You know you are old when....

You jump for joy at the fact you got gas for 2.89 a gallon and then promptly remind yourself that when you started driving, gas was only $0.69 a gallon!!!!!

Happy Birthday Sweet Baby Rae!

To my beautiful baby girl who just turned one -
You are a joy in my life. Even when you wake up in the middle of the night crying, it is a joy to snuggle with you. I love your smile, your laugh, and the way you crinkle your nose. I love how you try to imitate sounds and are trying to learn sign language but you just don't have it right yet. I love that you light up when Daddy is on the phone (in fact you kiss it, grab at it, and try to find out how Daddy is in it). I love that you get excited when you sister walks in the room. I love that you give me a huge smile whenever you see me. I love you and you are God's blessing to me.
I hope you never know the pain of losing a child but that loss has made me treasure you more. You will never meet your sister Abigail face to face this side of heaven but you have heard her voice (although it was probably a little muffled as you were tucked away in mom's womb). In fact, you used to kick mommy furiously every time Abbie was on my lap "talking" to me. It was as if you knew she was there and you were saying hi. In fact, that is how you got your middle name, Elizabeth. In the Bible, Elizabeth's baby John kicked the first time he was in the presence of Mary (who was pregnant with Jesus). One day while Abbie was snuggling with me and you were kicking me, I remembered that story and thought it would be a great middle name for you. I pray, like baby John, you would know Jesus from an early age. I pray that you would grow in faith as you grow in statue. I pray that you would grow to be a woman who above all things loves the Lord. I pray that you would know how much your Mommy loves you.
You are a precious gift from the Lord and I thank God that in His wisdom, He gave us you.

It's an Ohio thing

Yes, they did this voluntarily (well... except the dog).

Yes, they were having fun (well.... except the dog).

Aren't they adorable????

The truth hurts....

I am not a great cook. I am a good cook - I can follow a recipe and even be creative (once in a while) but I am by no means a great cook. Today, Eliana helped me to see just what she thinks of my cooking.....
Darren: "How about we eat at a restaurant"
Eliana" (with all the cuteness a 3.5 year old can muster) " I LOVE you Daddy!"

I guess she really didn't want to eat my cooking and was pretty sure her Daddy was saving her from mommy's cooking!

Just to prove I can find may way around the kitchen, below is a picture of Raelyn's first birthday cake. Come to think of it, my mom helped me with the cake (she is in the picture) so I don't think I can take credit for that either.

I guess I am just a good cook... not even a sometimes-creative one!

Light the Night 2008

This past Saturday we took part in the Light the Night walk to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Below are some pictures from the walk....

The girls showing off their t-shirts....

the shirts had stickers on their backs saying "I am walking in memory of my big sis/little sis Abbie-Boo"

Darren, me, Aunt Shirley, Grandma Honey (my mom), Grandpa Ouchie (my dad), Raelyn and Eliana at the end of the walk. The red balloons were for the "supporters" and the gold balloon (which lights up in the dark) is in memory of Abigail.

and the winner is.....

During the months of July and August our two girls had a contest to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society "Light the Night" walk. Since 231,461 people are currently battling leukemia and 574,525 people are battling lymphoma AND our own precious daughter lost her fight against leukemia.... this was a contest dear to my heart. We are so thankful that with your help the girls raised about $800 between the two of them!!!!

Thank you all so much for helping us fight the battle against blood cancers!

I know many of you have been waiting to see who the winner of the gas gift cards give-away would be so I had the girls draw the winners yesterday....

Eliana got to draw first as she raised just a little bit more money than Raelyn....

and the winner is.....

LIZ SEXTON!!!!! THANKS LIZ!!!!!!

Raelyn was super-excited to get her hands on the bucket and pick out a name...

and the winner is.....

Adam & Bethany White!!!!! Thank you so much!!!!!

The Digestive Track, Part II

Eliana is learning where food goes after you eat it....
Her pronunciation of esophagus has been particularly entertaining. At first it was "its-my-mungus" and most recently "hungry-mus". I got a good chuckle out of that one :)