All You Need Is Love

Cheese!

2012-01-29T15:40:00.001-05:00

Elizabeth hardly ever looks at the camera, there is always something else to see.

Four Months Old

2012-01-29T15:37:00.000-05:00

Bright blue eyes, a bit of red hair, and a big smile.

At 7:15 in the morning

2011-12-22T21:40:00.001-05:00

Elizabeth asked me if she could have candy. I said, "no, no candy until after lunch."

"Can I have lunch now, mommy?"

Rachel Marie

2011-11-01T18:07:00.002-04:00

9/22/11 @ 6:26pm

6 lbs. 8 oz. (the same as her sister and mother)

18 in. long

A New Aunt

2011-09-15T13:05:00.001-04:00

My brother and his wife.

Daniel loved his boutonniere.

Stoked that she got a bouquet.

We are clean and still happy, so you better get a good picture now.

My parents now have 100% of their children married. A pat on the back to them! The last marriage took place in beautiful Nauvoo. It was a happy and not too hot day. The sealing of Thomas and Madison took place in the morning, we had a lucheon in the early afternoon, and there was still time for me to take a nap before dinner and an evening walk with my Hubby, my other brother, Steven, and his wife, Mandy. Whew! A busy but successful day.

Some suggestions for those planning a visit to Nauvoo:

Rent a house. There are a growing number of hotels and such in the Nauvoo area, however, the number of places to eat is not. We rented the house across the street from the Temple! It has amazing views of the Temple, three bedrooms upstairs with a pull out sofa and bunkbeds in the basement, 3 1/2 baths (one has a jacuzzi), a very spacious dining room (25 hungry people after the sealing, no big deal), and a kitchen. It is very nice to be able to go to the nearest grocery store (15 miles) when you get there and then not have to worry that EVERYTHING in Nauvoo closes at five.

BYU students who are music or performing arts majors spend the summer entertaining visitors in various places around Nauvoo. We went to a jazz concert the evening of the wedding and it was quite good. I recommend bug spray. You are by a huge body of water and that means mosquitoes.

The WHOLE family.

After Nauvoo, we headed to OH to celebrate with the whole family. All of my mom's family was there and one of my dad's sisters came from CO. We had a barbeque lunch and then we all got in the pool. It was a very filled week but well worth it. The kids have two aunts now and I have two sisters. The family is complete.

Camping

2011-07-21T10:22:00.003-04:00

The familly at Cumberland Gap National Historic Park

Yes, we ventured into the primitive wild with a five year old, and two year old, and me 27 weeks pregnant! I just have to say that my husband is an awesome man who made sure his wife was very comfortable.

The park rangers, and just about every sign in the park, make sure you know that bears do live in the park and they will eat your food if you leave it out. Daniel was all for seeing a bear up close and personal, but was satisfied with the deer and small woodland creatures we did see.

We bought a book a while ago about each of the national parks and we have since made it our goal to visit as many as we can with the kids. Here is our review of Cumberland Gap NHP:

very beautiful

nice visitors center, two different short films, helpful staff

Jr. Ranger Program participants

lots of trails to walk or hike, maps could have been better though

lots of flush toilets (I think I might have used them all)

hot showers

nice camp grounds, some primitive, some RV, very clean and well maintained, no roudy crowds

All in all we had a great time. The kids loved sleeping in a tent and playing with all the rocks and sticks they could want. The glow sticks were just the cherry on top for them!

Elizabeth said...

2011-05-24T16:03:00.001-04:00

E was pretending to wash laundry when we had the following conversation:

Me: "You are already like a little mommy."

E: "I have to get married in the Temple first. Like you and daddy."

I have to say it, I am a very pleased mom. You just keep along those thoughts honey.

