TWINS!

I can finally let the world know the good news! My wonderful sister and her husband are going to be the proud parents of TWINS! They got to meet them yesterday for the first time and they are so happy! The twins are a little boy and a little girl and they are 20 months old. They are doing the transition meetings now and hopefully they will be with them by the end of next week. We can't wait!

The story of how this has all worked out is truly the work of God. From the very beginning he has had a plan. We did not know what his plan was and it was very difficult to understand, but looking back it is clear to see his hand. What an awesome God we serve!

Great News!

We were given GREAT NEWS this week and we are so very excited! My daughter has been faithfully praying for this news for sometime and she reminds me everyday how excited she is. Because this news is not officially ours to share, I will respectfully wait for the people to share the news before I post it.

I just had to say something because I want it documented how happy we all are. Our lives will be forever changed in a blessed way! Thank You Dear Lord for answering our prayers!

Jessica Sprague Day 6

Straight Out of the Camera

Edit with a TTV

I don't know if I did this one exactly how I was suppose to but I loved how it turned out. It was suppose to be a TTV or Thru the viewfinder picture. I did that then added some of the other techniques. I love how it is rustic but feminine too. I think the changes make it a much more interesting picture.

One reason I think that it is more interesting is because now it makes me think about my Grandmother and my Mom. My Grandmother was a true pioneer woman, running a ranch all by herself; very rustic. My Mom on the other hand was a genuine Lady; very feminine. This picture was taken out at my Grandmother's ranch.

The Past Week.

We have had an entertaining and fun week. I have finally downloaded pictures and can show my son's family tree. I am still having fun playing with our genealogy.

My daughter couldn't let my son get all the credit and picture time!

And then we had our Jump-a-thon for the American Heart Association. My son has gotten a little bit better at jumping, but he has a long way to go. His style needs a little bit of work. He was just so happy that he was not the first one out!

Look at the determination on his face! He would win if that was the main criteria.

And then my son wanted in on the horseback riding lessons. This is more of his speed and he is doing very well. He got to get his horse lopping in only his second lesson.

And their favorite part of the lesson was checking out Karen's new colt. He was only three days old and is very cute. He has beautiful blue eyes.

Karen is very happy because this is the last off spring from her favorite stud that recently died. She named him Casper's Legacy after his daddy. You can tell that this is going to be a special colt for her.

We had such nice weather this past week that we have been spending lots of time outside. Spring fever has sprung! Hopefully I will be taking lots of pictures and blogging on a regular basis again. I miss it!

A New Addiction!

Unfortunately I have found a new addiction to waste time on! My son had to do a family tree for homework last Wednesday night. I saw it Monday on his homework list, so I was prepared to think about it on Wednesday. Well on Tuesday I saw that it needed to have pictures! I still wasn't to worried because after all it is only 1st grade and they had one night to work on it. The teacher couldn't expect much, right? Wrong! It was his home work for Thursday, Friday, all weekend and due on Monday. This must mean that she expects a little thought and creativity.

Well, 120 hours later (give or take a few), my son had a really cool, five generation, tri-fold poster board with names and pictures! We were both very impressed with it, and so was his teacher. He said it was the best one and everyone wanted to look at all his pictures. I guess we went a little overboard.

Anyway may addiction is Family Tree Builder. It is a free down loadable family tree program. Once I got started on it, I couldn't stop. I then got on Ancestry.com and signed up for their 14 day free trial and I went to town. Needless to say, not much else got done this weekend. It was fun finding my Grandfather's Naturalization paperwork from 1926, the ship docket from when my Grandfather, Grandmother, Aunt and Uncle immigrated to America, lots and lots of death certificates and lots of Census reports. I filled in a bunch of information and I keep looking for more. It is like a treasure hunt!

I will post pictures of my son's Family Tree tomorrow. He was quite proud this morning when I took his picture with it. I just got to go get some laundry done and then get to bed!

Happy Birthday Dinga!

