Friday Five-Picture Edition (Favorites)

My Friday Five today will consist of my favorites: food, movie, singer, artist, and city to visit. All in picture form...without further ado...

Favorite Food
Chicken parmigiana


Favorite Movie
City of Angels


Favorite Singer
The Goddess herself, Sarah McLachlan


Favorite Artist
Monet


Favorite city to visit
(duh!!)

Thankful Thursday

Today I am especially thankful for excellent teachers; Gabe's teacher is phenomenal and I am going to miss her when he's done with kindergarten. She's quick to respond to questions, full of excellent ideas on helping him out, and always has his best interests at heart. Teachers can make or break a school experience for a child; I'm so thankful that we have the teacher we do; Gabriel is excited to go to school each day, hates to miss school, and adores his teacher and learning. All of his teachers are excellent, but his kindergarten teacher is exceptionally excellent, we're so lucky to have her!!

Heart of Stone

Today at the park, Gabriel ran up to me excitedly and said "here mom, have this heart I found!" he handed it to me and ran off to play again...

I've had the heart in my pocket since and will put it in my wallet with the other heart a sweet Witkowski "boy" found for me on the beach in Michigan (The "boy" in question would be, of course, my hunky hubby Geo he he)

I tried to get a picture of the stone heart the best I could...I am in desperate need of a new camera but refuse to buy another "cheapie"; I'm saving my pennies for the gorgeous obnoxiously expensive camera I've been drooling over for six months...in the meantime, here ya' go!

Wordless Wednesday: Outside Time

Conversations With a Sleepy Bitsy

This morning, Bits woke up with a yawn and a big smile on her face; I lay down next to her and asked, "What did you dream about last night?" (I love hearing what they dreamt about)

She smiled, raised her eyebrows and said "Oooh Tinkerbell and polar bears. I love polar bears, they are my best, they are white. I have a polar bear, it's my best" took a deep breath, sighed, and smiled at me.

And there you have it, what do three year olds dream about? Tinkerbell and polar bears; I just hope the polar bear was not eating Tink...

Marriage Musings-I Choose You

This weekend, Geo's grandma and I had a nice conversation about marriage. I told her that when they have their 60th anniversary (in 2011) Geo and I will celebrate our tenth and boy if that doesn't feel insignificant! :) She smiled and said "Well Chrissi, you have to start somewhere!" (and other sweet wonderful things because she's the kind of grandma who says those sorts of things he he)

It's true, that we have to start somewhere...and how did we start? What makes our marriage as strong as it is? What has helped it last this many years? (Because, truly, we've been married eight and a half years and that is a LONG time by a lot of standards now) It's very simple: We choose one another over anyone else. When faced with the choice, I will always choose Geo and he will always choose me. There is no gray area for either of us; if we are forced to choose, we choose one another.

Not only do we choose each other over any other person, we choose to respect one another, we choose to be supportive of the other person no matter WHAT they are doing (great example-Geo was, and is, fully supportive of me going back to school. I am fully supportive of him switching jobs) We choose our family, we choose what is right for all of us, even if others do not agree with our decisions. We make the conscious (or unconscious or a bit of both, really) choice each day to get up and be married-and do the things married people do. Loving, honoring, being faithful. Being a friend, making each other laugh, and generally treating each other the way WE want to be treated. That's a choice you have to make when you're married, whether you realize it or not.

Are you choosing to be happy in your marriage? Are you choosing your partner over all others?

A "Great" Weekend

It was our annual Witkowski spring fling weekend this weekend-Geo's grandparents were in town for a few days and we spent Saturday with them. We were down one Witkowski family (we missed you Michiwits! but next time they come, you'll be here for good! YAY) but still managed to have fun. Geo and his dad grilled ginormous burgers, great grandma made delicious salads, great grandpa gave me gardening tips, and grandma snuggled with Bitsy and Gabe and was cute as a button, as usual :) We had a great time and were so happy to spend the whole day with them. To top off a great visit, the Blackhawks won their game in a downright dramatic fashion.

Today was our "Books and Breakfast" fundraiser for the local library; we had a decent turn out and managed to raise enough money to make some improvements at the library-thanks to everyone who came out and ate breakfast and bid on some great auction items!

Hope you all had an equally as wonderful weekend...it's back to the daily grind tomorrow!

