Pictures-Nanny Days

I have decided to be a nanny for a week and we have been having a blast!!! Dr. Austman's little chicks and a friend of theirs have been occupying our time with lotsa giggles and games.

And another little chicky friend who also babysitts the kids fills our house with laughter.....

Miss Natalie is 2 yrs older than Gabe but they are the exact same size....she, however.....

insists she is much stronger than he!! My kinda gal ;)

Miss Bella has kept us smiling......Today Gabe stepped on a pretzel on the floor....

Her reply, "Oh no, he died!!! He was so young." To which I said, Bella, are you really 5 years

old and did you just say what I thought you said????

She has been such a delight...sadly, today was the last day I got to keep her ;(

We saw a boy driving a mower down the street yesterday and Bella says: "I can't wait

til I can do that with my Barbie car when I grow up, drive it down the street!"

And can I just say how much I love it that our little chick is totally countrified??? She decided she wanted to play under the steps today to which the older chicks replied, "But Ellie, there might be bugs under there!!!!" She just laughed.

Confessions of a Preggo

Dear Friends & Family.....

I have a confession to make.....

I have been consuming large amounts of these particles.....the cravings are unstoppable.

Maybe that is why I look so pregnant already,eh??? But....they are all so good.....

So tomorrow I will try to consume more healthy particles of foodage that is equivalant to the

amount of badness my body has been snacking on....really.

It shouldn't be hard at all to convince my tummy that creamed spinach is just as yummy!

Really......but seriously.....they all have a way of calming the waves of nausea that seem to rock my boat lately.....so maybe just maybe they are good after all?!?!?!?!?

Pictures-Catch up

The naked cowboy showed up at our house the other day ;)

I had great fun teaching my little brother how to keep himself cool with longer hair.

Partners in crime.....

She has the greatest fun doing what the boys do.....

And going wherever they go.....

Our nephew Ethan....

Combined birthday parties with Gabe and 2 of my brothers....

The cowboys came for the party too....

I found a cake that Gabe could actually eat that wasn't halfway bad....he loved it.

Welcome Brylee Layne!

Our friends Bryan and Whitney welcomed baby Brylee.....Big sister Brenna and big brother
Wade welcome her home!

We're so excited she's here finally and wishing them God's blessings!!!

Monkies Jumping on the Bed

Well, for those of you haven't heard yet, there will be a 3rd monkey jumping on our beds in February!!! We're super excited.....and not very far along....but as it happened with the first 2...

I really just can't hide it.......;)

Meet the Tavianos

Meet the Tavianos....Gabe, Marla, Ava, Olivia, and Nina....a beautiful and FUN family!!!
Check out their blog: http://www.marlataviano.com/ and read about their zoo adventures!!


Marla is a Christian author/speaker that I came across 3 of her books (check them out on her website also) and loved every inch of them. So then I started reading her blog.....and now I finally got to meet her and her precious family!


They are traveling 52 zoos in 52 weeks and we were blessed and honored that they spent
time with us! We kept them overnite between zoos and made some good memories.

We relaxed awhile, had haystacks for supper, then headed to the park......

Aren't these the most adorable little chicks you ever saw?!?!?!?!? AND.....make sure you watch for these chicks' book coming out soon! Yes, you heard me right, if I understood Marla correctly, not only is Marla writing a book about their Zoo Adventures, but the girls are writing one of their own!!!

And our kids of course......loved every minute together (well after they woke up from their naps, realized there was a new family in our home they had never met, then stared at them for awhile, then they warmed up.)

Nina was Gabe's age and the longer they spent together I realized they could create ALOT of mischief between the two of them!!

Little Miss Muffett thought she could do what the big girls were doing.......

Little Gabe thought Big Gabe was pretty stinkin' cool! He LOVED him....

And he loved Big Gabe's ipod!!!

All the monkies had great fun jumping/playin on the ginormous air mattress.....

Too many popsicles & ice cream left these monkies a little onery!!!

