the end of my year

I know. I need to update the blog.  I just have not had much time for it at all - between snuggling Kellan, feeding Kellan, pumping to try to get my supply to meet the needs of Kellan, taking medicine to help my milk supply, giving Kellan medicine for thrush that just refuses to go away, etc., my time is pretty well spent.  it's tricky enough to make time for the rest of my children and my husband.  but I have to remind myself often that this time is short.  it won't be long before Kellan is eating solid foods and my supply may finally be enough.  it won't be long before he is crawling and more interested in everything else and less satisfied to sit and cuddle with mamma.  :(   for as much as I am sad and frustrated that my time is so focused on one person right now I am so happy to get to be the one to snuggle and feed him for the huge majority of the day.  thanks to the blessings we have I can be home with and for my precious little ones.


so the end of 2012 is now.  Tim and I have been astounded at how quickly this year has passed by.  it has gone by in a blur.  many things happened this year but we really can't remember much of it. that's probably for the best.  most of it I was pregnant so my brain wasn't working on full capacity anyway.
Connor went to the ER for an abscess in a tooth that we ended up pulling because of the infection.  then I went to the ER at 11 weeks pregnant in so much pain I just needed to know that my baby was okay.  turned out I had kidney stones - which kept giving me trouble right up until a week before Kellan was born.  our hot water heater pilot assembly broke.  our refrigerator broke.  the tires on Tim's car needed to be replaced, twice. our van broke down. it was a $4 fix, but we probably spent $30 in gas trying to find the correct piece and it was a really bad, frustrating day for Tim.
Tim was in the hospital for 4 days with an ulcer in September - we prayed and begged the doctor to get him all better in time for Tim to make it to Ronan's first day of kindergarten.  then I was in the hospital and a couple weeks later I went to the hospital, kidneys both times.  then I went to the hospital to deliver Kellan.  (first good trip to the hospital)  and then the new water heater pilot assembly broke.  yep.  broken water heater two times in 2012

*not a dreamy sigh*

Erica got a job at the grocery store in our town.  She's enjoying earning her own money, not enjoying so much covering shifts for all the other kids there that bale on their shift at the last minute. but it's made a good impression on her boss.  

Timothy had a summer job that he enjoyed.  long hours and miserable sweaty heat, several kids in his group quit - a few of which just didn't show up and that's apparently how they let them know they were quitting.  Timothy says "they all knew what the job was going to be before they got the job".  he liked having a pay check so much that he now wants to get a regular job.
I got to be pregnant one more/last time.  I got to feel that delightful miniature human kick and punch and squirm around.  I got to peek in on him via ultrasound. and it was wonderful - as it always is.
we all got to meet a brand new boy in the world and welcome him to our family.  those wonderful moments with our new baby wipe out so much of the frustrating and stressful things that happened to us this year.

but as we close on this year, my day has been an emotional one. 

you see, Kellan had his 2 month well check appointment today.  he got shots and that, all by it's self, makes me emotional.  he had pain and sadness and cried so loud and hard that it made me cry for him.  poor little person.  though I'd much rather he get poked on his leg a few times vs. getting any of those illnesses that the vaccinations help prevent.
then my oldest child is opting to spend the close of this year and the birth of the new year with her good friends.  she is 18 and living her life.  I know that I can't keep her forever but I don't want to have to let go of her.

c'est la vie... such is life. all kids grow up. I did.  I must remember that I don't own her, I just helped her grow up.


Happy New Year, McGinnis family.  please God  bless our next one to be free of so much stress and frustrations.  and Thank you for keeping us this year

getting so big already

I don't have any video to prove it, so you will just have to take my word for it...