Friday Five-Desert Island

1. If you were stranded on a desert island, what five items would you take?
Sunscreen, a knife, string, a plastic tarp, a water bottle with charcoal filter

2. How long do you think you could last on a desert island?
A couple of weeks, easy.

3. What did you think of Cast Away with Tom Hanks?
I loved it, but hated the way it ended.

4. What would be the best part of being on a desert island by yourself?
Being alllll by myself :)

5. What's your favorite dessert? (lol)
Jello cake or chocolate cake.

This Lovely Life

Recently Ellen at Love That Max posted about a book called This Lovely Life by Vicki Forman. It's about a woman, Vicki, who gives birth to super premies, Evan and Ellie and their battle for life. Really, though it's not about the babies, it's about the momma, Vicki.

I don't read a lot of books about special needs children or the things our families go through, because quite frankly, we live it every day, why would I want to read about it? :) Something about this book drew me in from the get go and still has a hold on me.

I found myself crying through most of the book, something I didn't think was possible; I read through my tears, reliving some of the most heartbreaking times in my OWN life while reading about hers. After reading the epilogue, I cried for a good five minutes; heaving heavy sobs; heartbroken sobs. I feel so connected to this woman and what she went through for her children.

I related on two levels: First on the plain old momma level-as a mother I've always wanted what was best for my children; regardless what that meant for me. Vicki was fighting (along with her husband) for what she thought was right; she had opposition at every turn yet still plunged ahead, doing what was best for her family.

The second level, the special needs momma level, was what had me crying. Scratch that, it's what had me sobbing As Vicki talked about the smell of the harsh soap in the NICU and pinning her rings to her chest as she went to the NICU, I could VIVIDLY recall the sixteen days we spent in the NICU. Sometimes when I go somewhere and they have the same soap we used when Gabe was in the hospital, I get nauseous; the memories flood back with something as simple as soap. Ridiculous...yet, that's how it is.

Vicki fights against the multiple disability labels she is sure to get for Evan; she does NOT want the labels, she keeps thinking that Evan "might" beat the odds, that the statistics won't apply to him...and damn did that hit home hard. I remember bargaining and praying and pleading that Gabe wouldn't become a statistic; that his spina bifida would some how be "different" from what the statistics and facts say it would be.

Overall, this was a heart wrenching, sad, reality based book that somehow managed to be positive and uplifting in the end. At the end of the book, I wanted nothing more than to find Vicki and give her a giant hug. I don't know if I'd recommend this book to anyone, to be honest. It was a very hard read, very gut wrenching at times; it raised moral questions that some may not want to deal with. It was tough, but I'm glad I read it; I feel richer for knowing Vicki, Ellie, and Evan's story.




Find it here

Thankful Thursday

This morning I am particularly thankful for laughter.

One of the things I love most about Geo is his sense of humor, he never fails to make me laugh, regardless of the situation. Last night he and I had a pillow fight and giggled like two little kids.

My kids have great senses of humor as well and I'm thankful for that. Gabe and I have a running joke about pickles; he cannot STAND them and I constantly tease him about it. The other day when he was planting the dill he said "well I guess this means I HAVE to like pickles, huh?" Then he made a face and laughed.

Laughter is the best medicine, it will cure what ails ya' and for that I am thankful.

Wordless Wednesday

MEOW! Notice the tight grip they have on one another :P

Hooray for Boobies!

The other morning when I was in the er, the nurse was scrolling through my chart and said "oh I see you are nursing, ok, we'll be sure to keep the meds we give you nursing safe" as she looked at the kids, sort of perplexed as to which one I might be nursing. I quickly corrected her and said "oh no, I'm not nursing, I haven't for the last year" My sympathetic nurse said "oh, that's okay honey, not everyone can nurse" I suppressed a smile and said non nonchalantly "I was only able to nurse for 21 and a half months" Shocked, the nurse turned around and said "What?! That's amazing, most women don't get to TWO months let alone 21 months, you should be really proud of yourself"

And the truth is...I am proud of myself and my body. After nearly three years of beating myself up because I felt my body had doubly betrayed me with Gabriel (spina bifida AND not being able to nurse after 6 weeks!) I was in the mindset that I would do whatever it took to nurse until Bitsy was a year old, anything after that was a bonus. We had a lot of challenges, to say the least, but once we both got the hang of it, we were golden. We were the nursing dream team (lol) We could (and did) nurse anywhere anytime. Could you would you in the car? Yes. Could you would you with a fox? Yes. Could you would you in a box? Yes. Could you would you anywhere baby pleases? You betcha.

There were two things that made nursing Bitsy happen: A great support system and educating myself.