April

2011-05-17T09:43:00.003-04:00

A few days after Daniel was diagnosed with Strep he was feeling much better and the family decided it was time to till our garden. Curtis' parents live on 15 acres and have graciously allowed us to use a generously sized plot for a garden. Dad was getting the tiller going, I was supervising, and the kids were doing what all kids do when given that amount of space, they were running around. My MIL, Terri, had an abundance of annuals that had just started to bloom and of course the kids wanted to pick a bouquet for me. I saw Daniel running toward me with some daffodills and then behind him was Elizabeth -crying-very hard. I was in the middle of berating D for leaving his sister behind, again, when the thought accured that E would never willingly drop her flowers. She screamed that her thumb hurt and, at the time, nothing appreared to be wrong. Five minutes later, however, it was apparent that something had stung her thumb, and in another ten minutes, I was yelling the situation to Curtis and packing Liz in the car for the 25 minute drive to the nearest after hours medical facility. Some steroids and benadryl later we were headed home with a very sleeply girl.

As luck would have it, just as Daniel was finishing his round of antibiotics, Elizabeth got Strep throat as well. We pray nothing else happens to send us to the doctors office any time soon.

Strep Throat

2011-03-21T16:11:00.001-04:00

I should have known something was up when he came home from school on Wednesday and fell asleep, and then slept until 8:30 on Thursday morning. I thought he was just having an asthma attack (he was) but the doctor wanted to swap him for strep as well and it was a positive result. So extra breathing treatments and antibiotics where how I spent my weekend.

Nighttime Wanderer

2011-01-30T10:04:00.002-05:00

Elizabeth has never really been a consistant sleeper. As a baby she slept when she wanted to, not when I thought it was a good idea, you know, like when it's dark outside. She moved to a big girl bed earlier then I wanted her too because there wasn't really room for her crib at my parent's house and the pack n' play could not contain her anymore. So she has been in the bunk bed since she was about 20 months old. Now, I have a nighttime wanderer on my hands.

She usually just comes to get in bed with me and depending on my tiredness level she either gets to lay with me or gets carried back to bed. Notice I said "lay" and not "sleep". She uses this time to play with my ears, show how long her hair is getting by laying on my face, and to get drinks of milk or a new binky. When I have carried her back to bed a number of times she will usually try daddy's side (he is almost always willing to let her in). Sometimes though, when I think "wow, Liz slept though the night", I get a surprise in the morning. I have found her bed covered in dolls and all their paraphernalia and I have found her with dress up heels and a beaded necklace on lying in her bed perfectly covered up.

I love my daughter very much and I love when she allows me to sleep through the night.

2010 in Review

2011-01-02T10:17:00.002-05:00

Well, last January I was sitting in my house in South Bloomfield, OH. Curtis was working for GE, Daniel was four and complaining about the long drive to see his grandparnts, and Elizabeth was barely walking. This January finds me in an apartment in Elizabethtown, KY. Curtis now works for Fischbach USA, Daniel is in Kindergarten and gets to see his grandparents at least weekly, and Elizabeth is into everything! My how things change!

Curtis started his new job in March and was living with his parents while I packed up the house and waited for someone to buy it. In July, Daniel was a month away from starting school so the kids and I headed south with all our clothes and the house completely packed up. We all lived wtith my parents while D started school. He absolutely loves his teacher, Mrs. Mitchell, and is really loving everything about it. Our house sold in October. We had to do a short sale which means we sold the house at a loss and then asked the bank to forgive the debt (which they did). With no money made on the house we were not in a good position to buy another house so we are living in a new apartment for awhile. Elizabeth is talking up a storm and some people can even understand her. Her favorite thing to get into is my purse, which means lipstick on her and my mom's couch, FHP scattered about, and wipes dried out.

We have been so blessed this year. The Lord has truely been mindful of us and answered our prayers.

Daniel said...

2010-10-25T22:14:00.001-04:00

D was taking a shower when he yelled, "I need a washcloth!" I remembered, I had in fact, cleared the bathroom of all the washables and had thus rendered the shower washclothless. I swiftly grabbed one from the cabinet and lobbed it over the shower curtain. "Never mind. I found one."

My Superheros

2010-09-28T21:03:00.001-04:00

Fall Festival

2010-09-26T21:05:00.001-04:00

Daniel and Elizabeth had a blast at the Fall Festival! Daniel jumped in the bouncy house and went down the huge slide numerous times. Elizabeth loved all the games and the prizes (candy!). I still get a kick out of watching my kids have a good time. All in all a good time was had by all. Thank you to the grandparents and the uncle who added to the fun!

