Clams

This was type of pot roast with Eggs and French fried taters. They had a DELICIOUS Tomotae and Cilantro sauce to go over the meat and it was great! We also stopped for some chocolate on the way and Italo was VERY excited to find some chocolate eggs with candy in them from when he was little. Italo ate one and shared the other one with Annabelle this morning. Both girls enjoyed the little eggs/toy that came inside of the chocolate and they were good toys for them.

The Boys even got the priveleidge of watching transporter on the TV while we were eatting dinner. It is funny how boys can socialize with each other. Just being together makes them feel like they have spent time together instead of actually talking while we ate :)

Silly Boys!

One last photo of our journey is Italo and Bruno posing under the sign for the restaurant we ate at. Translation-the Dirty Old Ladies! Great to lower expectations of the food before you go in :)

3 days of Parties

2010-05-04T12:41:00.000-05:00

The senior version of Italo Frigoli had a birthday on April 30th. This is the reason for our travels to Chile in fact. Well here in Chile they party for days. We had a family party for Dad on his actual birthday, a friends party on Saturday and a church party on Sunday. Lots of people to celebrate with and for Dad. Which to be honest-he deserves many more days of celebrations because he is very awesome! But it was quite the last few days. Yesterday I blogged about the family party but on Saturday we got up and tried to figure out where to find for an Asado (a BBQ) for the party. Well-Mom was trying to find food while the biys were STILL trying to figure out to hang the famous LED Light on the pole outside.

The boys were trying to figure out to SAFELY hang this light and the neighbors heard of BOTH of our dilemias and solved both. They brought over meat for the Asado AND the husband and the wife climbed up the ladder and hung the light we had been discussing for 2 days right up! My camera ran out of batteries at the wrong time to capture the big moment but I did capture what Italo was doing while the neighbors were hanging the light.

She is a good snuggler-but not much a light hanging helper!!

While Mom was still trying to figure out how to get more food for the Asado we got a call from

Sandra that Cesitar was going to be allowed to visit Alessandra in the hospital for a few minutes. So Mom and I rushed up to the hospital to let the siblings visit about the time folks were suppossed to be arriving for the party. On the way, Mom got a call that her friend had found a store to get meat and fixins and everyone was taking care of things back at the house. What a great way for everyone to come together for Dad's party!!! We had a GREAT time seeing Alessandra and Cesitar took some nice photos of the patient!

Well I took that one ;)

His Self Portrait

And Auntie and Alessandra

After our visit to the precious, we made our way back to the party and everything was in full swing. We had a DELICIOUS feast of meat, chicken, Tomatoe and Cilantro sauce and lots of good veggies.

It was a Great feast and all of Dad's friends were a riot! They are all so silly and like to tease him and everyone else. I can see where Italo gets his silliness for sure now! Maggie slept through most of the party but Annabelle eating her feat while watching Nick Jr! It is funny that my in-laws have DirectTv and you can flip between Spanish and English on the Tv very easily so we can watch all of Annabelle's favorite shows even while we are here. It has been quite the treat for ALL of us!

When Maggie woke up the girls had a very nice time playing with some of the other girls but they were VERY frustrated at me and Annabelle for not talking to them. One girl in particular around 8 yrs old thought we were SO RUDE for not answering her questions or talking to her. I felt so bad but what can I do. I guess we did not make a good impression on her ;) I did have a nice time playing with my girls while everyone else was playing and even got a few good pictures of them playing with MY new toy!

Italo took most of these photos but they are such a treasure to me-both the pictures and the GIRLS!!

We are so glad we get to be with Dad on his birthday and see how his friends love on him. So happy for all that the Lord has provided for them in Santiago De Chile!

The next day was Sunday and so that means CHURCH! Annabelle was quite excited to go to church but was a little disappointed that her friend Avery was not there. I kept telling her that Avery was a LONG way away but she things going to church means seeing her so she was really hoping that was true ;) She had a great time once we got there. Both of the girls where with us during the praise and worship and it was really fun to see them BOTH clap and dance to the beautiful songs they played.

Annabelle ended up falling asleep in this position with her Daddy while Uncle Bruno preached and Mommy and Maggie were at the back of the church walking back and forth. After the sermon, I brought Maggie back to the front and sat with Annabelle while Italo held Maggie-and SHE fell alseep as well ;) He was quite my hero that day for putting both girls to sleep especially when we knew it was going to a really hard day for naps. After the invitation was over they had a really nice presentation for Dad of cake and a nice photo collage of family photos. Then Annabelle sang him Happy Birthday in a VERY quiet voice. Good thing there was a microphone! After the service we had a little luncheon--except none of the family actually got to eat anything except for Annabelle who got some corn on the cob

However not getting food gave us a good excuse to go to the Hospital to met Sandra and the rest of the family-minus Alessandra for lunch at the mall. The mall was CRAZY busy but we managed to finally eat some yummy Italian food and enjoy the company of the family. After the lunch we attempted some family photos but did not come up with too many!

O well!

First Full Day in Chile!

2010-05-01T09:10:00.003-05:00

The first day of a trip always seems to be the hardest for me. I dont have things down to a rhythm and dont have a good place for everything yet. Usually by the time you start to feel like you have things down, it is time to leave! But for a first full day in Chile, things were pretty good.

This morning we were all kind of lazy and girls enjoyed their music while watching Imagination Movers in Spanish! Annabelle thinks it is hilarious that the song is different and keeps walking around singing-Imagination Hombres...blah blah blah.... My in-laws actually have DirectTV and you can instantly switch between English and Spanish so we can let her watch the show in English but she has started to prefer the Spanish version!

After milk, apple juice and cartoons, we had a delcious breakfast of Dulce De Leche, bread, cheese and ham! YUMMY!!!! It was a little funny trying to convience Annabelle that this was breakfast foods but I finally told her it was lunch and she gobbled it right up! Maggie enjoyed a banana and some delicous white soft cheese with her bread. After breakfast the neighbor let us borrow some outside toys for the girls and so we got to go outside and play.

It is fall here now--but that sun was quite bright and warm as the girls were playing in the yards in the cul-de-sac. I had a BLAST playing with the SLR camera we borrowed for the trip and tried to take lots of pictures of the girls.

Then we got to see Cesistar and he and Annabelle went on a little adventure without telling any of the adults. Cesistar was trying to tell Annabelle not to go past the stop sign but she did not listen-big suprise and so he followed her down the street on their tricycles. When I realized that she was allowed to go outside with Cesar, I ran outside and BIG SUPRISE-Annabelle and Cesar were no where to be found. Italo went running down one way in the neighborhood and I went the others. I found them riding not too far from home and Cesistar was telling me that he had tried to stop her. It really made me laugh-WAY after things calmed down to listen of my 5 yr old nephew trying to parent my 3 yr old daughter.

After a delcious feast of Spagetti and salad and avocado, we went to visit the beauitful patient in the Critical Care unit of the hospital.

The doctors think they figured out what is wrong with Alessandra but have to run test to confirm it and come up with an action plan to help her live with the disorder. (Later tonight they called to confirm) She has a disorder called Glycogen Storage Disorder (von Gierke's disease) where her liver holds the gluclose instead of uses it and so it causes severe hypoglycemia. The only solution is to eat high amounts of carbohydrates every 2 hours or so. So I am sure they will have a lot to learn and deal with over the next several weeks and months. She is stil in the hospital but hopefully she will get out tomorrow. She was a very sweet patient and I was so glad to get to see her again!

We went to the mall for a walk but my kids were missing their naps and were hungry and so things were a little harder than was resonable so we had to take off pretty early.

Annabelle and Maggie have been enjoying the freedom of being in the car without a carseat but Annabelle has been thrown on the floor several times because she is not wanting to sit down in the car. It is funny that the thing they hate the MOST about the car rides is what they both seem to want more than anything right now-their safe seats! We all had a "great" time listening to Annabelle and Cesistar sing in the car-the funniest was Old McDonald where we picked Squirrel as the animal and heard Cesistar say-squeak squeak there...but is sounded more like esqueak esqueak there...So cute!!!

When we got home the girls had some dinner and then I searched ALL OVER the house for Maggie's medicine. We will have to add that to the list of things we have lost on this trip because I could not find it anywhere. Luckily the dr gave us samples in small amounts so we had extra in the suitcase so Maggie could still take her antibotic as scheduled. Hopefully we can find that tomorrow.

We were planning a big asado for Dad's birthday tomorrow but it is Labor day in Chile tomorrow and all the stores are closing early tonight and are not opening tomorrow to celebrate. Mom is going to get creative with her hosting tomorrow but I am sure it will come off great in the end. Right now the boys, Cesar, Italo, Bruno and Dad are sitting on the back porch with a VERY large and bright LED light that Italo has installed; enjoying their man time together! They are very silly.

Update 1-Flight Details...

2010-04-30T22:12:00.000-05:00

On Wednesday night at 6:30 pm we left our home and packed A LOT of bags into the car to get on a plane to go to Chile. Earlier that day we got a call from the daycare that Maggie had a 102.8 fever. So we took a trip to the doctor and got LOTS of meds for our little princess-and luckily the doctor was nice enough to give us samples so we did not have to go to the pharmacy before we left. So-with this devopment-of course I was less than excited to get on a plane. But we arrived checked in our bags and started to wait to board the plane.

Everone settled in and Maggie was asleep in my arms before the plane took off-arond 9:30pm.  We were able to get her comfortable in the seat next to us-Thank you Lord for letting us have an extra seat-and she slept for several hours before waking up. Annabelle was having a BLAST with Italo watching Movers on the IPod and having a great time eatting fruit snacks and whatever else she was given. A few hous into the flight, I switched seats with Italo so I could get Annabelle to sleep and then the parents were left to sleep....we did not obey as well as our kids. I think I may have taken cat naps here and there but for the most part we were awake.

Maggie woke up about 2:30 or so AM and did not want to go back to sleep.  She was super upset and started crying. After only a few moments of rocking and a bottle of milk she finally went back to sleep. Annabelle woke up after about 5 hrs of sleeping and was in a pretty good mood. Around that time, the milk that I gave Maggie made another appearance on my shirt and Maggie's blanket but Maggie seemed to feel better after it was no longer a part of her!

After we landed we began the LONG journey of getting through customs...

I did not make matters easier by bringing yogurt into their Country!  I had brought all kinds of snacks for the plane ride and then they feed us dinner and breakfast so we did not really break into the reserves. My kids really like yogurt and my friends had turned me onto Gerber Yogurt that does not have to be refridgerated. Well, I had a little 4 pack of yogurt that was never opened but we had to go through all kinds of extra things to get into the country because of it.

When we FINALLY made it out customs we saw a very excited Nonno and Nonna and got into their new Ford Explorer that held all of us AND the luggage! Quite a feat!

Unfortantly on the way out of the airport, Annabelle lost her VERY 1st and FAVORITE little snuggly blanket. She has had it since before she was born and was the first thing she really attached to.

It was very "loved" and she asked for that particular blanket quite often. We tried to go back but we could not find it on the ground anywhere so someone must have picked it up. I am more sad about it than she is at this point but she did ask for it at nap time that afternoon. We told her we lost it and she DID NOT throw a complete fit. So amazing for her. Luckily we still have her second favorite with us so she had a blanket to cuddle with during her nap.

After arriving, we had some breakfast and let the girls play a little bit around Nonno and Nonna's house while the boys went wondering around the city. The day before we left for our trip we found out that our niece, Alessandra had been admitted to the hospital for an enlarged liver. When we arrived, they still did not know what the problem was and were doing diagnstics to try to get to the bottom of it. So-the boys went to the hospital to see their little sister and got a little distracted by events there :) She is super cute so I can understand being distracted. Please pray for her and her mommy-they hare really having a hard time and both being quite the troppers while they try to get to the bottom of things.

While the guys were visting and buying computers I took a nap with Annabelle and Maggie. I slept about 2 hours and they both slept 5 1/2 hrs! They were much happier when they woke up and still went right to sleep at bedtime! Sleepy girls. Maggie is doing better after a nap a bath and 2 doses of antibotics so we hope tomorrow will be even better! Looking foward to a good day because we get to celebrate Nonno's 60th Birthday!

We LOVE YOU DAD!!!