Happy Birthday to You! Happy Birthday to You! Happy Birthday Dear Dinga! Happy Birthday to You! May you have a very happy, healthy and blessed year.

Happy Birthday Dinga, I think you are the best Godmother ever! I love you! Do you love the cross I gave you for Christmas?
Love
Your Godson
The Red Power Ranger.

Happy Birthday Grasshopper!

I just wanted to send out a big Happy Birthday wish to my wonderful, younger sister, otherwise known as The Grasshopper. I pray that this year will bring you and your family many wonderful blessings and that the will of God will be that same as the desires of your heart! We Love You and Wish you many many more!


Happy Birthday Aunt Grasshopper. I wish you a Happy Birthday! Your the best Godmother ever! I give you a big hug and kiss! When is your party?
Love,
Your Godchild
The Cowgirl.

Happy Belated Birthday Jae!

Happy Belated Birthday to my super cute niece Jae! She turned 6 on Saturday and we had a really fun party at her house! She is always a fashionista and she knows what cute is! We love her spunk and her beautiful smile! We pray that God blesses her with many more wonderful years of health, happiness and fun!

October 15th National Day of Rememberance

Holy Mother of God, hear the prayers of the Church for all mothers,especially those wearied by life and overcome by the suffering they bear for their children.

October 15th is the National Day of Remembrance for pregnancy and infant loss. This includes all babies who have died because of miscarriage, stillbirth, SIDS, or any other infant death. I did not know this, but Angie at Bring the Rain has a wonderful post about it. This is dear to our heart this year as we lost our little Elizabeth on April 14th. This has been a very painful loss for her family as well as her extended family. The pain of losing any child, no matter how little they are, is real and is difficult to get over.

The loss of Elizabeth made me think about other losses we have had in our family. My mother lost a child between my older sister and my older brother. Until losing Elizabeth, I never thought about this miscarriage. But this was one of my siblings, who is now in heaven and is rejoicing with my Mother. My oldest brother and his wife lost a child between my niece and nephew and my older sister also lost her first child early on in the pregnancy. These are all little angels in heaven waiting for us to join them.

I ask the Lord to give you all comfort today, as we pray for your loss. May your little ones be sitting with Jesus, interceding on our behalf!

Friday Night Football

We were able to attend my nephews football game on Friday night. We had a quick trip over to the neighboring town, who happened to be the rival when I was in high school. We had fun routing for Big #75! (We didn't know his number before we got there but it was easy for us to pick him out.) It was a great night for football and it was made even better when we won!

The game went back and forth and we were trailing at half time 6 to 18. We scored twice and did a conversion making it 20 to 18. My six year old son looked at me and said with a big smile on his face, "Mommy, 20 is bigger than 18! Were winning!" We never looked backed. It is always fun to prevail over a rival. The team is doing great so far and are 4-1. Here's to having a great season.

Cousin T

Happy Birthday Cousin T!

We want to wish you a very happy 14th birthday! You are blossoming into a beautiful, strong and faithful young lady! We are so proud of you and we love you very much! You are blessed to share your birthday with your Nanny V. She would have been so proud of you too!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy Birthday Mom!
It is so hard to believe that you would have been 80 years old today!
Turning 80 in heaven is probably easier for you than it would have been here on earth.
I miss and love you as much today as I did 16 years ago.
Your love, faith, and beauty will never be forgotten.
I Love You!

Cousins

I again feel like I am on an out of control merry-go-round and I can't get off! It has been really hectic at our house the last two weeks and I miss being able to be coherent enough to put together a post! I am tired of seeing my poor son and his missing tooth so I thought I would post this cute picture from his party. These are some of my youngest nieces. We are only missing little Jae who got sick and couldn't make it to the party.

What a bunch of beautiful young ladies! Can you tell my daughter is soooo happy to be with her cousins!

Happy Birthday Baby!

My sweet little boy turns 6 years old today! It seems like it was just yesterday that they laid him on my chest for the very first time. I remember looking at his chubby little face, it was love at first sight. It was one of the happiest days of my life and I cried and cried.