Date with Daniel

2010-06-21T06:10:00.001-04:00

I decided D was in need of a little one on one with just me, no baby sister taking the attention way, so we went to see Toy Story 3. Daniel is one of those kids who likes everyone to be happy all the time so this movie was a little intense for him. By intense, I mean he screamed and cried when the toys end up in the trash twice, and he wanted to leave when it looked like Woody and Buzz were ending their friendship. Of course, when all was said and done he, "really liked the movie", and "it wasn't so bad, really." Afterwards we went to a pizza buffet and I let him get an ice cream on the way home. I think he had a good time and I know it was nice to really pay attention to him 100%.

Favorite Flowers

2010-06-14T17:01:00.001-04:00

I love these lilies! I bought two bulbs on clearence three years ago and now there are eighteen or twenty putting up stems with about ten blooms on the biggest stems. I plan on digging up at least some of them and taking 'em to KY with us.

Nursery!

2010-06-09T16:57:00.001-04:00

Elizabeth has started going to Nursery! She loves it so far, and as a matter of fact, she was more interested in playing with the bubbles than leaving with me the second time she went. She has even gone in what will be our new ward in KY.

I love to see the way my children grow. They really are like sponges, soaking everything up. Daniel's KY CTR4 teacher told me, and I quote, "Daniel is such a pleasure to have in class." Yes, he is.

So, the latest installment of "When are the Nalls moving to KY": second week of July! We will be living with my parents while we wait for our house to sell. Please pray we will sell soon!

Stone Mason Seeks Job

2010-05-18T19:22:00.001-04:00

Daniel has always had a great imagination and now he has a little sister who is more than willing to play along. Daniel's newest movie love is "Mountain of the Lord" and he has become facsinated with the stone masons in the movie. This is D and Elizabeth pretending to build a temple this morning.

Update

2010-05-02T17:22:00.001-04:00

Our house is currently for sale because we are moving back to KY! Curtis got a job with Fischbach in Elizabethtown and is loving it. The kids and I just got back from a three week trip to Utah where my brother got his BS in Exercise Science.

Ten Years

2010-01-11T19:48:00.003-05:00

January 10, 2000 was the day Curtis and I met for the first time. It was an Advanced Placement U.S. History class at Central Hardin High School and Mr. Jack Baldwin was our teacher. We were a desk short and owing to my socializing in the hall I was left standing when the bell rang. Curtis, gentleman that he is, got up and offered me his seat. Mr. B was so impressed he gave Curtis his very comfy swival chair and Curtis and I shared the desk for the rest of the semester. Two months, one day later we went on our first date (I invited him to a Priest/Laurel Dinner and Dance). Two years, two months after that we were sealed for time and all eternity in the Louisville, KY LDS Temple. Three years, two months, twenty-three days after that Daniel was welcomed into our family. Three years, three months, and two days after that Elizabeth became Nall number four. In those ten years we have both graduated high school, Curtis got his BS and MEng in Engineering, we have lived in two apartments and one house, we have worked at eight different jobs between the two of us, and we have two beautiful children. Wow! It has been a good decade!

Christmas 2009

2010-01-03T20:08:00.004-05:00

"Oh, I like it."

Triumph.

Wow. What a year. Curtis moved to a new location within GE. He now works in Logan, OH at the GE glass facility. I spent quite a bit of time taking care of my kids and keeping the house out of total chaos. Recently, the washing machine was on the fritz and I now have a deep appreciation for both clean clothes and my wonderful next door neighbor. Daniel got a play kitchen for Christmas and ever since I have slices of pizza, eggs, and cups of juice whenever I want them. Elizabeth started walking on December 13. She just stood up and took off, no wobbling or hesitation. We are looking forward to a new year and all that that entails (kindergarten for one thing) and we wish you a happy new year.

The One Year Old

2009-11-17T18:51:00.006-05:00

"Now what was that number?"

"Hello."

Birthday Balloons.

Catching Bubbles.

My baby is a year old. She had a great birthday overall and loved her cupcake. She loves talking on her phone. Elizabeth is almost walking, she can stand on her own and will push her baby stroller around the room. She is also an excellent stair climber and the baby gate is really getting a workout now.