Happy Birthday to my Princess Margaret Rose

2010-04-24T00:28:00.000-05:00

The current queen of England had a sister. She died a few years ago but she was named Margaret Rose. And she was a real live Princess. Apparently she was a little feisty and was known to be a diva. However, MY Princess Margaret Rose is a real sweetie and brings joy to my day EVERYDAY! She gives the absolute BEST hugs and has a way to smile that makes your heart melt. Today we got the pleasure of spending a day celebrating her for her 1srt birthday...

Italo took Annabelle to school this morning so I could spend some more time getting ready for Maggie's big gathering this evening. We actually started getting ready in full force last night and Italo and I stayed up for several hours prepping Mac and Cheese, Bakes Beans and Meatballs for her party and gluing flowers on plates. It was a really nice evening for me even though we were working because we were able to talk and catch up while we worked. It was a GREAT!

Maggie finally woke up at 8:30 and I was able to get some extra long Birthday hugs since I did not have to share them with anyone else in the house. What a treat! We then went to Target (we tried a different one out this time) to get some pictures. Her magical smile did not appear because she was a little sleepy. I was hoping she would wake up in time this afternoon for a re shoot but it did not happen so we are left with what we got. She is still a cutie even with a different than normal smile.

After the photo shoot the model was hungry so we meet Daddy for a special birthday lunch and Uncle Julios. Maggie feasted on chicken and beef fajitas, rice and beans. The waiter noticed it was her birthday (because of her bday shirt) and he brought us an order of sopapiallas. She really enjoyed tearing those apart and eating those as well.

After lunch we headed over to Hobby Lobby to look for some party favors for her party. We found some cute things for Mommy to work on during naptime. Here is the finished product:

Mommy needed to run some more errands but Maggie was too sleepy so we headed home for her nap. During her nap, I got everything set up for her party and tried to get everything ready for Italo to come home and help put the finishing touches on the gathering.

During Maggie's nap my brother came over to deliver the girls' birthday present and stayed at home while Kimberly and I went to get Annabelle from school. Annabelle was very glad to get home so we could start partying! She was even more excited to get home and see what her surprise was!

The Sandbox was a great success to have at the party and I know it will provide lots of good memories over the years with the girls! Thanks Redmons!

We got everything ready and everyone started to arrive! We were able to see so many good friends and of course our devoted family who has been at each and everything gathering for generations! So many folks we have not seen in a while and others we see each week were there to celebrate Maggie and it was great too see each of their faces. After a feat of Brisket Sandwiches, Sausage, Meatballs, Baked beans, Mac and Cheese and Corn on the Cob we were able to let Maggie taste her first taste of Cake! Things got off to a rotten start when she put her finger in the candle flame but once Daddy got her to taste what was on her finger-she was set!

In no time at all our princess was covered in icing as should be the case on a first birthday!

Since Mommy did not get the bib on in time, Maggie got a outfit change for the present opening time. She was much more interested in walking with her "Car" than opening presents but her sister and some of her friends came to the rescue and helped her get it done! I am beyond blown away at all the stuff Maggie got for her birthday. WOW-she is going to be playing and dressing well for quite some time!

It was AWESOME day and an great celebration of her first year. We made a book of Words for Maggie to commemorate her first birthday and I CAN NOT wait to have it delivered. I hope she will cherish it as much as I enjoyed making it for her. I will try to see how to get a link to the online book so you guys can see what everyone wrote. It was so fun and will be such a great way for her to read the thoughts of those who have loved on her through her first year. I pray that we will have MANY MANY years with each person in that book and all those that have been with us in this exciting adventure called parenting!

Breaking my Daughter's Heart

2010-04-16T21:10:00.001-05:00

On Easter morning, I went in to Annabelle's room and we had our usual moring chat. I have been doing this since she was a small baby because I wanted to have some special time with her and could not let myself rock her to sleep at night so I chose to have morning time with her instead. This week, I sang my Good Morning song and opened the blinds and sat on her bed and was talking to her about Easter. I talked to her about Jesus and how He was hurt by people that were scared of what he wanted to do in their city and that he was killed by those people. I then went on to tell her that Jesus was buried and then 3 days later he was healed of all his cuts, bruises and boo boos and was raised from the dead. I then told her that Jesus was taking care of things for us in Heaven with God and that we could trust Him to keeps things in control. She was not saying much back so I asked her what she thought about Jesus. She said that Jesus had a boo boo. And that He was crying. I said yes, he was crying because the people that were hurting her did not understand what they were doing and he asked God to forgive them. She then looked at me with a serious face and said, "I dont have a band-aid". I asked her what she needed a band aid for and she said, "For Jesus". I told her that Jesus did not need a band aid because he was healed from all his boo boos and he was in Heaven all better now. And I told her that because he had those boo boos, we could go to Heaven as well. BUT, she just kept saying she wanted a band aid for Jesus. I really felt bad for her at first because she was really sad she could not help Jesus. I was trying to talk her out of her sadness, but later on I realized I needed to let her stay in that place.

Annabelle needs to have her heart broken over what happened to Jesus. If her heart is not broken, she will not grasp the reality of what happened to our Savior for HER.

If her heart is not broken, she will not be able to recognize that she can not DO ANYTHING to "fix" Jesus boo boos or the state of her our soul.

My prayers for her have changed since that conversation. I now pray that her life will guide her into moments of truth instead of ease. I pray that Jesus will reveal the truth of who He is to her in full and not just in part. I pray that she will understand the state of her heart and that she will desire God more than anything.

Happy 3rd Birthday to my Princess Annabelle!

2010-04-10T23:32:00.000-05:00

I am a day late in getting this written but I have been busy celebrating Annabelle! I have made it a tradition to take off of work on the day of Annabelle's birthday to celebrate with my little girl all day long. This year we had a blast!

We started the day of by taking Maggie to school and going to a playdate with some of Annabelle's friends at Pump It Up. We then went next door for some yummy pizza and pasta with our friends and Mommy loved chatting with mommies while Annabelle ran around playing with Ryland, Avery and Ethan. She was so excited about having her birthday with her buddies and they did not disappoint! It was a great morning.

We tried to go home and take a nap, but the excitment got the better of her and she played more than slept during her rest time. Of course, the big change in our regular routine this week has been the departure of the paci and this change has caused a SHARP decrease into Annabelle's willingness to take a nap. So, I was not thinking we would have much success in this area but Mommy needed to clean the house so I thought that a rest time was in order for the birthday girl!

I then put curls in Annabelle's hair to get her ready for her photos at Target. That is the other tradition we have for the birthday-Pictures! The first year Annabelle and I actually went to 2 different places for pictures because the first place we went did not go very well. So we went home to let her have a nap and then went out for another session.

Last year on Annabelle's 2nd birthday-I was 2 weeks from delivering Maggie so we had some birthday pics and maternity pics.

This year Annabelle actually posed for some pictures and we got some great photos of my little princess. Even though I had to fake cry to get her to smile-they were worth it!

After the photo session, we went to get Maggie from school and we were both glad to have the girls together. We then went home to a GREAT suprise of having our living room full of ballons from Grandpa and Annie! Annabelle had a GREAT time playing with all the ribbons and pulling down balloons and then throwing them back into the bunch. It was FUN!

After getting some dinner we had all of the family over for a great night of cake and hugs and kisses. Annabelle was looking forward to her birthday cake for HOURS and was very glad when we told her it was time for the blowing out of the candles! This year she actually blew then out---this was the first!

After the cake we opened some fun presents and then Annabelle kinda walked around in a daze playing with all of her new prizes and trying to figure out what to do next. Luckily there were lots of people there to give her kisses while she tried to figure out which toy to play with next.

It was a fantastic day and I am so grateful for each of the last 1096 days that I have had the privelidge of being a mommy!

Annabelle is a wonderful joy in our house and provides lost of lessons for mommy and daddy. She has made parents out of 2 people who had no idea what she had in store for us! She has rewarded us with so many kisses and hugs I could not count them if I tried and is turning into quite the little lady with a heart that is eager to please and hears that are always open to hear what we think of her. I know that God has given me this beautiful little girl to teach me more about Himself and more about the state of my heart. Being a wife is one step into the idea of seeing how Christ loves us, but being a mommy leads us to see how much we dont deserve His love and how much He really wants to give it to us. Thank you Jesus for allowing me to be Annabelle's mommy. I know you chose us for each other for a reason and I am so excited to see what lessons I learn from my daugther!

My Ode to the Paci

2010-04-08T22:47:00.000-05:00

Oh Paci My Paci---How do I Love you, let me count the ways! Almost 3 years ago (on Sunday) I brought a little baby home from the hospital...I can not say she was an immediate fan of our home but the one thing that seemed to make things better was a PACI. Car rides were made better (not pleasant, but tolerable) because of the paci. I was able to enjoy 11 sweet months of cuddle time and a movies with my little baby because of the sweet paci that went with us to the movie theaters. My little bundle of joy sleep through the night (11-6) at 5 weeks old because of that piece of rubber in her mouth. She would spit it out and want some milk, but if I had enough energy to flip over and give her the paci, she would go back to sleep for several hours. We could go anywhere we wanted with our baby and when it was time for a nap or even bed--we changed her into PJs, gave her a paci and she cuddled up with Mommy and off to sleep she went. As an older paci addict I told her it was time to go to bed and she would often RUN to her room knowing it was paci time. When it was bedtime I would close the door and have only had to open it a handful of times in 3 years before it was time to get up for the day. What a splendid life we had-me and that paci!

Now the time has come to part ways with my pacis and I am not happy about it at all! Annabelle has cried herself to sleep all but one evening this week-including right now and has cried immediately when she wokes up each day this week. She has only had one nap this week. I fear my bliss is over! There are NOT a lot of things that are easy about Annabelle, but one thing that has always been that way is her SLEEP. I have to be strong and resist the urge to buy her a bag full of pacis for her birthday tomorrow!

Right now I am really thinking what is so wrong with a kid with buck teeth...I mean it may be cute ;) If I only let Annabelle have it while she is sleeping how much damage can it really cause?? Maybe if I give her a paci made for preemies it may not be as bad....Maybe she will get old enough one day that she just stops sucking on the dang thing. Really, there has to be some other answer than sticking to this plan of mine!!!!

In all seriousness, I know I must stick to my plan-if only for the fact that we have talked about it so much and Annabelle seems to be on board with trying out this big girl thing and giving up her pacis. If I go back now I think she will remember that if she just cried for enough days she can get whatever she wants. However, it is really frustrating that this has become so hard on my little girl. I heard from SO MANY people that once the paci was taken away, it was no big deal. Hard core addicts have over night gone from NEEDING the paci to just not asking about it anymore---certainly they liked it as much as Annabelle. I guess I did not implement the removal correctly but at this point, what is done is done. I guess there is nothing else to do but to listen to the crying and try to get through each night one day at a time ;)

The good news is that I still have Maggie to pass along my addiction to...

MINE

2010-03-30T22:54:00.000-05:00

I got an email from babycenter.com today about Annabelle and the fact that kids her age are going to be going through the stage where they have the need for their own possesions. They will want to label things as "mine" and be sure that they can have control over those things. Well-Annabelle has been in this stage for a few weeks now and this has proven to be problamtic in the sibling relationship particularly. If Maggie is playing with one of Annabelle's toys, Annabelle comes unglued. Well, lets face it-all of the toys in the house were once Annabelle's.... However, everything is in the house is meant to be shared among everyone in the house except for a few special things each person can have. Annabelle has a special blanket that she does not have to share but beyond that-everything else is fair game.

BUT-the funny thing is that Annabelle has taken this to a new level by declaring me as HER mommy! When I go to school to pick Annabelle up, if any of her friends talk to me, she tells them-That is MY mommy. She does not want me to talk to them or pick up any of the babies in Maggie's room. This is fine and I understand her wanting me to be hers, but recently she has started telling Maggie that. She tries to pull Maggie off of me and says-MY MOMMY! I have tried to explain things to her, but she still insists on her stance!

Well-my sweet girl...I will always be YOURS . From the first time I held you, I was yours...

BUT you will have to share me as your mommy with at least one other little one!

