abel happenings..

It's me...again

2009-03-06T15:16:00.002-05:00

Just a brief update. I couldn't help but post about Roz....she is talking so much lately. I think this has to be the best stage of their precious little lives. She has learned so many words in the last couple of weeks and adds to her vocabulary daily. I love hearing what she has to say...about everything. She seems to not shut up but I do love it! And I also love the fact that I am the only one that can understand her...one of the perks of being an at home mom I guess. I think Molly is the only one that understands her better than me...they almost have an 'unspoken' language going on. This morning during breakfast Roz broke out in the ABC song! It is very random and broken but it was the ABC's no doubt...so sweet!

And poor Molly is sick with a stomach bug. Although I do hate it that she feels bad she is the absolute worst patient ever! I can't wait for her to get better we can all get back to life.

And last but not least I am now only counting the hours until I can meet baby Laney! I can't wait to pinch her and kiss her. What a treat this week is going to be...

Until next time (whenever that might be).....

Is this working?

2009-02-19T16:46:00.002-05:00

I don't know why I can't get things together and post on this blog anymore but I just can't. It is becoming more of a burden than fun anymore. I am really in a rut with it and don't know if I am going to be able to keep it up. I don't want to be one of those "once-a-month" posters but that is what it has become so until further notice....

This has been fun.

Roz's Birthday...finally

2009-02-03T15:00:00.006-05:00

I vow to not be 2 weeks behind on my blog one day but for now I will tell you about my baby's 2nd birthday...

Roz's birthday (Jan 16) fell on a friday this year and since Ryan had class that night we had her party on Sunday instead. She got to enjoy a whole weekend of celebrating that way and we had lots of fun singing happy birthday to her several times. On friday we opened a gift that my sister Shawna had sent to her and then some cards before we headed out to Chic fil A in the mall and the indoor playground. Both girls had lots of fun and were worn out by the time that we got home. Here is a video of her opening her gift and cards...

Her party was Sunday night and we had Southwest Chili Soup with Cake & Ice Cream (and strawberries). It was quite a treat. All of the kids had a fun time and got along for the most part which will make any party a success. Here is the video of Roz when we sang happy birthday to her...

She is such a sweet little thing lately. I love the way that she tries to repeat everything you say. I love how she always has a hug and a kiss for you when you arrive or leave (even if you are just leaving the room). I love her crazy hair and her little tantrams at night when she doesn't want to go to bed. I love how she loves me unconditionally even when I'm not a good mommy to her some days and I love that God chose ME to be her mom...what a special task. I think back to when she was born...she was so small and there were so many questions that we had about her and her growth and developement and God has worked out all of those things. She is just as normal as any other 2 year old. One thing that was never a question thought was how much I loved her and would do anything for her. Having kids really does change everything. I remember when I found out that I was pregnant the second time and being so worried that I wouldn't be able to love her as much as I love Molly. God does amazing things to mother's hearts when their children are born and I instantly had as much love for her as I did for Molly. I hate to sound prejudice but I have to be the luckiest mommy on earth to have these 2 precious girls. Thank you God for allowing me to be a mother...and forgiving me when I mess up constantly.

Until next time....

Delaney Grace's Debut....

2009-01-24T11:15:00.002-05:00

Isn't she beautiful....

I'm the (super) proud new aunt of a beautiful baby....

2009-01-23T15:52:00.002-05:00

GIRL....Can you believe it? I would have bet my life that Shawna would have a boy this time but I guess that is why I don't bet often. Her name is Delaney Grace and she is 8 lbs 5 oz and 19 inches long.

I am so excited for Shawna and her family and so sad that I can't be there...I don't know who is more exhausted by this day, Shawna or me!

I hope to have lots of pictures soon.

Until next time...

Here goes....

2009-01-17T17:36:00.008-05:00

So here is the tale of our racing weekend:

We left Saturday morning for Orlando around 7:10 am. Ryan, Molly, Roz, Artie, Maddi and myself drove our van and then my parents left about an hour later and came in their car. We arrived at the Wide World of Sports complex and as we were walking from the parking lot inside Maddi said that her legs where already tired. She is so funny when it comes to going places or getting out. She would rather just stay home and I think that she was getting a little overwhelmed by how big things where. We picked up the girls race packets and wasn't able to register Maddi because the races where all full. It was a real bummer but in the back of my mind I kinda thought that she would get to run anyway...any she did. I then had to stand in line for a while to get my race packet and pick up all the necessary info for the big race on Sunday. The expo was really nice and I would have liked to look around a little more but by the time that we got all of the necessary things collected it was almost time for the girls to race so we headed to the track. Each of the girls got a t-shirt and race number so we got them all suited up and my mom took Roz onto the track to practice. She was really having a blast until the announcer called for her to line up. I could tell she was starting to get apprehensive and when they said go she took right off, looked around and seen all of the other kids and flopped down on her hiney. I picked her up and tried to coax her down the track but apparently her legs just weren't working. I ended up carrying her across the finish line after the announcer teased her a little and she still got a medal. It was cute. Next was Molly's race.

Molly did so good!!! She ran her little heart out and "passed several boys" according to her. Maddi had no trouble getting to run and even received a medal at the end too. After they took off I frantically tried to get to the finish line before they did and got all emotional watching Molly pour her heart into running that race. It reminded me just how much I love being her mom!

Now for me. I have to admit that I didn't get the best nights rest before the race and had to be up at 3 am to get ready and head out for the starting line. I didn't really feel that excited before leaving the hotel and was really hoping that adrenaline would kick in when I got there. It is always weird for me before the start of the race...it seems like everyone is there with a group of friends and I am just milling around by myself. (Hopefully that will all change now...Ryan is getting into running!) So as I was waiting in the LONG lines for the port-a-potties I was listening to all of the other racers talk and I started to get excited. The starting gun was so exciting and I have to admit that I got a little emotional as they let off the fireworks and everyone was cheering right after the National Anthem was sung. It was truly unforgettable.

The first 6 or 7 miles were not exactly fun. There were soooo many people trying to get their pace it was almost impossible to move. If you are closterphobic then you would have really hated this. After mile 7 we moved onto the 3 lane highway and people started spreading out a little better. During this time one of the 'fans' on the side of the road yelled "Good Job Andrea, looking great". I couldn't believe that someone right beside me had the same name! Then a few miles down the road it happened again! This time I knew something was up so I looked down to see my name on my race number. It was so nice to have all of these strangers encouraging you along...and I needed it!

Things went really smoothly until about mile 19. I thought that I would die...literally. I slowed down to a walk for a while and tried to figure out how I was going to tell everyone that I couldn't finish. My feet tingled with every step and the exhaustion was unbearable. My legs almost fell completely off!!! I told myself that I would walk for 5 minutes and then run for 10 until the finish line until I realized that walking was actually harder. So I kept up the pace (somewhat slower) and stopped at all aid stations to get a good drink of water and snack whenever possible. By mile 24 there were so many well-wishers and the adrenaline had definately kicked in. As I rounded the corner to the finish line I spotted my dad and Ryan and once again the emotions ran high. It was totally exhilerating and exhausting at the same time. The feeling of finishing was unmatched by anything else. I felt such accomplishment. As I write about it, I can't help but think that must be what it will be like to make it into heaven. YEAH!!!

The next few hours were spent resting and eating. I am so glad that my family could be there to share this experience with me! I can't wait for the chance to do it again!

Here are a few pics of the big day

I hope to post on Roz's big birthday soon!

Until next time....

26.2 Complete!

2009-01-13T12:10:00.002-05:00

I DID IT! I actually finished my first marathon on Sunday. It was totally amazing, exhausting & exciting. The race started at 5:50 am and i finished in 4hours 46 minutes and 54 seconds. I was really pleased with my time but being the perfectionist that I am I already am thinking about my strategy next time in order to improve. Mile 19 almost killed me but I survived. I want to go into more detail but will have to wait until I have more time.

Until next time...

P.S. Molly did fabulous in her race as well! Roz on the other hand sat down on the track....we'll have to work on that. I will post video later!

The time has come...

2009-01-09T16:05:00.002-05:00

Well I know I haven't posted in awhile but rather than go into how much I hate computers when they melt down I will just move forward....like 26.2 miles forward. This weekend is the big marathon! We are leaving for Orlando tomorrow morning and both girls will be racing around 11 am. Artie, Maddi & my parents are going with us so it should be a really fun time. Maddi is going to join Molly & Roz in the kids races and it will be so much fun to watch them. Molly has been practicing for weeks now and I think that she is well conditioned...no use in starting too late in life right?!?! Roz doesn't really care about practicing but I am sure she will put on a fine preformance as usual. I promise to post how things go as soon as I am able. Have a great weekend!

Until next time....

Christmas Pics

2008-12-29T19:47:00.001-05:00

Holly Jolly Christmas

2008-12-29T14:33:00.002-05:00

I can't believe that Christmas has come and gone for another year! We had a wonderful Christmas here in Florida with G'ma Marcy and G'pa Charley joining us for the festivities. Our week just flew right by and now it seems like forever ago. The Abel grandparents arrived Saturday afternoon before Christmas left the following Saturday. We really enjoyed having them around and don't know exactly where their time here got to. Our activities included going to the beach (the weather here has been unseasonably warm...the beach was fantastic), shopping, Molly sleeping over with grandma...twice, looking at lights, visiting Santa, eating out, visiting with extended family, more shopping, more eating and all of that before Christmas even came.

Christmas eve we attended our early Church service geared more for the kidos. It was cute with a puppet show and kids singing Christmas carols. Then we were off to Jack & Candy's for the Knepp's southern addition. It was nice and it seems like more and more of my family are here in Florida now. Afterward we were sure to get our letter to Santa and cookies and milk out. Molly was terrified that she wasn't going to get to bed in time and Santa was going to skip right over our house. It was a restless night for me doing some last minute rapping and preparations and then when Molly was up at 5:45 am I was exhausted. We held her off until around 7 when we finally woke Roz who was considerably less enthused. Everyone seemed to get what they wanted most from Santa and the day was off and running with a great start. Marcy and Charley arrived around 9 and then my parents and Artie came for lunch at 12. Molly then went with my parents to the pinecraft parade around 3 so that everyone could have a little break from the action. It was a nice day and the part I enjoyed the most was being able to enjoy it at home with my girls and family. Traveling to IN for Christmas is nice but there is nothing like home.

That pretty much sums up our activities for the Holidays. Now the fun part of taking down the decorations and storing them ever so carefully until next year is upon us. No plans for New Years Eve or Day to speak of.

Until next time....

Just a smile...

2008-12-17T20:40:00.002-05:00

Today was so hectic...I ran 10 miles to start the day and can't wait until this training lets up a little. I then mixed up a batch of cookies so that they could cool in the fridge and be ready for Molly and I when Roz went down for her nap. After picking up Roz at my mom's and running some errands it was time to pick up Molly and head home for lunch with Ryan. After lunch there was cleaning and baking to do all the while throwing in a craft just to spice things up a bit...and did I mention that our good friends were coming over for supper since things have been so hectic and we just don't get to see them as much as we would like? Well after decorating the cookies and their plates then finishing up supper just in time we had a great time visiting and enjoying our company. As I came in here to finish up some work on the computer Roz was screaming and through her screams (they are loud) I could hear Molly singing Silent Night to her and my heart just melted. It was quiet at first and then Roz became calmer and you could hear Molly's sweet voice trying to comfort her sister. That is what life is all about...the still small calming voice from those that love us the most. Thank you God for my life. My girls, husband and friends are all gifts from you. Help me to not forget......

