Yellow Cars

Asher dreams of yellow cars.

I know this because Isaac hears him

talking in his sleep.

In his dreams he takes all of us for a ride

in his very fast yellow car.

Dear Isaac

Dear Isaac,

It's hard to believe that it's been 10 years since you were born. It seems like yesterday that I held you in my arms for the very first time. You were perfect. And I'm not just biased...all the Dr.s and nurses agreed. You even scored 2 perfect 10's on your APGAR's. From what I understand that NEVER happens!!

Our journey together didn't start in that delivery room though. It started long before that. You see I had hoped and prayed for a baby long before you came to be. I begged God to give me the gift of motherhood and He just didn't seem to hear me. I had enormous faith but that faith didn't stop the utter despair that I felt each month when I realized that I wasn't pregnant. It seemed that everyone around me was expecting a baby....except me.

Eventually I went to a special Dr. to see what was wrong. I underwent lots and lots of tests and started taking special medicine. I even had to get lots of shots. Now you know I was desperate if I was willing to endure ALL of that!! After several months I still wasn't pregnant.

In the midst of all of this I was being discipled. We came to the lesson on Baptism and my discipler basically said I must get baptized or she would cease the lessons. Well I definitely didn't want to stop being discipled! My relationship with the Lord was growing by leaps and bounds!! But baptism itself was very scary to me. I would have to get up in front of our whole big church and I would be vulnerable. I was afraid that people would think I was silly and would wonder why I wasn't baptized a long time ago. It was completely irrational but...well...we all know I'm not always rational!! And we all know that I am very sensitive to what I think other people think of me!! In the end I submitted to what God's Word called me to do. I called the church and set up my initial meeting for Baptism counseling. That call was my biggest step of faith up until that point.

The infertilty treatments were getting harder and harder on me each month. Daddy and I talked it over and decided that we would try one more month. Talk about adding stress on top of stress!! But I knew it was the right decision.

The big day of my Baptism came and it was nothing like I expected. When it was all over I felt triumphant!! My relationship with God felt more concrete. I really felt adopted by Him at that point. Fully His child. I was on cloud nine!

About 2 weeks later I was having quiet time alone with God. I was pouring over the scriptures in Psalms when it hit me. I was trying to make my will God's will. Maybe it wasn't in His plans for me to birth my own babies. Maybe He had something else in mind for my life. When I asked Jesus into my heart part of my decision included living my life for God's will...not my own will. Right then and there I turned the whole matter over to God! I cried and sobbed at what could be the end of my dream but in the end I said "Let Your will be my will Lord Jesus".

I woke up the next morning like a brand new person. The stresses of the past year were no longer on my shoulders but my Father was carrying them for me!! What a relief!! When I got to work that day even my co-workers recognized the change. Right around lunch time, on a whim, I decided to take a pregnancy test. Good thing I worked in a pharmacy right? I expected nothing but the usual negative result from that test. To be honest I'm not even sure why I took a test that day. Imagine my surprise when it turned up positive!!

I called Daddy and the Dr.s office right away. The very next morning I got to see you on an ultrasound machine. Even though you were just a blip on the screen at that point I knew right away you were a boy. On the way home from the appointment Daddy and I decided that if you were indeed a boy we would name you Isaac. It was just so fitting!! What could be better than a promised child who's name means God's laughter?

Isaac you have taught me so many lessons through the past ten years. You have taught me that I don't always need a full nights sleep to survive the next day!! You have taught me not to sweat the small stuff. You have taught me appreciate bugs. You have taught me to never give up. You have taught me to laugh out loud. You have taught me that tomorrow is a new day. This list could go on and on!! But the most important thing you have taught me was to have Faith in God's will for my life. One of my biggest prayers for you is that you will learn this lesson early. You have a very strong will and always want things to go your way. But I'm here to tell you that God's way is better. If things had gone my way instead of God's way....then I wouldn't have you today. God's timing is always best!! And you were most definitely worth the wait!! I believe very strongly that you were a gift to me. A gift for turning my will over to Him and trusting Him with my heart.