MY Little Maggie Rose

2010-03-29T16:28:00.000-05:00

This weekend, I got the priviledge of having my second child be my only child for a few days! This has not happened since she was born and I was able to hold and spoil her all day long while Annabelle was at school during the day. I knew some things about Maggie prior to this weekend, but I feel like I was able to concentrate only on her (and my husband) for a few days to really get to know her in a new way.

One of the things I have known from the beginning about Maggie is that she goes with the flow very well. During her first week of life, Italo and I were taking her to movies and to test drive cars and she did not mind one bit. She happily waited until we had time to feed her, change her diaper or play with her. SUCH A CHANGE from our first child who really wanted everything done exactly as the day before. During the last 11 months, she has taken Annabelle's lead with what we were going to do everyday. The saying, "The squeeky wheel gets the greese" is sadly very true in our house. To make the house run peacefully, we often cater to Annabelle's needs as long as Maggie is happy. Which is most of the time.

The other thing I have known about Maggie is that she loves to smile! She smiles with the slightest glance in her direction and it melts your heart. She is so happy when people talk to her and happiest when people hold her. She loves to give full body hugs and eats up tickles!

Some things I learned this weekend were that she does not like being the car by herself---she is used to Annabelle being in the back with her. And she is not a fan of new places or new faces. She is quite shy-which suprises me since she likes people so much.

I also learned that she really has a lot to say! She talked and talked to us this weekend. She tried to mimic sounds we made and words we said. This is very normal for a child her age, but when our chatterbox child is around, she does not even try to talk.

The best suprise to me was that she is one of those dream children that sleep in when they are put to bed late! Annabelle has NEVER done this. If she goes to bed at 8:00pm, she is getting up at 7:00. If she goes to bed at 10pm, she is getting up at 7:00. Maggie slept til 9:00 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. What a nice treat for a mommy who has not slept in past 7:00 in 3 years!

I have a lot to learn about you my sweet Maggie---I just need to listen to you more in the midst of the chatter of your family!

No Commands??? Seriously...

2010-03-15T10:50:00.001-05:00

I have not had much time to read the book that I am loving to learn from-Parenting with Love and Logic, but I have made it through a bit more during the kids bathtimes. This is really the only time I can read a book because the kids are not clawing at me and I can keep an eye on them while I am reading!

One thing that has proven quite difficult is re-training myself to offer Annabelle advice instead of commands. And-trying to re-train Italo to do the same. He told me yesterday, "You trained me all wrong!" Since Annabelle was quite small, if she was doing something that Italo did not like, he would try to convience her to do things his way and my response was always..."You are bigger than her, make her do what you want!" This is VERY different than the wisdom that I am finding in Love and Logic. Of course there are times they have to do something they dont want to do, but for the most part we are encouraged to offer advice instead of commands.

Example: We want Annabelle to come to the car after leaving Babies R Us yesterday. We explain that Maggie is sleepy and needs to leave now. She says she does not want to leave. We tell her, that is not an option, but you do have the choice of walking to the car or being carried. She chooses to walk....until she sees the Mickey Mouse ride at the front of the store. So-we let her play there while Italo is checking out and then we have to leave...Maggie is fading fast! Again, we tell her it is time to go and she can walk or be carried. She does not start walking so Italo picks her up and carries her to the car, telling her-I guess you choose to be carried. This sets her off-of course.

She NEEDS to see Mickie Mouse. She NEEDS to see Mickie Mouse. This is her cry...all the way home.  She then proceeds to start kicking the seat. Her cry has started to get me over the edge, so I am far from amused at this point and I really want to tell her-STOP KICKING THE SEAT in my best stern voice that has been practiced over 3 years. But instead, I try to put the new technique into practice.

ME: Annabelle-do you want to kick the seat or go to time out when we get home?

ANNABELLE: Stops crying all the sudden and says-"Kick the seat"

I look at Italo kinda dumbfunded....hmm, I did not offer that choice correctly!  I guess I need some more practice ;)

Side by Sides!

2010-03-11T22:28:00.003-06:00

Annabelle found her baby book tonight and wanted me to tell her the stories over and over! As a result of looking at all those pictures of my first baby I realized that I was WAY behind on Maggie's baby book-which I fixed tonight and I also wanted to see the girls monthly pics side by side. I thought you guys may be interested in this as well so here goes. Annabelle is on the top, Maggie on the bottom in each set and they are each taken on the day they turned 1 month, 2 months etc.

1 month

2 months

Annabelle 11lbs 7oz 22 3/4"

Maggie 12 lbs 10oz 23 3/4"

3 months

4 months

Annabelle - 14 lbs 13 oz 24 3/4"

Maggie - 15 lbs 25 1/4"

5 months

6 months

Annabelle - 17lbs 8 oz 28 3/4"

Maggie - 17lbs 9oz 26 1/2"

7 months

8 months

9 months

STATS to come-the dr did not give me the paper for Maggie-he is going to be in TROUBLE:)

10 Months

I am suprised how much they differ from each other when I thought they were more similar. I think they look like sisters but not identical! Their personalities are certaintly quite different right now but it will be interesting to see if Maggie changes as much as Annabelle did after she gained some independence around 1 yrs old.

I CANT believe that next month we will be celebrating 2 birthdays!

Love and Logic-Lesson 1

2010-03-09T14:55:00.000-06:00

So in my attempt to be a better mom to a 3 yr old, I am reading Parenting with Love and Logic.

So far I have not made it past the first few chapters, but it is already making a huge difference. What I have learned is that I am a Drill Sergent Parent. I decided that Annabelle was going to do what I said because I was the parent and I was in control. Well....this is fine to get compliance but it is not going to serve her very well later in life when she has to make decisions for herself. So, instead of demanding she does what I want her to do every step of the way, I need to present her with the facts and let her make a decision. I know it seems laughable to me as well.....but IT WORKS! This morning, I did not have a power struggle with Annabelle one time. When it was time to put her blankie and paci away-she happly walked to her room and handed them to me. When it was time to get into the car, she happily walked to the car and climbed in. Those are MAJOR victories in my house. AND-I left the house on time and made it to work early! This is huge and really helps my stress level which adds to the problems as I explained yesterday.

I simply give her a choice between two things and let her decide how she is going to do it. For example, Annabelle do you want Mommy to take your paci and blanket to the basket or do you want to do it? Annabelle do you want to walk or be carried to the car? Tricky I know, but it is working!

I can't wait to read more and try to get a stradegy that will work to create peace in my home and soul. One of the first things the book says is that we can put the fun back into parenting---looking forward to it ;)

Fun with the Frigolis????

2010-03-08T12:41:00.000-06:00

First off, I have to say that I am NOT writing this in an attempt to get a lot of comments about how the Frigolis are fun. I am writing this as a confession...

The Frigolis are not very fun to be around!

Everytime we attempt to get out of our house, it ends in a battle. I keep waving my little white flag in the air and trying to surrender but our children keep fighting the battle anyway. The first time I remember this feeling was at my friend, Andi's birthday party in July. We were attempting to eat at a restaurant and their were 2 other families there with kids. Those kids were GREAT, but mine were both crying and carrying on about something. I was just thinking-This is miserable-Why are we putting everyone through this---We should Leave now! This exact situation has duplicated itself too many times to count. Dinner a few weeks ago with my grandparents----miserable. Dinner for Tal's birthday---miserable. Dinner at Cafe Brazil with the McClishes---miserable. Trip to a movie with my Brother and Kimberly---miserable. Seriously-why do we invite people to be put through this misery? We can not have a conversation, no way are the people we are with enjoying themselves, and our kids are clearly not digging what we are doing.

This weekend, I was running ahead of everyone trying to see if a Medical Clinic was open or not after the movie experience and while I was walking back I saw Annabelle flinging herslef around like a wild child throwing a FIT about something. YES-my Child was throwing herself on the ground outside of a dollar movie SCREAMING. I have seen that exact scene A LOT but never thought it was going to be my family living it out. I wanted to get in the car and crawl under the seat and never come out until my kids were 20. I was not really embarrased, I just wanted it to stop. I wanted to surrender, but she would not let me.

Yesterday on our drive home from Killeen, both kids were crying-Magging was SCREAMING and clawing at me because she wanted out of her car seat and Annabelle was crying because she only had 5 coins and wanted 6! Again, I wanted to crawl out the window and WALK home to Dallas instead of being in that car! I would have given anything for 5 mins of silence.

So-these expereinces have divulged 2 things to me: #1 The Frigolis are not fun to be around except maybe at our own house and #2 I am not a good mom to an almost 3 yr old! Really what all of this means is that I need Patience....seriously hasn't God tried to teach me that before?

I always thought that 1 Corinthians would reveal itself most in marriage, but I have learned that it is revealing itself to me much more in motherhood. And just for the record-----I am coming up WAY SHORT!

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Just typing that out is hard because each thing is so far from where I really am TODAY...

So-we are staying at home and if anyone is brave enough to come over or invite us out with them----be WARNED. We have a mother in training who is not meeting the mark!

Hello Spring!

2010-03-05T16:17:00.002-06:00

It is just BEAUTIFUL outside today! I am so looking forward to getting outside and playing with the kids this weekend, but for now, I am sitting at my desk with no view of the sun waiting until it is time to go. So-I thought I would do a little shopping :) It is just window shopping but still fun! I am imagining a spring picnic and the girls in these cute outfits....

For Annabelle-the girly girl who loves to wear dresses and frill:

And for my happy go lucky little one Maggie, this fun dress complete with a Hat!

My view from afar...

2010-03-01T13:31:00.005-06:00

Every parent has to experience the feeling of someone else influencing or caring for your child from a very young age. When you first have a baby, people come to visit you at the hospital and take a sleeping and swaddled child from your arms and hold them. I know how much I love to hold a new baby so I don't fault anyone from this experience, but it certainly feels different to watch your newborn in someone else's arms than yours. You are able to see a different view of them, see how they move their mouth or grap someones finger and it is not the same view as you saw when you were holding them.

Fast forward to some point in the future and you walk away from the house and your baby is not with you. For some this takes days and for some it takes years...but the day comes! When you return you hear stories about what they did or how they behaved and it is a different view than when you are with them. They NEVER act exactly the same way when they are with you as with other people and it is fun--at least for me--to listen to stories of something the girls did when I did not experience it first hand. I would rather have been there, but there is something to be said for other people telling you about your child. Depending on the caregiver and the "mood" of your child-your desires were probably either carried out the letter or something did not go as planned. usually something did not go as planned. They did not eat, they did not sleep, they fell down etc. It happens.....it happens to moms too.....but in that moment, your only thought is-"Seriously!" They ALWAYS or NEVER do that with me. What did you do wrong.

Why do mommies feel like they are perfect when it comes to what to do for their babies? Why do we feel so much pressure to be perfect, to always have a answer, to know the answer before the question is asked?

So-this is true for all moms I have ever talked to. If this is not true for you, then I would love to know who you are. But when you are a working mom-these ideals that we have for our children are FORCED to be changed. The daycare decides what they are going to eat for lunch. The daycare decides when they are going to take a nap. The daycare decides what book to read before naptime. Of course, the moms get to be part of the process but ultimately, we are overridden must of the time. The child is asked to forgo their perfect world for a world that works with all the other kiddos. They are taught to share, to be considerate of the other kids, to not talk back to their teachers etc etc etc. Of course we get to pick where we take them, and make sure that place will work with us, but really we have to find the place that works BETTER than the others. I doubt there is a BEST daycare. BEST is at home with mommy---right?

So my view of Annabelle and Maggie is different now that someone gets to teach them, play with them and be with them all day. I know I would rather them run to me than their teacher when they want something....But, I know that what is BEST is that they run to their heavenly father when they have struggles....not to their Mommy....OUCH! They are supposed to grow up and move on. That is for sure. I can not create a world that is perfect for myself or for my kids. They will have to struggle in their lives as I have struggled to get where they will be in 35 years.

But for now, I pray for Annabelle's teacher Ms Randee and Maggie's teacher Ms Melissa and for each of the kids they have the privilege of knowing each day. I know that God has ordained their time with each child and teacher and IS IN CHARGE of that time no matter what my opinions are about it.

