Blizzard of 2010

This picture was taken a few hours after the snowfall started.


This picture was taken the following morning!


During the storm!



Taken this morning after the storm. The snow looks beautiful glistening in the sun!


This is a small pine tree in our back yard....poor thing is giving way under the weight of the snow!

Never Boring!

Life around here is never boring anymore! There is always something to be done or somewhere to go! This week was no exception.....except that maybe it was just a little more chaotic than normal. Here's what we were up to.....

We had a pretty good snow storm here in Maryland last weekend....we got about 6-8 inches. Businesses were closed, church services were cancelled and schools were closed. We got ourselves dug out and first thing Monday morning we headed to the Outpatient Surgical center so that Kaci could have the PE tubes put in her ears. The procedure went very well and very quickly....they took her back at about 8:15 a.m. and we were on our way back home by 9:30 a.m. By that afternoon, you would never have known that Kaci had undergone a surgical procedure earlier in the day....she was running around laughing and playing like normal.....what resilience!

Monday evening I got a call from my mother that she was in the hospital....she was having some cardiac problems and they were keeping her overnight.

It snowed again Tuesday night....another 4 inches of the white stuff. Wednesday I got another phone call from my mother telling me that they had done a cardiac cath and replaced a stent, but her heart rate continued to be abnormally low. As a result, they were planning to insert a pacemaker on Friday. We headed to the hospital that evening to visit with her and since we had been hearing that a major snow storm was headed our way again, we decided to make a pit stop at the grocery store to stock up on some essentials before coming home.

On Friday morning, I went to work planning to leave at 11:00 a.m. so that I would make it to the hospital in plenty of time for my mother's 1:00 p.m. procedure....but, I got a call from her at 10:30 a.m. telling me that the doctor had some cancellations and they would be taking her down for surgery within the next half hour. Needless to say....I quickly cleaned off my desk and headed out the door! Before I reached the hospital the snow fall had started.....forecasters were predicting anywhere from 6 to 30 inches in our area with blizzard like conditions. I was praying for two things.....that my mother would do well with ther surgery and that I would get home before the roads got too bad! Both of my prayers were answered!

Mom made out very well.....she was back up to her room and eating lunch by 12:45 p.m. I stayed until about 2:00 p.m. and then headed home. It was snowing like crazy but since the temps were hoving at about 33-35 degrees....it wasn't sticking to the roads. I made it home without a problem! God is so good! Shortly after arriving home, however, the temperatures dropped and the winds picked up.

We all took baths and filled our tub and some containers with water in the event that we lost electricity....I am glad we did! We lost electric at around 2:30 a.m. Saturday morning. By the time we got up on Saturday, there was close to 10 inches of snow on the ground and the winds were gusting. We dressed the girls in layers of clothes and hunkered down for the day. At about 3:15 p.m. our electic finally came back on (it was down to about 54 degrees in our house by this time). We wasted no time in getting prepared in case we lost electric again.....we turned up the heat to get the house nice & warm.....we took baths again.....we filled the tub and sinks and containers with water. The snow finally stopped at around 7:00 p.m. Saturday evening. Keith calculates we got close to 24 inches! This is the most snow we have seen in a very long time!

Fortunately....as of right now, we have not lost electric again, but we got word that my sister, who lives just 3 miles away, has not had electric since about the time ours came back on. There are snow drifts of 6-7 feet blocking the roads and the temperatures are down in to the teens.....not good! We did learn a few things through all of this and have made ourselves a list of helpful tips for the next time we are facing a major storm. Things like....stock up on batteries for the radio and flashlights.....buy foods that don't require heating....purchase some propane tanks for the camp stove.....possibly even buy a generator! We need to keep our girls warm!

Top this all off with the fact that I have been sick all week with some kind of sinus/bronchitis thing.....coughing, sneezing, coughing, sneezing....not pretty! But despite all of this.....we are counting our blessings! Kaci is doing well.....Mom is doing well.....it's stopped snowing (for now).....we are safe.....we have electric....we have heat.....we have food...praises to God!

Here are a few pictures of the girls taken over the last week.

Two Reasons To Celebrate!

Today, I have two reasons to celebrate! First......it was exactly 3 years ago today that we saw this sweet face for the very first time....

I had received "the call" the day before while I was at work telling me that we had a daughter. I was so nervous.....my hands were shaking.....I was crying.....I was laughing....it was surreal! I was waiting anxiously because I knew that our agency had received a batch of referrals and I was 99% sure that our log in date was included in the batch. I had already worked it out with my office mate and coworker, Alice, that when the call came, she would call Keith on my cell phone so that he could hear what was going on. Wouldn't you know it.....Alice was out of the office when the call came and by the time she got her nervous fingers (she was almost as excited as I was)to dial the phone to reach Keith, I was just about done the call. The rest is just a blur......I remember sharing the information with Keith and then running around the facility where I work telling anyone who would listen that I had a daughter!

Keith and I both took off work the following day because we knew the Fed Ex stork would be delivering our referral package with the pictures of our precious daughter. But....before Fed Ex arrived, we got a call from the local rep at our adoption agency offering to e-mail us a picture. We both gathered around the computer and opened the e-mail.....when her picture came up, Keith couldn't believe it....he said, "Is that her?". She was so precious....so adorable....we just could not believe this beautiful child was our daughter! We laughed....we cried....we rejoiced!! We spent the rest of the day riding around sharing our pictures with family and friends! It was truly a day that will be etched in our memories forever!