The MOST wonderful time of the year...

2008-12-10T19:54:00.004-05:00

Well things are going good here. We finished our second batch of cookies today for Christmas. I figure that if we bake one each week then it won't be as overwhelming as trying to do it all at once. I love to give a plate of cookies to friends & neighbors...although I do get carried away sometimes....wanting to decorate the packages and all. The whole idea is to save $$ and give something "homemade". Molly really enjoys baking with me. I really have to be careful though. Today I sat and listened to myself get on her for not doing it 'my way', and hated what I was hearing. I really try to make it fun for her and have to watch myself. So far this year we have made 2 batches of cookies (I know I already said that), one gingerbread house and homemade stockings (which I totally love). It really has been fun doing things with the kids and I look forward to spending many more Christmas's with my girls.

I FINISHED 18 MILES! Last sunday I RAN 18 miles. We had a really busy weekend and I just wasn't sure if it was going to happen but it did. I felt really good at the end and the sense of accomplishment was unbelievable. Then monday morning came....wow. My legs felt like 2 huge bruises, I couldn't bend and walking was a real challenge. I was supposed to run again on tuesday but my alarm went off tuesday morning and since I couldn't get out of bed I decided that another day of rest was probably best. Then this morning things went fine. I have a night race tomorrow...it is called the jingle bell run, and it should be fun. I think that everyone wears bells on their shoes and there are lots of lights and festivities for the whole famdamily. The girls and Ryan are going with me so we shall see....

As for our busy weekend last weekend, I can't really remember what we did other than church Saturday night, the beach Sunday morning (followed by the 'kids eat free' at the Oaks BBQ), my run and then dinner at Artie and Madelyn's. Artie fixed us tacos and I have to admit that he is a fine cook. We like spending Sunday evenings with them, it give the kids something to do so that we can all watch football! Yeah!

My Christmas shopping is just not really happening. I am trying to be extremely frugal with the ecomony and our work being so light so I guess that my strategy thus far has been to just ignore that gifts for the girls eventually do have to be bought. Hopefully things will change....and like soon. I did finish and order our Christmas cards yesterday...I really enjoy making them and hopefully they will come out to my satisfaction. Well I need to get going. I am leaving you with a couple of pics of the girls.

Molly and her Gingerbread Creation

Ryan and Roz watching a Christmas movie
Molly and her 'masterpiece' cookies

Until next time....

Home again...

2008-12-02T09:39:00.002-05:00

Well we made it back to Florida Sunday morning around 6:15 am. I think...I was totally delirious. That traveling through the night twice in one week was too much for me. Sleep was impossible when we got home since the girls had slept most of the night and were raring to go. Finding a sitter at 6:15 am on Sunday is also impossible so needless to say I wasn't worth a darn on Sunday...or Monday for that matter. We did get our Christmas tree and decorations put up yesterday. It was so much fun putting them up with the girls. Roz did take a nap and gave Molly and I some time to finish up. Molly was so good...she knew exactly were she wanted to put everything and I must admit she has a great sense of style (most of the time).

As for our trip, it went good. We got to see most of our family and enjoy the cold weather for a change. Molly spent a lot of time playing with Allison. They played so good I was totally amazed. I know that I only heard of them fighting once or twice which is a big change from when her and Maddi get together. I guess it is always fun to play with someone new and Allison seems so easy to get along with. She is so soft it is unbelievable. Especially compared to Molly. One day we went to visit my Grandma Needie and Shawna & Allison went with us. As we were leaving the parking lot I asked if everyone was buckled in only to look back and see Allison tearing up. She couldn't get her seatbelt buckled. If that was Molly there would have been lots of screaming and thrashing but not Allison...only tears for her. She is so sweet. Being around her and Shawna make me wish that we could live closer...or better yet they could live here.

I got all of my training runs in while there. It was a challenge finding routes to run and trying to stay warm and out of the wind. The hills there were definately not easy and my thighs were burning for several days but all in all I am sure it was good for me...especially after consuming all of that turkey, dressing & dessert on Thanksgiving.

Marcy & Charley were the best hosts as usual. They always make us feel right at home and I appreciate them more and more every year!

Now onto another busy week of work, school (for Molly & Ryan) and preparing for the Holidays...the MOST wonderful time of the year.

Oh yeah, we are potty training Roz this week so please say a little prayer for me...I hate messes!

Until next time....

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, to IN we go....

2008-11-22T09:27:00.003-05:00

Well we are leaving for Indiana this afternoon. It has been a really busy week trying to get ahead on work, Ryan with school, finding warm clothes for the girls and all of the regular stuff too. Molly is so excited she is just about ready to come out of her skin. I am hoping the excitement will ware her out and she will sleep good in the van as we travel through the night. Roz keeps saying "anyanna" (her version of Indiana). I don't know if she really knows or just wants in on all of the excitement that Molly is showing. Either way I can't wait for everyone to see the girls and how much they are growing. Molly is such a 'girl' now. She grow up more and more every day. Don't get me wrong we still have our moments but she is really starting to mature. Roz is doing new things all the time. She is starting to put 2 words together for mini sentences. She says "mommy won" (translation mommy run), daddy work, and one of the cutest "Molly cwy" (translation Molly is having a breakdown). She is so funny.

I am really starting to notice their different personalities. Molly is all about the big picture. She is not concerned with 'details'. She wants to learn as much as possible about any and everything. I can't wait to see what she becomes! Roz on the other hand is all about the details. The other day her and Molly were chasing each other through the house and I seen Roz stop to fix the corner of the rug that was turned up...now that is a child after my own heart! Either way I am so proud of the both of them...and that God made them so unique.

I finished my 16 mile run yesterday. It was not easy...I had to stop for walk breaks in the last few miles...but complete it I did. I felt such a sense of accomplishment when I was finished, and was terribly frightened of having to do 10 more miles for the marathon. I can't wait!

Well I need to get going. I will post pictures soon. Have a great Thanksgiving!

Until next time....

Catching up...

2008-11-12T10:54:00.002-05:00

It sure has been awhile but life hasn't slowed any. Things are busy as usual here. We are fighting sickness, trying to keep up with kids and work as usual. It seems that the more time I think I am going to have the longer my list of things to do grows. My friend told me that they usually make a crash landing into Thanksgiving and boy is it ever true for us this year.

We are planning to come to IN for Thanksgiving this year and hopefully everyone will be well enough to travel. (Feel free to pray for health and safety for us if you get the chance.) It should be a nice time and hopefully the weather will be cool enough for the girls and Ryan to get their winter fix.

I have taken some time off of my training schedule due to the stomach flu. Hopefully it won't do too much damage on race day. I plan to be back on track next week...hopefully God has the same plans;)

The girls are up to the much of the same: being cute then terrible then cute again. I love them dearly and it is a good thing sometimes.

I will leave you with a slideshow of the last few weeks.

Until next time....

13.6 and counting....

2008-11-01T12:46:00.002-04:00

I officially survived my long run of 13.6 miles this morning. I took off a little after 6 am and met my water girl (my mom) along the way for some refueling. At the half way point mom decided to ride her bike behind me. It was really motivating to know that someone was watching and there to help if needed. She finished the run with me (on her bike) and boy was it awesome...thanks mom!!!! I logged my training online and found out that I burned 1410 calories...yeah! Now off to the unlimited buffet of food today (to refuel of course, ha ha).

Have a great weekend and I will post more about all of us later.

Until next time....

Parent Teacher Conferences, Sports & Cold....

2008-10-28T10:14:00.004-04:00

First of all Molly's parent teacher conferences were last night. I had mixed feeling about it because I know that her behavior at the beginning of the year was a little less than desirable (to put it nicely). But after talking to the teacher I couldn't help but feel a little proud of my scholar. I don't know how long Mrs. Beauchamp has been teaching, but she said that Molly is the most advanced reader that she has ever seen at this age. Molly just really enjoys learning and sometimes the other kids even ask her to read to them. I have to admit that was a really good 'mommy moment' for me...even though I can take zero credit for her abilities, which are all God-given. The other day she came to me and said "mom I can spell champion, C H A M P I O N". I think she had seen it on the cereal box but she definitly wasn't looking at the time. She really is amazing...and only 4!

Here are the school pictures that we got to pick up last night. The class picture is just priceless! And the one of Molly is so perfect...she couldn't leave the house for picture day with out big ribbons (which I totally don't get into) but I chose to let her pick. I can't wait until she gets to pick out more of her clothing...ha, ha!

Ryan and I were so excited for the Colts v. Titans football game last night (Ryan is a big Titan's fan and I DON'T like the Colts). We were a little torn over how to keep up with both the World Series game and the football game so we did lots of channel switching between innings and plays. We put up a good fight but decided to use the good ole DVR after about 10:30...I know we are weaklings. We were so glad to check things out early this morning and find the Titans were victorious (GO TITANS!...sorry all of you Colts fans) and that the Rays have another chance to redeem themselves. I love fall sports season!

I don't think that I mentioned that marathon training is not going real great. Last week I was battling a cold and couldn't train much so my weekend run that was supposed to be 12 miles turned into only 7 and I couldn't even run that whole distance. It was a real bummer for me so this week I have some ground to make up. This morning was my first run since feeling better and it went really well. The temp was around 50 when I left and it was quite a change compared to what I am used to...a welcome change I might add. We are supposed to have a high of 66 today but back up to 80 by the weekend.

The girls really had to bundle up this morning for their walk to school. I thought you would enjoy the picture. Ryan laughs at us but it really seems cold when you are used to 75+ everyday!

I guess that the laundry is calling. Until next time.....

Marcy Update

2008-10-25T11:28:00.003-04:00

Marcy is home!!! I am happy to report that Marcy's last test on friday proved that she is healed and ready to enter the outside world again. She came home yesterday and although I haven't talked to her, I am sure that it is good to be back in the comfort of her own house. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers as she continues to recover at home.

As for us, we are on the mend as well. Molly missed school Wednesday - Friday but is showing signs of improvement today and I am sure she will be back to school on Monday. Roz is acting her normal crazy self again and everyone slept through the night last night...yeah! Hopefully next week will be a little bit more normal.

Until next time....

Abel Family Update

2008-10-21T20:01:00.006-04:00

Well with all the chaos lately I have been wanting to post these pics and videos. Alot has happened and so I will just go through the pics.

Emma, Molly & Abby

The Otto's came over for supper last week and we all had a good time. The girls played together so well and we really enjoy hanging out with them.

Last Wednesday night was 'crazy hair' night at church. Maddi was a great sport and wanted to show off her hair. Molly decided not to participate....girls!!!
I came home from work 2 Saturdays ago to this beautiful bouquet of flowers. Molly picked them out because they were her favorite color pink but they were really from her awesome dad!

We enjoyed a picnic at the park a few Sunday's ago and the girls had a great time. The weather is really starting to cooperate with picnic season here in FL.

There is this patch of flowers (weeds) in our back yard that the girls love to play in. I just can't stand to get rid of it so I don't. They love to pick flowers for me and I have to admit that I love getting them.

Roz is definitly a show phanatic. Ryan let her take a pair to bed with her the other night and this is how I found her before I headed off to bed myself.
The ice cream truck finally made it into our neighborhood the other night. We were super excited and the girls thought it was soo cool. The ice cream was awesome and we encouraged Mr. Softee to return anytime!

