Who knew...

Well it's official...I'm now a member of the minivan club. Ryan and I got a minivan this week. It has been a long time coming but it was just so hard to make that step! I can't believe the room and convenience it has already proved and we are so excited about it! We are so excited about our next travel trip so hopefully we can hit the road soon. So of course our car is now for sale...it is a great car if anyone is interested.

Hurricane Fay turned out to be a fluke for us here in Sarasota. We didn't even get any rain! I am glad that we didn't get any damage but it seemed like a little bit of a disappointment after prepping for it all day monday. Across the state some places got 30 inches so I guess that I shouldn't complain.

Molly absolutly LOVES school and was disappointed today when I told her that she doesn't go on Saturdays. She learned a bible verse, several songs, all about the week of creation and had lots of fun on the playground with her friends. She has been such a good girl this week and I think that school is definately a big part of that. I look forward to all that she will learn this year.

Well I need to go. Until next time.....

First Day of School

Well I can't believe my little scholar is actually old enough for school. Molly started K-4 today and it was so exciting. She couldn't sleep last night from all of the anticipation and was up by 6:30am this morning ready to go. She looked so sweet with her new dress, shoes and backpack and I was so proud of her. She had zero seperation anxiety and did so well. When it came time for the kids to line up Molly actually did the high step all the way out of site...she just couldn't contain her excitement. Maddi came to our house for breakfast and we took her to school as well. She too did great and the two girls couldn't have planned it any better. Maddi wore a pink dress and had a purple backpack while Molly wore a purple dress with a pink backpack. It just added to how well things went.

Ryan said that his mom always had a fresh batch of cookies waiting for them when they got home from the first day of school. You know me, always looking to start a tradition, so I thought this would be a great one to follow. I asked Molly a few days ago what her favorite cookie was and of course she wanted the sprinkle cookies with icing. I should have known that she would pick the most complicated recipe in the recipe box but for the sake of tradition I was up for the challenge.

Roz and I played for a while after we got home from dropping them off and then the baking began. Did I mention that the recipe that Molly was referring to came from my great grandma Rachel (my g'pa Knepp's mother) and that it is called 'Church Cookies'. We have come to the conclusion that it must have been called that because one batch would literally feed a whole church...no kidding. I had to pick Molly up at 12:30 and I still had a few more sheets of cookies to bake when I got home. It is a good thing those things freeze so well or my family would gain 10 lbs each after we were done with those things. They are super good though and we just can't resist every once in a while...it won't kill us right?!?! (Legend has it that those cookies, or should I say a lack of self-control when it came to the cookies, are what put my aunt Patsy in labor with one of her kids...so eat at your own risk).

When we picked the girls up they said that they had tons of fun so I think everything went well. Molly has to sit between 2 boys and she said they were rowdy so hopefully that won't become a problem. She said that there were tons of things to do and they stayed busy so hopefully she will really enjoy the whole year. And the cookies were a huge hit too...she really had a great day!

School is already cancelled for tomorrow. Hurricane Fay has Sarasota County under a state of emergency so all the schools are closed. Hopefully we won't loose power and it won't turn into anything more than a massive rain maker, which isn't so bad since we are still behind on rainfall for the year. None-the-less we have tried to get ready in case it does pick up speed and force. I wanted to title this post "Fay, Fay Go Away" but I thought that Molly's school was ultimately more important. The weather thus far has been pretty mild with a small shower this afternoon (as I was trying to get the grass cut of course). The air this evening has been really pleasant and we actually sat outside and let the girls play it was so nice. This is not usually the case here in August so I guess it is just a sign of something coming. Pray that we will be safe.

I guess that is all for now. Until next time....

Molly is reading!

Molly is just amazing us with her intelligence. She has always caught on to things way before her peers and she literally thirst for knowledge. I have been amazed by her since an early age. She was able to sing the state song before she turned 2. I think I might have said this before but I prayed before she was born for a happy, healthy & smart child and boy did God answer my prayers! Anyway....she has been trying to read for probably about 6 months now (she is just 4). I have kind of put her off because I really didn't know how to teach her. I just thought that was something that she could learn in school (and I really didn't want to give up the secret "spelling" language that Ryan and I could communicate in). Well she finally gave up on us and has basically taught herself. A few days ago she pulled a book off of the bookshelf and read all but about 2 words in it. I was super proud but deep down wondered if it was just by memory...we must have read every book on there 100 times. So today the true test came, we went to the library. She picked out a 'beginning reader' book and read all but a couple words to me on our drive home! I was so proud that I must have been beaming. She is such an awesome learner and Ryan and I are so proud. Here are some pictures of her reading and one from when she was 9 months old...she got an early start.

I had to throw some pics of Roz in the mix too. She is up to the same old stuff, trying to fit into trash cans, climbing on the bar height chairs & eating crumbs from the floor. Don't get me wrong, she is a joy beyond words and we love her more and more everyday! I feel so blessed!

Until next time....

Doctor Visits for All

Today Roz was scheduled for her 18 month check-up (a little late) and Molly went ahead and seen the peditrician for that nagging cough she has had for the last 2 weeks. Roz is doing great. She weighs 24 lbs 5 ozs and is 32 inches long which puts her at the 50th percentile for both height & weight. The dr said that all signs of her being a preemie are gone and that we can't use that for an excuse for her at all...what good news. She is doing wonderfully and he was very pleased with her.

Molly weighed 37.5 lbs and he didn't think that her cough was anything more than allergies. He prescribed some singular and hopefully that will take care of it in a couple of days. I think that because of her episode when she was Roz's age with pnemonia/broncitus/asthma we are just a little leary when she starts to cough. I just can't stand it when her health isn't great. Hopefully she will be back to her normal healthy self again soon.

I wanted to ask for prayer for Ryan and I. We are reading "The Purpose Driven Life" together and I think that God is going to do something big for the 2 of us. I know that God has a purpose for us and I just wanted to be covered in prayer while we read this so that it can be revealed. Thank you in advance.

My trial subscription to photoshop elements ran out today. I am so sad! I hope that I can save some $ in the next couple of weeks to buy it but with the economy being so bad work is hard to come by for our detailing business and I don't want to be frivilous. Here are the pages that I created over the last couple of days. It is so much fun!

Here are a couple more pics for the road and then off to bed I go! Until next time....

Shopping for School

The summer must be coming to an end because we had to buy Molly's books for school on friday and we went school shopping last night for all her supplies. The first day of K-4 for her isn't until August 18th but she is super pumped already. Yesterday afternoon we went to target and got her some new shoes and a new dress and then last night we had a special outing, just her and I, to buy the rest of her supplies. She had a blast and I thought it was fun that we could do it together. She has got to be the easiest person to shop with imaginable (unlike her mother). She liked the least expensive things and had little opinion on most of the items. She was just so excited to be school shopping that the details just didn't matter. I have to admit that it was probably just as much fun for me! I am so excited that I have 2 little girls and can look forward to years of shopping together. I will post pictures of our purchases later.

Until next time....