I went to LLL meetings, I talked with other nursing mommas, I became a community member of more than one breastfeeding group online. I had an excellent support around me; our families were very supportive of nursing and encouraged me when the times were rough.

I read books about nursing; the one that I especially loved was "So That's What They're For" It was humorous and informative. I read all I could about nursing. I told myself I could do it and I would do it. This time around I WOULD be successful at nursing...and I was.

Since having SarahAnne I've been able to help other women nurse-some in person, some on the phone, some on the internet. I love the accomplished feeling of helping a new momma and baby nurse. I've also helped women see that even though they tried nursing and it didn't work that they should NOT beat themselves up. After three years of beating myself up, I realized that it wasn't worth it, because as much as I enjoyed nursing and am so grateful that I was able to nurse Bits as long as I could, my method of feeding her had NOTHING to do with the kind of parent I am or was.

In 20 years, no one will care that one of my children nursed until six weeks and the other till 21 months. In fact, no one cares right now, not even me. Yes, I'm proud of my accomplishments with both of them and I am a vocal breastfeeding advocate, but I think a lot of people seem to forget that feeding the baby is just a small part of what a momma does with their child. Should a momma give nursing her all? Yes, should she strive to give her child the very best start possible? YES. Should she beat herself up if nursing doesn't work? No. Should she accept that sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't and trying her damnedest to nurse is what is important? Yes.

I've found that a lot of women would rather point out other mommas shortcomings when it comes to nursing than actually do something about it. Those smug nursing women are the ones who give the rest of us a bad name. If someone is struggling to nurse, I'm happy to give help, information, and guidance. Isn't that what it's all about? Shouldn't we be helping one another?

And on that note...if anyone would like to follow our blog on Facebook...feel free to! Witkowski Family Happenings on Facebook

I'll Just Catch the Bus By Myself, Okay?

This morning, even though I didn't WANT to, I let Gabe walk all the way down to the bus stop by himself. I was close enough that if he needed me, I could easily walk to him in a matter of less than a minute, but far enough away that he was by himself. I had the camera out to try and snap some pics of the cat playing outside (another post for another day :P) and managed to get some of Gabriel in the process...

Mr. Smiley after he tells me he wants to catch the bus by himself..


The start of his "long" trek down the driveway


A little further from momma


A reassuring wave


My god, the bus is huge!


I am still not convinced he's big enough to get on the bus...at all...


And just like that, he's off to school for the day...all by himself

Very Quick Entry

This week was insanely busy with appointments coming out of our ears, we've been in the car more in the last few days than in a month combined...our hopes for a quiet weekend went to hell in a hand basket when I fell at work and ended up in the e.r. with second degree burns and a severely bruised clavicle. After x-rays and some powerful painkillers, I'm back up and running, but won't be working for another few days...just a quick little update with new pics of two of my very favorite people in the world!

Friday Five-Childhood Indulgences

1. When did you last have a mid-day nap?
Almost every day that I work I take a mid-day nap, I love them so much.

2. When did you last have milk and cookies?
A few weeks ago

3. When did you last have a bubble bath?
A few nights ago. Bubble bath+new book=happy momma!

4. When did you last jump on the furniture?
I have no idea, it's not something I do as a general rule :P

5. When did you last play in the mud?
By playing in the mud do you mean pulling your three year old who just happened to FIND a mud puddle and get stuck OUT of the said mud puddle? Because if that's the case, it's been three weeks ago. If you mean literally playing in mud, it's been years and years.

We Can Share Then

Today Bits and I were out running some errands when she asked me, "Mom, do you have a grandma and grandpa?" (We are eagerly anticipating next weekend with Geo's parents and grandparents coming to visit, it's on her mind) I told her, no I didn't have any grandparents anymore.
The rest of the conversation went like this and left me in tears:

Bitsy:"You could get some new ones if you want"

Momma:"Eh, that's not the way it works Bits, you only get one set of grandparents"

Bitsy:"Where are your grandparents at momma?"(always momma, never mom or mommy)

Momma:"Oh they're in Heaven now"

Bitsy is quiet for a minute and said "I have grandparents momma, right?"

Momma:"oh yes, lots of them Bitsy girl"

Bitsy then replies, "we can share then"

As if this sweet little girl couldn't get any sweeter, she wants to share her grandparents with me; she does have LOTS of grandparents, that's very true. Geo's incredibly lucky and has TWO of his three sets of grandparents still and all of our parents are still alive, which gives Bits and Gabe two set of GREAT grandparents and three sets of grandparents. How lucky for them to have so much family surrounding them!!