Ryan was doing storytime duty tonight and I couldn't resist the photo op.

Last but not least is some footage of the girls swinging again. They just love it...thanks again to Marilyn our neighbor for the swingset...what a blessing.

Both girls are sick as of this evening...nothing major just the usual fevers, coughs and runny noses. Hopefully they will make a quick recovery and be better by the weekend.

Oh and Marcy is still doing good. She must be feeling back to herself a little because yesterday when I talked to Renita, Marcy had sent her on a candy bar run. I will let you know if anything changes. Just keep praying that we can have a fully recovered G'ma, mother and friend back as soon as God sees fit.

Until next time.....

Marcy Update 10:24 am Oct 20, 2008

2008-10-20T10:23:00.002-04:00

Not much has changed with Marcy. She is still doing great by all post-stroke standards. Yesterday she was abel to get out of bed to go to the bathroom and today walked there on her own. She is eating a little bit but her appetite is small. They took some of her IV's out yesterday to allow her to move a little more also. We think that all of these things are great. The power of prayer is awesome! Thank you all so much for saying a prayer for her.

Ryan made it home to us yesterday around 1 pm. We were all so glad to have him back! It is amazing how much of the load that he bears around here. I appreciate him more and more every second. That is all I can say about that without embarrassing him too terribly much.

Renita is still in Nashville with Marcy and Charley returned to Montgomery this morning for a few days of work. We are kinda playing thing by ear but hopefully Marcy can come home this weekend. There will be a long road to recovery but having her closer to family and friends will be a big help.

Until I know more.....

Good News Update 3:21 pm 10/18/08

2008-10-18T15:21:00.002-04:00

I just spoke with Ryan and the angiogram that they did this morning on Marcy came back with really good news. The doctor could not find any problems in the arteries in her brain which leads him to believe that it must have happened in a vein. The dr described that as really good news and said that a lot less damage is done when it happens in a vein and there is little concern for it happening again. He was very thorough in his examination this morning but said that they must preform the angiogram again in 7 days. If the same thing is seen at that time, she will be released.

This is awesome news and we are so thankful for the results. None-the-less, 7 more days in the hospital is not a vacation so please keep Marcy in your prayers for that time.

I will continue to keep you posted with updates as I get them.

Until next time....

G'ma Marcy Update 9:41 pm 10/17/08

2008-10-17T21:34:00.003-04:00

I just spoke with Ryan and not much is changed. All outside appearances are good, she is coherant and knows what day it is, and all other relavant facts; she knows exactly what has happened to her and remembers the whole thing; she can eat and move all limbs, fingers and toes; she is just really tired due to medication and a bad, bad headache. Tomorrow, hopefully in the morning, they will do the angiogram which will tell the doctors the details and a better idea of what has happened and will need to happen in the future will be established. Thank you all for your prayers and keep them coming.

The girls and I have survived a day without Ryan...although it was not fun, we did make it. I didn't realize the wonderful helper he is to me and how much the girls depend on him. I hope he knows how much we love and appreciate having him around.

Until tomorrow....

Grandma Marcy

2008-10-17T13:44:00.002-04:00

My mother-in-law Marcy needs all of your prayers. Yesterday (thursday) she was leaving work and had some severe neck cramping so she drove herself to Dr. Omer's office for a possible adjustment. When he wasn't in she stayed in the parking lot until Charley could get there. When he arrived he found her in distress and she told him that she had already called the ambulance. She was taken to DCH where they told her she had a pulled muscle in her neck and some bleeding on her brain. She was then transported to St. Mary's in E'ville where they could give her a more thorough examination and diagnosis. Once there and stabilized, the neurosurgeon suggested that she be transfered to Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville, TN. This was a precautionary move due to things that 'could' happen and not because she was really critical. The drs felt that she could get the best care there. She was transported to Nashville by air some time through the night. Ryan, Renita & Charley all arrived there today around 11 and were just in time to meet the drs doing their rounds. Her diagnosis has been determined as a hemorrhagic stroke. They described it as a 2 on a scale of 1 - 4 with 4 being the worst. She is awake, responds and knows what is going on. She is really groggy from medication but is stable. They plan to do angiogram tomorrow morning in order to determine the extent of the damage. The nurses called this a fact finding mission. After that is completed they will be able to make a better decision on whether or not surgery is required/needed. The last time I talked to Ryan (around 1:30 p.m. friday) they were bringing her something to eat so hopefully that will go well.

Please keep Marcy in your prayers along with Ryan, Renita, Charley and all of her caregivers and physicians. I will try and update this site with any new information as soon as I recieve it. If you have specific questions/comments my email is a78abel@yahoo.com.

My girls and I are really sad so it might help for you to pray for us too.

10.7 and counting....

2008-10-11T09:50:00.003-04:00

Well I had to post the fact that I completed my long training run this morning which consisted of 10.7 miles and almost 2 hours. I felt like there were bricks in my shoes when I was finished but I finished none-the-less. I was really proud of myself, especially when I put my training into the computer training log and it spit out that I had just burned 1100 calories! No wonder I am super starved all day after a long run like that.

I hope that training keeps going so well, I stay injury free (my bum leg is lots better) and the weather continues to cooperate. 26.2 here I come........

Videos and Tag

2008-10-07T20:32:00.003-04:00

Here are just a few videos that I have taken over the last few days. Molly is sooo good at reading and Roz is up to her usual mischief. I hope you enjoy!

I also got 'tagged' by Susie G. This could be fun so here are 6 rarely known things about me.

1. I am NOT creative but would love to be...I enjoy digi scrapping but have to admit that it is a huge challenge for me.

2. I love to run...running is a bit of an addiction for me and I have to really focus on not letting it take over my life.

3. I look forward to retirement, already.

4. Having a premature baby was the hardest thing that I have had to face in my life (thus far). I can see that God has used that time to grow me but I honestly don't know if I could do that again.

5. I have a tattoo...being 18 was quite an experience for me.

6. I am highly emotional...I can cry over almost anything...good or bad.

Boy I have to admit that was tough...I just don't know many things that everyone doesn't already know about me. I hope you enjoy.

Happy Birthday Renita!

2008-10-06T17:49:00.001-04:00

Happy Anniversary to Us...

2008-10-03T12:10:00.006-04:00

As I mentioned before Ryan has a love/hate relationship with this blog...this is the hate part,when I talk about him. Regardless, I just couldn't resist the opportunity to talk about us and how we got to where we are. Where to start has been quite a decision, and I have thrown around many ideas over the last couple of days. I hope you enjoy what I have come up with and I ultimately hope that Ryan doesn't get too embarrassed.

It all started when my mom was pregnant with me and Ryan was a newborn. My mom attended the grand march for Prom in the spring of '78 and Marcy was there as well showing off her newborn baby boy. Since it was late in my mom's pregnancy, she was drawn to the new baby that Marcy was so proud of. She held Ryan that night and I like to tease Ryan that his fate was sealed at that point!

Although it was a magical beginning, things weren't always wonderful. We dated off and on for 9 long years. I wanted to marry Ryan early on but am so glad that he didn't decide that I was the one until the perfect time. God had a plan for us.

We got married on a beautiful day in October 2002. Our marriage isn't without trials but I love Ryan more than words can say. He is my friend, companion, cheerleader, counselor and more. I couldn't have imagined life this good with someone if you would have asked me to. He constantly amazes me with his ability to handle the kids, college, work, home & family without complaining or compromising his values or standards. He is the most respectful, courteous and kind person, and such a wonderful example for our girls. I laugh and tease him that they are going to have such high standards for boyfriends that they will never find someone to live up to the example he has set. I feel so lucky to have him as my husband!

Here's to many, many more years together.....

Happy Birthday Renita!

2008-10-03T12:07:00.006-04:00

Today (Oct 5th) is Renita's birthday and we wanted to wish her the best birthday ever! We wish that she lived here with us in Florida instead of across the country in California. We look forward to her visits and hate it when it is time for her to leave. We always have such a great time with her. She is a wonderful aunt to my girls, sister to my husband and friend to me! Have a great day Renita...we love you!

Yeah Fall!!!

2008-09-24T16:13:00.006-04:00

I can't believe that fall is here! There has actually been a change in the weather here in the last couple of days and it feels great. The days are still pretty warm (high 80's) but it actually cools off a little in the evenings through morning time (low 70's). My morning runs have been much more enjoyable and I actually contemplated wearing a short sleeve shirt today. It is hard to imagine that in a few short months I will be in long pants and double shirts;)

Marathon training has been going well for the most part. I have a weird right leg injury or strain. I am not sure what happened but it is sore in different areas. As soon as I get one area fixed up another seems to be sore. Hopefully it is nothing big and I will soon be injury free and on my way to the 26.2 mile race! I ran 7 miles last weekend without a hitch but kringe at the thought that I am only about 1/4 of the way there. I'll keep you updated.

Molly had her school pictures taken today. I ordered the smallest package not expecting a great picture. I'm sure it will be interesting. Molly has been in trouble at school at lot lately and I was mostly freaking out about it until a good friend reminded me that kids are not totally a reflection of their parents and overall she is a great kid. I get so worked up over these things and picture the future as so bleak and than remember that my God loves Molly more than I do and he desires great things for her...what a comfort!

Here is a video of Roz yesterday. She is just so fun (most of the time) right now. I love her expressions and how she loves to love on me. She is very much a cuddler and I love that about her.

Another thing I have been into lately is thegrocerygame.com. One of the mother's at Molly's school told me about it and it has really worked for us. We have saved over $60 in 3 weeks! I recommend it highly...and if you decide to try it use me for a reference (a78abel@yahoo.com). I think I earn free weeks or something. The way it works is that you pay $10 for 8 weeks. On Sunday you log on and get a list of the items on sale at your grocery store of choice, match the sales with coupons from the Sunday papers and voila....tons of savings. It is like a game and so far has been lots of fun. Let me know if it works for you.

Here are some pictures of Molly before school yesterday. She loves riding her bike to school and gets lots of attention from her classmates when she does. I like to let her do it because I can't imagine us living this close to her school for many years. Roz loves it too, we walk with her and Roz rides in the stroller.

Molly has been improving her reading skills tremendously over the last couple of weeks. She is just like a sponge and reads almost everything she can get her hands on. I hope that we can nuture that in her and she can gain all kinds of knowledge from books.

Roz is saying more words and has began to put 2 and 3 words together. She is growing so fast! She is such a little stinker and has really been using her climbing skills to get into trouble lately. Her latest thing is to climb on top of our desk and push the buttons on the printer and computer. She loves to explore and has enjoyed getting to play outside on the swingset again now that the evenings are a little cooler.

Well that is what has been going on here the last week. Until next time.....

Home sweet home!

2008-09-18T11:06:00.003-04:00

Well I am back from my travels to IN. I have to admit that home is such a great place to be. It is funny how as a mom for the last 4+ years I have looked forward to the time when I could have a few days to myself. No diapers to change, no snacks to fix and no noses to wipe. But let me tell you, it wasn't the glorious time that I envisioned it being! First of all the reason for my departure was not a good one and that certainly added to the despair that I felt while away from my husband and kids. I was actually sad that someone else was doing all of those 'chores' and that I couldn't be a part of their daily lives for a while. It really is true that "absense makes the heart grow founder".