*sigh* We were sad to see them go......they were headed to Brookfield and Lincoln Park Zoos today. Gabe told me tonite they needed to come back and take a nap at our house again ;) He kept talking about "the girls".

To the Tavianos.....Thank you for the great memories!! We loved each one of you and were so blessed by our time together. We look forward to seeing you all again! *HUGS*

May God be with you as you wrap this adventure up in the next couple weeks.

Paving the Way

Rachel Carson

"For the child. . . it is not half so important to know as to feel. If facts are the seeds that later produce knowledge and wisdom, then the emotions and the impressions of the senses are the fertile soil in which the seeds must grow. The years of early childhood are the time to prepare the soil. Once the emotions have been aroused - a sense of the beautiful, the excitement of the new and the unknown, a feeling of sympathy, pity, admiration or love - then we wish for knowledge about the object of our emotional response . . . It is more important to pave the way for a child to want to know than to put him on a diet of facts that he is not ready to assimilate."

Glory to God

I found this tonite and wanted to share because it echos my heart.....

"While there are many things about God I get, there are also things that I just don’t understand. But, the good thing for me is that I’ve come to terms with the fact that I just won’t.


“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9


Our God does things and allows things that don’t always make sense to our finite minds. He calls a servant boy to be a king and uses a man who can’t speak to lead a nation. He places a child inside a virgin and brings sight to a blind man with some dirt and saliva. He asks a fisherman to take his message to the ends of the earth and He equips a little brother to interpret dreams.
But, here’s one thing I do know: Our God, He is awesome.


He is worthy of glory and praise all the days of our lives. He is a healer, a redeemer, a protector, a provider, a friend, a confidant. He is trustworthy, inspiring, powerful, all-knowing, majestic. He is the first and the last, the beginning and the end, the alpha and the omega.
He is my King. "

By Cindy Beall...found at http://cindybeall.com/?p=1110

Pictures-Family

Uncle Matt (Jason's brother) and his lady Whitney are home for the summer from college, so we're gonna try to spend as much quality time as possible before fall comes!!!

Matt officially has gotten the Abe Lincoln look, wouldn't you agree???

They brought their play station for a FUN game called Buzz.....we loved it!!

We love you Matt & Whit!!!! Come back soon!!!! The monkies miss you already!

Pictures-Kids Night Out

Some of my friends, the kids, and I went strawberry picking yesterday morning.....they were sooooooooooooooo beautiful and yummy but it was soooo stinkin' hot we were sweatin' buckets!

The "big kids" and I went out last night and had a blast. Us girls went and saw The Proposal

while the guys went and saw a "manly" movie ;)

We then went Father's Day shopping and out to Steak & Shake....it got so late....I'm getting too old for these late nights/early mornings!!! At the movies, I asked the girl if I looked like a student and got the discount also (at the Galaxy you get student discount) and she said, "Of course you do!" I said, "I'm kidding! I'm married with 2 kids and her jaw dropped....she didn't believe me and gave me the discount anyways....totally made my night ;)

My "little sisters"...........love you both bunches!!!!

My goofy little brothers.....apparently Isaac hadn't picked Logan up in awhile and Logan is putting on weight, soooooooooooooo, there was much surprise when he picked him up!

Pictures-"Summerness"

The circus train came thru town.....it was quite exciting you know...100 cars and all...stopped up traffic for miles around.....

Jason's mom brought the kids up to the clinic where I was working that day and we "paused clinic" for a moment to check it out.....wasn't near as spectacular as we thought it would be.

So checkout the antique yellow stroller I got for free at a garage sale.....and yes I knew Jason would call it junk... BUT I knew the kids would love it!!!!! They have given so many rides I've had to duct tape it back together!!

Little Miss annoyed with the sugar on her hands from her donut......

The bestest buddies ever.......

They come up with some of the craziest things to occupy themselves....here they are putting

Gabe's dog down for a nap on the kitchen floor.

Meet Gabe's new dog, he refuses to name him, so he is Dog.

What a happy day when his friend Megan sent him home with this new friend.....since he won't get to have a real dog until he grows out of his allergies.