Kellan hit his first big milestone this evening when he rolled over all by himself!!!

he already looks so different than when he was born. (apart from the obvious not looking so newborn)
actually he looks different every day.  some days he looks more like Tim and other days he looks more like me.  I think today is one of the days he looks like me, but by morning I'm sure he will look like daddy again

Our baby has been here for a while

I promise that I will write more and hopefully it will be soon

but I think I should put up a couple of pictures for now.

these first four pictures I have on facebook and so some may have seen them already, but the fifth one is 'new' and one of my favorites.
I'm sure there will be MANY more to come in the weeks and months ahead

 This is beautiful new son, Kellan

yesterday I was looking through some pictures and I just love this one of Kellan and Emma on the floor.
I'm not sure what it is about this picture... maybe the way he is so alert and looking at her, I don't know, but it really is beautiful to me


I'll talk more later when I have a bit more time

Connor at his normal

this morning we were having a conversation about what an herbivore, a carnivore and an omnivore are.
Connor is known around here for blurting out some of the weirdest, funniest, or most random things.

I said "humans are omnivores"
Connor "It's fun being more than one thing!"

I love that kid

an early picture of our baby

today we had a biophysical ultrasound to check our baby's growth and make sure everything is as it should be.
this kid is estimated to be about the same size as my last few kids.  by the time I go into labor it is likely that I will have another 9.5 pound baby again.


I am starting to have a little bit of anxiety.  but I'm a big girl and can deal with it. and what I can't do, my perfect husband will help me through.
but I am also excited to meet this little person with my terrific husband.  I cherish these very private moments we've had welcoming our new children into the world and into our lives and this time will be no different.
we are anxious to see who this baby is going to look like and who they will be when they grow up.  we are very anxious to cuddle and love this beautiful person.  We're excited to introduce him/her to our other children and have that wonderful moment with each of them.

jotting it down so I won't forget...

I still have to get through pictures of Emma's birthday.  they will be coming.  but I had a couple of Kidisms that I wanted to remember.  if I don't put it down here or somewhere else easily accessible I will forget what it was and all we will remember will be the day we laughed our fool heads off...

there are times when everything just falls into a pit of hilarious.  Kids have a way about them that make some moments so completely priceless....
last week.  Emma was drawing a picture for school I think, about Fire Safety.  they were supposed to illustrate getting out of the house, or being "rabbit ready"  so she draws this picture. (I'll see if I can get a picture of it some time)  it's a building - some kind of inner city apartment building with flames coming out of the windows.  there are ladders up against the sides of the building and little people on the ladders.
then she draws our house.  it too is on fire.  she has drawn the entire family fleeing from our burning home and Ronan tells us "then they run into the other building on fire".  upon looking at the picture, it does look like we are running away from one fire only to climb the ladders of the other burning building.


later that day.   it is not uncommon for Tim and I to have a conversation about something only to find ourselves stuck on a word or phrase that -for whatever reason- we can't dislodge from our brains.  we will then drop the conversation only to randomly pick it up again, many minutes and sometimes hours later, without batting an eye.  this conversation we had led us up to an adjective that neither of us could put our finger on at the moment and so we went on about our day.  about 20 minutes later I say "catatonic?" and Tim says "no".  Then Emma says "for a baby name?!"

hours of laughter!!!

I do believe there was one more Ronan moment that I am forgetting.  I'll have to ask Tim.  I wish I would have written it down already

"school" pictures

we took some time out of our day a couple of weeks ago to take year pictures of the kids. 

I'm still filtering through some of them and touching up the shadows and bright spots on a few of them.  in the mean time I do have some ready for showing. 

we might need one more photo shoot before it gets just too cold to go out for more pictures.  and then sometime soon Erica and I will be finding someplace perfect for Senior pictures

he's gotten so big?

remember me mentioning how tiny Ronan seemed on that first day of school.
this picture should help you better understand.

Ronan walking to the bus with Timothy.  He looks so small with that huge back pack and that giant brother

Ronan and Emma climbing off the bus.