The events that transpired requiring me to leave my family behind for a few days have really made me think over the last couple of days. I know that God uses all events to draw us closer to him and mold us into his people and in that way I am grateful for what has happened. I found myself seeking him more in the last few days than ever before and I really felt like I drew closer to him. I realized that my everyday frustrations are really small in the grand scheme of things. Life is so precious and it is so important what we do during our lives. My cousin Patrick touched so many people with his kindness and his huge heart. I mourn for those that loved him the most and the void that will now need to be filled by his absense. My prayer is that his loved ones will allow God to fill that void in their lives and heart. And that they can now work toward meeting our savior when the time for our lives are over.

As for how things went in FL while I was gone...I came home to a clean house, clean dishes, clean laundry and clean children! As you can tell Ryan knows exactly what is important to me and how I like things! He is such a great father and husband. It actually made me feel a little unneeded until Molly told me a million times how much she missed me and loved me. I was so glad to see all of them...what a precious sight! Roz on the other hand acted a little strange. I got my hair cut & colored while I was gone and I think that she almost didn't recognize me....or she was giving me a hard time for being gone. As we left the airport she started to warm up a little and by the time we were out of Tampa she kept saying "mommy, mommy, mommy"! What a sweet sound! After dinner I took the girls to the grocery store so that Ryan could have a moment of peace and quiet and I think that it was good for everyone. I just can't say enough how good it is to be at home with my family.

Well, I need to get things back in order here before Molly needs to be picked up from school.

Until next time....

Traveling again....

2008-09-13T11:35:00.002-04:00

Many of you know that my cousin, Patrick Delaney, was involved in a motorcycle accident on Wednesday evening and passed away yesterday afternoon. I have been consumed with thoughts of what it must be like for those who were closest to him to have to endure this tragic set of events. It must be like a horrible nitemare that they cannot wake up from and my thoughts and prayers are with them continuously. As horrible as this is for all involved, I think that it is a great time for all of us to take a step back and realize how short life is and what is truly important. I know that me and my family have been doing a lot of re-evaluating and hopefully God is using this tragedy to mold me more and more into who he wants me to be.

Roz and I will be flying to IN on Sunday morning and I would love for you to say a little prayer that we will have a safe flight and travels to/from the airports. Molly is staying with Ryan so I am sure that a prayer for the 2 of them alone for a couple of days wouldn't be in vain;)

The accountant at Molly's school also lost her son in a motorcycle accident this week. He was only 18 and his mother is a very sweet women. Please keep them in your prayers also.

Other than that not much has happened here at the Abel household. A couple of the thing that I wanted to share that the kids have done lately:

The other night while Ryan was putting the girls to bed, Roz fell and hit her head (this happens around 20 times a day). She started to cry and so I rocked her for a while before laying her down for the night. Molly decided that she needed to be rocked also and I just wasn't in the mood. I was looking forward to my 'free time' after the kids are tucked away in their beds and so I fought her on the issue. She moaned and cried and I have to admitt that I was a little harsh in explaining that I would rock tomorrow and that it was time for sleeping now. After 'the look' from Ryan I gave in and decided to rock her. Later that evening before I tucked myself in I was feeling a nudge that I should apologize to her and ask her to forgive me for not wanting to rock. I gently entered her room and asked her to forgive me for being so harsh. I told her that mommies make mistakes and that we need forgiveness sometimes too. She had a funny look most of the time that I was pouring out my heart and asking forgiveness and so after I was done with my speel I asked her if she wanted to say anything. She said "yes mom, could you take this booger from my finger and throw it away on your way out?" I guess that the point was for me to confess but I was really hoping for this precious moment between the two of us and she was worried about disposing of her booger the entire time...the joys of motherhood never stop!

Hello All

2008-09-09T18:23:00.003-04:00

I have been trying to upload my pictures from our GA trip all week and it just hasn't went well. I haven't put a ton of effort forth but it is frustrating none-the-less. We had a great time and the trip was smooth for the most part. The van was like traveling in luxury! Everyone had their own space and I felt a lot less violated than I usually do after we make a road trip. Molly traveled like a pro, coloring and watching DVD's with little complaining or "Are we there yet" questions. Roz on the other hand wasn't such a pleasure. She is not interested in movies whatsoever and so entertaining her was a little bit of a challenge. She did fine for the trip to GA because it was mostly through the night and she slept. The trip home was quite the other case. The video that I posted last time says it all. We were all glad to be home and said that night travel is just the way to go for us right now.

We did tons of hiking, as you will see when I can get the pictures up, and really had a good time. The weather was nice and the waterfalls that we seen were running good. It was about the right amount of time to be gone and we are already looking forward to our next trip.

A couple of things that have been going on in my life:
I recently heard about thegrocerygame.com from another mother at Molly's school. I thought I would give it a try...I am not a coupon clipper because I end up buying stuff that I would never have bought only to save $.50. Anyways, to make a long story short I saved over $27 on my first trip to the grocery store on the plan yesterday. We were so excited! I thought it was even fun. The first 4 weeks of membership costs only $1 and it is $10 for 8 weeks after that. Check it out...

Ryan is in full swing with school. He is taking 13 credit hours this semester along with his full time job and his fatherly & husband duties. It is definatly stressful for him but he handles it well and I have to admit that I admire his ambition to better himself and our family. This is one more reason that I haven't been able to blog lately. Every spare moment that Ryan has he is using the computer for homework or class.

Well I think that is all for now. Hopefully things will slow down a little in the coming weeks and I can keep up better.

Until then.....

I'm back...

2008-09-04T21:49:00.003-04:00

I promise that I have been trying to make a post for the past two weeks. Life has taken over and things have been busy but I promise to get all the pictures and fun stuff from our first road trip in the van up over the weekend. Don't give up on me yet.... Here is a sampling of how well Roz traveled.

Until next time...

Who knew...

2008-08-23T11:52:00.003-04:00

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

2008-08-18T20:33:00.002-04:00

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!

2008-08-12T21:45:00.003-04:00

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

2008-08-08T22:09:00.005-04:00

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

2008-08-05T15:43:00.002-04:00

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....

Summertime

2008-07-28T21:25:00.006-04:00

I just can't believe that it is almost August. When school ended I was so nervous about having Molly home all the time and it just seems that things have been super smooth. I think that Ryan being home from school (only taking online courses) and me working more has made things really fly by. I enjoy the family time that we have together in the evenings and on weekends so much. I know that it will be a tough road again when his schools starts up but it will all be worth the effort in the end...I hope!

Molly started another week of VBS today. This time it is at Cornerstone where her friend Lily attends church. It seemed to go pretty good so hopefully she will have a good week. Her teacher commented on how smart she is when I picked her up today. It is sometimes hard to remember that she is only 4 because she is so smart. I can't wait to see the awesome things that she is going to accomplish in her life.

I know that I have mentioned that we try to ride our bikes whenever we get a chance. We got the girls helmets last week and Molly is so super proud of hers. It has all the princesses on it and it took us 3 days to get her to leave it in the garage for riding only. Here are some pics of her in her new gear.

Molly just loves to pose...isn't she just adorable!

One day last week I decided that Molly and I could sit down and watch "The Little Mermaid". We borrowed it from Allison for our trip home from IN but I was a little nervous about her watching it. She used to be so scared of everything and I thought it might cause problems. So I finally decided that we would watch it together and she loved it. She didn't get scared once and reminded me several times of how much bigger she is now than last year. We have watched it several times since then and now Roz is even starting to enjoy it. I think she actually just enjoys sitting with Molly more than anything. Here they are...

I forgot to mention that I forgot how much I love the movie too! We have all been singing the songs none stop and Ryan is about ready to vomit! He needs to have some manly time but it is hard with all of the princess gear around our house. Here is Molly singing one of the songs.

Then of course I couldn't leave out little Roz. Her latest trick it jumping. She thinks that she is really getting high and I love to see her try. She has recently added the arms and now will tip-toe around afterwards...maybe because she feels like she is floating, who knows. She is so sweet!

Until next time....

Who am I anyway?

2008-07-22T20:21:00.004-04:00

I don't know if this all has something to do with turning 30 but I have had some eye opening experiences in the last couple of days. I must warn you that you should proceed through this post with caution. I don't mean any offense to anyone so hopefully it won't come across that way. I have just been experiencing some emotions lately that have got me thinking. I am not very good with expressing myself, especially on paper so this could be a little rough around the edges. O.K. enough warning...here goes. By the way, I'm looking forward to any comments that you have.

I told you a little about my friend Tonya and her accident. She has really made me take a good look at myself and people in general. She is so genuine. I really want to be that person that you don't have to guess what or who they believe in. I really want to live with integrity. I looked up the definition of integrity and this is what I found...adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty. That's it...that's what I want my life to be.

I want people that don't know me to look at me and see me as someone that is human and flawed but forgiven by a God of grace & mercy. I want people to know that I am so far from perfect but that I am O.K. with that (most of the time). God is still working on me and will continue to work on me until the day that I die. I struggle with being everything to everyone and nothing to no one. I want to be the best mom but most days go to bed feeling like a failure. I want to play with my girls more but just can't find the time and energy a lot of the time. I want to get my priorities straight. I want Ryan to love and adore me but end up most days giving him plenty of reasons not to. I want to know more about the bible and how it applies and when to use scriptures and where they can be found in the bible. I am more materialistic, career driven and selfish than I ever thought possible.

I do have good qualities too. I am highly determined and driven and can accomplish almost anything when I put my mind to it. I love to serve others when possible and would do anything for my friends. I hurt deeply when someone I love hurts and wear my emotions on my sleeve (I guess that one is both good and bad). I am a great cook, good housekeeper, hard worker and love to learn. I hate lying and deceit and am teaching my girls to be honest people even when it isn't convenient or fun or rewarding.

Your wondering where all this is going huh...I guess that I just want to keep it real. I don't want to portray my life as this perfect fairytale bible story that it isn't. One of my favorite things to do is to sit on my lanai with my husband, have a couple of cold beers and share thoughts about our past, present & future. I don't always listen to Christain music and can't quote scripture off the top of my head. I am working on being a better follower of Jesus Christ but to be real honest it is really hard. I want to share God's love with my family and friends but am scared of their reactions. I don't want to be the crazy Christain girl that scares away unbelievers but I don't want to put God in a box either. I am just searching for the right balance and trying to listen intently to what God is telling and teaching me along the way.

I love my life and am so lucky to have everything that I do, but that doesn't always keep me from wanting more. Like I said before, I am definitely a work-in-progress. I am glad that I have this blog to vent frustrations and share triumphs but I hope that I don't distort the real facts...I am flawed and need Jesus' blood to cover me each & every day. Thank you God for your grace...I need it desperatly!

Until next time....

Pools, Ipods & Renita

2008-07-21T15:54:00.007-04:00

It seems like a lot must have happened since last Monday (my last post) to keep my from the blogging world but I just can't remember what it was. Here are a few pictures (in reverse chronological order) to jog my memory. Here goes....

This is Molly this evening. She recieved her barbie "ipod" in the mail tonite and was listening to it while enjoying some Oreo's. We collected the tokens from the Kellogg's cereal boxes and she is just so proud of it. She asked to take a run with it tomorrow...isn't it so cute how she wants to be just like me;)

This picture is from when we swam at Renita's pool on Saturday. Renita rolled in to town Thursday evening and will be leaving us tomorrow:( We had a good time with her and keep begging her to move here from California. I guess that California must have a lot to offer but I can't believe it would be better than being with us all the time (ha, ha). One highlight of her trip was going to a local BBQ restaurant last night that has "kids eat free" on Sunday nights. Talk about beating the system...Ryan and I split a meal, which was plenty, and the girls ate for free! After giving the waitress a nice tip we still ate for under $15. What a bargain....and the food was great!

