My best friend "pony"

A couple of nights ago Eliana was watching the next door neighbor's grandson, Cody, play in the backyard. She said she wanted to go out and play with her "best friend pony". At first, I had no idea what she was talking about and then it occurred to me that "pony" was really "Cody"! I asked Ellie if he was her best friend what did that mean for Rylyn, Phoebe, Sarah, Emily, etc (her other friends).... she promptly held up her hand, identified each finger as a person, and said they could all be her best friends together :)
I don't think she gets the concept of "best" yet!
I am hoping to post a picture of Eliana's first dance recital tonight but I have lost my camera. Hopefully, I left it at the dress rehearsal and some nice person will give it back to me :)

Answer to prayers....

God is gracious and His mercies are new every morning!!!!

Darren and I had a really good day celebrating Abigails 2nd birthday. It was a gorgeous spring day and we were able to spend the whole day together as a family. We went to the cemetary and Darren read Psalm 103... once again I was reminded of God's goodness to us and the way our prayers for Abigail were answered - she is healed and dancing in praise to our Lord. After walking around the cemetary for a little while, we headed to Ann Arbor and met up with Pam (Abbie's main nurse from U of MI Mott hospital) for lunch at Roly Poly. The sandwhiches were yummy as usual and it was really good to hang out with Pam for a while. We then went to the Arb (a park by the Ronald McDonald house) and took some pictures of Darren with the girls where we had taken pictures with Abbie. We went for a little walk because it was such a nice day and it was wonderful to be together as a family. After all of that, we went home, grabbed Abbie's cake and headed to Toledo Hospital. There we celebrated with Ruth, Abbie's birthday-twin (Ruth is a nurse who celebrated her 50th birthday the same day Abbie celebrated her 1st). We got to celebrate Abbie's birthday with some of the people who took such great care of her and we got to eat cake! Eliana amazed me with remembering to ask Jenny for some chocholate milk.... it has been months since we were at the hospital but that chocolate milk must have really made an impression on her! After celebrating at the hospital, we headed to our weekly Bible study. It really was a good day and I am confident that it was because many people were praying for us. Praise the Lord for answered prayer!

One year ago today our second child, Abigail, turned one year old. She was in the midst of a round of chemotherapy and three days away from receiving a bone marrow transplant. Despite all that she was going through, Abbie was an incredibly happy child. My favorite memory from that day is when everyone had left from celebrating her birthday. Darren and I were starving and so ordered dinner for just the two of us. When the Roly Poly sandwiches arrived, Abbie looked longingly at mine. Due to her diet restrictions, she was unable to eat my sandwich but her Dad lovingly offered her a bit of his. Then she wanted another bite, and another bite, and another.... pretty soon, Darren's sandwich was almost gone. Despite the fact that Darren was REALLY hungry, it was such a joy to see Abbie gobble up the Roly Poly. So in memory of our little girl, we are headed to Roly Poly for sandwiches today. Thank you to everyone for your prayers and notes of encouragement, as you can imagine - today is a day when the tears flow more easily.

Go Buckeyes! Go Wolverines!!!!

Darren and I form (at least in this part of the world) what is called a divided household - he is an avid Ohio State Buckeyes fan and I am a fan and alum of the University of Michigan. Therefore, Eliana has been brought up to root for both teams. Tonight she asked to read the "Wolverine" book - which is actually about a day at an Ohio State football game. When we got to the part where the Buckeye band is playing, she started to sing "Hail to the Victors". Darren did not find it as humorous as I did! Thankfully, she did start singing "Hang on Sloopy" complete with the O-H-I-O hand motions to keep herself in her Dad's good graces. (the picture is from the 2007 Ohio State/Michigan game)

At the gardens...

To celebrate my Aunt's birthday, we took the girls to the Botanical Gardens to enjoy the *spring* weather. I had both girls dressed in matching sweaters and attempted (once again) to get a picture of two girls, in matching sweaters, sitting on a bench in the sunshine. The first time I attempted this was Thanksgiving weekend of 2006 when I had Eliana (then about 2) and Abigail (7.5 months) sitting on a bench in my parents backyard. Eliana was fussing and being difficult while Abigial was smiling and enjoying herself (just over a month later, Abigail was diagnosed with leukemia). Although I took about 20 pictures, I don't think one picture had both girls looking at the camera!
This time I had Eliana (now 3.5 years) and Raelyn (6.5 months) in the same sweaters but sitting on a different bench. Eliana was less fussy but it was still just as challenging to get both girls to look and smile at the camera. I guess it doesn't matter as my favorite one (in 2008) turned out to be one where they aren't looking at the camera anyway! And my favorite "one" from 2006 is the precious memory of Abbie enjoying life and in the arms of her sister. I miss my little girl.....

Yesterday we were over at a friend's house for lunch. She was making smoothies (YUM!) and asked if we would like one. Here is Eliana's interpretation.....

Anna: "would you like a smoothie?"

Eliana (excited from the other room): "I want to watch a movie!"

movie, smoothie......I guess they sound similar to a 3 year old!

The begininng....

Since ceasing to use Abbie's caringbridge site, I have missed capturing the little moments of my kids everyday lives. I thought I would try this format to try and capture the personalities of the kids and record some of the funny things they do. I hope you enjoy!