One more thing...I know that you sometimes struggle with wondering where you fit in this life. Wondering if you are fully wanted and loved. I'm not sure if it's your age or hereditary as I must admit that I sometimes still struggle with these same thoughts and feelings. But Isaac please never forget your story. The story of how you came to be. I wish you could feel for a brief moment the feelings that I felt as I was getting ready to introduce you to all the people we love. I was holding you in my arms and I knew that there was a waiting room full of family just waiting to get a glimpse of your face. As we rounded the corner my heart swelled up to completely overflowing with pride. I couldn't wait to let the world see the beautiful gift God had given me. And Isaac I have felt that way every single moment since. I am so proud of the boy you have become. My heart overflows with love for you...even on our worst days!!

Since Isaac hit the big milestone double digits and because I didn't get everything I wanted to say in this one post in....look for a dear Isaac II real soon.

Sunday at the zoo

We spent SUnday afternoon at the zoo. We decided to just hang out in one area so all these photo's are from the North American section.
Asher clearly loved the train ride

Isaac being his goofy self!

Maia being her sweet self.

A little too close?

Maia is obviously thrilled and Isaac is scared. Can't you tell?

Hmmmm...good to know this shirt isn't as flattering as I thought it was. Crawling through a tunnel in the tree.

The entrance to the super cool house.

Asher bidding you adieu.

Last Day!!

I think I was more excited for the last day of school this year than the kids were!! I have been counting down the days since Christmas break.




Here is Isaac's classroom.









Isaac winning his end of year award!! If you listen closely in the video you can hear me say "that's Isaac" before the teacher even says who the award is for. The other mom then laughs and says how funny it is we can pick out our own kids traits. Hint...you will need to go to the left hand side bar to the music player and pause it. That way you can actually hear the video!! Isaac's award was "Most Inquisitive" earned for his many many many questions!!!! With Isaac one question always leads to another. And he always looks at you like he doesn't quite believe your answer!! That last tidbit was added by me...not his teacher.







Isaac with his teacher Mrs.B



Isaac and his friend Hanad hamming it up. If you look at Isaac's shirt closely you can see that he had his friends sign their names on it. He actually wore his Dover shirt to school that day. He called home in the morning to ask me if it was okay if his friends signed the Dover shirt. I said no because a) I knew he would regret it later and b) I thought it would be weird for all of his friends from his new school to sign his shirt from his old school. So Asher and I quickly brought a new shirt to the school that kids could sign. At the party Ian let the cat out of the bag that the Dover shirt did have a few signatures on it before someone thought to call home and ask if it was okay!!




Isaac recieved the highest scores he could possibly get on his report card and he was very excited to learn that he made the news team for next year. The kids that were interested in being on the news team had to fill out some papers and do a small essay on why they thought the team was important. Apparently Isaac's answers were good because he was one of the few picked!! Of course this totally puts a wrench in my plans for next year!



Maia's end of year celebration had me in tears!! I wish I would of thought to take video before her actual award so I could show you all the cute songs they performed. But I did get the award!!

Not sure why the video is sideways but I can't get it to turn the proper way. sorry. Maia's teacher wrote a specific poem for each child in her classroom and presented them with their awards at their celebration. Maia's poem reads

The important thing about

Maia is that she always gives 100%

in everything she does, and she

is always willing to lend a helping hand.

It is true that she has a laugh that

can be heard a mile away.

She has a smile that lights up her

face, and she has a warm heart too.

But, the important thing about

Maia is that she always gives 100%

in everything she does, and she

is always willing to lend a help hand.

Mrs S. reading a book about how everyone is important. Notice the duckis in the background. Maia's class helped raise money to feed the baby ducks. They waited patiently for the baby ducks to hatch and then watched them grow.


Singing and dancing in the courtyard with our friends.

Claire and Alyssa
Maia and Natalie

Maia said her teacher has been crying all week because she will miss this class so much. She even planned a picnic for the end of June for all her students because she can't make it through the Summer without seeing them!

Maia has had a fantastic year of growth! she is loved by all in her class except maybe Yahir!! He has tormented my girl from the start!! Maia received the top possible scores she could have and most importantly did HER very best!! We are so proud of her!!