Good, Better, Best

2010-02-25T14:46:00.003-06:00

Do you remember this rhyme (or maybe a limerick-I don't know the difference)

Good Better Best

Always Do your Best

Because when your good is good enough

You better doing best

I probably don't have that completely correct but that is how it goes around in my head! I think everyone has a little OCD over something and mine is over words. I will repeat one word or phrase over and over again in my head until something else takes its place. Now-mind you I don't always have all the words correct-but I know what I mean. This little rhyme is been playing in my head lately because Annabelle has started to understand the idea of being good at something.

I really noticed it when she started her new school in February. Things were a little different there and she was asked to do things she was not made to do before. Like drink from a cup and take responsibility over her belongings. So-she was VERY eager to show me how she could drink from a cup. Each time we sat down to dinner, she no longer wanted her straw for her milk she wanted to drink straight from the cup! She would smile so big while she was drinking that I am surprised she could swallow, but she was so proud of herself. She would put the cup down and say-Annabelle you are a BIG girl! This continued when she would climb into the car seat all by herself. Each morning, I hear her deep little voice saying-Annabelle you are a GREAT climber. You are such a big girl! Of course, I repeat these words of affirmation and make a big deal of her accomplishment all the while worrying a little bit how much she likes praise.

Italo and I noticed since Annabelle was about 3 months old sitting in her excersaucer that she liked to press the buttons that made noise because she liked when we clapped for her. If we were not in the room, she would clap for herself-but clapping had to be done! With such a big heart for words of praise-I worry that she will feel the need to be better than anyone else and that this need will drive her into dangerous territory. I want her to want to do well-but she does not have to be THE BEST. I pray that it will be enough for her to be pretty, smart, godly, friendly etc without the need to be prettier, smarter, godlier or friendlier than anyone else. And I really don't want her to feel the pressure to be the Prettiest, the Smartest, the Godliest or the Friendliest. So-the next time you see me, help keep me in check to build my daughter's confidence without building her ego. And most importantly help me teach her that these qualities are From the Lord and FOR the Lord not for herself.

Colossians 1:16 - For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities: all things were created by Him and for Him

Dear Diary...

2010-02-25T14:35:00.003-06:00

I was never the type to write in a diary when I was little. I remember getting one when I was about 10 yrs old and taking it to my grandparents house in TN and I never knew what I might want to tell a diary. Everyday I tried to think of something to put in that diary and I brought it back home to Texas with nothing at all in it. Now with the world of blogs I find it really comforting to write out my feelings in a virtual diary but the problem is that everyone has the key :) I dont have much to hide in my life and I think of myself as an open book but it is hard to think about writing things that people would actually want to read. Then I realized-this is for me!

So-I doubt their is anyone actually reading this, but if so enjoy my ramblings as I entertain myself and attempt to capture my life for today!

Loving Two

2009-09-16T14:53:00.002-05:00

I walk along holding your 2-year-old hand, basking in the glow of our magical relationship. Suddenly I feel a kick from within, as if to remind me that our time alone is limited. And I wonder: how could I ever love another child as I love you?

Then she is born, and I watch you. I watch the pain you feel at having to share me as you've never shared me before.

I hear you telling me in your own way, Please love only me. And I hear myself telling you in mine, I can't, knowing, in fact, that I never can again.

You cry. I cry with you. I almost see our new baby as an intruder on the precious relationship we once shared. A relationship we can never quite have again.

But then, barely noticing, I find myself attached to that new being, and feeling almost guilty. I'm afraid to let you see me enjoying her as though I am betraying you.

But then I notice your resentment change, first to curiosity, then to protectiveness, finally to genuine affection.

More days pass, and we are settling into a new routine. The memory of days with just the two of us is fading fast.

But something else is replacing those wonderful times we shared, just we two. There are new times only now, we are three. I watch the love between you grow, the way you look at each other, touch each other.

I watch how she adores you as I have for so long. I see how excited you are by each of her new accomplishments. And I begin to realize that I haven't taken something from you, I've given something to you. I notice that I am no longer afraid to share my love openly with both of you. I find that my love for each of you is as different as you are, but equally strong. And my question is finally answered, to my amazement. Yes, I can love another child as much as I love you only differently.

And although I realize that you may have to share my time, I now know you'll never share my love. There is enough of that for both of you .you each have your own supply.

I love you-both. And I thank you both for blessing my life.

So many thoughts-I don't know where to start

2009-08-03T15:10:00.002-05:00

Lately I have been in a very "thoughtful" mood. I once made fun of my friend because he had to take off 2 days-just to think, but I can kinda relate these days. Here is what is topping my list:

BAD MOMMY FEELINGS
The other day, we were at a local park and Annabelle got away from us and we did not notice. Italo asked me where Annabelle was and I had no idea. He started running one way and I started to run another. We found her at a public pool in the arms of a lifeguard looking for me, but those 10 minutes of not knowing where she was were, to say it mildly, HORRIBLE. I had so many thoughts going through my mind at the time I could not even process what to do. It was truly like running around with my head cut off. But, in the midst of running around and looking for her, I could not keep my mind off of what other people must be thinking of me. I was one of "those" moms who can not handle everything and who lost their kid just because I was not paying attention. To make matters worse, I was at a Youth group reunion with people who I had not seen in YEARS and who wants to be the one who lost their 2 yr old in front of people you have not seen in that long.

The following Monday night, we went to dinner for a friend's birthday and BOTH of the girls started crying and fussing at the restaurant-AT THE SAME TIME! Once again, I was one of those moms that could not keep it together and could not control my children. My friend had to leave-go buy a paci-and miss time at the gathering so that Maggie would stop crying. I seriously wanted to pack it up-run home with my tail between my legs and never leave the house again! But, Italo did not hear me when I asked if he just wanted to go home before we ordered, so we stayed and dealt with the crying. My friends are all very supportive, but I still felt like a bad mom. And-to be honest-I think I felt more embarrassed than I felt bad for my kids who were crying. That is just ridiculous! I should be taking care of my girls-not worrying about how other people are going to judge me.

Matthew 7:1 (English Standard Version) says "Judge not, that you be not judged." and I have to say that I have always read this verse as one saying that if we judge others-God will judge us. But, I am thinking that God allows us to be put in situations that we have judged other for so he can teach us humility. Will-let's just say-I am HUMBLED :) I usually leave most people to their business, but I have been guilty of looking over at the screaming toddler in line or at the restaurant and saying-My child would never act like that-or I would never do that. I don't think I have said that much as a parent, but before I was a parent I had quite a few ideals. God has really been working to crack those up!

But I am quite sad that when I do something less than ideal-my first thoughts go to what others will think of me and not what is best for the situation or the kids.--YUCK!

BEAUTY
The other thought I have been having is what in the world is up with being a teenager and having EVERYTHING about your friends depend on looks! This past month, we had a youth group reunion for the church I grew up at and I have been looking at LOTS of old pictures of camps. choir tours, Disciple Now etc. It has been so fun to look back on all those memories and the things that come to mind about people when I see those pictures are quite revealing. Why is that the one of the first things I thought about in High School upon meeting someone was how attractive they were. I do not do this in my adult life. I think about what they do, common interest or likes/dislikes, but I don't think "are they pretty enough for me to be friends with?" What is up with High School or was it just me? Who knows, but I think it is a little weird! And , I wish I could figure this out so I don't pass this way of thinking onto my girls. I THINK it must come down to giving my kids a sense of self esteem that comes from Christ and not from themselves. But, how do you protect their hearts from being devoured by world and all of the symbols of womanhood they will see. There will be much to explain to my girls as we walk through the next 16-18 years. Lord-please give me wisdom!!

The thing that is really strange to me as I ponder the whole "looks" issue is that everyone decides if your kids are cute or not based on their idea of beauty. There are some kids that are "beautiful" to everyone they meet and then there are some that are "cute" and then others that are not as immediately striking, but once you get to know them, you fall in love with a certain characteristic. But-why must we always comment on how cute a baby is (or think how NOT cute a baby is). Why is this acceptable? I have no answer.....

That is enough pondering for a Monday afternoon-unto more productive things!

Happy Daddy's Day!

2009-06-21T08:44:00.002-05:00

Italo-your three ladies think you are simply AMAZING!!! As a husband and partner in raising our wonderful kids, you are always there to do what needs to be done. If I call and ask you to get Annabelle because I have to work late, you are more than willing-even excited! You allow me time away to go to a movie or get a cocktail with a friend and you even plan awesome date night with me so you can romance me! I can not imagine going on this parenting ride with anyone but you and I am so grateful that God blessed me with you as a husband. Everyday I am thankful that you are the man that will teach my daughter's about God and how they should expect to be treated by men. You are an excellent model and they will have such an easy time understanding love because of you!

Annabelle loves to play "Find Daddy" with you, bounce on your back and say "Go Daddy", tickle your tummy, have you tickle her tummy or give some silly raspberries on her tummy and of course you are still her absolute favorite dancing partner! She has the best smile when she sees you and I LOVE seeing you guys together!

Maggie was in love with you before she made it out of my tummy. She jumped and kicked every time you talked to her and looked and you in amazement when she was out and could see your face! Her favorite place to be is still in your arms!

We ALL Love and are so grateful that you hold the most special place in all of our hearts!

Playdates, Outings and Community

2009-06-17T07:32:00.002-05:00

So....next week I go back to work. I really feel like I had a nice "sabbatical" from the routines of work and feel like I got into a nice non-working routine with my girls! It feels much more natural to stay home and play with the kids than the first time I stayed home for an extended period of time with Annabelle. When I was on maternity leave with Annabelle, I was quite overwhelmed with the demands of adjusting to a newborn baby. Trying to get used to the idea of your life no longer being your own, is a hard concept for a 30+ person to deal with. I remember one day when I was trying to take care of Annabelle early on, being floored by the idea that I could not go to the restroom when I wanted to unless it was "ok" with Annabelle. I could not believe how completely this new person changed my life, my routines, my desires and my day to day activities. Annabelle had to make me "Mommy" and it was not an overnight transition. In fact, I think it must have been sometime after her 1st birthday that I felt like I had a clue how to really manage all of that change. 2 years later, I love my role as a mommy and feel like I know what I am doing most of the time. Maggie's arrival has been a challenge, but not as overwhelming as the first time around.

One of the things that have made my time at home so wonderful this time around is the fact that we have lots of friends with kiddos now! When Annabelle was born, Landen was the only little guy we had to play with and his mommy was at work so we could not get together very often. This time around, I have been able to get together with mommies and let Annabelle play with them while Maggie slept! We have gone to the galleria to play, a very fun bounce house called Pump it Up, Open Gym, Going Bonkers and this week we are having tons of fun at Music Camp! Annabelle wakes up each day asking for her friends, and I LOVE the days when I can tell her that, yes you are going to see Ryland, Avery or Landen! She loves them and looks forward to seeing them-the activities we do are probably not very important, but the time with them makes everything fun! For me, it has been priceless to get out of the house and talk with mommies while Annabelle is entertained and not running around the house getting into trouble!

We have also been so blessed to be fed by some of the best cooks around! Our friends and family completely spoiled us by bringing us yummy dinners for 6 weeks!!! Several times, our friends and family stayed to eat with us....which we love....and we got to visit and get to know them better in the process. EVERYTIME someone spend the evening with us, Italo and I would walk them to the door and Italo would look at me and say "That was so fun"! When you have 2 little kids, making your way out of the house is a CHORE and trying to entertain them in non kid friendly places is near impossible so it makes getting together with friends very hard. But having folks come to YOUR house and talking or playing games is wonderful because the kids are happy and we can actually visit! Such a wonderful treat! And not to mention getting a break from cooking, cleaning pots and pans and planning meals has been wonderful as well. THANKS!!!!