I lost my last grandparent in 1998 and only knew my mother's parents a little while; grandma passed away when I was five, grandpa when I was 15. My fathers' father passed away before I was born and his mother when I was 18. It's been a long time since I've had my "own" grandparents but I've been incredibly blessed by Geo's grandparents who treat me like their own. If there's anything better than grandparents in this world, I'd have to say it's GREAT grandparents (and aren't they ALL great?!)

Everyone needs to have access both to grandparents and grandchildren in order to be a full human being.(Margaret Mead)

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for a number of things today so I'll list them in a bullet point entry :)

+80 degree weather=sunshine, slight breezes and lots of time outside
+Gabriel's laid back personality
+Lowe's for getting Geo's schedule right for once so he can see his grandparents when they visit next weekend
+Two sprouted pumpkins!
+Grey's Anatomy is new this week! (It's the little things)
+Friends and family :)

Hope you have a wonderful day...

Wordless Wednesday: Sprouts

Today's wordless Wednesday is brought to you by oregano and chives (the pumpkins JUST sprouted and you can't quite see them yet)

Day 5...

Today is day five of Gabe being in a cast and honestly, it's such "old hat" that we don't even notice the cast anymore. His physical therapist is hoping that when he takes it off on Friday we'll be done with casting for a few months. After the last issue we had with Gabe being casted, I really hope that's going to be an accurate statement. He was so emotional the last time around and this time he's been very subdued; very content to just watch tv or play quietly, which is nice, but also kind of odd. He's my loud, bouncy boy and seeing him so subdued for so long is odd.

I've been asked more than once why we continue to do the casting; isn't there some sort of surgery that could "fix" him?

For one, Gabe will never be "fixed"-he has Spina Bifida, it's a life long condition; he will ALWAYS have the hole in his spine, he will always have the shunt in his brain; spina bifida isn't something that you grow out of. I realize that not everyone is well versed in Spina Bifida or the things that go along with it, but I wish they would stop asking. That's like me asking "So will your child outgrow his cerebal palsy?" OR "How long till they outgrow that Autism?"

Two, casting is the least invasive way and most effective way to stretch Gabe's tendon. In all reality, the cast, while annoying, doesn't affect Gabe a whole helluva lot. As the saying goes "If it ain't broke, why fix it?" It works well for Gabriel, yes it's annoying but it works well.

Three, the alternative to casting is surgery. Invasive, painful, long and annoying recovery surgery. The surgeon would have to make "z" shaped cuts in his tendon all along the tendon. THEN (ha ha) He'd have to be CASTED to stretch out the tendon while it healed because the scar tissue would need to stretch along with the tendon. The surgeon has told us that not only would he be casted, it'd be for longer periods of time, there'd be a large risk of infection (because Gabe is very active and when his casts are taken off we find all sorts of things in it-we found a penny once...haha) and we'd be in intensive physical therapy to teach Gabe to walk properly again. AND the cherry on the top of the surgery sundae? Gabe would STILL have to be casted intermittently to stretch his tendon out as he grows. Seems sort of silly to cut him open and put him through all that when he's going to be casted anyway, doesn't it?

As I said though, it looks like this is the last cast for a while; the PT figures that in August we'll need to cast for a few weeks and then get new orthodics for his shoes (Oh yay, those are so cheap, I love buying new orthodics--please note this is all being said sarcastically; his last pair of braces cost us almost $2500 and our insurance paid about $800 of that...by the time we need new braces his old braces should just about be paid off-and then we can start the paying off process again :P)

Let me salvage this ranty post with a picture or two :)

Houston..We Have Sprouting...

A mere FOUR days ago, we planted chives, oregano, and pumpkins. Imagine my surprise today when I lifted up the saran wrap to water the plants and saw sprouts! We have itty bitty chive plants and even smaller oregano plants started!! We're just waiting on the pumpkin seeds to sprout and then we'll have a fully successful "greenhouse" Next up for planting: lettuce, squash, beans and peas! Fun!

Friday Five-Movie Edition

1. What’s your favorite sports movie?
Rudy for sure

2. What’s your favorite romantic comedy film?
Something's Got to Give LOVE this one

3. What’s your favorite animated Disney movie?
Beauty and the Beast or The Little Mermaid

4. What’s your favorite non-Disney movie musical?
West Side Story When you're a Jet...

5. What’s your favorite dramatic love story movie?
The Notebook Hands down, I still cry like a baby every time I see it. EVERY TIME.