Halloween

2009-11-01T07:32:00.003-05:00

going out to get the goods

enjoying the goods

I know it had been a long time since I blogged...but I have a really, really good reason this time. We had a massive hard drive failure. Yes, bad enough that tears were shed about lost photos. Curtis was able to save all the photos except the FL vacation ones and I say, Thank you, once again. We had an external hard drive that had most of our photos and other important stuff on it and I am grateful for that.

Movie Phobia

2009-09-30T13:45:00.003-04:00

Once upon a time, in a land far away (KY), there lived a young boy who loved movies. He was allowed to watch one movie a day and loved to watch just about anything. Now, to be fair, he had his favorites, and who doesn't, but he would watch anything his mom said was OK. Then the young boy moved with his parents to a new place and next door lived two little boys who loved movies too. Soon the three boys became good friends and the two little boys came over two days a week while their mom went to work. Now the young boy was faced with something he had never encountered before: he didn't get to always pick the movie of the day, he had to take turns with the two little boys. Tantrums ensued and tears were shed and now the young boy has a movie phobia. No new movies can go into the DVD player without tears and screams.

Now the young boy has a little sister and she loves to take the movies off their shelf. The young boy patiently takes each movie, stacks it up beside the TV, and says things like, "Aunt Mandy would love this movie" and "Grandma might want this movie back" and "We should sell this movie".

Take a Picture Mom

2009-09-22T12:02:00.000-04:00

Touching the Temple

2009-08-24T17:01:00.005-04:00

Whenever I see a Temple, I think of President Hinckley and I remember that he always encouraged the children to take the time to touch the Temple. The kids and I recently had the chance to visit Nauvoo with the YW in our ward. Daniel was excited about two things: he wanted to make some rope and he wanted to touch the Temple. Sitting on the front steps.

The cornerstone.

I wish I could show you the excitement he showed as he ran towards the Temple. I don't think the Savior would have been displeased to see a child running towards His house and probably wishes that more of us would do the same. I hope he will always remember how it felt to touch the House of the Lord and long to return as soon as he can.

Daniel's Birthday

2009-08-17T11:36:00.005-04:00

Putt-putt golfing for the first time.

Another amazing cake creation by Sarah Clark.

Playing catch with his new glove and ball.

Wow! D is four years old now! He had a great birthday: Curtis took a vacation day and we all went putt-putt golfing. Even with minimal help, D beat us all. D's cake featured WallE and tasted as amazing as it looked. He finished the day playing with Dad in the yard.

daniel (D wanted to type his name)

Yes, he is listening...

2009-07-08T17:07:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, Daniel showed this to me. He said, "This is my Liahona. I found it outside my tent. It will show me the way to the Promised Land." I think it does look like the pictures you see at church.

Don't know what a Liahona is? Click here and read verse 10.

Family Vacation, Final Day

2009-06-03T18:49:00.004-04:00

Curtis finally learned how to make a proper sandcastle.

This is why everyone says, "You have such a smiley baby!"

One last hoorah on the beach.
A good time was had by all. We did exactly what we set out to do: nothing.

Family Vacation, Day 3

2009-06-03T18:43:00.005-04:00

We hung out at the mall in the morning while a tropical depression blew itself out.

Back to the beach after lunch.

Hanging out just before bed time.

Family Vacation, Day 2

2009-05-23T11:50:00.004-04:00

Daniel destroying my expertly made sandcastle.

By the way, engineer extraordinadaire Curtis cannot make a very good sandcastle.
Our beach baby.

The family is enjoying the Fort Walton Beach area. We are dodging some rain, but still having fun.

Family Vacation, Day 1

2009-05-21T21:47:00.002-04:00

On the way to dinner at the end of a day of beaching.

Enough said.

More details to come.

