Miss smiley-pants....

Tip-toeing thru the tulips (a little early)....

Miss M' has been itchin' to get back on her horse, but unfortunately either the weather hasn't been cooperative, or her daddy (aka. the tack guy) hasn't been around to help her tighten the cinch (mom is a wee busy w/L' and A' lately).  Today, she had two things going for her....good weather and daddy!  So, she dusted off her cowboy boots, riding helmet, comfy jeans, gloves, and rode off into the sunset (ok...not really the sunset....just the tulip field : ).  They rode for a good 2-3 hours around the field.  Miss M' was especially fond of all of the walking paths that were just made to accommodate for the upcoming festival.  I think she may be a little sore tomorrow and Bunny might be, as well.  They've both had quite a LAZY winter. : )

The next Iron Chef...

uffdah

I love this man....

A picture if worth a thousand words.  My "hands on" husband.....

And he can cook....

J, jr. is quite a "task orientated" young man.  If you give the boy a checklist, you can just about count on every item to be completed exactly as stated on his checklist.  I have found it to be a very successful tool when asking him to clean up his room, doing chores, etc.  The more specific I am on the checklist the more efficient J, jr. is at completing the task.  He has his own clipboard that he carts around with his lists, and he LOVES it. 

J, jr. is a member of a local boys club, and he has a lot of opportunities to earn badges for his uniform.  He gets very excited when he earns a new badge and takes a lot of pride in his work.  The badge program is very similar to our "checklist" program....specific things to do w/specific outcomes.   He is currently working on his cooking badge.  He still has to complete one more task....baking something with a mix, but so far he has made apple bread and quiche, and they turned out pretty tasty, too. : )

Just in case you are wondering....

As most of my friends know already, Miss A' suffered a pretty severe seizure on Monday.  J',Sr. went to get her out of bed in the morning and when he pulled her covers back he found her actively seizing.  We have no idea how long it had been going on, but judging by some of the clues we feel safe saying it had been a while.  We called 911, and the paramedics arrived within minutes.  They spent a few minutes (seemed like hours!)here trying to get her to stop, but were unsuccessful.  They took her to our local emergency room, and after nearly an hour she finally stopped seizing.  The ER doctors were concerned because it appeared to them that she was suffering from paralysis on one side of her body, and told us that we needed to know that could be permanent.  We were also told that her brain could have been deprived of oxygen due to the duration of the seizure and to be prepared for possible further brain damage. 

Once she was stable enough for transport, they moved her to another hospital about an hour away that deals only with children.  After a battery of testing (TB, CT to rule out a stroke, or brain tumor, meningitis, encephalitis) sweet little A' woke up.  And, in true A' fashion she sat up on the gurney and did the sign for "all done" as if to tell everyone to leave her alone.....she was done with all of this stuff.  I, then in true mommy fashion started bawling. 

We spent the rest of the day at Children's Hospital speaking to neurologists and ER doctors.  They have no idea what caused it, but she will be having an MRI and EEG done in the near future to check for any further abnormalities.  She is basically back to her sweet little self.  She is still tired (took 2 naps yesterday which is SO unlike her) and a little cranky, but you would never know that she had such an "event" happen days ago.  This kiddo constantly amazes me! 

We are so thankful for all of the prayers and concern we have received from our family and friends.  We thank the Lord for his providential hand in all of the events on Monday and for watching over and protecting sweet A'.  We covet your prayers for her in the near future as she will undergo more thorough testing to see if they can pinpoint any problem areas in her brain.  For now, we rest in knowing that God is in control.

11 months (and my SIL's mad skilz!)

If you are looking for a great photographer....look no more (if you live around me).  My sister-in-law has a budding photography business, so if you are in need of someone to capture your little cherubs in their own environment (or, one of your choosing) let me know, and I'll hook you up with her information.  Here are a few recent ones that she took of princess L'....SO CUTE (I am, however biased about the subject matter. ; )