Thankful Thursday

Today I'm thankful for meeting others moms who "get it" One of Gabe's classmates came over last night and his mom and I got to talking and an hour later we realized none of the kids had had dinner yet and it was time for them to go. In addition to being the momma of a kindergartner (one of the cutest I've seen!!) she also has a 14 year old son with Autism and runs the local Parents As Advocates group. Her son treats Gabe as his equal; there's no pity there for the "poor disabled kid" and since she volunteers in the classroom she was able to give me a bit of insight into the class dynamic. She told me Gabe is gentle, kind, and well liked; there are very shy children in his class and he is always reaching out to them and making them feel more comfortable; she went on further to say that no one seems to know or to care about Gabe's spina bifida, except when he's casted and then they try to help make him as comfortable as possible. I'm thankful for parents who raise their children to see PEOPLE not conditions...and hope that I'm as successful as she has been!

A Wordless Wednesday Post

One of our favorite people...Aunt Buzzy!!

A Seed Sown...

"The love of gardening is a seed once sown that never dies." -- Gertrude Jekyll

One of the things I love best about being a (mostly) stay at home mom is the opportunities I have to teach the kids about all sorts of things; today we learned about starting seeds and planting flowers. Our garden will be expanding this year, partly because we have more space, partially because we *want* it to, and partially because we are concerned about where our food is coming from and want to show the kids the process from seed to food.

Today we started some herbs. Some of you have seen my rosemary-my little baby, Rosey, how do I love thee??-she started out about six inches high and has turned into this monster:

She's my tasty, tasty monster. She sits in the kitchen during the winter time and soaks up the sun (and a half a gallon of water every other day!!) and makes my kitchen smell delicious. The kids love her (yes, I refer to the plant as a "her", I'm a *bit* crazy) and Bitsy regularly plucks leaves off of her to smell and to give to people; after all, she is the "Rosemary momma" Both of the kids will walk by the plant, rub the leaves, and smell their hands, I've even been known to put rosemary in their bathwater when they aren't feeling the best. It's an all purpose plant, for sure. (and my baby...don't judge me :P)

Yesterday the kids picked out oregano and chives for this year's herbs (last years, lavender and thyme didn't do so hot; the lavender is dead and the thyme is barely hanging on, we're hoping the warm weather and being outside will help it) We bought all the little pots and potting soil and the kiddos and I made our own "greenhouse" We ended up putting oregano, chives, and pumpkin seeds (wisely saved from our eight dollar a piece pumpkins from last year) into pots. Gabe labeled the pots, I filled them with potting soil, Bits tapped down the seeds, and Gabe watered. They had a blast.





After all that we headed outside to plant pansies and a very special Bitsy flower; Bitsy likes to dig in my flower beds-which is NOT a good thing, poor girl is trying to be helpful but has dug up a bunch of roots which is not helpful in the least. Geo and I promised her a special flower in her own special flower bed next to the porch. Yesterday she picked out a gorgeous little primrose. She proudly showed it off to daddy this morning while I napped after work and I'd bet she's going to show him "her" flower bed tomorrow when they take Gabe to the bus.



They ended their gardening afternoon with a ride on the garden wagon and a wiggly worm; a good day for all (even the worm who was put back gently in the flowerbed after he was touched and talked about!)

One Last Blog About Food Revolution

(for now, ha ha)

It's no secret the obesity rate in this country is growing; some sources say that one in three children is obese. Not overweight, but OBESE. This is a scary statistic, we're raising a generation of children who are being set UP for failure.

The other day while out shopping with my mother in law and the kiddos, they wanted to look at the bikes. Even though they HAVE bikes, they cannot resist looking at them. There were only a few bikes, most of the space was taken up by battery operated cars, jeeps, and "ATV" vehicles. I then looked at scooters-one model was a "foot" operated scooter, the others were battery powered.

Pardon me for a minute while I cuss a bit, but what in the bloody hell are parents thinking when they buy this crap? NO wonder so many kids are overweight and under active; they don't even pedal their bikes or push their scooters anymore-a battery and motor does it for them! Where's the fun in that? I can remember as a kid, groups of us getting on our bikes and riding all over the place. The combo of fresh air and exercise ensured our parents we were going to sleep well that night.

Good news! There's now a video game system that requires you move around to play it. Bad news! It's STILL a video game.