Daniel and Some Sillyness

2009-04-14T19:47:00.003-04:00

Daniel loves silly things. Ever since he could dress himself he has picked out silly PJs, meaning the top does not match the bottom. He loves to wear puppies on the top and tools on the bottom, or baseballs on his shirt and monkeys on his pants. I think this may stem from some of my activities. I wear mostly skirts and shirts to Church and when I come home, instead of changing the shirt and the skirt, I just take off the skirt and put on comfy pants (that probably don't match my shirt 99% of the time). This habit has mildly perplexed Curtis for going on seven years now and it seems our children are picking up my odd behaviors. Daniel kept his sunglasses on this way all day because my mom made the comment that he looked silly. He loves to wear my or Curtis' shoes around the house, with Curtis' ID badge around his neck, a hat on backwards, and a water bottle holder slung over his shoulder.

Bytheway Daniel just now picked out matching PJs. Did he somehow know what I was writing and is trying to undermine my blog, or is this a turning over of a new leaf? Only time will tell.

The Many Faces of Elizabeth

2009-02-22T19:37:00.005-05:00

Concerned.

Happy.

Exploring.

Curious.

A Boost

2009-02-02T21:16:00.003-05:00

Wow, where does the time go? I know it has been a long time since I wrote anything. The holidays, a new baby, Curtis' long hours at work, and a demanding three year old can sure take it out of a girl. On a particular long day I got an unexpected boost in moral. I was awakened by Daniel and Elizabeth, both demanding their breakfast, managed to get a shower, and was contemplating doing a little housework when the doorbell rang. It was a guy trying to sell something or other, but this is how the conversation started: "Hi, are your parents at home?" Well, I was nearly blown off my feet. I had on no make-up, was wearing my comfys, had gotten very little sleep ( and none of that was together), and this guy thinks I'm a teenager. I felt instantly better about myself. I think Heavenly Father knew I needed a shot in my arm that day and boy did I get it. I hope I age as well as my mom. She has always looked younger than her years. Have you ever had this happen to you? Tell me about your mistaken age situation.

November Pictures

2008-12-16T19:11:00.012-05:00

November was a busy month to say the least. Curtis was finishing his Master's degree, I had a baby, Daniel became a big brother, and Elizabeth ate, slept, and gained three pounds. Here is November:

First time at Church.
Being a big brother is hard work.
Thanksgiving
Mid-sneeze

First bath (she liked it).

Daniel likes to kiss Elizabeth.

And Then There Were Four

2008-11-07T17:11:00.006-05:00

Elizabeth Rose was born on 11/5 at 3:39AM. She was a healthy 6lb 8oz and 19in long.

Our first family photo together...

All are home and resting well. For more photos check out the link on the left.

The Land of Make-Believe, Part II

2008-10-26T16:48:00.004-04:00

I got some more pictures of Daniel in the Land of Make-Believe. Here Daniel is making soup just like Daddy is making soup in the kitchen.

Daddy and Daniel making a huge vat of BBQ sauce for a party we were going to with some co-workers. Daniel loves to help in the kitchen and can really be quite useful sometimes.

On the way to Church we pass many miles of farmland and Daniel has become fascinated with all there is to see. He can identify the various crops (corn or soybeans mostly) and loves to see the tractors. Lately, there has been a lot of harvesters to see and today he made one out of Legos. He had the arm where the crops get dumped into the trucks and everything. Curtis was upstairs, so I told Daniel to go show Daddy. "He's harvesting corn right now," was the reply I got.

Circleville Pumpkin Show

2008-10-19T16:52:00.008-04:00

The punkin show, as Daniel calls it, was this past week in Circleville, OH. This show is huge. The kids get out of school and even GE is closed the Friday of pumpkin show. Daniel had a cold and a breathing problem last year so this was the family's first chance to check it out.

Daniel is front of the GE parade float. They won the Grand Champion prize for this float. There were so many people I couldn't get a picture of the whole thing.

This was NOT the biggest pumpkin. The biggest one was 1375 pounds!

Do you notice the look of awe on Daniel's face? There were a lot of people, a lot of pumpkins, and a lot of various types of pumpkin food.

Daniel had some pumpkin ice cream (very good) during the parade.

Curtis was the Creeper during the parade. I think I need to mention that a parade takes place twice a day for four days. (Yes, Circleville is slightly obsessed with their pumpkin show.)