During this time at home, Annabelle has been going to daycare most days for at least some of the day, but at least once a week, she has stayed home with me to go on a playdate or play with me. However, the first week of June Ms Jane, the daycare provider, took a trip to see her grandson graduate from High School and take a vacation to the beach. So, Annabelle stayed home with me all week. We went on an adventure each day and had a wonderful time together! That Monday, we went to the Galleria and let her play on her favorite climbing toys. I met an older lady who was there with her grandson and enjoyed learning about her life while I held Maggie and let Annabelle run and play. We then had the pleasure of meeting up with Daddy for lunch at McDonalds! YAY! On Tuesday, we went to the Science and Nature Museum and Annabelle had a great time digging for dinosaurs, driving a firetruck, playing on a farm and discovering all kinds of new things. Maggie was content to sleep in the carrier and just went along for the ride! Wednesday we FINALLY figured out where Open Gym was and had a great time letting Annabelle bounce and run. She loved it! And finally on Friday we meet lots of fun folks at Going Bonkers and Grace and Annabelle run around on all of the fun levels with slides, swings and bouncy areas. It was lots of fun and I really appreciate Grace for helping Annabelle make her way around the maze of fun! We then had an adventure at Chick-Fil-A. 3 adults trying to fed 8 kids was quite a sight!!!

It has a been a WONDERFUL and full 9 weeks and I will miss all the fun activities and time with the girls, but it is time to get back to REALITY!

Baby Boot Camp Conclusions

2009-06-03T15:10:00.002-05:00

Maggie's Favorite Activity

Sorry I have not been able to provide updates to our progress----not that anyone has been losing sleep as a result of not knowing----but we have had a busy week. Annabelle's day care provider took a week of vacation so Annabelle and I have been going on adventures each day so she does not get cabin fever at home all week. More on that later but I wanted to let you know that although I can hardly say that Maggie is on a schedule, I do think I have unlocked the secret to her success in having a better night sleep. Each day has been a little different-some better than others but I know that there is a time each day that Maggie is open to staying awake for an extended period of time during the day. On day 2 that was broken up for a chunk in the morning and some time in the early evening, On day 3 she slept ALL day-except for the feedings I forced on her-but then she stayed awake for almost 5 hours before we all went down for the night. It looks like she is not ready to give up her middle of the night feeding yet, but as long as I play with her as long as she will stand it as much as I can during the day, she will just wake up once to eat and will go 3-5 hours at night without waking up. The hardest part is that I never know what time of the day she is going to be up for playing and it is really tempting to out her in the swing or the bobby and let her go to sleep after each feeding---just so I can get things done around the house that are piling up on me. And to be honest-this part really makes me realize how selfish I am. I have such limited time with Maggie at this age and I can never get this time back-but I am willing to miss out on her smiles just so I can watch a tv show or play on the computer or do a chore. I know I have things I have to do and Annabelle needs attention and food has to be cooked and laundry has to be done, but some things I would rather do instead of playing with the girls do not HAVE to be done. I hate that I am so short sided when it comes to time with the girls-but I am just being honest! So-that is where we are leaving off with schedules and what I learned from the experience! We will see what the next lesson will be for me :)

Pictures of our fun!

2009-05-31T18:09:00.003-05:00

Annabelle taking her new baby doll for a ride
Faster Sister!

Annabelle trying to play with Maggie's Activity Mat

Beautiful smile!!!

Smiling at Mommy!

Maggie in Annabelle's Doll cradle

Times are tough-even Maggie has to downsize!!!

Baby Boot Camp-end of day 1 and beginning of day 2

2009-05-31T15:02:00.002-05:00

So last night was not so bad-except my husband let me fall asleep on the couch for 3 hours while Maggie was supposed to be eating and he was playing a video game! He said he thought I was just watching TV! So-I missed a big part of my bed time sleeping and had a major neck cramp but Maggie did go from 10:45 to 3:30 without needing to eat. She woke up once at 2:30 but a paci and a few rocks of the cradle and she went back to sleep. She woke up again at 6:30-i got up to fed her because Annabelle heard her crying and woke up-but after a few minutes of eating she was out again. So she slept til 8:00 and then she was really ready to eat.

What I learned from her yesterday is that with the floor time and increased attention to keeping her intriqued, her tummy was much less upset and she was more ready to sleep last night! SUCCESS! I cant say she has a consistent schedule by any means, but we do have a routine that is working. Eating-then playing as long as she will take it-sleeping and then it is usually time for the next feeding. I have to wake her up for the next feeding, but she is more than happy to go along with it.

The other benefit of this new plan is that Maggie and Annabelle are starting to interact more. They played with Annabelle's dolls, played on the activity mat together and Annabelle loved seeing eye to eye with her in the Bumbo! I even got some great pictures of Maggie playing like one of Annabelle's dolls and some smiles from Maggie that I will post in a little while. It is time for Maggie to eat so I have to wake her up from her pleasant dreams!!!

Baby Boot Camp-Day One

2009-05-30T17:34:00.003-05:00

Italo reminded me about an Oprah yesterday (sorry to out you for watching Oprah babe) we watched several years ago about having a baby merge into your schedule and lifestyle instead of merging your schedule into the babies. I have been thinking about it for the last few days and I realized that my basic approach to Maggie's arrival has been very different than Annabelle's in that I was much more determined to get Annabelle on a schedule than I have been to get Maggie on one---well now it is catching up to me! The main reason for the change is because I have just been in survival mode and was mostly concerned to go a few hours without someone crying in my house rather than trying to get everyone on a schedule----needed but not really the approach that will work for us long term as a family.

There are two basic approaches to the early days of kids that are floating around in the world today-one is to let a baby build a schedule that fits them best and the other is to teach a baby a schedule that fits into your lifestyle. With Annabelle I remember the first few weeks of her arrival being EXHAUSTING and I have been wondering why I have not felt that way with Maggie. I thought it was that I was more used to being a mommy and used to schedules but now I realize I have been really just letting Maggie do what she wants to do in terms of sleeping. I have been waking her to eat at designated times, but she sleeps most of the day except for right after she eats---and I have just been letting her. BUT-she does not sleep well at night as a result. What I remembered last night in the height of my frustration that Maggie only let me sleep for about 1 hour was that babies sleep when they get bored---so I had to make sure that Maggie was only sleeping when she was tired during the day and not just because she was bored. That way she was actually tired at night so she will sleep more than 2 hrs at a time!

So today we started Baby BOOT CAMP! Just because I want to remember what I did-I will be journaling how it is going and what I am doing. The basic premise is to get Maggie Eating, Sleeping and Playing on a schedule that fits our lifestyle instead of what comes naturally for her. I am kinda middle of the road when it comes to schedules in that I believe the schedule needs to have some input from the natural cues of the baby rather than 100% dictated by the parents so I will start the process with a day where I pay extra close attention to Maggie's preferences and cues. After today's "Observation", I will determine her schedule and then try to stick to it for a few days. The only changes I made to her natural inclination today has been to wake her for feeding times and to play with her until she is tired after each feeding.

So far here is how the day went:

8am-Eat for 45 minutes
8:45-9:45-Play on the activity mat, holding her and singing, playing with Annabelle etc.
9:45-10:30-Sleep
10:30-Eat for about 30 minutes
11:00-11:45-Activity Map, Bath
11:45-12:30-Sleeping
12:30-1:00-Woke on her own and played on my lap
1:00-1:30-Eat for 20 minutes-from a bottle this time-we were in a movie :)
1:30-3:30-Sleeping on my chest in the movie---NOT ideal for boot camp but needed for Mommy!
3:30-3:45-Eating from a bottle after the movie-she did not really wake up...dream feed in the middle of the afternoon
3:45-4:15-Sleep
4:15-5:30-Playing ball with Annabelle and other fun activities
5:30-6:00-Nap
6:00-Getting ready to feed her--with a clogged milk duct-----OUCH-I hope she helps me work it out!

So-I will let you know how the rest of the day unfolds and how she does tonight. I hope she will be tired and ready for a good long slumber with minimal wake up tonight!

My view of things!

2009-05-18T10:47:00.002-05:00

Pregnant Belly
Sleeping Baby on my arm

It has been just over 3 weeks since Maggie has joined our family in a way that we can all enjoy her. She has been part of our family since August of last year when we found out she was coming but now here she is for everyone to hold! The pictures above are random pictures I took oh how I see things for Maggie. It is never quite the same as how others see her and very different from her Creator, but none the less, it is my view. As a sit and think about her life, I wonder how I will see her in a yr, in 5 years or in 2o yrs. I cant imagine all the laughs, tears and concerns her life will bring to me, but I know that she is here to teach me something and I just PRAY I am in tune enough not to miss it!

Her sister has taught me to slow down and enjoy the moment, to look at things with fresh and BIG eyes and to always have a hug and kiss for anyone who wants one!

Her daddy has taught me that there is not ONE way to do things, I am not as smart as I think I am and how to forgive and love. And of course he has taught me that there is always time for silliness!!!!!

I love each member of my family and am so grateful for who they are making me----day by day!

Annabelle and Maggie

2009-04-29T19:08:00.002-05:00

Annabelle at 1 day old

Maggie at 1 day old

So-the million dollar question...Do Annabelle and Maggie look alike? When I first saw Maggie, thought she looked just like Annabelle. In fact, there were many times I felt like I simply time traveled back to 2007 and was re-living all of the events of Annabelle's birth. But comparing the pictures side by side, I guess they don't look as alike I thought. But, they are both gorgeous!!!! If I can brag a moment :)

Last day at the Hospital

2009-04-26T12:05:00.003-05:00

Annabelle had to be woken up this morning, so she wasn't excatly happy to start out the day. This is a little bit of an oddity, as normally she is up and cooing at about 7AM. Today, however, I woke up at about 7:45 and she was not up yet. I got her through the morning routine with a little bit of a struggle, but managed to motivate her ultimately with the thought of going to see mommy and Maggie.

We made sure that today Annabelle and Maggie were in matching outfits. Upon arrival, Annabelle started to play with Maggie right away. They both were really cute together. Maggie was really alert during this play time, which made it all the more fun. :-)

The Witts have been such a help to us. They took Annabelle home yesterday for nite nite, and again today for her nap in their really cool Traverse that they are borrowing for the MommyMadness. Annabelle has been having a ton of fun chatting with Ryland. From what I hear, they are laughing and giggling all the way home. They have been such a help, that I'm asking for everyone to vote for Sherah. :-)

That is all for now. I have a feeling that our next post will be made after we arrive home today.

Annabelle and Maggie Video

2009-04-25T12:57:00.003-05:00

Here is the video of Annabelle and Maggie meeting the first time (as promised). Enjoy! :-)

What a wonderful feeling!!!

2009-04-25T12:03:00.002-05:00

I hope you all have enjoyed all the hard work my wonderful husband has done with the blog and facebook while I have been relearning how to care for a newborn and recovering from surgery! I
am feeling great and Maggie Rose is doing perfectly! I was in quite a bit of pain early this morning, but then realized i had not had any hard drugs for quite a while-so we resolved that and I have been up and about this morning without any trouble at all.

Maggie slept great last night. I had a REALLY hard time waking her up to eat and staying awake myself while I constantly reminded her she was supposed to be sucking instead of sleeping last night, but I was so glad to learn that in between feedings so slept the whole time. The nurses said that had a baby boom yesterday and had an usually large amount of newborns screaming all around Maggie and she just slept! She was very alert last night in between her 8pm and 10:30pm feeding so I am sure that had a lot to do with it. I will be the happiest mommy ever if this cycle continues for the next few nights!

All in all, I have had a wonderful experience with Maggie-so different from Annabelle and I have enjoyed everything so much! It was the best thing in the entire world last night to have my complete family together. Annabelle was so cute with Maggie and was so snugly with me that I enjoyed those few hours more than most moments in my life. This morning Annabelle and Daddy got up exceptionally early and headed back to the hospital and the Frigolis spent all morning together in my room.

Annabelle was SO EXCITED to see Maggie this morning. She was running around the room asking for her so she and Daddy quickly went to the nursery to get her. I heard her little footsteps coming down the hallway a few minutes later and she came running into the room announcing that Annabelle and Maggie were here. It was a moment I WILL NEVER FORGET!!! She wanted to hold her, then she wanted me to hold her and then she wanted to see her toes and knees and such again. She was great with her! She has left to spend some time napping, but will be back this afternoon.

Our hospital offers the new parents a wonderful lunch of steak and lobster which Italo and I are going to enjoy in a little while so I better run to feed Maggie so we can enjoy our lunch.

By the way-I have a HUGE victory that I want to share with you just because I am so thankful that God heard my prayers and answered them. This is TMI so skip if you don't like knowing about breast feeding. But my bum anatomy has taken a turn and Maggie and I were a good team trying to make things works so I am nursing WITHOUT accessories--which means I will not have to pump until I go back to work!!!! This will be amazing and I am soooo excited to be able to have this experience since I did not with Annabelle. PRAISE GOD!!!