Emma, Connor, and Ronan outside of their school on the first day

He was getting so bored waiting.  on the first day they stand inside the doors and wait for the entire class to make it to school.  it took some of the kids a really long time to make it to school.  those kids didn't look too sad to be at school so maybe it was the parents having a hard time letting go.  

in his classroom.  he really didn't want me to interrupt him and he was anxious to get back to settling in to his classroom.

first day, very first day and third day

I'll have more pictures (perhaps tomorrow) but I just wanted to share with you family and friends my beautiful kids on their first day of school.

okay so it wasn't Erica and Timothy's first day, it was their third.  but it was the first day for Emma and Connor and Ronan.  but more than just that, it was Ronan's very very first day of school.
when he is sleeping he looks so big but as soon as he wakes up and stands he looks so tiny.  now we add a gigantic back pack to him and he's really tiny.
but he wasn't the littlest kid (though maybe one of the very few youngest) child in kindergarten this year.
He has been so excited and didn't get sad at all.  when he got home, with all the enthusiasm he could muster, he told us "IT WAS SO FUN!"  I'm so glad about that, but still a bit sad, probably because it was so easy for him.  he's such a big kid.

feeling a little unbelievable!

we've done some preparing for baby's arrival.  however there is still more to be done.  and with that I keep reminding myself just how much time is left.
and then last night I had a realization of just how little time we actually have left!  the panic is not really setting in, but it is just on the precipice.  

less than 12 weeks.  it's somehow even worse when I break it into days.  at this point it is 82 days until my due date.  BUT  apart from Emma deciding to be born later than my due date, all my children are born before their due date by at least 2 days and one of them 8 days 'early'

though I am trying to find comfort in a few things.
1.  all the other kids will be at school for about 6-7 weeks before baby is due so I will have that time to get a lot of things squared away
2.  though I am due right before Halloween and I know the kids (youngest 3) will want to go trick or treating.  I will not have to buy them all costumes this year since they all have a large quantity of costumes that they regularly play dress up in.  so no pressure for me in that department.
3.  my biggest two kids are old enough to care for the youngest kids so when I do go into labor and decide it's time to head to the hospital they will be able to hold down the fort.
4.  having had babies before I know what things are the most mandatory to have before baby comes.  a lot of things can just wait for a while.  so we aren't going to break the bank buying things that we really don't need for 5 months.

but I guess, ready or not this baby is going to be here soon

working hard

Last week Timothy started his first Summer job.  He's 14 so he's finally old enough to have a job.  earlier this year, I do believe it was still Winter, he came home from school and mentioned that he would like to have a job this Summer and that Pioneer company had applications up at the school for kids who were interested in working for a few weeks.  I was a tad bit surprised that he wanted to do this kind of work but I enthusiastically said Yes.   I would love for him to have a job this summer to start figuring out how the work world operates.
He's usually so bored so I was also eager for him to have something to do to keep him occupied.
he got a call a few days before his orientation day.  because of our heat wave, the corn grew very tall very fast and they needed kids out there as soon as possible.  but there was a small problem.  the lack of rain in our area has kept the corn from pollinating all at the same time!  they still needed kids to do the work, but they just didn't have enough work to have them out in the field from 8am - 4pm.  they were getting done by noon all week and weekend.  this week they finally have had full days.

he got his first paycheck today, and I must say 'not too shabby' for being half days last week.

Timothy gets home and doesn't complain about how hard it is and it was so hot, etc etc. but instead he's said that he's been liking it.
even though it has been warm, Timothy is used to the weather and temperatures already.  he told me on the first day of work (a day that was 25 degrees cooler than it had been the entire week before) they went through the orientation and then had the kids in the field for 1 hour before having them go home.  three kids had to go sit in the shade and try not to pass out.  Timothy was confused.  He's a hardy kid.  :)
this last weekend he was telling me about how a couple of the kids in his field group were goofing off and they've been warned more than once to get back to work.  their group leader even used Timothy as an example.  He's always keeping busy, he's bagging the ears efficiently and tightly.  he's doing a great job!
He's been very responsible and I'm very very proud of him.