This is Molly and her Oreo's again...she is so funny!
The other night after baths Ryan was working checking his email while Molly and I caught up on So You Think You Can Dance. Roz came toddling out of the office/toy room with this number on and I couldn't resist taking a picture. She always has loved the high heeled shoes and jewelery but she never cared much about the clothes until now. I guess we have another future princess on our hands.

In this picture I was trying to get a shot of Roz's big bruise on her right cheek. Last week she caught whatever it was that Molly had and ended up with a fever of 103 one night. We were at my mom's and she was swinging when we realized that she was super hot. After mom put her down she stumbled and fell against the lanai metal ledge. It was so bad and bruised immediately but thank God we survived another fall!

And this is Molly wanting another piece of the spotlight. She seems so much more grown up over the last couple of weeks. One day as we were eating a snack she was telling me how glad she was that God gave us such a cute baby. She went on to say that God was giving us another baby in my belly. She said she knew that I had told God I didn't want anymore babies but that God had told her that I was going to have another one. She was so definate about the whole thing that it was hard to argue with her...or God. I guess that only time will tell although hopefully God will talk to me and Ryan about it first. I encouraged her to continue to talk to God and listen to him...hopefully this is the beginning of a great conversation between the two of them.

I also wanted to ask for prayer for my friend Tonya (Lily & Ivy's mom). Last week she recieved a neck injury. The doctor's expect her to make a full recovery but recovery is not easy by any means. Their family is so dear to me and I want for this time to be as painless as possible for them. Please remember them in your prayers. I took Tonya to get her blood work today and the way that she is handling the situation is such a testament to the Gospel of Christ. I was telling Renita today that she is what I aspire to be. She doesn't pretend to have it all together but when tragedy struck her heart really shows and you can see what a wonderful person she is on the inside as well as the outside. God has done a wonderful job with both her and Chance and we are so lucky to have them in our lives.

Until next time.....

Under Construction

2008-07-18T15:50:00.001-04:00

Please excuse the mess as I try and give my blog a facelift....

Sick Girls

2008-07-14T20:32:00.003-04:00

I just can't get over how horrible I feel, even physically, when one of my girls is sick. Molly had ran a fever off and on since last Friday and finally kicked it yesterday only to have Rozy catch whatever it is last night. Molly is a little different since she can at least tell us what the problem is but poor Roz has just been crying all day. Her fever tonite was 103, I looked in her mouth this afternoon and can see where her gums were bleeding from getting her jaw and eye teeth and now she seems to be tugging at her ears a little. Being a mother is just so hard. Just when you think that you have everything under control something like this happens and it seems to stop me dead in my tracks. I want to ask God what he has for me now because I am sure that I am about to be taught something meaningful again...it always seems to happen this way. Not to get too personal, but I have also been struggling with some family issues the last few days. I feel a little down in the dumps anyway so I guess that I need to just look up and see what there is to learn. My girlfriend had some really good advise for me the other day and reminded me that even when I just want for God to 'fix' things that isn't always what he has in mind...maybe I need to grow and be taught something through the "trials". I hope that I can someday become what he wants me to be so that I don't have to go through this molding process anymore although I know that day will only come in eternity. Until then I will strive for the prize....

Indiana Vacation 08

2008-07-10T20:34:00.011-04:00

Here goes nothing....

Our vacation was good. We left Wednesday afternoon around 3:00pm and arrived in Montgomery at 7:15am Thursday morning. Molly did excellent. She watched movies and colored the entire time. She had no trouble going to sleep and actually slept from around 9:30 until 6:15 or so. I was super proud of her. Roz, well she was a little different story. You have to understand that she is completely uninterested in movies 0r books so it was a little harder with her. She made it for a couple of hours and then started fussing. We stopped to eat around 6 and that seemed to help. We took our time and let the girls stretch. When we got back in the car she did fine until about 9. We stopped again, put on their pj's and gave Roz some milk & Tylenol. She calmed right down and went to sleep fairly easily. Once she was asleep she only woke once when we stopped to get gas and then had little trouble going back to sleep. Ryan and I on the other hand didn't fair so good with the whole sleeping thing. Our car is just too small to travel in. It took us most of the day on Thursday to recover. All in all it was fine.

Here is how the days shaped up from our arrival:

Thursday:

Not much went on. We rested as much as possible. Ryan got the jeep out and running and then we went to Shawna & Marks for dinner. It was great and Ryan was so glad to have steak since we rarely get that luxury here. We had way too much to eat but I just couldn't stop myself (a theme that seemed to repeat itself through most of the trip). Molly and Allison did sparklers after supper and Shawna, Mark & Allison took Molly with them to see the fireworks at Boggs. The rest of us were just too pooped. I couldn't believe how late it gets dark! That was the hardest thing to get used to. Molly didn't get home until 11 and by the time I gave her a bath I was almost in the zombie state. She had a great time though and I was glad that she got to go. Here are some pics of her and Allison doing sparklers.

Allison & Molly with the sparklers

Roz found a floaty in the garage

Roz had a hard time adjusting to the new setting for sleeping. She didn't get much of a nap and when we put her to bed that night she only cried for a few minutes. When I went to check on her this is what I found...

Poor thing couldn't bare to give up and lay down. Needless to say she slept well and didn't get up until 9:30 on Friday which basically never happens.

Friday the 4th:

I got up and ran around town. I couldn't believe the difference in running on flat ground verses adding a few hills. The hills really kicked my butt! (More on that later). Marcy had a cookout planned for noon. It was a fun time for everyone. Most of Ryan's family was there at some point, my friend Jamie (Ryan's cousin somehow) and roommate from college was there with her boys and it was so good to see her. I love seeing old friends and catching up. I always wish that we would have had more time but I'll take anything. We had some good laughs remembering old times.

One thing that is foreign to me is that when Ryan's family gets together it pretty well lasts all day. Like I said, the cookout started at noon and I think that the last people were leaving at 10pm. It was a long day but good to get to visit with everyone in one shot. Shawna & Allison came and I don't think that Molly and Allison were in the house the entire day for more than 20 minutes total. They really played well together and had so much fun. Here are some pics:

Molly and her famous 4th of July Jello Flag

Rozy and Uncle Bob (Roz tends to make her rounds with whoever has food)

Rozy & G'pa Charley

G'ma Marcy & the girls on the mule

Saturday:

Not much happened on Saturday. Ryan and his family worked at the "farm" (a little campground that they own) while the girls and I hung out at the house. We picked up lunch for everyone and had a subway picnic then watched Ryan work on the tractor pulling down trees before heading home for naps. I think everything caught up to the girls because they both slept until almost 6. Ryan and I had a little date in the jeep and went to the Freedom Shootout go-cart race. It was interesting....enough said. We enjoyed driving around with the top off and surveying all the things that have changed south of town. It was a fun night. Here are some pics from our picnic:

Rozy & Uncle Kenny

Molly & Ryan

Molly, Aunt Kay & Roz watching Ryan on the tractor

The Abels with our 5th family member (the jeep)

Sunday:

I got up on Sunday thinking it was the perfect day to do my long run for the week. I mapped out a run that was around 5.75 miles and took off. I rounded the curved from Old Hwy 50 onto Sportmans road and realized that I had never noticed the huge hill that lied ahead. I was completely out of my element and had to walk for about 5 minutes after I made the corner by Aunt Marita's house to recover. I couldn't believe how much difference the terrain makes. I am just glad that I will be running my 1st marathon in Florida...that was a close one! Then it was off to Greta & Shawn's for a fine feast. We had a great meal and visit and the girls got along perfectly. Roz had a hard time not being allowed to climb the stairs but it was a good time none-the-less.

Sunday night we headed out to Maddi's other grandparents for an early birthday party. Molly got to go early for some buggy rides with Allison, Maddi & Karla (who had never been) and then the rest of us came for dinner. It was fabulous! Ryan said it was the best meal ever and I had to agree. Now we have had a lot of good food in our lives but this was just awesome...Thanks Marge! Here are the pics:

The girls blowing out Maddi's candles

Taking a ride in the pony cart

Rozy, Aunt Karla & the baby puppy

Monday:

We went to visit g'ma Needie on Monday and had a really good visit. I learned a little more about her family which was interesting to hear. I know very little about her family and enjoyed learning more about my past. The girls did fairly well and she loved seeing them. Then for dinner we went to Mi Pueblo with the Thompsons. It was awesome food and spending time with Brooke is always good for me. I miss the close friendships that I had before I moved. It is hard to meet a friend and have the same bond as what you have with someone that you have known since the beginning of time. I have that bond with Brooke and we tend to pick up like we never missed a beat when we are together. Our kids played together great and that just gave us more time to gab. Here are the pics:

Molly & Great G'ma Needie

Molly, Roz & Great G'ma Needie

Molly, Reed & Willow

Tuesday:

We didn't do much but pack and load the car on Tuesday. We left around 1:20 and arrived home at 5:10 on Wednesday. Molly did excellent again and Roz much the same as the first trip. All in all it was a good vacation and we are still getting back in the swing of thing here now. Until next time.....

HOME AGAIN!

2008-07-09T19:40:00.001-04:00

I don't really have time to do this right now, in fact if Ryan catches me I will be in big trouble, but I wanted to let everyone know that we are back from vacation, we had a great time and a safe trip & I will post lots of pictures in the next couple of days as we get back in the swing of things. I need to work tomorrow, friday and saturday morning so I hope to get this blog up to date by late in the weekend! Until then.....

VACATION!

2008-07-01T21:02:00.003-04:00

This picture was taken Monday morning before our haircuts. The girls just love to dress up and walk around in those heals...they are so girly!

Well we have been trying to get ready for vacation for the last couple of days and I begin to wonder if it is really worth it at times. The girls are super excited and Molly asks about every other minute when we are leaving. I think we might have to give her a tranquilizer for the car ride so that we all don't go bonkers.

Monday the girls and I got haircuts from Amber Jo. It was so nice and she does such a good job. The girls had so much fun and I completely forgot to get pictures...just like me. Anyway, thanks Amber!

Tuesday was devoted to last minute housework and packing and tomorrow Ryan and I are going to work half a day and then take off sometime in the afternoon. Please pray that we have a safe journey.

Until next time.....

Catching up

2008-06-28T14:11:00.006-04:00

Boy I feel so out of the loop. I didn't realize so much time had passed since my last post...I apologize! I got some comments from the last post that I enjoyed. It is always fun to know that people are actually looking at your posts.

Marcy...I'm glad that you can keep up with us this way and you can always call. You know me and that I will just tell you if I am busy and try to call you at another time. Don't be afraid!

Lisa...running in Chicago sounds great! I wish that I could enjoy the cool air here and it would be just perfect. I have been getting up and leaving the house before 6am and the temps are already 80+. I come home completely drenched and it is so humid I can barely breathe. I look forward to the fall/winter so I can be out more but am totally blessed to live in such a beautiful part of the country where I can run almost every day of the year! Where do you run in IN? I am going to be visiting next week and am already anxious about where/when to run. Also the Echincea brand is "Herbs for Kids". My sister has a link to their website on her blog. I just purchase it locally but she gets it for the same price online.

Susie...I will never get tired of your comments! I love hearing from you. Thanks for the warning about the bugs. Hopefully they will subside some before we arrive but I will definitely be trying the Listerine if not. Let me know if you get a chance to try it out.