The second reason I have to celebrate today is that 7 years ago today....in 2003.....I accepted Jesus Christ into my heart as my Lord and Savior! I am so thankful for all of the people who planted seeds in me.....who were brave enough to tell me the truth.....who didn't give up on me. Thank you Pastor Dave Stewart for allowing God to use you to deliver a message that spoke to me that day 7 years ago! How happy....how thankful I am to be a child of God!

My Girls!

My Daring Duo....up to no good...no doubt!

My Ande...what a charmer!

We were trying out a new hair style with Kaci....her hair has finally grown just long enough to get some of it in a band.


Kaci had just bumped her head on the cabinet knob....she does that alot!


The girls still have on their name tags from my Weight Watchers meeting!


I am so in love with my girls!! They are different in so many ways and yet so similar! Most nights when I tuck them in to bed I pray with them and one of the things I pray is that they will be more than sisters.....I pray that they will be best friends....confidants.....and that they love, respect and depend on each other all the days of their lives. They are off to a good start!

Wednesday Weigh In

Okay.....I know I am a couple of days late with this post. Nothing new.....I seem to run late for everything these days....coming from someone who used to be (prior to becomming a Mommy) a very punctual person!

I did it....I dropped 2 pounds! In case you can't read it because of the glare....it says 182.2! I'm off to a good start, but I must be honest......I did not meet my goals. I probably did manage to drink at least 3 bottles of water most days, but I did not journal regularly nor did I get in any walking at all! I know these are things I must do if I intend to continue loosing these extra pounds to make my goal weight. I'll try to do better, but perhaps I should lower my weekly goals even lower and work my way up. Yeah....I like that plan!

Wednesday Weigh In

Here I go! Oh my!!...worse than I thought! Aren't my socks adorable?...soft too! Okay, back to the subject....this is my way of getting back on track with my weight.....I do much better if I am held accountable and if I know that I will be reporting on my progress here each week, it will help me to keep myself in check!! My ultimate goal is to get back down to my goal weight of 165 pounds by May.

I was just thinking the other day about how much better I felt.....how much more energy I had.....when I had my eating under control. When I was eating healthier. When I was getting regular exercise. Why do we let those nasty old habits get their foot back in our door?? No excuses.

Here's my inital plan.....I will start to journal my eating habits on a daily basis. I will drink more water (at least 3 bottles a day to start). I will walk at least one mile on my treadmill at least 3 times a week (to start). Next week, I will revise my plan and make a few changes to up the pace and keep it interesting. I do plan to attend my local Weight Watchers meeting at least once a month too....I miss my leader....she's the best!

Check back next week to see if I've made any progress. I really need to fit back in to the two new pair of slacks Keith just gave me for Christmas......they've gotten a little snug already! Yikes!

More Ande-isms & Quotable Quotes

Our girl Ande is quite a character....yes indeed! The stuff she comes up with either makes us cringe......or laugh out loud....mostly the latter thank the Lord! Here are a few of the things she has come up with just recently.....

Just this morning.....we had snow last night and the ground was covered with about 3 inches of beautiful white. The sun was just beginning to come up and I told Ande to look outside to see the snow. She went to the window & looked out and then asked excitedly...."It Christmas??"

A few weeks ago, a very dear lady from our church passed away and Keith was asked to be a pall bearer. Ande was very curious about this and Keith took a great deal of time to try to explain what a pall bearer does. He thought she understood until she asked him the next morning...."Daddy, you going to be pooh bear today?"

Whenever I have to leave to go somewhere, Ande will inevitably ask me, "Mommy...when you come home?" and I will tell her that I'll be home as soon as I can. She then looks at me and says, "No, what number?".....meaning what time.

We have some very good friends who have been like second parents to Keith and are now like grand-parents to our girls. Their last name is Asmussen (pronounced As-muss-in). Ande pronounces it "As Mom-Mom".....they love it!

Every night I iron the girls clothes for the next day and I usually ask Ande what she wants to wear and most of the time she will tell me, "I want wear something beautiful". She's my girly girl....she loves to look pretty!

She often gets the words "yesterday", "today" and "tomorrow" confused. It's so funny trying to have a conversation with her.....I end up being the one who is confused (not hard to do I might add!).

Ande also has a very sensitive nose and is not shy about asking, "What dat mell?" It's okay most of the time, but has caused me a couple of embarrassing moments when we've been out shopping......

Ande is a very curious child and always has to know "why"....."Mommy, why you do dat?", "Mommy, why dat green?", "Mommy, why dat up dere?", "Mommy, why dat look like dat?", "Mommy, what you doing", "Mommy, where you going?", "Mommy, when is dinner?", "Mommy, what for dinner?".....why, why, where, when. I love her curiosity and I don't ever want to dampen it, but the constant questions can be a little exasperating after a while....know what I mean??

Now we have Kaci to look forward to and I'm sure she is bound to come up with a few doozies of her own. Gotta love it!