Friday, October 31, 2008

Our traditional Halloween dinner- Jack O'Lantern Pizza from Papa Murphy's

Poncahontas (or "Ponsi"hontas as Jamie was cleverly calling her)

Dorothy and Todo (just for Tara)

And our baby butterfly....(she would only take pictures if I let her have the bubbles)

Macie's first time "hitting the pavement"....

Pastor Gary and Mary stopped over to see the Pocahontas costume (Mary made it for their little girl who wore it about 10-12 yrs ago so they were waxing nostalgic...)


Our usual stopover to see the Petersons and visit our favorite dog Jasper

"open dis, Peez"

Happy Halloween.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

The twins are finally here!!!!! Dan and Heidi have two beautiful daughters and are very proud parents. Aren't they just a beautiful family! The girls and I have been to the hospital twice and I can hardly wait to see those precious girls again. Here are some pictures of the little darlings....(some of them I swiped from Dan and Heidi)

Anna Joan (right) and Evelyn Sonja Shearer (left) (Anna was 5lb 13 oz and Evelyn was 7 lbs.)


Seriously, can you even stand it--oooohhhh, I could just squeeze them!!!!!









As for my crew, Jamie is baby-crazy. He told me he is heading up to the hospital tomorrow and he said he is going to hold both of them at the same time. Tori is a professional as you can see and Isabelle is following close behind (she needs a little help with keeping the heads up but she is getting there). Isabelle feels a special attachment to Anna because we told her that she weighed the exact same as Anna when she was born. Isabelle said she is the cutest thing she has ever seen. And I just love soaking it all in. Dan and Heidi are going to be great parents and have just begun to experience the overwhelming joy that is before them.




My friend Chuck is supposed to be posting more pictures tonight, so check them out!

Sunday, October 19, 2008

So, it's a day late, but the sentiment is still the same...
The transformation from 1 to 2 is one of my absolute favorites. This year we saw a lot of Macie's personality emerge, her hair started to emerge a little more and our love for her simply exploded. She brings so much joy and life and fun into our home that I absolutely could not imagine life without her. Happy Birthday Mace!

Sunday, October 12, 2008




My little nature girl has found her niche among the tiny critters and tall trees of the forest. The past two Saturdays she has been our guide on hikes at the Richardson Nature Center in Bloomington. Her whole face lights up at the sight of a newly discovered leaf or a teeny tiny acorn and my bag is full of her new "treasures". The uniqueness of children will never cease to amaze me...

Friday, October 10, 2008

Kindergarten Teacher for a day (well, more like 5 minutes)...but I was AMAZING! ;)

Macie and I were volunteers in Isabelle's kindergarten class today. Every Friday the kindergartners do stations and her teacher, Mrs. Sickman, has parent volunteers come in and help with their projects. Well, I drove the girls to school this morning and headed down to her classroom a little early. Mrs. Sickman was not there, but several of the students were sitting at their tables working on puzzles or reading books. They all stopped, of course, to say hello to Macie (she is quite popular) and then they would ask me what my name was again (I am not quite as popular). And then it happened, the bell rang and all the children popped to their feet. I told them to sit down, but then they told me it was time for school to start and they needed to do the Pledge of Allegiance. Mrs. Sickman was still not there and all 19 of their cute little kindergarten faces were looking at me to take the lead. So, I did it. I took my place at the front of the classroom, put my hand over my heart and said the Pledge of Allegiance. Then all of the children found their place on the circle and they helped me lead them through calendar time. Mrs. Sickman came in just as we were about to discover what day of the week it was today, and I handed them over to her far more experienced hands. So, there you go...my teaching debut. Not too bad, of course, it helps when their real teacher has them very well trained in the morning routine (she is an amazing kindergarten teacher) and the 5 year old kindergartners have a better clue as to what is going on then you do. But Macie and I had a great time helping making M&M graphs in the classroom today. As we left the kids all said goodbye to Macie over and over and over and over again, and then they said goodbye to me because the teacher told them to. ;) Happy Friday!