One more thing-look for an AMAZINGLY cute video of Annabelle and Maggie meeting each other last night. It is so cute!!!

Annabelle and Maggie

2009-04-24T19:23:00.002-05:00

They have met finally! I guess it is always a parent's cocern of how one child will react to a brand new sibling. Our case was no exception. I knew Annabelle loved other, smaller children than herself (even though she does steal the toys at times). She has always been rather proper and respectful.

Today was no exception. Annabelle was quick to label Maggie as "baby". We were quick to correct, and let her know that she was Maggie. She paused for a few seconds initially, but then was letting us know all of Maggie's features. "Maggie's Nose, Maggie's lips, Maggie's ears, Maggie's hair, Maggie's eyes" Annabelle said. With that, Annabelle was just as excited as could be with her. From that point, she was running all around the room, but was quick to find Maggie when she started crying. All in all I am very excited and happy about how Annabelle is acting around Maggie.

We later followed up the event by singing Happy Birthday to Maggie. Annabelle was given a cupcake, which is her favorite! Maggie couldn't have any at this piont, but I'm sure she will have a lot of it in 364 days! :-)

Maggie is sleeping

2009-04-24T11:40:00.002-05:00

Maggie is just such a little cutie!! :-)

With all the activity here this morning, it is a little tough to get some updates into the blog. I promised pictures in Facebook, and right after there was a ton of activity. Anyways, I'm at a lull now, so I'm able to get a few words typed.

Anyways - just wanted to post a few pictures for now. More updates will come soon. :-)

Spending the night

2009-04-24T11:02:00.002-05:00

The hospital staff makes no bones about the fact that Amy and Maggie are the patients, and I am not. With that said, I'm give a recliner that can lean flat and makes itself into a make shift bed.

I was actually dreading the whole stay last night. With Annabelle I spent one night in the hospital, and being woken up every 3 hours made me grumpy when it was actually time to get up. Last night, however, it was a much more pleasent experience. I remember waking up once throughout the night. One of the nurses thought it would be fun to turn on every single light in the room before checking on my wife. Thank goodness she only came once last night. The other nurses that took care of Amy and Maggie were a lot more discrete.

All in all I woke up rested and without aches. So I can't complain this time around.

Maggie out of NICU

2009-04-23T20:04:00.003-05:00

Katie blessed us with a visit today. No small task, as it is quite a hike to get to the hospital.

Anyways, at about 7:15 today Maggie was brought into our room. We are excited to share that she is out of NICU and doing very well.

Not much else to share at this time. Amy is still recovering and Maggie is just a vibrant wiggly bundle of joy! :-)

Amy is doing better - and so is Maggie

2009-04-23T15:51:00.002-05:00

We fed Maggie at 4:00 today. She is disconnected from the IV, yet still being monitored. The Doctor mentioned that she is all good now, and will move to the nursery at 7 (during the shift change).

We got to feed her, and she is one healthy hungry little girl.

On our way out we were greeted by Annabelle. She unfortunately was not allowed into the NICU, so she has not yet seen her little sister, and with the schedule she has, she probably won't till tomorrow.

Annabelle has been a lot of joy in her own way - and we sure do appreciate the help our family has provided us in taking care of her (you know who you are and we really do appreciate it!).... :-)

I'm sure they will bring Maggie to us for her next feeding, and I am so excited that she will be out of the NICU. Tomorrow Annabelle should meet her new sister- I can hardly wait. :-)

Got the laptops up and running

2009-04-23T13:07:00.002-05:00

Finally go the laptop up and running. So I can finally post some pics here in the blog!! :-)

I'll try to go back and edit the privious posts with the addition of pictures.

Anyways - I did visit Maggie at the NICU again. This time without Amy though. Maggie is doing very well. She has really good color to her, and she is breathing very well. The Doctors seem to think she is ready to be moved into the nursery. That is great news, as it means that Maggie can come visit Amy! The update we received is that this may happen this evening. We are very excited about the news as everyone may imagine.

Amy is recovering very well. She is currently resting/sleeping.

Anyways - I'll keep this blog posted as there are developments to share.

Visiting Maggie

2009-04-23T11:00:00.003-05:00

I have been trying to post a few pics here, but I cannot seem to get it to work from my phone.

We went to see Maggie at the NICU a few minutes ago, and she is doing very well. Her color has improved quite a bit and she is not working as hard to breath right now. At this point she will probably be there overnight as a precaution.

Maggie is here!!!!!! :-)

2009-04-23T08:28:00.003-05:00

She is 7lbs 12oz and 19in. She is in NICU due to some breathing issues but we do not think it is anything serious.

It is happenning!

2009-04-23T07:43:00.001-05:00

Being moved

2009-04-23T07:36:00.000-05:00

Amy has been moved to be prepped for the procedure. Looks like things will happen fairly quickly once she is all set.

At the hospital

2009-04-23T06:40:00.003-05:00

It is 6:40 AM. We have made it to the hospital and Amy is all hooked to the IV. We are all ready to go. Just waiting on the doctors at this point.

Here We Go.....

2009-04-22T21:37:00.002-05:00

It is a weird feeling to know that tomorrow is the day I will greet my newest baby. Everything happened so quickly and unexpectedly with Annabelle that I did not have time to process anything until many weeks-or really months after she was born. In many ways, I do not really even truly think of my time with Annabelle in womb as the same baby as the one I hold now. It seems like two different experiences that have never gotten mixed up together in my mind.
I guess not seeing your newborn baby for so long after you deliver will do that do you, but none the less, that is how I feel. Everything has been so different with this pregnancy and I am sure that the two babies I will hold in my arms tomorrow will be very different as well. But, I can't wait to experience this journey and have all of my questions answered...What will Maggie look like? Is Maggie really going to be a girl? Is she going to have any complications? Am I going to have any complications? How will Annabelle react? Am I going to be able to physically handle the demands of a newborn? How will I ever have enough love to show to my precious husband and to 2 children?

As I write this, I have so many questions and only one answer---GOD WILL PROVIDE ALL!!!! He will provide the answers to my curiosity, the physical needs, the emotional needs and the understanding of it all (maybe not here on earth, but the understanding will come one day). I am just praying that I will be PRESENT for everything that happens. I have a very bad tendency to separate the events that are occurring from the emotions of what is occurring and I never experience an event in its whole as a result. So-whatever happens tomorrow morning at 7:30am, I know that God will provide and He will also allow me to fully experience all that he is providing! I am sure I will write more soon and Italo will be snapping pictures lefts and right! Talk to you all soon!

The Famous Moon Boots!

2009-04-20T15:13:00.003-05:00

Not sure how many of you have heard about Italo and I's early dating stories, but one day we meet at Starbucks for coffee and PART of his ensemble were these sneakers! If only you could have seen the rest of the outfit-but it did not take long for him to hear my true feelings about those shoes! He loves to get them out and wear them for projects around the house. Luckily that is the only place he wears them, but I was really laughing yesterday when they showed up for him to mow the lawn. He was very excited to show them off for the pictures---notice they zip up and have a handy red lining in them to keep the foot extra safe and secure :)

OH my silly husband! I love you!!!!!!

SNC00047.3g2

2009-04-18T13:41:00.001-05:00

Annabelle trying out her new shoes.

Seriouisly-what is the big deal about having patience?

2009-04-14T15:45:00.003-05:00

Since a was a VERY little girl when people would ask me about a trait that I did not like about myself, I would ALWAYS say-I have no patience. I get frustrated by slow processes, slow thinking, slow actions, slow people, slow movies and anything else you can think of that is not 100% efficient. As a result, I thrive in finding ways to make all chores and tasks done as quickly as possible. I think before I act, most of the time, but I also only give myself so long to think before I do something. But, for some reason-God has been trying to teach me patience OVER and OVER again. Right now it is dealing with HOURS of contractions EVERY day for a week with absolutely NO PROGRESS into labor. What is the point? I would have been fine to wait patiently for my scheduled c-section and not go through all of this pain. So-why do I need to have all of these contractions and not be able to do anything about them. With Annabelle's pregnancy, I was more than content to wait until things progressed but then the Drs kept telling me it would be ANY DAY because I was dilating (never felt a single contraction with her)--so I started to get inpatient. Now, the opposite is happening, I am having contractions and NO DILATION. Ridiculous!

Over the years there have been so many things that have happened in my life that I would say are teaching me patience-from jobs to relationships etc. etc. etc. I think about what all this is supposed to be good for and I can't think of the answer. I mean-really if we live with an eternal perspective, why do we need patience in heaven. We will have all the answers in moments and will not have to struggle with wanting something we can't have or even being frustrated. So-what is the reason that God cares if I have patience now....really....what is the big deal about having patience? And more importantly-when can I just finally stop struggling with everything that does not go as I think it will go.

I am so tired from not sleeping and am not in the mood for a life lesson right now! Frustration leads to impatience once again......story of my life :(

2009-04-13T11:47:00.001-05:00

Easter!

2009-04-13T11:27:00.002-05:00

Annabelle has an awesome book about an Easter Basket that she got last year for Easter. So this year I decided to try to recreate the colors in the basket so we could read it while she looked at the new treasures. Each item in the basket represents a part of the Easter story:

-The green is representing the palms that lay upon the ground for Jesus' arrival on Palm Sunday.

-The purple is representing the wine that Jesus and his disciples drank at the last Supper.

-The red is the blood that Jesus shed for us on the cross-PRAISE HIS NAME!

-The Brown represents the dark place that was His grave.

-The white represents the bright Angel who said "HE IS RISEN".

-The yellow is like the bright sun that reminds us of this Easter and all that our Lord has done!

Annabelle's favorite was the white bunny that hops everywhere and the yellow bunny that is really bubbles! She has grown to LOVE bubbles!

We had a great morning eating breakfast and playing with the items in the easter basket. We then got dressed in her pretty easter dress and drove 45 minutes to church---just to get turned away from the service---we were the next to the last car to make it into the parking lot :( So we drove 45 minutes back home and waited until it was time to go to my grandparents house for Easter lunch. Annabelle was happy because I broke down and gave her a paci and blankie on the way home---9 months pregnant and a SCREAMING toddler don't go well for me so I decided it was an Easter treat! I wish she would decide that she can tolerate the car for more than 2 minutes without fussing-but after 2 yrs of this-I have all but given up on that dream!

We had a wonderful Easter lunch with the family at my grandparents house. Annabelle was entertained by lots of folks while we tried to play a game of Catan. The good news is that we have more family members hooked on the game-the bad news is that I lost the game! O well, it was worth it to have more people to play with!

I then spent the evening having contradations and thinking I was really going to get an Easter baby after all-but after 3 hrs, I decided it was just a tease and went to sleep. 10 more days of contradactions for nothing is going to get really old---Come on Maggie---Let me know you want to meet me as bad as I want to meet you!!!!!!

Annabelle' 2nd Birthday!

2009-04-13T10:57:00.003-05:00

We had a wonderful time celebrating Annabelle's 2nd Birthday! We started the morning off by getting some pictures taken. Since I am 2 weeks away from delivering Maggie, we decided to get some "maternity" pics with me and Annabelle as well as her birthday pictures! They will not be ready until April 22nd so you will have to wait to see them, but they turned out really cute!

Then we went to meet Daddy for lunch, but this time Annabelle was OVER hungry and OVER tired so I can't say that the lunch was enjoyed by all-but Annabelle did LOVE seeing her Daddy in the middle of the day!

Shortly after Annabelle woke up from her nap, her birthday party quests starting to arrive and we had a WONDERFUL evening celebrating our little 2 yr old with family and friends! I made a couple of different kinds of pasta and then we had some cupcakes that all the kids seemed to really enjoy! I realized later-I never really got to eat the food or the cupcakes so I hope they were good :)

After eating, we opened presents....OH MY GOODNESS---this was a chore! I was Exhausted by the end of the experience but Annabelle seemed to have a great time discovering new treasures! It has been sooooooo fun the last few days watching her play with new toys! It is so neat to see what comes out of her personality when a new toy is given to her. She is pretty intense about figuring things out at first and then she starts to play and imagine. I love watching her. She has so many new spring clothes and Pjs and awesome "big girl" toys! THANK YOU SO MUCH for helping get her stocked for fun in the coming months!