Now for our week:

There was no preschool or VBS this week so I was a little worried about what we would do all week but apparently we found something to do because I don't remember being bored. Tuesday Tonya, Lily & Ivy came over for a play date. The girls enjoyed to swing set and then we had a snack. They had so much fun. It is so cute to watch them play. Molly and Lily totally play together and Roz & Ivy could care less about each other. They are too busy doing their own things. Its funny how things change as they age.

Apparently sometime this week we did manicure/pedicures because I took a picture of everyones toes...

The girls think that playing beauty shop is so fun and I have to admit that I like it too! One day they will hopefully be able to pamper me too!

Thursday I worked most of the day. Ryan stayed home with the kids. His work has been slowly but surely disappearing. Customers can no longer find the funds for extras and so they tend to cut us out. Praise the Lord that my business seems to be growing! I got another job on Thursday that will really help out. God is good and always provides us just what we need when we need it! I think that he does this to continually build our faith...it is working.

Thursday night Molly and Ryan went to the baseball game for dollar night. Roz would have been a mess so her and I went on a bike ride instead. It was nice, the weather had been cloudy all day so it was only around 84 and we didn't have to sweat the entire ride.

Then came Friday...what a day! It started out harmless enough with a little yard work and playing outside then in the house for naps and a shower for me. We planned to do Chic-fil-A for lunch with Ryan then a little shopping for our trip. Roz slept longer than usual and when she got up we headed to Chic-fil-A starving to death. About a half mile from home a man told me that I had a flat tire so I pulled over and sure enough it was completely flat. I could see the screw in it and so I called Ryan. He said that we should stay put and he would be there to help in 20 minutes. I thought we might die of starvation but don't worry we all survived the wait. I gave Roz her drink to hold her over and apparently she drank it too fast because it wasn't long until Molly was knocking on the window of the car saying "Rozy threw up!". It wasn't that bad but she did do a good job of getting it all in her car seat. So Ryan put the spare on and we had to change our plans from lunch at Renita's and shopping to lunch at home. In the middle of the chaos my boss called and needed me to come to work ASAP. Luckily I had time to catch a bite first and then spent the rest of the afternoon working (Ryan stayed with the kids again...what good daddy he is!). We then had small group last night and didn't get home until late. Did I mention that the tire did get fixed and put back on so I didn't have to drive on a donut? Ryan is so quick to fix those things...a good husband too!

I think that I forgot to say that somewhere in there, I think it was Tuesday night, I decided to put the girls back in the same bedroom at night. They had been sleeping in separate rooms at night since the early fall when someone got sick and kept the other one up (I can't even remember who). It was a total fiasco at first but they had so much fun that I couldn't even think of separating them. Once they fell asleep they slept well and even slept in a little...a miracle in itself! We decided that was a good thing so we took down the extra crib and things have been going great. They think it is like a slumber party every night and even ask to take naps together now. It is amazing how close they are already! I hope that continues....

Here is a video that I took yesterday as we were getting ready for small group. The girls play so good together but I sometimes wonder what the neighbors think. Check it out for yourselves.

Until next time....

Warning...no pictures

2008-06-23T22:17:00.004-04:00

Well I don't have any pictures to post but I couldn't resist writing anyway. We had a great time on our date Saturday and of course spent all of our gift certificate. It was really nice just being together as a couple again...I sometimes forget that is what started this whole journey in the first place. I am such a hopeless romantic and talking about our earlier years always makes me giddy. Ryan would never admit it but I think a little part of him likes to reminisce too.

Speaking of Ryan I have been wanting to post about him for awhile but always get wrapped up in what the girls are doing that I forget. He is so cute/funny about this blog. At first I didn't even want to tell him about it because I figured he would think it was crazy...and he sorta did. He wouldn't admit it now but he is completely hooked. He is constantly checking our counter and wanting to see who all cares what is going on in our lives enough to visit the page. He encourages me to take pictures and video for "blogging material" all the time and secretly enjoys reading and visiting my new blog friends sites too. He is so cute!

Well I guess I should be getting to bed. I am planning to run in the morning before Ryan heads to work and the girls start another busy day. We are having Tonya, Lily & Ivy over in the morning for playtime so it should be interesting at the least.

By the way, our girls started coming down with the sniffles a few days ago and I loaded them up with Echinacea with wonderful results yet again. Anybody that had trouble keeping their kids healthy I would highly recommend it. It has done wonders for us! I am hitting the airborne for the next couple of days as a precaution and will be doing some things to keep everyone healthy pre-vacation this week. I would love using natural products so any recommendations are always welcome!

Last but certainly not least I am so excited to say that my sister Shawna is expecting a new baby next year. We are all so excited for her & Mark and look forward to meeting the newest member of our clan. Anyone want to take bets on the chances of a boy coming along?

Until next time...

parties, practice & preforming....

2008-06-21T10:50:00.006-04:00

I couldn't resist posting some pictures and videos from the last couple of days. Thursday evening we went to Lily's birthday party and it was so much fun. Lily has been a great friend to Molly the last year and a half and we are becoming really good friends with her parents and little sis as well. Molly and Lily are about 2 months apart in age and Roz and Ivy are about 3 months apart so we get along really well and tend to be going through the exact same things which gives us tons in common. They are super nice people inviting us to lots of activities and events and we have really grown to appreciate them and their extended family over the past year. Lily's actual birthday is today (Saturday) so happy birthday Lily!!
Friday was the last day of VBS at Molly's Preschool so afterwards Maddi joined us for lunch, swimming and swinging. The girls had fun practicing for their finale on friday night and then enjoyed some popcicles in the playhouse. Maddi's cousin Tonya helped me keep track of all the kidos so that no one drowned in the little pool and then enjoyed a popcicle with the rest of us. Roz was having a bad hair day after the swimming...we can't wait for Amber Jo's arrival so that we can get a good cut for her. This video is of the girls practicing their song.

Then friday night was the big VBS finale. The girls had a blast singing and dancing and I caught a little bit on video. I was sitting behind them, as you will be able to tell, so unfortunately I couldn't get their faces. Roz was a mess the whole time wanting to join the big girls so for the last song we let her escape. She was so cute just standing there watching her big sis. They love each other so much.

Ryan and I are planning a much needed date for tonight. We are heading out to Stonewood Grill with a free appetizer and $50 gift card all for giving blood. There is this League of Donors here at Suncoast Communities Bloodbank and every time you give blood you get a stamp. After 2 stamps you get a free appetizer and after 3 stamps you get a $25 gift card at Stonewood Grill & Tavern. We used one appetizer card for my birthday and now we are going to use the rest of the goodies. It is a really good deal since we like to give blood anyway. It saves lives right ;)

And just a little update on my new committment to 'savor every moment' with the girls...things have been going good. I have taken more time to play and less time to work and the girls seem to be enjoying it. I feel good about what I am doing and less guilty about missing out. I know it will have to be an ongoing thing that I will remind myself of but I feel just a little closer to being the mom that God wants me to be (althought I know that I will always be a work-in-progress). I am tuned into his still small voice a little better and want to continue on the right path. Thanks for your encouragement!

Until next time....

stages....

2008-06-18T20:32:00.005-04:00

I know that I go through these stages often but I have lately been feeling like I have not taken advantage of this time in my life by always wishing for tomorrow. The girls are doing so much fun and cute stuff and I think that I am so selfish wishing for easier, less stressful times to come (as if they ever do). I have really made a commitment in the last few days to enjoy them today and in all the stages they go through. I want to be more patient with them and spend some quality time with them instead of thinking that the quantity of time I spend with them is sufficient. I guess I am posting this to make it more 'official'. I am putting it out there so that I can hold myself more accountable knowing that I have now told the whole blog world my big step. Motherhood has been such a roller coaster ride for me, nothing like I expected or anticipated and unexpected experiences around every corner. I want to be the best mom that I can and with God's guidance and help I know I can improve on my past performance. Thank you to all those mom's out there who have given me inspiration through your blogs.

Tonite I was posting a few new songs to the blog and Molly got out her dress up clothes to dance. I couldn't resist the video so here it is. Also aunt Renita said that she loves the videos on here and so this one is for her.

Also, tonite after baths and before bed I was singing Roz a couple of songs with Molly's help. I sang 'Jesus loves the little Children' and afterward Molly looked a little confused. The song has that line 'red, brown, yellow, black & white; they are precious in his sight' and she said that she knew Jesus loved her too, but wanted to know why 'peach' wasn't listed. It was so innocent and cute. I explained to her that her color was white and that Jesus did indeed love her but I could tell she wasn't exactly satisfied...her brain is constantly working! She is definitely the scholarly type! Bless her heart...

Until next time...

flowers, fathers & faces

2008-06-16T18:49:00.005-04:00

I have so many pictures to post so I guess I will get started. I am posting a slideshow again so I will try and explain. I couldn't get the slideshow in the post so it is on the side listed as 'Father's Day 08'. The first pictures are of Molly and some flowers that we have out back. I transplanted that hibiscus plant from the front and basically butchered it in the process. I didn't dream that it would live but it must be pretty hardy. I thought that the blooms were gorgeous so I couldn't resist taking the pics. The other flowers are zinnias that my aunt Karla sent as seeds for Molly. She is super proud of them and they are really doing well...thanks Karla!

Sunday for lunch we went to mom and dad's for a father's day lunch. I put up pictures of all of the father's and their girls...except for my dad and he has the grandkids instead of his kids...it was just cuter. It was a nice time and of course everyone ate too much, after all isn't that what holiday's are for?

After lunch and naps we left the plans up to Ryan since it was father's day and he decided that it would be fun to take the girls to the beach. We went to turtle beach instead of the public beach. The contractor that I work for is working on a property right on the beach so we parked there and had direct beach access. It was really nice and the water was great. We only stayed about an hour. The girls are just about too much for us to handle in the sand so an hour was plenty for all of us. On the way home we picked up some pizza and the last few pictures are of Roz after eating. She has so many expressions and they are all so funny! Ryan and I are constantly laughing and Molly thinks she is totally goofy! She has that funny gap in her top front teeth that makes her even cuter and after the pizza with black olives she had an olive stuck in her bottom front teeth. We couldn't stop laughing and she totally played it up and thought she was being so funny. Those times are the best.
Well I need to get going. The girls are needing some attention.

Until next time....

VBS, the park & popsicles

2008-06-13T11:12:00.004-04:00

I can't believe it is friday! Molly went to VBS at Bethel Mennonite this week and I guess it just made the days fly by. I really don't know where the week got to to be real honest with you. I decided to post a slideshow instead of all the pics because there were so many. The first couple of pictures were from the park on Wednesday. We went in the morning and the girls had a great time. It is just down the road so we take the stroller and they enjoy the ride so that I can get in some extra exercise. It was good for us all. They swang most of the time but also like those little "bug" things.

At the grocery store this week we came across those popcicles that I think every kids from the beginning of time must remember having. I couldn't resist so we bought the big bag and have been enjoying them all week. The next couple pictures show Ryan giving Rozy her share. She loves them! Molly thinks they are great too and starts asking for one soon after breakfast every morning. The rule is not until after lunch but I would hate to say how many they eat from after lunch time until bedtime. I guess it is a good thing that they are inexpensive.