Finally put on a show for Daddy

usually I feel baby movements much earlier in pregnancy than the "books" say I'm supposed to.  please, don't tell me those books know better... I know exactly what it is I'm feeling when a baby is kicking me.

before the ultrasound last month I had already figured out that the placenta was anterior because by 19 weeks I hadn't felt a single twitch.  then when I finally did it was quite low and very small kicks.
about 3 weeks ago I finally felt a kick strong enough to be felt from outside of my belly.
then a week later another strong enough to feel with my hand.  so I called for Tim to come and feel and of course, as soon as he had his hand on my belly the baby stopped kicking.
then about a week ago another, and again, as soon as Tim's hand was in place, the baby sensed his presence and stopped moving.

FINALLY tonight, after being kicked nearer to my pelvic bones and just at my sides, the baby has turned and has their feet right up in my ribs kicking to beat that band!  I could feel it, but didn't expect to feel anything from the outside.  Umm, I just saw my entire belly jiggle!!!  hey!  if baby is making my belly move then I must be able to feel that one with my hand.
I called Tim over, trying very hard not to move for fear that baby would then move and it would be all over.  I gently placed Tim's hand on the top of my belly and WHAM.  for almost 10 minutes he sat there with his hand on the baby's kicking foot and I sat as still as possible so I didn't shift the baby out of that position.
a wonderful moment.  6 babies and this just never gets old.

Ronan says the darndest things

I have to write this down so I don't ever forget it....
earlier today Ronan was telling me "I wish I was a still a little baby.  'cuz I was really cute that day"

upon review

I realized that by not having updated the blog for so long there are a lot of things that haven't been mentioned.
I guess I just don't want people to fret, but hey, that's not why I'm writing this blog... it's my record of my life and that of my family.

first thing not mentioned...
I took my gestational diabetes test and failed.  not miserably, but enough to be a fail and be diagnosed with gestational diabetes.  I am now monitoring my blood sugar before and after every meal and it's been pretty well controlled anyway, but I now have the expense of diabetes monitoring supplies (which insurance isn't covering most of) and the extra expense of a diabetes specialist at the clinic.
when it gets really hot out and my body is extra stressed because of that, my blood sugar is a little bit high, but nothing that my doctor has been worried about.  in fact they figure that once Summer is done and my nausea from being morning sick is completely gone it is likely that I will not really be classified as gestationaly diabetic anymore.

We have decided that we live in the swirly of life.  yep a swirly, where you get your head shoved in a toilet and then it's flushed.
Tim's hours had been cut to 36 a week for a while because they just didn't have much work coming in.  it has been a big stresser
and we have been dipping into the savings account to make sure everything is taken care of.  a few of the things we've had to dip into the savings for are

• Tim's car needed new tires
• the water heater thermal couple has gone out on the water heater but our water heater has to be special and needs a very specific part to fix the thermal couple... we can't just go buy an $8 piece and get it over with... no, it has to be a $50 part and it HAS to be ordered online because there is not one single place in all of our area that has the part.  We're still waiting for that part to finally ship and it should and better be here this week.
• the refrigerator kind of died.  it stopped cooling properly and we had to throw a LOT of food away.  it makes me ill thinking of how much that food was worth.  but the repair guy came (it died on a Saturday morning and the repair guy was closed until Monday) and got it working temporarily.  we are waiting on him to come again today with the part that he had to order last week and finally get it put in so we don't have this problem again in the near future. 
• the next freak out moment was the Tuesday morning after our fridge died, Tim went out to go to work and he had a Seriously flat tire.  yep one of his NEW ones.  What the heck!  so he put the spare on, flung the blown tire into the back of the van and went to work.  after work he stopped at the tire place that he bought the tires and they did fix it for free so Tim is sure that it was a problem that they had caused because they didn't want to talk to him about it after they had fixed it.  I'm sure they were embarrassed.
• and if that wasn't enough... the van died on the side of the road just the other night.  Tim ended up taking Friday (all of it) to get it fixed.  new battery and that didn't do anything.  so we had to track down a fuse for the alternator.  again, not a single place in town has the correct part.  then he couldn't get the fuse out because he needed the right tool and it was a nightmare.  he eventually got the right tool and got the part out and in the end he had to make due with the very generic fuse that we had found but doesn't fit properly under the casing.  