She was so tired by the time she finally got to go to bed-but we had a great day celebrating her life and all that God has blessed us with in our lives! SO GRATEFUL for all that the gifts he bestows on us!

2009-04-13T10:56:00.001-05:00

Which Dress???

2009-03-29T10:11:00.003-05:00

Annabelle needs a fashion vote! Which dress do you like better as her Easter dress? This dress will also double as her 2 yr old picture dress so there is a lot of pressure to get the right one! :) - BTW-please pardon the tags-the loser has to be returned!

Things to do with a Box

2009-03-01T12:39:00.004-06:00

We have been leaving a box in the living room for a while because Annabelle has been enjoying playing with it. Today, we videoed her favorites:

My husband with his girls....

2009-02-15T12:49:00.002-06:00

I LOVE Italo! He makes me laugh all the time for so many reasons! This morning, I was folding clothes and this is what I hear from the other room:

Annabelle saying-"Daddy!"
Italo saying, "Annabelle, I want to show you this great car video"
I hear the video play several times with no reaction from Annabelle
Then I hear Italo say, "hufffffff-okay, let's look at the American Girls dolls (in a defeated voice)"

I had to laugh! When we found out that Annabelle was a girl, Italo was pretty quiet....Finally-after probably an hour he says---Do you think Annabelle may like to play legos? It was so sweet---and I could feel him trying to get used to be a daddy to a little girl. Now we will have 2 little girls and Italo is THE BEST daddy in the world to little girls. He dances, and hugs, and kisses, and plays dolls with Annabelle all the time---These are her favorites. He also gets the lego down and plays with cars and she likes that too. But he is so patient to let her have her favorites and truly enjoys what she likes. I just hope that Maggie or Annabelle will like Legos too :)

Saying goodbye to old tires

2009-02-15T11:26:00.003-06:00

The time has come again for new tires for the Frigoli vehicles. My car in particular has needed them for probably 3 months now, but I have been waiting for Inspection time to come around before I did anything about it.

I found a great deal on some tires are tire-easy.com. Head and shoulders above what any other tire store locally could do for me. So I purchased the tires, and they arrived the last Friday of January to the house. They look fantastic in comparison to my current balding set.

The idea was to have them installed on Saturday, but that didn’t quite work out as planned. Amy’s car ended up needing new tires as well, and the time needed to change my tires slipped away.

The more I thought about my situation, the more I really wanted to have fun with it. Amy and Annabelle were very supportive of the idea of burning through the old tires before putting the new ones on. On Friday after work we are looking for somewhere close by to do the burnout, but Annabelle was getting hungry and we called it off.

Saturday morning we decided on the place to do it. We went to breakfast, and then went to our secret location. Amy got out of the car and went to the side to take pictures, and we put up a tripod with the video camera to capture the event.

I’ll be honest – this was my very first time doing a burnout. I failed 3 times before getting it right, but here was the final outcome. Hope you enjoy the video as much as we did making it! :-)

Annabelle making Valentine cookies

2009-02-12T21:51:00.002-06:00

We tried to make some cookies for Annabelle's school friends...but Annabelle was more interested in eating all the cookies---and the icing!

Valentine Cookies

2009-02-12T20:54:00.004-06:00

Here is a video of Annabelle "decorating" the cookies for her friends!

Christmas Outfits and Silly Pics

2009-02-01T20:22:00.002-06:00

Annabelle got tons of clothes for Christmas. So many, that we have had a hard time finding places for her to wear them all! But today we were going to a SuperBowl party so we figured it was a good day to break out the party outfit! Before we left, she was taking her baby for a walk and I was able to snap some pictures!

Andrea gave Annabelle the outfit above. She really went all out in finding something that went together nicely. She even dyed the tights to match :) Annabelle enjoyed dancing to Bruce Springsteen during the SuperBowl party tonight in this fun skirt :)

This adorable outfit was given to Annabelle by Uncle Andy and is so super cute! This picture was taken right after Christmas, but she has loved wearing it lots of time!

There were lots more clothes, but I have not been able to take pictures of them all :)

Thanks everyone!!

Message to Nonno and Nonna

2009-01-18T09:51:00.003-06:00

Nonna and Nonno-I am so happy to see you soon! We will have all kinds of fun!!

Words

2009-01-08T15:44:00.003-06:00

Jane is the wonderful provider that takes care of Annabelle while I am working. She has raised 4 kiddos and is a very clam, educated and level headed person that always has great advice for me on one thing or another. She keeps telling me I need to write down all of the words that Annabelle is saying because she is doing so good with her vocabulary. So here goes my best attempt at thinking of everything she says.

The first thing she said regularly was all of the body parts:
Nose
Eyes
Cheek
Mouth
Teeth
Tongue
Head
Toes
Hands

Then she went on to Animals and has now added all of the noises they make as well:
Cow - MOO
Horse - NEIGH
Pig - OINK
Owl - WHO WHO
Turkey - Gobble
Donkey -EH HAW
Cat - MEOW
Dog - WOOF
Duck - QUACK
Goat-BAH
Sheep - BAH
Turtle
Fish

She also loves to say family members names-we sing a song every night with their names in it and she will repeat most of them---Sorry if she has not mastered your name yet-she is working on it :)
Daddy
Mommy
Grandpa
Annie
Granny
Mama
Papa
Makey
Allen
Grace
Jacob
Maggie
Bruno
Heather
Cesistar
Nonno
Nonna

She also has random words she says most of the time:
Bath
Apple
Orange
Thank You
Please
Amen
Baby
Bottle
Milk
Juice
All Done
More
Cracker
Cookie
Eat
Diaper
Paci
Blankie
Elmo
Pooh
Book
Fish
Hot
Oatmeal
Eggs
Juice
Out
Boy
Girl
Up
Down
Numbers 1-10 if prompted
She has started to identify letters and is really liking saying those too

That is all I can think of--Italo can you think of anything else she says?

I am pretty sure Annabelle is a genius!!!

2009-01-04T08:45:00.000-06:00

This is Annabelle counting. She went all the way to 10 before I got the camera out, but I guess she did not want to show off so she did not go as far this time....

20 months, 19 days

2008-12-30T16:03:00.000-06:00

For Italo and I, the journey to parenthood was very intentional. We tried for more than 6 months to get pregnant with Annabelle and had lots of conversations prior to the "trying" about having babies. One of the things, I always thought of was staying up all night with a sick baby. Well, don't get me wrong, there have been lots of sleepless night since Annabelle was born because of one reason or another, but she has never thrown up...until Sunday night. I always thought that happened all the time with little kids, but we have been lucky to make it 20 months and 19 days with the worst part of baby explosions being diapers.

I awoke at 2:30 to hearing Annabelle crying and knew by the sound of the cry, it was different than her normal, I am awake and want company cry (which I always ignore). So, I got up to get her paci and try to get her to lay down until I realized that she has thrown up. So-up we go. I was trying to figure out if it was best to give her a bath or just wipe her down so she could go back to sleep. I decided sleep was more important for her, so I wiped her down, changed her clothes (Italo was stripping her bed down at this point) and brought her to bed with us. After she got into bed with us, she starting singing and talking and I knew she would not go to sleep. So, I found another sheet, laid her down and sat in her rocking chair while she tried to sleep. It id not take long before she lost it again. So, again, change her clothes, change her sheets and then wait for her to go to sleep. As we were more experienced this time, the procedure did not take as long so she went back to sleep pretty quickly.

As I sat in her room, listening to the wonderful noise of her sleeping and sucking on her paci, I was able to think about the joys of Mommyhood. And believe it or not, this one one of the moments that gave me joy. There truly was no other place I would have rather been at that moment. Don't get me wrong, I did not want Annabelle to be sick or hurting, but being able to be there to comfort, protect and help her when she was sick, was a joy I can not explain. As a working mom, there are lots of moments that I do not get to take part in, but in the middle of the night, no one needs me but her. And I love being able to give myself completely to her. I was so happy to sit next to her bed, waiting to make sure she would sleep soundly.

P.S. The next morning she lost her tummy again and I called my parents to see if the food I fed her the night before was possibly expired....Well, needless to say serving her food that expired 3 YEARS before she was born is not a good idea! Poor girl!

CHRISTMAS!

2008-12-26T13:47:00.000-06:00

The Frigolis had a wonderful Christmas celebration with our family this year. Of course, it was filled with house hopping and running late to each place we were supposed to go, but it was a joy to be around so many people that love us in the season of love. Christmas Eve, Annabelle and I went over to my mom's house around noon and played with Jacob, Grace, Allen, Kimberly and my mom. We enjoyed playing games while Annabelle napped, and the older kids played together. We then went to my childhood church for candlelight service (where the rest of the family joined us) and enjoyed a traditional service filled with the beauty of thousands of glowing candles. It was a great way to start the evening so we could be reminded of the wonder of a newborn Baby born to save us from our sins! We then went back to my mom's house for Christmas dinner, followed by the reading of the Christmas story by my mom's dad-Granddaddy and then having a gift exchange.

Granddady reading the Christmas story

Grace, Jacob and Annabelle - Excited Christmas cousins!

Annabelle had quite a lot of fun with the gift she gave her relatives. It was a box of hersey kisses that said "It's a GIRL" and a note that announced that she was going to have a little sister named Margaret (Maggie) Rose in April.

Daddy and Annabelle reading a book she got from Aunt Kimberly and Uncle Allen

Italo and I were quite surprised an impressed when we gave Annabelle a present to pass out to her great grandmother, Granny Jean. She looked around the room for a minute and then walked right over to her and handed her the gift. Our daughter is just a genius! :)

After each gift Annabelle opened, no matter what it was, Annabelle would say either-"WOW" or "Uh Ye" at what she show inside. These are some PJs she got from GrannyJean and Granddaddy. Her excitement is very contagious!

More Presents to open-she was pretty tired of opening presents after the first gathering, we had, too bad, we had 2 more big things to do before the Christmas gathering were done!

What is this?!?!?!?!?!

Her first Christmas present to open on her own!

That evening, we spent the night with my mom-this is her most important wish of the Christmas season....We all slept in the same room, so Annabelle woke up at 5:30 (not unusual for her at all-but she usually puts herself back to sleep) and realized that she was not alone, she started saying "Mommy, Daddy" like she was trying to wake us up. I got up, found her paci and blanket and told her it was still bedtime. I am glad she was too young to know what was waiting downstairs so we could all go back to sleep! She woke up again at 8:00 and we proceeded to wake up my Mom and Chris by signing "We wish you a Merry Christmas" as we went into their room. We then had a Birthday party for Jesus where we ate Pie for Breakfast and sang Happy Birthday to our sweet savior. After the pie, Annabelle still wanted her oatmeal---YAY---she has some good habits! We then tried to get her interested in her stocking, but she was more interested in the Christmas tree now that the presents were gone and she could see it better. After that we walked down the street (in ourPJS) to my Grandparents house and continued our birthday party by giving Jesus words of Praise for his Birthday. There is so much to Praise Jesus for this Christmas season and it was very sweet to hear everyone's "presents" to Jesus.

When Annabelle finally saw what was in her stocking, she was glad to get a new Blanket!

Christmas Morning Wonder-She liked all the ornaments on the tree!

Annabelle in front of the Nativity scene at my Grandparents house

Eating Jesus' Birthday pie!

Happy Birthday Jesus!

After the Birthday Party, we got dressed and went to my Dad and Andrea's house to celebrate with them. Annabelle enjoyed walking around from person to person eating brunch from their plates. It was a great Christmas brunch for her! We then opened presents and played games while Annabelle took a nap. (we ran out of room on our camera, so we don't have any more pictures) After she woke up, we went to my Dad's parents house and had a wonderful feast and yet another gift exchange with the extended family. This celebration is always the one constant in the Christmas plans and all of the family makes a point to be there. It is awesome to see some folks we don't see as often and celebrate with them. My favorite new tradition is that we all pick a name to pray for in the family throughout the year. I was so excited to have 4 names to draw this year for my family and it was a moment of realization of how much my family has expanded over the last 3 years! I am so blessed and grateful to our Lord for all that he has done in my life!

