Merry Christmas!

Here is an excerpt from Caleb's Christmas program. I need to apologize if the camera shakes a little bit - I was laughing my head off. Caleb really gets into the motions. Notice how far away from the other kids he is? We couldn't figure it out at first, but then after seeing him do his thing, we figured that the other kids just didn't want to get hit. Enjoy!

One Year Ago...

Last year on December 21, we officially accepted our referral of Myah.

One of our referral pictures from 12/18/07.


One year later.

Meeting Santa Claus

We took Caleb and Myah to visit Santa tonight. We even coordinated their outfits to match Santa. Caleb is still in 'awe' of Santa and kept asking,"Is this the real Santa, or just a helper?" Myah didn't want anything to do with Santa as you can plainly see (and hear). She stayed on his lap just long enough to snap a couple of pictures. As we were leaving, Caleb became very concerned for his little sister and asked if Santa would still bring her presents, even though she cried. We explained that Santa understands and yes, Myah will still get some presents. We were about 99.9% sure she would cry when she sat on Santa's lap - she doesn't even like the plastic light-up Santa at the store.

Myah's Many Faces

See my tongue? It's lots of fun to stick out.

These are my teeth. I have eight of them by now.

Aren't I just the cutest little stinker?

I Like Cranberry Sauce

Even though it's a little sour, cranberry sauce is fun to eat!

Illinois Thanksgiving

A few pictures from Thanksgiving in Illinois.

Picking out a Christmas tree with cousins.

Caleb and cousin Ryley playing out in the snow. Myah watching from (and kissing) the back door.

Opening a few early Christmas presents from Grandma & Grandpa.

Is someone pretending to be asleep?

Out to dinner with Grandma and the cousins.

In A Galaxy Not So Far Away...

Back when having a daughter was just a dream, I never would have thought that one of her favorite things to play (at the ripe old age of 13 months) would be Star Wars. Granted, her brother is a pretty big Star Wars fanatic and her uncle could put most people to shame with his knowledge of all things Jedi, but for my sweet, dainty little daughter, it never seemed like a possibility.

My mighty Jedi knights-in-training (at least they kept themselves busy while I folded the laundry).

My littlest defender of the galaxy. The microphone on my camera is not very good, but if you listen closely, you can hear Myah making 'Light Saber sounds'. She really has the sound effects down and it cracks me up to see her and Caleb duel with their light sabers.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I know this is a day early, but we will be traveling for Thanksgiving and I wanted to make sure that all our friends and family know that we are thinking about them today. May you all have a blessed Thanksgiving and remember to give thanks to the One who blesses us all.

Caleb's class singing 'Give Thanks'

Pizza, Pigtails and Pilgrims

I am finally able to get some pigtails to stay in Myah's hair. She sits really well for me while I'm doing it, but she pulls them out if she gets bored in the car. I think I have ten, maybe fifteen strands of hair in each pigtail.


Myah had her first pizza the other night and she sure liked it. Come to think of it, she likes anything that has to do with bread. She's my little 'Carbo-holic' - kind of takes after her dad!


In other news, Caleb had a little Thanksgiving program at his school yesterday. He makes one cute pilgrim - too bad he acts like a little turkey!

Caleb and his class reciting Psalm 100.

A Beautiful Fall Day in AZ

We went for a hike the other day. Nothing strenuous, just a nice relaxing walk up a little mountain. When you live in Arizona, it's kind of like you're in a little bubble. It's hard to imagine other places getting snow while it's 85 and you're wearing shorts. My apologies if you're one of the people getting snow!

The really tall cactus with arms are Saguaros. The shorter ones that look fuzzy (it's really tons of prickles) are called Cholla (below on the left). These particular chollas are called Teddy Bear Chollas. Caleb once made the mistake of thinking they were fuzzy and grabbed one. He never did that again! The tall spindley looking plant that has lots of spikes sticking up (below on right) is called an Ocatillo. Our house is somewhere down in the valley in the bottom picture.

A Crafty Kid

Yesterday the local library had a craft workshop for kids. Caleb was busy making three different turkeys for Thanksgiving.

This poor guy only made it till dinnertime.

Getting a head start on Christmas crafts at home.

Good hair gone bad. This is what happens when you have pigtails in your hair and then take a nap.

Going For A Ride

A New Balloon

Myah got a new balloon from the grocery store yesterday.
You gotta love free balloons!

Loving the balloon.


Showing off her standing skills.


Check out the sneakers and headband!

The Trip That Just Keeps On Giving

As many of you may recall, we had a wonderful little camping trip last weekend. As a follow-up to that trip, I have been blessed with two trips to the doctor and three prescriptions. As many of you know, I don't go to the doctor or take medicine unless I have to.

You see, while I was sleeping, the only part of my body that wasn't covered up was the lower half of my face (freezing temps tend to make you bundle up as much as possible). It seems that while I was asleep, a little spider came along and bit me on my chin. Now, I must give congratulations where it's due, so kudos to you, little spider, for finding a time when I was actually sleeping. Anyway, long story short, I am now fighting a gross and annoying infection in my chin and feel like the love child of Popeye and Jay Leno (if that's even possible). My doctor is optimistic that the current round of antibiotics will wipe out whatever junk has taken up residence in my chin and hopefully, it won't be too embarrassing to go out in public soon.