and this isn't all of the horrible week and a half that we have had.
so now the question is what did I do so evil to deserve such punishment. because I can deal with one thing went wrong this summer but to have EVERYTHING crap out on us in less than a month!!! this isn't a life lesson from God, this is a punishment because now our savings account that is meant to get us a nice house and out of this dump is almost gone and I will have to start all over again.

more than a little discouraging.

but we did have our ultrasound and though we didn't get very good images because I have an anterior placenta, my OB says that everything is looking good.   We found out the baby's sex, but we're not telling.  because even though we saw (sort of) I still feel like the ultrasound could be wrong.  plus the moment we tell, somehow that will make people think they get to give us some input on what to name our baby.  (our baby, we pick a name whether you like it or not)
and despite my GD diagnosis I currently don't have to have extra appointments at the clinic (yet) and though I am considered High Risk because I am old and fat and have GD I am not so high risk that I have to be monitored weekly at this point and it's looking like the rest of my pregnancy is going to be just like any other pregnancy. 

one tender mercy

Money

a few weeks ago Erica started her job at our local grocer.  she's had other jobs baby sitting and such, but this is the first job she has had that has taken out social security and state and federal taxes and payed with a check! very exciting to be counted as a working class citizen  :D

the birthday boy is 5!!!

 on Ronan's birthday we woke up to one of the new bunnies having breakfast out our front window.  he was so cute. the kids were really good about sneaking quietly over to look at him.  he then made his way over to one of my flower beds and I really didn't want him there because we have some new seedlings in there this year.   Daddy and Ronan went out and startled him away.  I don't mind him eating the clover and dandelions in the yard, but they never do just stop there...

 later in the day we had a visit and grandma brought presents.  Captain America is a big hit!!!  Ronan LOVES everything super hero and he especially loves the Avengers.  however, he already has many Iron Man action figures so a new hero was exactly the way to go.  Thanks Grandma!

 while arranging pictures and thinking about the other day, I realized that I had forgotten to have him sit and have an official Birthday Picture.  Ugh, what was I thinking?!  it must be pregnant brain.  but I did get a couple of pictures of him sitting excitedly waiting for cake and icecream

 and you might ask yourself what is he doing here?  well, the day before is Daddy's birthday.  while singing happy birthday to daddy, dad was pointing quite obviously to himself and singing happy birthday to ME.  Ronan loves everything about daddy and wants to be just like him (and I'm so glad.  there's no one better to have as your real life hero)
so while we were singing happy birthday to Ronan, he was very obviously pointing to himself.  :D

 Ronan lit the candles all by himself.  (yep, the cake was pink - it tasted like strawberry sugar wafers) and when it was time to blow them out, it took him probably 7 times before he aimed it right or opened his mouth enough to get sufficient air across the flames...

 It is so hard to get a good angle on these kids when they are opening presents.  I had him start out on the couch but the excitement was just too much for him and he was all over the place.  he opened one present (the game card that goes with the DS he got) and he popped it open and    POW  in your face showed Connor and Emma.  I wish I had gotten a picture of that, it was precious!  but so fast.
he knew what was coming next and there was no way we were going to get  him back on the couch for a better picture.

he opened it up, put the game in, turned it on, and played like a professional.   the most frustrating part of birthday pictures is that everyone is so pulled in by the thrill of it all that I have a hard time getting a picture of just the birthday star.
but since all the kids have a DS now, they all play together with the games that they can wirelessly share and most of the time it has been fun.

Happy Birthday, MacaRoni!

a very big day today!

first of all and most importantly, it is Tim's birthday!  I will be making his frostingless cake today. and later today I will be making another birthday cake for Ronan's big day tomorrow!

our other big day today is that it is the last day of school for the kids.  they are all thrilled with the exception of Connor who insists that he doesn't want school to be done.  He did have a terrific teacher this year and I'm sure that plays a big part in his desire to continue school.