My husband and I could not have been more blessed than what we were on August 28, 2002 at 4:24pm. We thank God everyday for allowing us to watch over this little boy. May he allow us to have many many more happy and healthy years!

Belated Birthdays!

This past week we celebrated two important birthdays, my father who turned 80! and my godchild who turned 9! What better way to celebrate then to go and have a famous SOS.

Here is the Birthday Cee and the Birthday Papa!

Cee and Kae getting ready to dig in!

And Papa too!

Two adorable sisters!

We enjoyed getting together on their actual birthday, August 20th, even though it was during the middle of the week, and Cee's very first day of school, ever! It was short but it was oh so sweet!

Lila

We have a new addition to our family. Her name is Lila and she is a female American Shepard. She is about 2 years old and is a very sweet girl. She has become my daughter's best friend.

Lila's picture had been posted at the entrance of my office building for about three weeks. I looked at it almost everyday. I kept telling myself that I was not ready for another dog. Well, one day my husband came by my office and commented about her picture. He asked if I knew anything about her. He told me that Shepards are great dogs. He sounded interested in her, so I gave in and called about her.

She was living with a couple and their part-time 12yr old. She had to be kept in a small dog run on the side of the house because she would jump out of the yard. The family did not have time to spend with her on a regular basis and she would be super hyper when they did try to spend time with her. They felt bad for her and wanted to find her a family. Before we called they only had one call about her and it was for her to be a watch dog for a construction company. So I am so glad that I called.

Before saying yes, I looked into ways of keeping her from jumping and discovered a harness that makes it difficult for them to jump. I talked to the man at the pet store and he said that they worked well. It allows the dog to walk and run, it just doesn't let them spring off their back legs. They had tried the shock collar but it did not work on her. We said yes hoping that the harness would work for her.

Lila's former home was not very far from us, so the kids and I walked her home. We fitted her for the harness and then let her free in our back yard. She has walked the fence line and gone to the gate, but has not tried to jump! She has been free in our back yard since yesterday evening and she is still here! We left her for the first time tonight when we all went out for dinner. She was at the gate when we all got in the car. I worried all through dinner and couldn't wait to get home. I was so happy to hear her at the gate when we got back home! I called her former owner and she said that if she had been free in the yard for that long and had not jumped out, then the harness was working. She had never stayed in their yard without being locked up or tied up before. I hope this continues to work!

She is very sweet and loves all the attention she is receiving. The kids love to pet her and brush her. She has been very gentle and has started to play with them. She has not eaten much, but that is probably normal since it has been very hot and she is not in her normal surroundings. I hope that she will continue to bond with us so that she will be happy here. Hopefully after she learns that we are her new family we can try to take the harness off and she will stay put in our yard!

A Piece of Heaven

(Photo by my three year old daughter!)

I am so blessed to have the wonderful Father that I do. He is not only a great Father, but he is a man of strong faith and a love for his family. We were able to spend some time with him up at his cabin this weekend. It is a little piece of heaven that he has built for his family.

When I was only a little over three years old, my grandmother, Opoe, died. Opoe, which is dutch for grandmother, was my father's mother. He was heartbroken when he lost his mother. I remember my mother telling me that it was one of the hardest things that she saw him go through. But he turned her loss into a beautiful legacy for himself and his children.

He took the money that he got from my grandmother's estate, it wasn't much when it was divided between nine children, and used it to buy a lot of land in the mountains. He then spent the next several years building a cabin on it. He wanted to leave his six children a place where they would always be able to go with their children.

We spent almost every weekend and several weeks at at time during the summer coming up here. We had so much fun playing games, swimming, fishing, hiking and enjoying time as a family. It is one of my favorite places in the whole world. I am now sharing this love with my children.

It is so peaceful and beautiful up here. This is one of the views from the deck. We would spend afternoons putting puzzles together, sharing snacks and sodas and reading on this deck. We almost always ate dinner out here.

