Church photo by Olan Mills

It gets harder and harder to coordinate this family for a photo, but I was pleased with how it turned out. The timing also made this great for the Easter outfits that Grandma bought them. The days of the girls dressing alike are really over; Marney put a blouse on top for church so she and Tracy didn't look the same, but boys love to match! and my dress . . . I have probably had this for 10 years, and 20 lbs. later it still fits. Good thing I was never much into form fitting clothes. I have become my mother though. I refuse to buy new clothes until I lose this weight . . . hmm . . . when will that be?

Happy Birthday, Tracy! 9 years old!

Birthdays are fun. This one was extra special because it fell on Grandparents Day which meant my mom, sister and her fiance were all here to share the midweek celebration. Very cool!

Woo hoo! I got a new bike!

Wow! What excitement! The boys used some birthday money that Grandma had given them, and I had tucked away for something special, to buy their new bicycles. Neither had ever had a brand new bike so this was even more exciting! Thank you, Grandma!

It does "take a village."

It is just not possible to mother 4 children without accepting help once in a while. I have been so blessed with very supportive family and friends. You can imagine it takes a lot of coordination to get 3 other kids settled for an outpatient procedure that takes me away from home for 10-12 hours. Thank you to all of you who pitch in to make sure my kids are taken care of. I don't have to worry about them while tending to Tracy and that relieves so very much stress. I am so grateful!

The 4th and hopefully the final surgery!

No more smiley faces to mark the correct ear! Now doctors initial the area they will work on!

Below: Tracy is not quite as relaxed about surgery as it may appear. She had already had the pre-anesthesia drink that relaxes one!

Our Chef and Away We Go!

Marney loves to help with the cooking which I enthusiastically encourage and teach what little I know about cooking! The presentation of the pancakes; however, is all Marney! How cool.


One of Sam's friend's outgrew this car and passed it on to the boys--it looks like Sam has as well, but he still enjoys giving it a spin! Jack can now make it go on his own as well, in the Fall his little legs were not quite long enough!

Whose new toy is it really?

I would like to say that they begged for this and I just couldn't say "no," but if the truth is known, I wanted this punching bag. In my life before children, I loved doing kick boxing classes . . . yes, I know I got a dog so I could run with him . . . I bought a mini-tramp . . . I bought an exercise bike, and more yoga tapes . . . and I keep getting heavier and more out of shape . . . hmm . . .