Jesus' Sweet Mercies

2008-12-15T14:23:00.000-06:00

Yesterday did not turn out the way I thought it would when I woke up. Italo and I had a VERY quiet weekend, which is very rare for us. So we were home to watch things more than normal and on Saturday we noticed that our older cat, Sphinxy, was getting sick and actually letting Annabelle touch him. That NEVERS happens, so I knew something was up, but thought we could watch him until Monday when I could take him to the vet. By Sunday afternoon, we knew we could not wait any longer so during Annabelle's nap, I took him to the Emergency Clinic.

As is always the case at Emergency Clinics-Sphinxy and I had to wait a LONG time. So-there we were in the room for about 2 hours waiting to see the doctor. I knew the outcome would not be good, so I was sad and holding my big cat.

Well, low and beyond--I started feeling my sweet little baby move in my tummy! This was the first time during this pregnancy that I could for sure say that I felt him move! It was like he was trying to keep me company while I was alone with this difficult situation.

We ended up having to say goodbye to Sphinxy yesterday, but before we did, Italo and Annabelle joined me at the clinic to say goodbye. Annabelle was playing around and sitting in my lap while Italo and I talked about our options and I reminisced about all the good times with our little buddy-Sphinxy. She was completely unaware of why we were sad, or really that we were sad at all. She just kept insisting that the bottle of lotion in my purse was milk and was trying to get me to open it up for her to drink.

But in the midst of that difficult situation, Jesus was reminding me of all of the blessings in my life-they were all around me-in my tummy, on the floor laughing and in the chair next to me crying just as hard as me over a lost life. My sweet, sweet family-all four of us were together and everyone was loving on me in their own way! Jesus' blessings are just priceless!

Halloween Celebrations

2008-11-04T15:36:00.001-06:00

We had the pleasure of going to Killeen, TX (where my brother lives) to have a fun Halloween celebration with my brother, Sister in Law, my Dad and Andrea, and my niece and nephew Jacob and Grace. Kimberly-my sister in law-decided to go all out and dress up with the kids as all the characters from The Wizard of Oz. Kimberly was The Lion, Allen was The Tin Man, Grace was Dorothy and Jacob was the Scarecrow. They were super cute. Andrea and my Dad decided to join in and Andrea went as The Wicked Witch and my Dad went as a munchkin. They were all so fun! Since I had already bought Annabelle's costume, we could not participate in the Wizard of Oz theme, but we did make our own story with Little Red Riding Hood.

As you can tell, Italo was the hunter who saved the day, Annabelle was Little Red Riding Hood and I was the wolf disguised as Granny.

Here is Annabelle with her cousins, Jacob and Grace

Grace and Annabelle with their baskets!

Here is Annabelle playing the part of Little red Riding Hood very well and picking flowers instead of staying on the path to granny's house!

My "Red" is SUCH A DELIGHT!

Several people have asked me if Annabelle was scared of my costume--and as you can imagine---NO. She is not scared of anything! But, several kids at the carnival we went to were very scared. One little boy was so worried about me, his mom asked me to take off the mask, so he could see I was a normal person! Who knew I would scare kids......The mask was VERY uncomfortable and I will certainly not be doing that again in coming years!

Annabelle loved the carnival we went to-they had slides and bounce houses which are her favorite! I spent most of my time trying to look out of the little holes in my mask to see where she went and chase her around! Some people thought I was acting out the story, but I was just trying to keep up with her! Italo was great to stay on top of her knowing that I could not really do much with her on my own!

After the carnival we went Trick or Treating...However, Annabelle did not like it at ALL! She wanted to stay at each person's house and get to know them! The first house we got to-we rang the doorbell and no one answered. Annabelle had a huge fit because she could not go into the house. I finally convinced her to go to the next person's house and get her candy and she did not care about the candy at all-she just wanted to guy to pick her up and take her inside with him.....SCARY! We decided to try one more house and she again really wanted to go into the house. We finally gave up. Since I am a mean momma wolf (as I was called all night), I did not let Annabelle eat any of her candy, except for one sucker that I let her try. (Only after much encouragement from my Dad and Andrea) She actually really liked it! She was A MESS after she was done with it, but it was fun seeing her enjoy it so much! Andrea would ask her for a lick and she would say NO and stick it in her mouth! She must have really liked it to be that selfish:)

Fun at the Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-19T21:53:00.001-05:00

Our Anniversary Cruise (with Annabelle and Family)

2008-10-17T11:09:00.001-05:00

Annabelle's New Entertainment

2008-10-10T10:59:00.000-05:00

On our cruise, we traveled with lots of folks that entertained Annabelle. She learned tons of new games and songs. One of her favorites was "Cowboy Annabelle" which Matthew taught her. She really enjoys it but no one can do it as well as Matthew!

Annabelle in the Mirror

2008-09-10T11:15:00.000-05:00

Annabelle's favorite part about her new room is that their is a mirror next to her dresser/Changing Pad. She loves to play with the baby in the mirror! These are some pictures I captured after her bath on Monday afternoon! So FUN!

What a Summer

2008-08-26T12:02:00.001-05:00

What a summer Italo, Annabelle and I had!!!! We started the summer off by moving the weekend of Memorial Day and are ending the summer by moving into our new house!!!!! YEAH!!!

We had a fabulous time at my Mom and Chris' house and they were so gracious and helpful in so many ways during the last 3 months. They even made us a wonderful fish dinner with homemade banana pudding on Sunday night to send us off extra full! I guess I will have to get used to washing my own dishes and my own laundry again--dang it!

We are in the land of boxes and mess right now, but last night we got Annabelle's room all decorated and put together and it made me realize how much she has grown up. She no longer needs so many of the things that were in her old room. I have plastic bins full of clothes that no longer fit, toys that are "baby" toys, a bobby, bouncing seat, bottles etc etc etc. I can't even believe how much she has changed since the beginning of the summer! A few of her big changes:

She can WALK!!! When we left the Carrollton house, she was just starting to crawl all over the house and Just started to find the stairs and want to climb all over them. Now, she can climb up a ladder, run and pretty much do anything else she wants
She does so much TALKING! Annabelle's first word was Uh-Oh and she had just started saying that towards the end of May-now she has a collection of about 10 words and it brings me joy each time I hear them! If I sing the song "Mamma Mia", she will laugh and say Mamma, but mostly, there is a lot of Dada heard around my house! She also says all of her MALE grandfathers names-and LOVES to say them. She says Nonno, Granddad, Granddaddy, and Grandpa. For some reason, she will not say the female variety of Granny, Annie or Nonna, but I hope that will come soon enough. She also can say all the names of the parts of the face and loves to point out everyone's nose, ear, eyes, teeth and mouth. Sometimes the pointing hurts, but it is really cute!
She is learning her limits. Before we moved, she pretty much just did what I told her to do-now she realizes she can make her own decisions. I must say she really does a GREAT job most of the time obeying me, but from time to time, she decides to do whatever she knows she is not supposed to do. For instance, she loves to eat the cat's food, she loves to touch "pretties" and she wants to tear all my magazines apart! I refuse to put these way from her, thinking instead that my daughter is so wonderful, that she will simply obey. And like I said, most of the time , she does-but sometimes I walk into a room and just think-OH MY GOODNESS CHILD-IF ONLY I COULD BRING MYSELF TO SPANK YOU!
She LOVES baby dolls!!!! Grace left quite a few baby dolls behind at my mom's house, and I have quite a few that were mine when I was little, so there is no shortage of baby dolls at my mom's house. And Annabelle has to love them all!!!!!! She rocks them, feeds them, looks for their nose, ears, eyes and mouth and always wants Mommy or granny to hold them and her. She will give her about 5 baby dolls and then want to be held too. I have to secretly sneak a few out of my arms after I have her so I can actually hold her. It is really sweet though.

So-I am excited to be settled in the new few days-weeks in our new house and see what else she learns to do. Needless to say-it will bring me joy and maybe a few tears from time to time!

By the way-if anyone is bored this week and wants to help unpack boxes-Come on over!!!!!

Fun times with Granny!

2008-08-19T23:08:00.001-05:00

This is Annabelle, my niece Grace and Granny (my mom) cooking some boiled custard. It is a good idea to put a baby right next to a boiling pot right...... :)

Chuck e Cheese

2008-08-13T15:08:00.000-05:00

I think that Italo has been excited about Annabelle's first Chuck E Cheese experience since she was a itsy bitsy girl. Now that she can walk, we decided to go and see how she liked it. She seemed to like it, but I think there was SOOOOO much to look at, she got a little overwhelmed. But, she is always up for an adventure, so she had a good time.

Look what Annabelle can do!!!!

2008-07-11T14:14:00.000-05:00

I have discovered that Annabelle seems to be an all or nothing kinda gal. She went from no steps to walking all over the place in one step! She is an expert at walking now, but she tends to only be motivated to walk when there is someone waiting to give her a hug at the other end of her journey. It is So fun to see her be so proud of her accomplishment and it is amazing that she is taking so many steps! There is no stopping her now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy July 4th

2008-07-11T14:05:00.001-05:00

My sweet friend, Shelley, made this adorable shirt for Annabelle to celebrate this year's 4th of July. Shelley is a mommy to a wonderful 7 year old little girl, Abbey, and teaches Kindergarten in Frisco. She is wanting this to a her last year to teach and so has started a business making these shirts to bring in some extra money. She makes adult and children sizes and they are just darling! The funniest thing to me is that whenever I have seen these wonderful friends, Abbey has one of these cute shirts on. It never fails that someone comments that they like her shirt, and she PROUDLY says that her mommy makes them! It brings a smile to my face each time! In case you are looking for some fun summer shirts, feel free to look at her website www.sewmuchjoy.com

Another Celebration for Italo

2008-07-11T13:52:00.001-05:00

On Italo's real birthday, we had a little family celebration with Annabelle and then Italo and I went out for a overnight date! We went to eat at Canary Cafe-which was delicious and then we enjoyed a baby free night a local hotel. It was a wonderful celebration to celebrate the best husband EVER!!!!! What a CUTE Birthday BOY!

Annabelle trying to sneak a peak-and some icing off the cake before the "party"

Is that a super Hero belt you got?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

The BirthdayBoy and his present opening helper!

SOCKS!!!!!! Doesn't Italo get exciting stuff for his birthday.... :)

Happy Birthday Italo!

2008-07-11T13:39:00.000-05:00

We had a great time celebrating Italo's birthday this year. It was a multi-day celebration, kicked off with a joint birthday party with my brother, Andy. He and Italo are 2 days apart (same year) so it is fun to celebrate both of them at the same time! This year, we went to a bowling alley and tried to entertain Annabelle as I bowled a score of somewhere in the 70's......(that is really bad if you don't follow bowling scores). But, the company was great and we got to celebrate with some of our favorite peeps!

Family Date Night!!!!!!!!

2008-07-11T13:28:00.000-05:00

I have a wonderful husband and he is very considerate about balancing time to himself, time for me, time together and time as a family. There are the occasional times that I have to hid the XBOX 360 remote from him in order to get him to pay attention, but for the most part, he is really very wonderful. An example of that wonderfullness was a few weeks ago when Italo emailed me at work and told me he thought we needed to bring our date night back. But, since we have Annabelle now, we would have to do it a little differently. So-from 5:30-8:00, we do Family date night and then from 8:00-whenever we have our personal date night. It is just s time where we do not get on the computer, play Xbox or do chores. Instead, we spend time together as a family. We have had two family date nights and they have been great! The first one, we went to a nearby Park and let Annabelle play. The swings were her favorite FOR sure and the higher we pushed her, the bigger her smile was. I LOVE to see her face light up when we play rough with her and I am so glad to see that she likes adventure!

The second week, we had my Dad and Andrea over for a game of Nertz! Nertz is one of my favorite games and I had such a good time playing for 3 hours! I love Family Date night and I can't wait to see what the next few weeks hold!

2008-07-07T12:44:00.000-05:00

The things you can do with Technology! I can morph into Keira Knightley:

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebs

I can solve the question of who Annabelle looks like most:

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity - Collage - Morph

What did people do before technolgoy!