Timothy is on a trip to Valley Fair today.  he almost didn't go and I was feeling bad about that because a) he worked hard this entire year and has been on the B honor roll all year and I think he deserves a fun trip.  and b)  his best friend will be moving this summer and I felt like the more time they can muck around together before they leave the better.

Erica is going to be picking up her work shirt and schedule for her new job.  she is very excited to get started and I'm very excited for her to get started.  I could always use an extra hand around here, but lately she hasn't done much even when I beg so I will be glad for her to have a life lesson that she can apply directly to herself without me trying to cram the lesson down her throat.   I think her outlook on things will change when she realizes that I am not trying to be a mean person but help her understand how the rest of the world works.

Emma simply needs the break from school and all things social.  although this summer her best friend's family is planning a move and that will be sad, I'm sure she will be glad to have the break from the requirements of school and the social demands put on her since she tends to be a bit more reserved (much like I was/am).  more than that, I'm sure that she will probably focus more on me and the baby.  she has been so excited about the baby.  though the rest of the kids have been excited and happy, Emma has by far been more interested in how big the baby is now and what's new with the baby...
I will be having a few more appointments with my OB starting in a couple of weeks and through Summer. she will likely be wanting to come with us.  we'll see.  I may have her come along to a couple of them since she won't have anything else to need to do.   (however, with Erica and Timothy working this summer the little kids might have to come to an appointment or two anyway)

and we're off

here we are in the 16th week of pregnancy and I have to say that it has been the longest 16 weeks since the last time I was pregnant.
apart from getting sick every morning now, and having other tell tale signs of pregnancy, I really haven't been feeling like I'm pregnant - just sick.

but these next several weeks will be kicking it all off.  it's going to be more real to me now.  this Friday we have an OB appointment and at that appointment we are going to be scheduling some tests.  first of all we will be getting our ultrasound test scheduled.  we are both pretty excited about it.  maybe we will find out if baby is a boy or girl.  but we're probably not telling!  ha ha
next we will be setting up my gestational diabetes testing.  I really hope that I pass the 1 hour because that 3 hour is horrible.
in about 2 more months from now I will be getting my rhogam injection.  "what is that?"  you ask.  well I have been blessed with a negative blood type.  because my blood cells are Rh- there is a risk that my body will try to attack/reject the baby and or cause the baby's heart to grow with a defect that may cause death for the baby.   but one shot in the kiester and that is no longer a concern.
after the baby is born they will be blood typed and if by any chance they have a positive blood type then I will require another injection of the same medicine just in case the baby's blood might have mixed with mine during delivery.  that could cause some major issues for me or even potentially kill me as my body would be trying to reject the foreign blood.  interesting how blood works.  you can take my blood type and give it to ANYONE at all and it will have no ill effects until they can be blood typed and given the correct blood type, but if an Rh+ blood were to be injected into my body with my Rh- blood I would reject it and maybe die.
that's a nutshell for you if you've ever wondered why O- is the universal donor blood.

so that's something to look forward to.

hopefully in the next week or so I will finally be feeling the baby kick.  I'm getting really anxious for that.
it is seriously the very best part of pregnancy.  yeah, it hurts when they keep shoving their little feet under your ribs and or kick you as hard as their tiny legs can muster right on top of your bladder and sometimes worse than that, your cervix.  HOLY COW!!!
but it's also the most terrifying thing when you are at the end and you have gone for 6 hours and realize that you haven't felt any baby movement and you are begging them to jab your ribs and other uncomfortable places just so you know they are still alive.
another thing to look forward to.

these next couple of months are going to go streaking by so fast.  then I'll be at the end of my... well, we'll say comfort and I'll be begging for labor to start even if I am an entire month early.

and I mean this all in the least sarcastic way possible.  I can hardly wait!

painting, my mother's day present

so thanks to the great assistance of a friend of mine and Emma's, we prepped for house painting.

our poor home has been in desperate need of a new coat of paint for the last 7 years and I started the process about 5 years ago, but something always comes up!

with the help of Emma's friend's dad we are getting primed and painting.

this morning we put the kids to work.  they don't exactly like it.  well, tough.  If I can get out there all nauseous and headache-y then they can deal with the monotony of it all.