VBS went good overall. Molly cried a few times during the storys. I think that they acted out the stories for all ages and it was just a little much for her at 4 years old. The first night she said that she only cried because Maddi did. After that things went well until Tuesday night when they told the story of Daniel and the lions den. The lions roared and to quote Molly "I just couldn't help it mom...the tears just came so I had to cry". After that she did fine and says that she had a great time. Her favorite parts were "snack & singing". The parents could come for the final assembly on Thursday and it was so cute to hear all of those kids singing and dancing their hearts out for Jesus. I couldn't help but think that he must be up in heaven smiling down on those kids. What a blessing that must have been to him. Great job Bethel for putting on a wonderful VBS!

This next pictures is of Roz this morning as I was vacuuming. She carries that little stool around everywhere.

One last thing...I couldn't resist posting the page that I sent to Charley for Father's day. He has already gotten it in the mail so I am covered. Apparently it was a big hit but I think that any pictures of his "little angels" would have passed.

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there! Have a great weekend!

Until next time...

BBQ, Sleeping Beauties & VBS

2008-06-09T15:47:00.004-04:00

Friday night we went to the benefit BBQ with the Steeds at Bethel and ran into a few people we knew. It is amazing how small the world is and how everyone is connected. The food was fabulous, Ryan said the best he had ever had, and it seemed to be a sucess. I hope that the family in need will be blessed. Afterwards we went to the park and the kids had a blast playing together. It is so cute to see them make-believe and what they come up with. I wish my imagination was that creative sometimes.

The kids looked so peaceful and sweet on Saturday night that I couldn't resist taking their pictures as they slept. That is the time when you love them the most ;) They had played so hard at my mom and dad's cookout that they were totally exhausted. Molly didn't get a nap on Saturday because we were working on cleaning up the new swingset and she actually slept until around 8 am Sunday morning. I kept on checking to make sure she was breathing because that was totally unusual!

The swingset was a huge hit as expected. It took some cleaning up but Ryan did a great job and it looks almost brand new. The girls had so much fun playing in it on Sunday and Roz just loves to swing. I think I almost forgot about her being in there she was so quite...just kidding!

Monday morning is my yardwork morning and the girls played so good outside. Roz swang forever and then played in their new 'house' until nap time. Maddi came over around 10 and as Roz went down for a nap Molly and Maddi had a blast playing for 2 whole hours while I finished working in the back yard. I just couldn't believe how good they were...not a fight or anything which is really unusual.

Last night was the start of VBS at Bethel and Molly and Maddi seemed to have a good time although they both admit to crying at one point. Molly says she cried because Maddi was and Maddi says "I just tried because". They both want to go back so it must not have been too tramatic. Maddi said her favorite part was the playground and Molly said her favorite part was the snack. Hopefully somewhere in between they learned about Jesus but who knows.

I will leave you with a clip of the girls swinging. My camera ran out of memory so it is short and sweet. Until next time....

2008-06-06T14:10:00.004-04:00

Last night Ryan took Molly on a date (which I highly recommend for you fathers with daughters) so Roz and I rode the bike over to my mom's. While I was there I got the pics from her camera that I have mentioned over the last couple of weeks and I thought I would share them.

The first ones are of Roz and her first corn on the cob endeavor. She enjoyed it, as you can tell, and we all look forward to some good Indiana corn in July.

These next pics are from our bike ride to mom and dad's on monday night. Mom had been experimenting with dark chocolate covered pretzels and Molly thought they were pretty tasty. We really like our "new" bikes and use them alot. It saves lots of gas/money and the exercise and outdoors are good for us all! Tonite we are off to a benefit BBQ and then a cookout at mom and dad's on Saturday night. I hope everyone has a great weekend. Until next time....

scrapbooking, kinda

2008-06-05T11:32:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was a busy and stressful day here at the Abel household. I had to work so that always makes things a little complicated, especially now that Molly is not in preschool. So off the the sitters we went. Roz fell down the stairs as we were about to leave and it was way worse for me than her. She went down head first and I just about lost it. She was fine and only cried momentarily but it was completely devastating for me. It was horrible seeing her tumble, knowing how badly it could turn out and being totally helpless. Praise God she didn't have so much as a scratch or bruise from the whole incident. Maybe I am going overboard but it just helped me to realize how much we have to depend on God to care for our children because we can't be there every second. He is so good to me and my family.

After such a stressful day I found I needed some time to wind down so Ryan swam with the girls while I did some digital scrapbooking. I am totally hooked. I just don't have the creativity gene and this way is totally easy. This is what I came up with last night...

Thank God today has been a better day. We went swimming this morning with our friends the Steeds and will maybe get the swingset that our neighbor is giving us cleaned up and ready to go this afternoon/evening.

I forgot to mention that I just read It's all about Him by Denise Jackson (thanks Brooke) and it was really good. Any more book suggestions would be great!

Until next time....

Mowing disaster....

2008-06-02T15:12:00.003-04:00

Well its mowing season again and I have already had it with our mower. Last month when we decided to mow for the first time we couldn't get the mower to start. Ryan worked on it for several hours and soon we decided to get some help. We decided that we really wanted to get a reel mower (no motor and more environmentally friendly which I like) but that if this one worked we wouldn't junk it for a new one. Of course after we loaded it up and hauled to Chris Graber's, he started it up and it ran like a top. I felt like an idiot but he didn't seem to mind so we brought it home and it mowed fine. Last week I used it on Monday with no problems again so I though it must be fixed. This week I went to start up the dumb thing and again it wouldn't run. Ryan came home and after working on it for awhile I said that was it...I was buying a new one. Shawna gave me a gift card to Lowes for my birthday and I had a $10 coupon so off to Lowe's I went. The salesman there did everything in his power to discourage me from buying the reel mower. He took a good look at me and said, "Now you know you are going to have to push this thing right?" I thought "do I look that stupid?" Then he said that it was going to be hard work. I think he didn't realize that I already mow the grass with a push mower so I explained that I wanted that mower because it was going to be quieter, use no gas, take up less space and that I had thought this purchase through. He reluctantly sold me the dumb mower, but while I was there loading the new reel mower into the cart Ryan calls...the old mower is fixed. I told him that I was done with that thing and we went ahead with the new mower. I brought it home, we assembled it and it worked perfectly. It was super easy to push (thank you mister lowes man) and it cut our grass just fine. Hopefully now we will have a nicely cut lawn and continue on our task to be more environmentally resposible. Anybody need a good push mower...

I also forgot to mention that one of my birthday gifts was being able to sign up for the Disney Marathon in January. I am super excited about running my first 26.2 and will start training more heavily in September. The summertime here is just too hot to train so I will keep a maintenance program going as much as possible and then start hitting it hard in the fall. I will keep you posted on my progress.

Also I wanted to mention that we have decided to take a family vacation to Indiana over July 4th if all goes well. Since we are now debt free we are trying to stay that way so hopefully we can save enough money to come by then...just a few short weeks. It should be a good break from here and hopefully we will get to spend some time with family and friends there over the holiday.

Until next time....

I almost forgot...again

2008-05-31T15:20:00.004-04:00

It just seems that I can't get it together and post everything I want at one time. Here are some videos that I took of Molly at her last swim class. I hope you enjoy!

2008-05-31T09:54:00.003-04:00

It sure has been a busy week! I have been super confused because of Monday's holiday but I guess here we are at the weekend again which is always good. I posted a slideshow so that you can see what we have been up to this week. Wednesday night we went to mom's for supper and I caught Roz trying to have mulch as dessert...she is so hard to keep up with. I guess a little wood won't kill her.

Molly finished up with swimming lessons. She did so good and I hope that we can keep her in the water so that she stays familiar. She really enjoyed it and already looks forward to next year's lessons with Miss Haylee.

Thursday was Molly's last day of preschool:( We had a great experience at Promiseland and hope that next year at Calvary will be equally good. Her friends Lily and Jonah will be moving to Calvary too so that should help. Also Maddi is planning to attend there and a couple more kids from Church so it should be fun. I am anxious to see how 5 days a week will go but I guess they have to start sometime. At least it won't be full days, her hours will be 8:30 to 12:30. I just have to make it through the summer....

So anyway we went to the fountains on friday with the whole preschool to celebrate the end of school and beginning of summer. Molly had her last swim lesson right before so I am going to say that she was tired but it was typical...Roz had a blast and Molly klung to my hip the whole time. It is super frustrating sometimes. I should learn...that's just how it goes sometimes. And of course when we got in the car to leave she talked about how much fun it was.

Well I need to get busy finishing my bookwork before continuing another fun weekend. We are going to celebrate the end of swim lessons with the Steed's tonite and then hopefully regroup tomorrow before the another week begins.

Have a good one!!

Swim, swim, swim

2008-05-27T09:47:00.003-04:00

Yesterday my mom took Molly and I out for lunch for my birthday and afterwards we set up the pool that she has been trying to get us to take now for months. I don't know why, I just didn't want the hassle but I finally gave in to the voices in my head telling me to just do it for the girls. Needless to say it was a huge hit. The only problem is that we have to keep the blinds pulled now because Roz stands at the window crying because she can't be in it every waking moment.

This last picture is of Roz when we made her get out because her lips were turning blue and her chin was quivering uncontrollably. She still through a fit and wanted back in. I am sure that the water will warm up quickly and that won't be an issue in a couple of days. Here's too a summer full of swimming....

Pictures as promised

2008-05-26T15:34:00.002-04:00

Well here are the pictures that I promised. The first 2 are of Molly & Lily and then Roz & Ivy. The girls came over Thursday after swimming lessons and seemed to have a blast together.

Sunday after lunch we went to the library and grocery store to pick up a few things. The grocery checkout lady gave the girls coloring books and crayons and they just couldn't wait for the 5 minute car ride home to color. Here they are coloring in the backseat.

By the way, at the library I got that book Eat, Pray, Love (because of seeing it on Oprah) and I got no further than the 2nd chapter before it was referencing God as whoever you make it. I just can't believe the things that Oprah is endorsing these days...don't waste your time on the book, I will be returning it without reading it. Also, does anyone have any book suggestions? I really want a good book but don't know where to start.

This last picture is at my parent's cookout on Sunday. Shawn & Elise Schrock were there with their 10 day old baby Owen. He was so precious! His skin was flawless and he is very handsome. Molly was so intrigued. She just wanted to hold him the whole time. I have to admit that it made me sad that we won't have anymore babies. Holding babies like this one is definately bad for the "no more kids" philosophy. Maybe it was just the whole turning 30 thing too...whatever it was I am glad that I awoke this morning back to my old philosophy and can focus on raising the two wonderful girls that I have to the best of my abilities with God's direction and help. Ahhh...that was a close one.

Happy Memorial Day

2008-05-25T11:02:00.002-04:00

I am so glad for the holiday weekend. We have done so much fun stuff already that I forget it extends into tomorrow. Ryan has to work tomorrow morning so we are planning a family cookout in the afternoon with hotdogs, hamburgers and potato salad...all a request from Ryan. Hopefully our grill will work well enough to cook everything...it needs a little maintenance that we have been putting off for about 2 years now.

Yesterday was a great day! I had a morning race on the beach. It was gorgeous out there! The wind was blowing enough to make it not too hot and the waves were crashing. I don't know how anyone can deny there is a God when witnessing that. It was supposed to start at 7:30 a.m. but was delayed 30 minutes because the sea turtles were blocking the route. Ryan and the girls came out to cheer me on and ended up making for the start instead of just the finish. They ended up re-routing the course and no turtles were harmed. I had my best 5K time at 24:29. I was rather proud of myself because the sand can be quite a challenge to run in.