At the end of the night I took the kids to Toys R Us and bought Animal Crossing for our Wii. Then I let them stay up until midnight playing. And I may or may not have made my own character and set up my own house!! We will definitely be having fun with this game.

Summer can't be ALL fun though so we headed to Half Price books where I picked up some workbooks for the kids. We will be learning about History and President's and the States. Plus we will be reading lots and lots. I'll probably be sneaky and throw in some language arts and math as well :)

I'm Back!!

Wow...my poor little blog has taken a backseat lately!! We have been so busy wrapping up the school year and with the kids extra-curricular activites and visiting with family over the holiday that I have totally neglected updates here. Plus I will admit that I have a teeny tiny little addiction to Farmtown and I have been spending lots of time there:)

I have spent the last few weeks getting our house organized and put together as well. We still have a long way to go but there are some rooms that I'm pretty happy with:
Our Bedroom. Remember I don't have a lot of money to work with here. So I had to "shop" my house! See that cute little square table by my side of the bed? I have been wanting a table there since we moved in last year. But I can't afford to be going and buying a bunch of furniture. I had to put my thinking cap on for this problem. I remembered that we had a metal filing cabinet in the basement and the wheels started turning! It was exactly what I needed! Add a little fabric and voila...a bedside table. The upside is all my important papers are within easy reach now:) Since this picture was taken I also added a comfy rocking chair that I stole from my front room to the left of my new "table". Perfect spot for reading a good book!!I did spend 32.50 on the sweet little lamps. This house has no overhead lighting and we were in desperate need of some. I love the lamps and Big Lots...they were well worth the price.


I made this wreath for our front door but inspiration struck and it worked out perfect in the bedroom. I had an unused frame laying around that I stuck some unused fabric in and added the letter C for an accent. LOVE IT :)

The swag was snatched from above our fireplace.

Asher keeps filling the birdhouse with pine cones from the yard. Can you see them in there?My Bathroom: Notice how I said my bathroom and not our bathroom?

I desperately need color in this bland house. I am renting and can't paint. And we all know I like to paint. Well maybe not the act of painting itself but more the end result! I remembered that I had made the frame above the towels quite awhile ago and it was just laying around somewhere. That frame gave me my starting point. I also had cheap dollar store picture frames and some leftover black spray paint...add some scrapbook paper and you have instant style. Isn't the butterfly cute? By the way-I meant to hang them uneven like that! Really I did.Like the old Avon candlesticks? My great grandma used to sell Avon and these candlesticks came from her. They matched the butterfly that I cut out from my Cricut perfectly. Still need to get some candles. And if I ever need some old perfume all I need to do is unscrew the tops of the candlesticks. Yep they are candlesticks/perfume bottles. Dual purpose I guess? Not sure you should be lighting up flames near a flammable based perfume but whatever. Like my yellow towel up there with the green ones? It's a napkin! Some of you may recognize it from our old dining room:) Hey whatever works right?Here is a closer picture of the original frame.

I have a couple of other cute pieces in here as well but I figure ya'll don't wanna spend all day looking at my bathroom!!

We have beautiful weather here today. Mr. Sun is shining and there is a healthy breeze. It's one of those days where if you're standing in the sunshine it's perfect but if you're in the shade you're gonna need a jacket. It is the perfect weather for our very first baseball game, on our brand new team in our first year of kid pitch!!!!! I just might be more excited than Isaac. We are admittedly not really sports people in this house. We don't watch very many games or keep up with stats or anything important like that. Now that Isaac is getting more into it we do watch a few games each year. That's where it ends though. However, I love love love watching my boy play ball!!! He loves it! And I love watching him do the things he loves. The things that make him proud of himself and put a great big smile on his face. I also love watching him in total concentration mode.