Ronan is practicing spelling his own name.  he's getting much better

  Connor left me a message and drew a picture of me being happy and mad at the same time. 

 Timothy is trying to get primer on a difficult to reach spot.  he's done a great job and has been very helpful

 making a happy face.  he was very proud of this and stepped back with a bit of a flare.

it's too bad that we have to paint it all the way over.  but then that's why man invented cameras

thump thump swish

last month, for my birthday, Tim got me (us) a fetal doppler so we can listen to the baby whenever we want to and not have to wait until our prenatal appointments to get a chance.

at first we couldn't find a heartbeat because baby was still very small and we would have had to be right on to pick up the heart.
a few days later we found it and every time ever since.

there are days when I feel suspiciously good and other days when I feel exceptionally terrible.
on those days I bring out the doppler and have a listen to either make sure the baby is fine and I'm just having a good day or try to give me strength when I'm throwing up most of the day and half dead on the couch the rest of the day.

Monday was a half dead kind of day (Tuesday too) so I went to the doppler for some comfort. while listening to the heartbeat I heard the cutest thump and swish. I yelled for Tim to hurry and hear what I was hearing and we sat there and listened for several minutes.
those pretty little thump and swish sounds were the baby kicking me :D
I can't feel them yet. perhaps another anterior placenta. but it was sweet knowing that our baby is developing well (as far as we can hear) and can move it's little arms and legs

Prom last weekend

 

 Erica's date is her very good friend, Jonathan.  he's the son of a very good friend of mine and my sisters.  we've all known him since he was born.

 here they are exchanging their corsages.  taking these pictures in the house was a little bit of a trick.  they are both MUCH taller then I am and I was trying to give myself a bit of height by kneeling on the couch.  it wasn't working too well because I kept sinking into the couch.

  looking at these pictures and I am just amazed at how very much Erica looks just like me from 20 years ago.

and Jonathan, you are very handsome.  

 if you can't tell, taking pictures outside was bordering torture and inhumane treatment.  I made Erica take off her coat to show off her dress.  and I really feel bad about it because it was only about 46 degrees out that day (on April 28th)  YIKES

the group of friends.  they had dinner at the young lady's house in the green dress.  they had fun at dinner.

and prom was a good time as well.  Erica was so excited to tell us all about it.  and I was so excited to hear all about it. 

a very Erica and Jonathan pose

I thought I felt old before!  it's hard to believe that I have a child old enough to go to prom.
next thing I know she will be graduating from high school and then shortly after that she'll be married and have her own kids.
I feel like so much of life is out of my control... but then I guess it really is so I will just have to love every moment that comes my way - or should I say passes by so quickly.

our weather has been just awful!  it was nice and warm a few weeks ago and then it got cold again.  we've been having a hard time getting warmer than 55 - 60 degrees.

in fact, many of our trees and flowers were tricked into budding and blooming early and then we had a frost that has done a number on fruit tree blossoms and other plants and because it's been cold the plants have been sluggish and can't do anything.

but I had a happy surprise the other day when I checked on my flowers around my house and found that one cluster of my irises had buds on them. 
yesterday I went out to check on them and they had opened!  I must have them in just the perfect spot.  tightly against the house on the south side so it's been protected from the wind we've had for the last few days.

Erica's hair

for a while now Erica has been considering a bit of a hair cut.  with many split ends and being uneven and just the fact that her hair is heavy and she says she's been getting headaches and thinks it's the weight of the hair causing them, last week she finally let me take 14 inches off.  

she only trusts me to do it since I used to have hair that long when I was her age and I know just how I felt when I decided to have mine cut.  She didn't want Amy to do it because she gives her a hard time about it..."you should let me cut your hair" and to Erica when Amy says that it means to her shoulders.
that is never going to happen.

I'm hoping even-ness of her hair will be helpful for her prom hair-do.