Cedar Point

2008-10-11T21:57:00.008-04:00

We recently took a trip to Cedar Point and had a blast!Daddy showing Daniel Lake Erie.

"I've got this down pat."

Scary monsters.

Say "Cheese."

Catching a wave.

Sand castle triumph.

We went for what they call their Halloweekends. Lots of Halloween decorations everywhere, cooler weather, and fewer people make this the best time of the year to go. Daniel had a blast! He could do more on his own this time and was remarkably happy about that. He did all the rides he could, saw some "scary fings", and LOVED playing in the "big sandbox" known as the beach of Lake Erie. I learned my mistake from last year and put him is his bathing suit even though he was mostly playing in the sand. (How does sand get in so many places?) I didn't ride anything on account of my huge belly, but watching Daniel's face light up and the happiness he felt was good enough for me.

The Land of Make-Believe

2008-09-16T12:10:00.001-04:00

Daniel is definitely a regular visitor to the land of Make-Believe. He copies or imitates just about everything Curtis and I do. He mows the lawn just like Daddy, even turning the lawnmower around at the end of each row. Yesterday we went to GE to have lunch with Curtis in his office. Daniel was pretending to answer the phone like Curtis and even got some paper and a pen out of my purse so he could write down notes. He goes grocery shopping and cooks like Mommy. Daniel has starting involving his "babies" in these activities. He asks me if they are cute or well behaved while putting them to bed or feeding them. Daniel also loves the "Thomas the Tank Engine" stories and he reenacts the stories on his train table. Some mornings Daniel will tell me that today he is a particular animal (dog, cat, parakeet, giraffe, or zebra so far). He will not answer to Daniel but only as the particular animal he is pretending to be. It has been fun to watch him learn and grow this way.

Pictures to come of Blustery Day 2008.

The Third Birthday

2008-08-13T17:42:00.005-04:00

The past three years have flown by so fast.

We decorated after Daniel went to bed and he loved waking up to this. There were balloons on the floor which slowly dwindled in number as balloon fights broke out.

One benefit of a summer birthday: pool time. Joe Cool in his shades. He loves the water, refuses to wear floaties, and loves to splash.
A friend of Curtis' from GE made the most amazing cake I have ever had. Daniel loves Percy from Thomas the Tank Engine and she did an amazing job. Thank you Sarah for your time and effort and the cake was really good, too.

Want more pictures from Daniel's birthday? Check out the web albums Curtis has put together.

The Things Kids Say

2008-07-23T11:58:00.002-04:00

I had to share some funny things that Daniel said yesterday. To set up the situation: we have a pet turtle named Rerun that lives in a forty gallon tank in the kitchen. Daniel came downstairs, announced he was hungry, then gave his usual, "Good Morning, Rerun", to the turtle. The rest of the conversation went like this:
"Rerun's hungry."
"I'll feed you first, do you want Cheerios or oatmeal?"
"Mommy, you need to say sorry to Rerun for not feeding her."
Speechless and with a shocked look on my face I fed the turtle and then Daniel.
That was breakfast. At lunch the following conversation took place:
"You need to finish your oranges before you can play."
"I can't. My fork is asleep."
I gently shake the fork and say, "Wake up fork."
I get reprimanded with a "shh".
On the bright side, my son is learning the principles of putting others before himself and being quiet when others are napping.

News and Pictures

2008-07-18T10:15:00.002-04:00

Just some pictures of Daniel playing around this summer.Soaking wet after a squirt gun fight with Dad and Uncle Jason.
I was hysterical with laughter when he came downstairs with the swim goggles. Notice the slightly cross-eyed look. He kept saying, "everything is daddy's favorite color!"

For the news part of the blog: Curtis and I are expecting a baby girl in November. Daniel loves to inform people about anything. He has told the grocery store clerks and all the neighbors at the pool that he will have a baby sister. He has already starting making lists of all the things he wants to tell the baby. The list includes: everybody's favorite color (his obsession right now, he even speculates what the baby's favorite color will be, yellow or purple, by the way), the right way to put a train together, and the best books to read for bedtime. For right now he is excited about the baby coming to live with us.