It seems we've landed ourselves on a good team this year. Our coach is very kid centered. He wants them to be proud of themselves and do the best job they can do. He wants to build their skills, their confidence and their character. He also wants to be "that" coach. You know the one who impacts a kid for life. He keeps telling the boys that we are in this for fun but secretly.....he wants to win!!! We are practicing more than any other team in our league. By DOUBLE. And practices are intense. Our coach has a job (read makes enough money) that allows him to not work at all during the Spring and Summer months. Which means this team and these 14 boys are his full time job at the moment and you can tell he wouldn't have it any other way. In fact we get about 5 e-mails from him daily. Here are a few excerpts:

Fields are in excellent condition. It looks like the whether is going let us play tonight. Should be 65 degrees at game time dropping to the low 50's by 9PM and windy. Please dress the player's accordingly. Long sleeve shirt under uniform should work along with a windbreaker. Please have player's arrive with water bottles. Hydration is key in any sport. Drinking water before coming to the field doesn't work. They need to drink water before,during, and after the game. This will enhance performance and prevent injuries as well.

Coach Peter

Hello Bronx Bomber's,

I would like to thank the asst coaches, parents and especially the players for there hard work and participation. The player's have worked harder than any other team in Ohio and for that they will get a return on there investment and hard work in more than one way. These kids are awesome win or lose.

Coach Peter


I Yanks,

When our kids are pitching it can be a habit for mom or dad to go behind the back stop and give them some pointers. Please don't do it. Trust me in this one. It's the most psychological position on the field and there will be pressure on a lot of the players especially not having ever pitched. We've had good success with this last year. There were some instances that I nicely asked the parent to please go back where they were originally sitting. It's also a great way to foul a player up in more than one way. No exceptions on this one. I care about these player's and will do what I can so they don't get hurt mentally or physically. Plus the league frowns on it as well. Pitcher's will usually throw two innings or approx. fifty pitches. There are rare exceptions that they will throw a third inning or few more pitches than usual. The pitcher usually hits the shower if they walk three batters in a row. Some days we just don't have it and that's okay.

Coach Peter

Seriously...five 0f these a day!!! Some people may find it annoying but honestly-We love it!!! It means Isaac is part of a team again. And that his coach cares about him and his best interest. And Andy said that this year Isaac has some mad skillz!! That the coach has noticed. We may even WIN a game or two this year. So I'm off to pack up snacks, chairs and any and all activities that may keep Maia and Asher from getting BORED so I can enjoy watching my son and his mad skillz!! Wish us luck.

Go Yanks or Bronx Bombers or whatever it is that Coach is calling us on this particular day!!!

My Son is British

That's right I said British. Asher has always had his own unique way of pronouncing certain words. Specifically words that end in -er. If you were to ask him his name he would tell you it was Ash-ay. Paper is pay-pay. You get the picture. He can pronounce the "er" sound just fine. It shows up in words where the "er" isn't at the end and also when he's revvin up like a racecar.



Also sometimes his "L's" Come out sounding a bit different. Again it's not because his mouth can't make the sound. We've all heard him running around the house singing lalalalalalala plain as day. And the "L" sound does come out perfectly clear in some of his words...just not all of them.



This has perplexed us for the past 2 years. Honestly though you CAN understand everything he says. And he sounds oh so cute that we just thought it was something he would outgrow.



Our Dr. back home was never concerned about his speech. But our new Dr. in our new city brought it up right away. Seems she didn't think it was quite as cute as we always have. She basically told us that if his speech didn't "improve" by the middle of Summer that we were to contact a speech therapist right away. We are supposed to be gently correcting him...which we have been doing. But seriously his speech is not impaired he just has a bit of an accent.



We didn't know where this accent came from until this afternoon. Andy figured it out. That husband of mine is one smart cookie!! Asher was watching his very favorite cartoon. The one he's been watching since BEFORE he started talking. It's not any old cartoon that you can watch on any old channel. We get it on our "ON DEMAND" menu. You see Fireman Sam isn't American!!! Nope Fireman Sam fights fires and saves the day in Britian!! As Andy was watching WITH Asher today it finally clicked. Seriously peeps....Asher sounds JUST LIKE his hero Fireman Sam!!

Here is a recent picture of my very own little Brit. He had played hard all day on Sunday and this is how I found him late afternoon.