Boy, I can't wait till it gets warmer and we can all go camping again!

The Good, The Tolerant and The Stupid

Caleb had Thursday & Friday off of school so we thought it would be a great idea to sneak in one last weekend of camping (in a tent) before it gets too cold. We packed up all our gear, both kids and a bunch of warm clothes and headed off to the Santa Catalina Mountains to camp after Rob got off work on Thursday. Here is the play-by-play:

4:00pm - Leave Scottsdale
5:00pm - Kids are fussy - they proceed to eat a whole sleeve of Ritz crackers (food is the one thing that can keep Myah quiet in the car)
5:33pm - Sunset
6:15pm - Arrive at Catalina State Park - Set up tent in the dark (thank goodness for headlights) - Myah is crying so Caleb pushes her around and around in the stroller
6:20pm - Car battery goes dead - windows are rolled down and keys are stuck in the ignition. Dig out propane lantern, pray lighter works, set up tent by lantern light
6:45pm - Tent is set up - Rob pumps up inflatable mattresses by hand - Melissa sets up propane stove to cook beef stew for dinner
7:15 pm - Food is ready, kids are fussing, Rob & Melissa are (almost) ready to go home
8:00pm - Kids put on two pairs of winter pajamas each, go to the bathroom and go to bed - one is a bit louder than the other (guess who?)
8:01pm - Due to dry conditions, wood fires are banned - Rob & Melissa decide that looking at each other by the light of a hissing propane lantern is not as romantic as lounging by a crackling fire
9:00pm - Rob & Melissa decide to go to bed after checking on the kids and making sure they are bundled up - Melissa discovers that she pulled a muscle in her side while setting up the tent
11:00pm - Myah cries - Melissa gets up
12:00am - Myah cries - Melissa gets up
1:00am - Myah cries - Melissa gets up
4:00am - Myah cries - Melissa gets up
4:30am - Myah cries - Melissa cries - Rob gets up - The decision is reached that we will not be staying another night
5:30am - Myah is wide awake - Melissa is wide awake - Rob is wide awake - Myah joins us in bed
5:45am - Caleb climbs into bed with the rest of us
6:00am - Everyone gets up, gets dressed and bundled up to go outside. The kids eat breakfast at the picnic table (with a portable heater) - Rob and Melissa break down tent (in 40 degree weather - without gloves)
7:15am - A park ranger is radioed in to help jump start the car
7:45am - The car is packed, the kids are packed, the parents aren't sure if they should laugh or cry
9:15am - After three unsuccessful attempts, a shop is located to replace the car battery
10:00am - Get detoured all over Tucson because highway is under construction and all ramps are closed
10:30am - Pancakes at IHOP - Melissa can finally feel her toes again
7:30 pm - Return home

The rest of the day is spent driving around Tucson, hiking, visiting different parks and seeing old Indian ruins. All in all, it was a good trip - we learned that Myah can pack away a lot of crackers, Caleb enjoys listening to Vivaldi CDs and is good at keeping track of time (are we there yet?) and that you should never, ever go camping in a tent with a baby who is a lite sleeper or when it is going to get into the high 30's/low 40's at night. Now that you've read my novel, I'll let you decide who best fits which description in the title. lol

Halloween Pictures Coming Soon

As you may have noticed, I am the only person who has yet to update their blog with adorable pictures of small children dressing up for Halloween. For this, I apologize.

We went to a birthday party on Halloween for one of Caleb's little friends and while we were there, my camera was dropped and broken. The person who did this shall remain nameless, but they were heard crying and saying, "I don't deserve Halloween this year."

Needless to say, I don't have pictures of the kids first Halloween together. I do have several pictures coming from some friends who took pity on us and snapped a few shots for me. Once I have these pictures I will gladly post them. For now, this is all I have - it was the last (and only) one taken before the camera broke.

It's My Balloon and I'll Cry If I Want To...

Myah loves balloons. Or maybe I should say she's obsessed with balloons. Whenever we go to a store that has balloons, she goes nuts. She points and, very loudly, announces to everyone in the store that there are balloons in the building. We went to Trader Joes the other day and, after laughing at her vocalization about the balloons, our cashier gave her a green one. She was in heaven for the entire trip home (which is rare for her). The next morning when we came downstairs for breakfast, the helium was gone from the balloon and it wouldn't float. You would have thought the world was ending. All I can say is that this girl is a balloon addict - she wouldn't let go of the string, but she sat there looking at it crying the whole time because it wouldn't float anymore. It was hilarious and of course I had to take a picture. I can't wait until she's a teenager.

Pumpkin Time

We decided to carve our pumpkins last night. Unfortunately, in Arizona you have to wait until right before Halloween to carve pumpkins because it is still 90+ degrees here and carved pumpkins only last a few days.

Caleb had a lot of fun designing his pumpkin face and scooping the seeds out. Myah, on the other hand, didn't enjoy it too much so she and Daddy went on a walk while Caleb and I worked.

Birthday Party!

We finally had Myah's birthday party today. It was at the park by our house and it was a fun little get together with four other families we know. Myah loved her cake (white cake with raspberry filling and cream cheese icing) and it was nice having a playground right there for the kids to play at. Unfortunately it was a little windy and the sun melted our coffee mocha truffles, but all in all, it was a very fun afternoon.