A Big Anouncement

2008-06-15T13:25:00.012-04:00

Daniel is potty trained!!!

Yes, folks it has happened: My son will willingly sit on the potty, pee in the potty, and poop in the potty. The Thursday we got back from the wedding reception I threw a bye-bye diapers party. I moved the toys, the potty, lots of towels, chocolate kisses, and sixteen freshly laundered sets of dinosaur underwear into the kitchen. By five o'clock I was thinking, "well, this is the dumbest thing I have ever tried," but, by five-thirty we had a break-through. He peed in the potty without wetting the underwear first! Chocolate kisses all around! By Monday he was also doing number two in the potty. In one week we moved to the big pot. The key to success: patience and chocolate kisses!

Daniel is really funny to watch while he eats. The first picture he knew I was taking but I was sneaky with the others. "I want the camera, mom!"

"Now let's see..." (Daniel says this all the time.)

shock. Mom has a camera.

Finger-licking good.

I asked him to show me his sad face. I would say this qualifies.

Cheesy happy face.

In case you didn't know, Daniel is from the Black Foot Tribe. Physical characteristics include: going shoeless whenever you can and very, very dirty feet.

Steve and Mandy's Wedding

2008-05-17T11:30:00.008-04:00

This is Daniel at the KY reception. He was extremely tangled in these balloons, but after a long day of family, friends, and food I didn't care what he did as long as he didn't knock over the cake.

Can I just say: The Denver Temple is beautiful! It was a beautiful day for a marriage.

My brother, Steve with his new bride, Mandy.

Don't we look snazzy. (The boy on the right is Mandy's nephew.)

Daniel was so cute is his bow tie! He was reluctant at first to wear it, then wouldn't take it off!

My boys bringing me a dandelion.

Lightning McQueen Red

2008-02-08T16:26:00.000-05:00

We could not decide for the longest time what color to paint Daniel's room, so we decided it's his room, let him decide. Without hesitation: "Lightning's color red." Jumping on the bed. (This was a hard picture to capture.)
The train quilt with McQueen sheets.

When Daniel first saw his room he said (and I'll love him forever for saying this), "Nice walls, Mommy!" I felt like I got a huge pat on the back.

Steven's Getting Married!

2008-02-01T14:34:00.000-05:00

and the lucky girl is Mandy. I am so happy for Steven and for Mandy. Daniel will tell anyone who will talk to him, "Staphen gettin' married!" We are currently working on Mandy, is sounds like Mindee right now.

Mandy, I am looking forward to welcoming you to our family.

Truely Thankful

2007-12-03T13:04:00.000-05:00

Two weeks ago Daniel woke up wheezing. We started him on his albuterol. By noon he was throwing up and still wheezing (for those who may not know, Daniel has RAD--reactive airway disease--so wheezing is somewhat normal, not reacting to his treatments is not). He was absolutely not responding to his medicine so I called the doctor. We went in, got mega doses of steroids and oxygen, and left three hours later. Dr. Carine told me to take him to the hospital if he wasn't breathing better in a couple of hours. The next couple of hours were some of the worst in my life, worse even than the first time this happened. He was hungry, but couldn't keep anything down, so he was crying and wheezing, and I was just crying. All the drugs he takes make him sleepless so I was preparing myself for a long night. I knew I needed to take him to the hospital but I didn't want to. Curtis called Bro. Hawkins and they gave him a blessing before we were going to leave for the hospital. By the "amen" Daniel was asleep in my arms and noticeably breathing better. We all slept through the night, except for his regular treatments, which Daniel slept through.

I have seen the priesthood work in my life, but never like this before. I have a new appreciation for the priesthood, those who righteously hold it, and for a Father in Heaven who loves us so much. By Thanksgiving, Daniel was back to normal and off all but his regular drugs. Thanksgiving has never been such a wonderful holiday as it was this year.

Singing

2007-11-18T09:48:00.001-05:00

Daniel is developing a love of singing. He loves "The Istsy-Bitsy Spider" and "Popcorn Popping" for their hand gestures. It's pretty funny to watch. He won't go to bed until you have sung "I Am a Child of God" and "I Love to See the Temple" at least twice through (on a good night). Daniel is also singing the alphabet song, but only the letters that he likes: B, D, G, H, lmnop, T, W, and Z. You can imagine how different the english language would be if we did things Daniel's way.