Why aren't children going outside anymore? Why aren't people taking their children to the parks? Why don't children know what hopscotch or four square are?

Our family is a walking-hiking kind of family; one it's good for ALL of us, two it's particularly good for Gabriel; walking/hiking on uneven terrain strengthens his weak leg. We live in an area with many many places to walk or hike; heck we can walk a half a mile one way on our acreage to the creek if we don't feel like hopping in the car to go to a park.

We hit up the local parks with friends at LEAST once a week, if not more. One park we go to all of the time is a fairly new park with trails and all sorts of fun stuff that no one is EVER at. I can count the times we've been there when there were other kids there on one hand. WHY? WHY? WHY?!

What a disservice we do for our children-especially in this day and age of recess being cut short, p.e. being cut short or completely out of the budgets, and school lunches being what they are.

Go outside and play, shut off the boob tube, make a picnic and take a hike...jeez oh pete people, just get moving will ya? If not for yourself than for your children!

What a Day!

My goodness; ever have one of those days where it feels like you're running non stop? The last two months have been like that because of all the appointments Gabe has had (YAY specialists lol) Today was no exception, except that we added SarahAnne to the dr visit mix :O

Gabe saw his physical therapist today; he needs a cast next week-as we knew he would; darn kid is growing like a weed, I swear all of his pants are two inches too short. We will be doing at least a week, if not two, of casting and then should be done for at least 6-8 weeks. No biggie, we're SO used to the casting now that it's old hat. Of course, Gabe won't like it BUT he'll deal with it like he always does.

This morning Bits got up VERY stiffly. She fell on the patio pretty hard Saturday and scraped open both of her knees, we cleaned her up all that good stuff and thought nothing of it. This morning she was super stiff and crying with every step she took. Getting up the stairs was awful for her; I called the dr and made an appointment for her (better safe than sorry, right?)

Her appointment was AFTER Gabe's appointment and after we had to drop Geo off for work. We got to the appointment and she started walking correctly AND told the dr nothing hurt. This was the same child who just four hours before was shaking because she was in so much pain. The doc figures it's residual pain from the fall and said that if by Wednesday (her next office day) she's not 100% we'll do some x rays to be sure there's no fracture in there. She seems to be fine now, but I suppose the morning will be more telling than anything else. Lots of resting of the knees, motrin, and some heat and ice for the rest of the day. Poor kid.

To end this on a positive note...a new picture...

Hippity Hoppity!

Friday Five, Holiday Edition (all about baskets)

1. What is your laundry basket like?
Perpetually full LOL

2. What in your life is threatening to go to hell in a handbasket?
My hair, per usual. Sometimes I'm not sure how I fit through the door with all this hair; the other day I rolled out of bed and no matter what I did it looked like my hair was trying to escape from my head. It was all wavy and full of body-but not in a good way.

3. What was the occasion for your receiving your last gift basket, and what was in it?
My birthday. I got a fall basket with fall towels and candles in it from Geo's grandma!!

4. When could you last have been described as a basket case?
This morning after dumping a ton of grease from the donut machine on the kitchen floor; it was AWFUL. What a damn mess.

5. How’s your bread basket?
I do NOT have a bread basket, however I do have quite a few Longaberger baskets http://www.longaberger.com/ that I adore; my favorite is the purple Easter basket I found at Good Will for three dollars-it's easily a two hundred dollar basket with the liner and plastic protector. Way to go ME!

More Thankfulness

I know I already did a Thankful Thursday, but I am feeling particularly thankful for friends who have become family. When we moved to MP, we had a hard time adjusting, thankfully though, the local librarian befriended me and her family and ours became fast friends. The kids got another set of "grandparents" in Sukey and Jimmy and an auntie and uncle in Nelson and Fia; we were so sad to see them move to MA in August-we still miss them but keep in touch regularly. Today we got an Easter package from them-among other cool items, Abraham Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation came in the package. Yes, the one, the only Old Abie himself...Gabe is in H.E.A.V.E.N! I have a feeling I know where Abe is sleeping tonight...


Gabe and Abe-the ultimate dream team

Thankful Thursday

Today I am particularly thankful for Spring and Easter quickly approaching. It seems like once we have Easter, springtime always seems gorgeous (Even when it's 50 degrees and rainy ha ha) We're looking forward to a visit from the Greats later this month and then putting in our garden-yay spring!


not my flowers, but I sure wish they were, they're gorgeous!!