San Diego here we come....I think.

Leading up to our San Diego trip Josh became increasingly anxious.  At one point his blood pressure was so high that his face was as red as a lobster and he was so amped up over our impending flight that he took Valium for 3 days before we left just to sleep.  I was certain he'd back out of our trip at any second.  When Thursday rolled around though, he got on the plane.  I had purposely booked his seat in a separate row from the kids and I.  I don't want this phobia to rub off on one of them.  Our flight was only 2 hours and we had a really smooth flight, which helped.  My family arrived safely from various parts of the country as well, including Michigan and Tennessee.

We started our first full day of vacation at Sea World.  The weather was gorgeous and we didn't have to deal with much of a crowd since Spring Break was over and it was during the week.

 Sea World has some fun rides, including a couple of great roller coasters. Grandpa Eddy, my step sister Hayley, Josh, and Kathy.

 One of the water playgrounds for the kiddos.

 Sesame Street character show.

 The whales.

 The dolphin show...amazing!

 My brother Jason and niece Erika sat in row 3 and got SOAKED by the whales.  We decided to sit a bit further back so Millie (who was napping) wouldn't get wet.  Smart choice on our part!

 

Grandpa Eddy and Cash waiting to pet a dolphin.

 Saturday we went to the beach and boardwalk.  It was only in the 60's but warm for a day at the beach by an Oregonian's standards!  My niece Erika was running in the waves in her undies and it didn't phase her a bit.  The Californians probably thought we were crazy.

 Boardwalk carousel.

 Grandpa Eddy and Josh got really competitive on the boardwalk bumper cars.  They were acting like bigger kids than the actual kids.

 The "Big Dipper" that Grandpa Eddy and Josh went on.  An 80 year old wooden roller coaster on the boardwalk.  They're braver than I!

That's the first half of our trip.  I'll try to get the rest up soon. :)

Easter, baby!

For Easter, Cash's class had their party the week before Spring break.  I made these little bunnies from egg cartons and filled them with strawberry candies.

Easter fell on my birthday this year but since I've had little ones, my birthday isn't that big of a deal.  I was more excited to get Millie and Cash in their Easter best and get some pictures!  Unfortunately my birthday present, a new SLR camera, wasn't here yet.  So, again, I apologize for the quality of the following photos.

For Easter I cooked for 17 people.  Josh's whole family came over and our good friends, the Smiths, joined us with their kiddos.  It was a beautiful day and the huge meal went off without a hitch.  

The day before Easter I got together with some of my best girlfriends for pedicures and dinner.  Most of these girls I've been close with for close to a decade and I feel so blessed to have these lifelong friends.  We laughed so much that my stomach hurt afterwards.  Ene, Tara, myself, Lorraine, and Les.

I've been horrible, I haven't posted for over a month....again.  I guess blogging just isn't my strong suit. I've been without my good camera so these pictures were off of my phone.  I apologize.  The following sequence of photos needs some captions so you can laugh with me.  My boy is quite the character.

As we were playing outside one day I pulled out my phone just to snap one or two pictures of Millie in her coat and matching boots.

When Cash caught wind of what I was doing, he immediately dropped what he was doing and wanted to join in.  "Can I be in the picture Mommy?"

"Should I stand right here?"

"How about right here?"  I just died.  Seeing Millie's little stocking hat ball sticking out above Cash's head gets me every time.  Hilarious!

Chelby was supervising the kids in the sandbox.

Millie LOVES shoes.  Some days, it seems like all she does is try on shoes, her shoes, my shoes, brother's shoes.  She's such a girlie girl.  These are some of her favorites, her pink crocs.

Here are some pictures from St Patty's Day.  Cash helped me make some green Rice Krispy treats and we had Irish Stew and Concannon potatoes for dinner.  Yum!

A love letter

A love letter to Cash and Millie....

Cash you are such a blessing to me.  Every day that I have you to look at, laugh with, and love is the greatest blessing to me.  We weren’t sure we would have a healthy boy but not only are you healthy, you’re thriving.  When I was pregnant with you, Daddy and I were told you would be born with a chromosomal abnormality and some birth defects that made your survival unlikely.  I wasn’t sure if you were going to be alright but I knew that I would love you and I figured we’d get through it a day at a time.  I was going to fight for you and any chance you had.  I feel the same way today, always willing to fight for you to give you the best life you can have.  I want to give you the world.  I want you to have a long happy life, the kind of happiness that comes from knowing you are loved.  You are a joy!  You’re filled with energy and laughter.  I’m amazed at your ingenuity and tenaciousness.  Most of all, I love your tender heart.  You are so incredibly thoughtful and sensitive.  You love to make us laugh and you rarely prefer to be by yourself.  You’d much rather be climbing on us or loving on us.  I wouldn’t have it any other way.  I only wish your childhood would pass slowly so I could soak up every minute with you.  You are TREASURED my precious boy.  

 Valentine's Cash and I made for his class with homemade heart crayons.

 Millie, you are a little ray of sunshine.  You are such a happy girl and your smile is infectious.  I can’t imagine my life without you.  The road to having you wasn’t an easy one.  I had a miscarriage followed by a scary hemorrhage and I wondered at the time if I was meant to have another baby. The Lord knew what baby I should have and it was you.  I hope when you grow up, you’ll look back on your childhood and think, “I want to be the kind of mom that my mom was.”  I pray you’ll find a man who loves you more than he loves himself and that he’ll love you for who you really are and not who he wants you to be.  I pray that I get to see you hold your own babies for the first time.  I pray that I can snuggle with them the way I snuggle with you now.  This time with you is going by so fast.  I treasure every second of your childhood.  All too soon you’ll be a strong independent woman.  It’s then that I hope I can be the first person you call when you have a bad day and the first person you share good news with.  I’ll always be here for you, waiting with a hug and as much love as you need.

Total chaos I tell you, I live in a zoo!

We brought our new puppy home a few weeks ago and it's like having another toddler in the house.  It's been about 8 years since we had a puppy and boy I forgot how much work they are.  In addition to the usual, keeping her from chewing on things and house training, I also have to watch her like a hawk to make sure she doesn't bite little fingers or feet.  The kids LOVE her though and I often have to put her outside just to give the poor dog a break from all the "love" they're giving her.  Cammie has come to love her too.  For the first few days Cammie pouted and avoided the new member of the family but now they play and chew on each other every chance they get.  The first couple of pictures are of Chelby around 8 weeks old.

These photos were taken this week.  It was finally warm enough for the kids and I to get outside a little bit.

Finally, here are the pictures from our Church's child dedication they do annually.  The congregation prayed for all the little ones in the church body as we made a commitment to raise them according to God's Word and God's ways.