Eliana: "we are going to see the sin-of-anthony"
me: "yes Ellie but can you say symphony?"
Eliana: "yes mama.... sin-of-anthony"

I don't think she got the difference!


We are currently on a family vacation - kind of a tour of the southern states. We started in Nashville, TN for a wedding of a friend from college and are traveling in the next couple of days to visit with my cousins in S. Carolina. From there we are headed to Virginia to celebrate with Henry as he is now one-year post bone-marrow transplant (whoohoo Henry!!!). I will post pictures when I get back - I have an adorable one of Eliana meeting "princess Sarah" (the bride) and by her facial expression you would think she was meeting Cinderella all over again!

Rainy Day

On a rainy day -
Eliana: "I want to wear my raincoat"
Mom: (unaware Ellie has a raincoat) "What does your raincoat look like?"
Eliana: "Like a raincoat"

ummmm.... that was helpful :)

An attempt...

I currently sit in a Chicago hotel room getting ready to go to a nursing conference and catch-up on my contact hours for the year. I am excited about what I will learn but confess I miss home already (and I have only been gone a day!). Before I left, I attempted to upload a hysterical video of the girls (but it took to long).... so stay tuned... when I get back home I will attempt the process again!


By the way - I found my camera and I promise to update with a picture for Ellie's recital soon!

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)