To Infinity...and Beyond

2007-11-04T09:23:00.000-05:00

Halloween Pics: This was my Halloween bag as a kid. Daniel is checking out the glow-in-the-dark feature.
He loves "Toy Story". He calls it the "Buzz" movie.

South Bloomfield decided to have trick-or-treating on Sunday while we were at church. So we had our own party on Halloween. Daniel didn't seem to mind.

Curtis found this in Circleville. The next time you say something isn't worth a hill of beans, you probably didn't mean this hill of beans. The fence at the bottom of the picture is five feet tall.

Mmmm...That Tastes Good!

2007-10-15T09:46:00.000-04:00

Daniel has been eating so much lately. Here are some of his latest food conquests: A pear, which he of course insisted eating all by himself.
Cheerios with milk. He told me he wanted them to "float". Previously it was more cheerio mush than cereal.

His second favorite fruit, peaches, which he will not eat with a fork.

The all-time food conquest: spaghetti with no clothes change afterward!

Summer

2007-09-28T14:20:00.000-04:00

Can you tell how much he loves the water?
Our future Mozart.

Like the Church family, we make Daniel work to pay for room and board.

I love this face!

Girl's Night Out

2007-09-11T15:55:00.000-04:00

Stephenie Meyer

The fruit of my labor.

Okay, so the reason is has been so long since I have posted a blog is because I got caught up in reading a fantastic series of books by Stephenie Meyer. Naptime turned into very precious reading time. My friend Meagan and I had a GNO in Cincinnatti last night to attend a book signing. We had a blast! It was nice to leave the kids and just have some girl talk.

Daniel's Birthday

2007-08-24T09:38:00.000-04:00

Our neighbors came over to celebrate Daniel's birthday.
Daniel got a big bulldozer from his parents and one for his sandbox from his friends.

The Williams sent a cookie bouquet.

The next week we went down to Kentucky to celebrate with family. Daniel got sheets for his big boy bed and a wagon that he loves to pull around. It was great to see the all the family together again.

The Great Outdoors

2007-07-18T16:38:00.000-04:00

Daniel loves having a backyard.
Playing soccer with uncle Jason.

He also loves going for walks around the neighborhood.

Our neighbors have been very friendly.

Daniel, Zachery, and Elijah playing with a top on our driveway.

From circus to spectacular

2007-07-12T13:18:00.000-04:00

Yes, folks, this is what we started with in our kitchen.

Our friends came all the way from KY to help us scrap and ...

scrap and ...

primer (twice) and ...

paint two coats and ...

I love the results!

It was actually Curtis' idea to go with a dark purple.

But it was I who bought the darkest Sears had to offer.

The whole kitchen was done in sunflowers when we moved in. I like sunflowers, but it was the stripes that really got on my nerves. I felt like I was living in a circus tent. Thank you to Monica, Justin, and Eli for helping us out on your vacation.

Daniel at Centerburg Independence Day Festival

2007-07-12T12:52:00.000-04:00

Daniel loved the fire trucks.

The helmet weighs as much as Daniel does.

Daniel with mom's cousin Kristen.

Thank goodness he was only looking in the ambulance.

He loved all the buttons and switches in the grass truck.

Daniel loved the fireworks. My uncle Steve bought him the glow necklace and when we told him Steve had bought it Daniel started calling the necklace "steve".

We all had a great time celebrating the Fourth! Thank you to the Hunt family for inviting us and making it fun for Daniel.

The New House

2007-07-11T13:17:00.001-04:00

We did not like the paint scheme is this house. Daniel lovingly taking "my turn".

Daniel enjoying the new digs.

Well, that would be the new house. Home, sweet home.

All is well so far. We love having a house, we love the area, the neighbors love us. We also love the visitors we have had.

Daniel's favorite phases are "my turn" and "let go". You can imagine how much fun it is to have an almost two year-old who always thinks it is his turn. Well, give me some feedback on what you want to hear about on our blog.