Then after work we went shopping for a little while before coming home for nap time. We got the kids up and headed to grandma's to drop off the kidos so that Ryan and I could have a nice dinner at Stonewood Grill. It was so good and it is nice to spend time alone with Ryan...I most of the time have to fight 2 other girls for his attention. After dinner it was movie time at the dollar theatre. We seen the 'bucket list' and it was pretty good. We haven't seen a really good movie in a long time and have a horrible track record at picking bad ones so this was a nice change. When we got home G'ma & G'pa had the kids bathed & sleeping in there beds which was awesome! What a day!

Did I mention that Sunday is my 30th b-day? I guess that is the cause for all the fun stuff. I was completly terrified of turning the big 3 0 at the beginning of the year but have decided to embrace the decade instead. I look forward to it as possibly the best years of my life. I am so much more comfortable with myself now than I was in my early 20's that it has to make for a smoother period of life...right?!?!

I also have a huge praise report. Ryan and I are now debt free (except for our mortgage of course). We have been working really hard since mid-february and have sent our last payment out to become debt free once again. God has been so good to us and increased our faith tremendously through this whole experience. It is has been such a faith-builder and a lesson that if we are faithful with what we are given we will be returned it several times over.

I guess that is all for now. I will try and take some pics today and tomorrow so that I have some to post tomorrow. Have a great weekend!

Molly's Program

2008-05-20T11:19:00.006-04:00

Molly had her first preschool program monday night. It was so cute and of course we got the whole thing on video but I have been trying since tuesday to upload it with many problems. I will continue to work on it and hopefully be able to post it soon. Just a warning before you get to view it though...you may want to take some motion sickness medication, it is looong, and she does pick her nose at one point. We are still so proud of her! This is a pic of her and her best pal Lily.

Molly & Lily also started her swimming lessons on Monday. She had so much fun and was actually going under and swimming after the first lesson. If you know Molly then you know this was nothing short of a miracle. She had been afraid of water in her face for almost her whole life and just like that the teacher turned that around. I am so glad that we decided to do the lessons as it will be well worth the money!

I am also posting some pics of the girls at the park on Sunday. They love to play at the park and so we met G'ma Dee Dee, Papaw Kevin, & Maddi on Sunday afternoon for some playtime. It was really nice under the tree but the girls were still sweating when we left.

I got our bikes in working order and on tuesday evening after dinner the whole famdamily went for a bike ride. It was really fun and the girls seemed to enjoy it. Hopefully we will make that an event that happens often. It was cooler because of the wind but we were all still sweaty when we got home. We went into a really nice area down the road with alot of ponds and we even spotted an alligator! Molly was a little bit scared because we could get so close (it had nothing to do with all of the teasing coming from her dad...ha, ha) but it really was cool to see him just swimming around out there in the lake. I don't know if Roz seen him or not. She was too busy singing away.

We went to mom's for dinner last night and Roz had her first ear of corn on the cob. I had forgot my camera but mom got a couple of good pics. I will post them as soon as I get copies.

One last photo from Roz. She loves the remote and here she had stole it and was 'lounging' on the chair.

I almost forgot

2008-05-17T11:52:00.002-04:00

I almost forgot that I wanted to post the card that I made for Marcy on her birthday. Digital scrapbooking has definatly got me hooked. I just wish I had more time to play!

Another Week Gone...

2008-05-17T11:24:00.003-04:00

Well this week came and went like a whirlwind as usual. It seems that when people are here visiting time just seems to fly by. We had a really good week and we hate to see them go but it will be good to get back to a normal routine...especially diet wise. We really let our healthy eating habits go out the window when Grandma Marcy is here. She is always offering cookies and treats and to be real honest we just can't resist. I guess everyone needs a little something sweet every once in a while right?!?! Ryan always labels the week after they leave as detox (ha, ha), as it is always hard to get back to fruits and veggies. We sure do enjoy the break that G'ma Marcy brings though! Thanks Marcy.

The humidity arrived with a bang this morning! I left to run around 6:30 and it felt like a brick wall when I opened the door. I think the temp was around 78 but the humidity was at 85%. I still had a decent run. I am practicing for a 5k next Saturday. My boss said that if I would like to run that he would sponsor me and I sure couldn't pass up that opportunity. It will be at Siesta Key on the beach so I am anxious to see what running in the sand does to my time. I am sure that it will be a challenge but I am really excited. Running is one of life's pleasures for me.

I have to mention my great luck on tuesday. Mom called to say that her neighbor set out 2 matching bikes for trash, and being the eagle eye that she is for that, stuff she snatched them up. She gave them to us and they are perfect. We will need to get some new seats but other than that they ride perfectly. On top of that she said that we could borrow her child carrier so that we now have 2 and can take the whole fam for rides. I can't wait!

So after dinner we were trying out the bikes and my neighbor was walking her dog. I asked her about a wicker furniture set that she had sitting outside her side garage door and she said that if I wanted it I could have it. Apparently it was her daughters and they were going to sell it at a yard sale but she told me to take it if I wanted it. I couldn't believe it! It is in great shape and much nicer than the set that I currently have. I made a deal with Renita that if she would buy the paint for me to repaint the new set that she could have my old set for her condo and she agreed! So of course I got right on that and now have a new, freshly painted, set of wicker furniture for the lania. It was a great day.

An finally a pic to cap things off. Roz was playing after lunch on Wednesday with the toys in the baskets under the tv table. She emptied all the toys and crawled into the basket before realizing that once in she couldn't get out. It was just so funny.

Molly starts swimming lessons on monday night. It should be fun and I look forward to her being able to swim better. It is just such a job to take both kids to the pool maybe this will help!

Until next time!

2008-05-14T11:54:00.004-04:00

Molly & Roz are having so much fun with all of our company! Aunt Kay Kay is a real hit and today Molly asked me at breakfast why Uncle Kenny didn't come. I guess that she thinks that everyone should come visit her. We sure like having them around. The extra babysitters are super nice and I just enjoy being with family...especially when I get to cook and entertain!
We had to water/fertilize our flowers this morning and the girls had fun playing outside. Molly picked up my scraps to give to Grandma Marcy, Aunt Kay & Renita for Renita's condo. She said that it would make their place look "beautiful". Roz just enjoyed riding her toy and playing in the water that overflowed.

I went to run this morning early and the smoke smell from the wildfires buring here in Florida made me nausous. It is sooo dry here and they are not calling for rain anytime soon. They think that they might have caught the arsonist but the damage is already being done. It is horrible. Pray that we will get some rain soon.

Monday we went to an Irish restaurant in Venice for Marcy's birthday. It was really nice and the food was great. We took pictures but they are on Marcy's camera so I will try and post them this week.

Until next time.....

Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-11T22:35:00.005-04:00

I hope that everyone had as wonderful a mother's day as I did. It all started when Molly brought me breakfast in bed with my special gift that she made at preschool. She is so good about gift and giving. She looks so forward to any reason to celebrate! Then for lunch we had my mom, dad, heather, maddi, marcy, kay, renita and all of us at our house. It is a lot of fun for me to cook for everyone. It is actually a huge enjoyment to get to do that on mother's day for me. Everything went well and then the girls went to sleep and marcy, renita, kay and I headed to the nail salon for pedicures! What a treat! When we got home we ate leftovers and headed to the beach for a walk that turned into a swim for the girls. We seldom go to the beach because Roz just wants to eat the sand but she did really good this time. We had trouble getting her out of the water but it was fun. Here are some pics...

And I can't forget to tell you about Molly's Diva Day! She went with Grandma Dee Dee and Maddi to a fund raiser at Abundant Life Chruch and came home a complete diva! She had such a good time getting her hair done, a pedicure & manicure and temporary tattoos. She is definately all girl!

Have a great week!

Pictures to Share!

2008-05-09T15:50:00.006-04:00

Well what is a post without pics right? I felt bad about posting last night without putting any pics on so here I am again. This is Roz's new hairstyle. Really though, her hair is at that really akward stage and we don't know what to do with it most times. The next pic I put it in a rubberband and Ryan was not real crazy about it. What do guys know anyway....

She loves to play in the pack in play not so much because she can't get out but because Molly can't get in. They do so good together most of the time but Roz really enjoys her own space once in a while. Molly is in to coloring. Aunt Shawna and Allison sent her the huge coloring book for her birthday and she only has a few pictures left to color in it. Everyone that walks in the door she asks them to color with her.

I guess that is the girl coming out! She loves to wear dresses and skirts and rarely puts on a pair of shorts or pants. I don't mind...I think it looks great. By the way, she didn't have that horrible of a night and I think that the cold is subsiding already...Praise God! Rozlyn discovered that toilet paper is on a roll now and all she wants to do is unroll it. I have caught her 3 times since last night. I couldn't resist the picture though.

Aren't they just precious! And this is my last picture so here goes...Molly has found it really fun lately (I'm sure because of her own birthday) to throw birthday parties for all of her dolls and animals. Here is a picture of her and her dad at Sheila's (the stuffed cat) party.

She is going to be a great mommy one day. Her dad is an awesome dad too...what a sport. I have to give him credit for all of the 'girly' things that he does in order to spend time with our kids. I do have to mention though that Molly would rather 'wrestle' with her dad than do just about anything else, and Roz is coming along with the same ideas. What a dad!!! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and Happy Mother's Day to all!!!!

2008-05-08T22:39:00.003-04:00

I am so excited about Mandy Ash helping me to set up a new looking blog. She is so good! I just love all the ones that she helped to set up! Maybe someday I will be able to do one myself...ha, ha! Well we have had a good run of health but Molly has got a cold from somewhere. It really stinks when your kids are sick! I hate it that she doesn't feel good and just wish that it was me. I also hate it that no one gets any sleep! Well I guess that is a good indication that I should be in bed rather than doing this. One last thing...Molly's seeds have sprouted! Bless her heart she was so excited. I hope they grow into beautiful flowers before too long.

2008-05-05T19:43:00.003-04:00

Well I have to admit that I am hooked. I think this blogging is awesome but I can't quite figure out how to redo my site. Hopefully I can get some help in the next few days. Everything is pretty good here in sunny florida. It is getting warmer everyday and my morning jogs are getting a lighter and hotter everyday. I sure won't complain though as I do love the weather here. Molly and I planted some seeds that aunt Karla sent her today. Hopefully they will sprout before our company is comes next week. Grandma Marcy, Aunt Kay and Aunt Renita will be arriving late on Saturday night and staying for a week. We look forward to seeing them all! Roz is walking everywhere now although she is still somewhat unsteady. It is just so cute to watch her. Boy it does go so quickly. I also posted a picture of our house since so many of our friends and family have never had a chance to visit. It is cozy and all that we need for this period in our lives. Until next time......

2008-05-02T20:54:00.002-04:00

Roz is finally walking! She still forgets and crawls from time to time so we have to remind her by saying "Roz, stand up and walk" and she will. She is such a stinker. I think that she has been mad at me all week for leaving her last weekend while Ryan, Molly and I went to Disney. She had a great time with Grandma Dee Dee but was mad at me none-the-less. Molly had a wonderful time at Disney. She got to meet all of the princesses, be a part of the play for storytime with Belle and all the other fun things for 4 year olds to do at Disney. It was a lot of fun for Ryan and I as well since neither one of us had been there before. Our hotel was super nice too and Molly said several times that it was the most wonderful birthday ever! I am so glad she enjoyed it.