There is a creek at the bottom of this little hill. You can hear the water running down to our little pond. It is such a peaceful sound. I love drinking my coffee on the deck in the morning, listening to the birds and the creek. It is a little piece of heaven.

This is the swimming hole. Oh the memories that I have here. I remember freezing my legs off when I was little, sliding down the natural water slide and trying to get a tan. We spent most afternoons playing in this swimming hole with other kids from the camp.

This is looking up the creek to what is Second Falls. Sometimes we would walk up the creek to get there, but it is a workout. It is so beautiful and this picture does not do it justice. Another piece of heaven.

This is looking from Second Falls down the same creek. Again, this is such a beautiful, peaceful place. The falls are steep enough to slide down. When the water is running like it is now, you go really fast. It is so much fun for the older kids.

There are so many waterfalls up the creek from Second Falls going to Third Falls. Even though my children have been up this way before, they didn't remember it. Luckily we had Cousin T with us to give us a hand on all the rocks. The kids loved having him with us.

Here my husband poses with Third Falls in the back ground. It was really beautiful with the water running like it was. All the little waterfalls were beautiful. Again, another piece of heaven.

I overheard my father telling my daughter yesterday that "this is all of our cabin. It belongs to all of us." This place will always be "Papa's Cabin" to me. It is a piece of heaven that he has built for his family. It is a place that will always hold many wonderful memories that were all made possible by a wonderful Father! I Love You Dad! Happy Father's Day!

Congratulations!

We celebrated with the Katviper and her husband Wednesday Night at the graduation of their oldest son Ryan. It was a very nice graduation even though there were like six hundred students! His high school had two campuses and they graduated both campuses in one ceremony! It has been a long time since I have actually attended the graduation ceremony. They did a great job at keeping the ceremony interesting. I really liked the fact that it was indoors!!
They allowed the students to sit with their friends. Ryan has a very entertaining set of friends and they were fun to watch. It wasn't a coincedince that the beach balls and balloons seem to originate in their area!

We wish Ryan and all of his class Good Luck on their future and may they all stay safe!

Happy Birthday Katviper!

I just wanted to give a shout out to my sister in law "The Katviper" who is celebrating a birthday today! She got to celebrate the day watching her oldest son graduate from high school.

She is a crazy and fun sister in law. I am so glad she has become my wine drinking buddy! When I first met her she only drank the boxed stuff! Now I can always count on her having a great bottle of wine when I go to her house!

I can also count on her to be doing something crazy, like trying to get arrested at Trace Atkins house in Tennessee. And then she calls me on my cell phone to tell me about, but when I answer she wants me to hang up so she can leave me a message! She does leave me some crazy messages! She is always good for a laugh.

So Happy Birthday Katviper! I hope you had a great day and we can celebrate in the next week or so!

Happy Birthday Dear Hubby!

On Monday my husband celebrated his 44th birthday! He was hoping for a nice quiet, relaxing day. Instead he got to enjoy his birthday with almost all of my immediate family. It was not the company that he minded, he just does not like to be the center of attention.

We were so happy because my oldest brother and his wife were visiting from Indiana. They were here and able to celebrate with us. Whenever they come we always go to our favorite Chinese restaurant. There were twenty one of us celebrating a nice quiet birthday.

The Birthday boy, his mother, my father, my oldest brother, my youngest sister and my other brother's arm! Oops!

My niece T, my niece J, my sister in law from Indiana, my brother, my sister in law, my brother in law, my sister and my daughter.

My nephew T, my nephew V, my niece T, my daughter, my niece Cee and my son. When the two nephews tried to get Happy Birthday going, my husband was ready to climb under the table. Luckily we were only treated to my two oldest brothers singing their rendition of Happy Birthday in Chinese! When we questioned their two different versions, they explained that they each sang in a different dialect.

And here is the birthday cake I made for my husband. It was a German Chocolate Cake made from scratch. It was good, but I think I over mixed my batter. When you don't do that, it is the best cake you will ever eat, especially if it is still a little warm! If you want to make someone happy, make them this cake, just don't over do the batter.