Bring on the rain!

Spring is just around the corner and we are brimming with excitement. A few days of warm weather has wet our appetite for the Spring...and apparently brought about some Spring showers...ok, maybe they could not be classified as "Spring Showers," but at least it is getting close!

I gave in today to the constant question, "Mom, I wanna go play in the rain! Mom, Mom, MOOOOOM!" I thought let's do it, let's just show these kiddos just how miserable that really is! Well, I was wrong...they had a blast, as did I watching them give in to all those things we get so used to squelching...splashing in the puddles, getting filthy, splashing their brother/sister...BRING IT ON, RAIN! Let it pour! We will celebrate the warm weather rain or shine. You can't rain on our parade...we will parade on...and love every minute of it. Ok, enough about the rain...back to SPRING!!!!!

Some of the joys that this Spring will bring...our very first vegetable and herb garden!!!, planting flowers, enjoying our back yard with my flagstone terrace I made last fall (come grill-out with us!) - it's not so even, but charming just the same!, Easter Eggs, sundresses (some to be sewn by yours truly!!! - another new adventure of mine), picnics, camping and hiking, trip to the beach...we are thinking Charleston somewhere, letting the kids play in the dirt barefoot...maybe even a new pet (Addison has been begging for one...maybe we will just start with a hermit crab!)! "These are just a few of my favorite things..." Oh, I can hardly sit still just thinking about all the fun things to do this Spring...HOPE is Springing anew! Ok, enough I know!

Let me just say "WE LOVE YOU, SPRING!"

We are blessed, life is full, and God is good...oh, so GOOD!

Florida Trip

Well, we are so very fortunate to have family in sunny Florida to visit during the cold long winter up here. We all took a trip down there just after the new year to see my sister, Rosie, and her family (Joleigh, Jozlyn, Justin, and Doug), and my dad and Lisa. We also stopped in to see our good friend Jon and his cutie pie little girl Sydnie, one of Addie's best little friends. What a great trip! We really packed a lot in and had loads of fun...I think Rye's picture kind of sums up how we all felt after the whole trip...blissfully exhausted! While we were with Dad he took us on a trip via boat down to Key West, a first for me. We really had fun exploring the town, going to a butterfly sanctuary (which Addie loved, especially after Noni "helped" one to land on her with a little coaxing), visiting the southernmost spot in the US, eating, even swimming as you saw in one of the previous posts of our underwater baby! (despite the unusually cold temperatures down there...burrrrrr!) Thanks, Dad and Lisa...it was such a great memory with you!

While we were in Fl we also visited a bit with my cousin Sheila and her beautiful family (we really loved our evening with you all), my sister (despite her poorly timed sickness...I wish so much we could have been with you more...I love you!) and her lovely family, and a friendly dolphin. There is so much to say about this trip, but I will just let you see some pictures so you don't become board with a long post!

Breakfast sitting out by the pool at the beautiful place Dad took us in Key West!

Addie being visited by some sweet butterflies...thanks to a little help from Noni and some cantaloupe!

The sweet dolphin that came right up to us on Dad's boat! What a treat!

The kids with their Fl cousins Jozlyn and Joleigh and their new little puppy!

Riding the jeep with Sydnie

Don't give up on us!

Please don't give up on us yet. We will make our 2008 debut yet! There is so much that has happened since we blogged that it is overwhelming to think of what to talk about and what pictures to show. As much as I sometimes put off posting, it is wonderful because it makes me look back over our life and realize just how rich it is and how blessed we are. We have had wonderful priceless moments with all of our family and have experienced so many moments, that in themselves are life changing, powerful, funny, sad, divine, and definitely blog worthy. So please check back with us because we would love to share some of those moments from the last couple months, and to all out there who are keeping up with us, thanks for your patience...we love you all!

Let's Catch Up...

Well, we have a lot to catch up on. No matter how hard I try to slow time, it does not seem to listen. We all try to make the most of the moments we have, but life nor, sadly enough, death wait for us to feel caught up or "ready" for them to happen. Life happens all around us and we just hope that we are aware and present enough to experience it. Death on the other hand seems to catch us off guard and unprepared to walk through it. In this case I am talking about the death of a dog (which many of you can relate to), not just a dog, but a friend, a hiking buddy for my dad, a favorite playmate of kids', a kind gentle animal that seemed to pant his way in to many hearts. Tyson was so loved and loved so many. He started out as Richard's dog, but...long story short...Richard traded him to my dad for me (isn't the dowry suppose to go the other way?). If you ask either of them I am not sure who they would say got the better deal! However, he has spent the last 8 great years with my dad and Lisa and has completely become a vital part of the family. Those who met him knew he was "some" dog (as was Wilber in Charlotte's Web). We lost him to lymphoma a couple of weeks ago. We miss him so much, but are glad that we did experience him in life. I wanted to get some pics of Lisa and dad with him, but was unable to...sorry.

We are so thankful for a life full of family...here are some pictures of our Thanksgiving with the Kings in the North Fork house (it was so worth having to put up with no running water!...wasn't it?!). We really did have a great time, except of course for Ryland, when his markers were taken away from him (he carried on with this pout for about 10 min. until we of course gave in...who can stand up to that face!)

The next day we picked out our Christmas tree!

Richard's new hobby...the Rubik cube. Good luck with that! Then went to Nana's and Grandpa Ted's for some more great food and fun family time. The kids are huge fans and love their time there!

And here are just some cute morning pictures full of messy hair, cute kid feet, and a thankful mommy!

Nana and Grandpa Ted

What a gorgeous place we live!

I love you, Mom!

oops!

We have shared many great moments with my mom, Nana, and Grandpa Ted this year. But I recently received these pictures from one of their trips up here. We had a great day playing outside and collecting leaves. Here are a couple pictures from this trip. Thanks for that great day!

My little flock

Well, below I have included some pictures of my favorite two sheep. This was our Halloween costume. Richard was a little concerned that we would be pegging Addie as the black sheep of the family, but she wasn't fazed. They are both amazing kids and I am blessed, and many times humbled, to be their mom. They both had so much fun in their costumes and eating candy. I think we left a trail of cotton balls everywhere we went. Between that and the trail of candy wrappers I knew they wouldn't get far!

Ok, on a different note, I was "tagged" by Becky to list 10 things about myself that others may not know. Here goes...

1. When I was little I would pull up the covers to the bottom of my chin so that if a murderer came in he would pass me up because he would think that someone had already cut off my head.
2. I really hate watching movies like "Meet the Parents" because I just totally stress the whole time for the characters in the movie. It is more of a nail biter for me than a suspense movie.
3. A horrible nick name I was called in elementary school (as Jen reminded me just now on the phone) was "Heidi Yoder Gas Exploder". I think the only reason was the rhyme, but maybe that is why I refuse to "toot" in front of even my husband now.
4. I hate hate Lima beans! Mom used to make me eat "just two more bites."
5. I love oysters!
7. I would love to move to another country for a year.
8. The first night my dad met Richard was when we were sneaking into his supposedly empty house at like 3 in the morning. Not a good first impression!
9. I used to want to either be a ventriloquist or a dolphin trainer...weirdo, I know.
10. My face turns red really easily which drawls even more attention to the fact that I embarress easily.

Ok, there it is...I think I feel a little lighter now! Funny stuff. I can't wait to read everyoneesle's. I really don't have any bloggers to tag, since Becky about covered it! I look forward to reading them though.