Yeah Fall!!!

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!

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....

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

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...

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...

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

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

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

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

First Day of School

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

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

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

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

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

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