Let the fun begin!

As Tim prepared for his upcoming surgery he kept himself occupied by building this swing set for the girls. He did such a wonderful job following every detail of the 27 phase enterprise. Each morning since it has been up the girls wake up and tell me that they need to "check on their playground" shorthand for can we go play. If only the weather would cooperate.

Winter Sports

Kate prepares to take the plunge in Matress Mania.








Mary shows perfect form and concentration in laundry basket louge. She strategizes with sister preparing for her next jump.

The Whole Gang

My MWSU Students

Here are a few of the students outside of the Holocaust Memorial Museum in D.C. We all agreed that it was the most difficult and emotional experience of the trip but one that everyone should have at least once in their lifetime.

Ridin' the Metro

The sisters meet Sam in D.C.

During spring break this year I took eighteen students from Missouri Western to explore the sights and sound of our illustrious capital. My sister, Angela, was able to come along and share in the fun. Here we are with U.S. Representative Sam Graves who was kind enough to spend a half an hour speaking to the students. All-in-all everyone came home happy, inspired, a bit more educated, and extremely tired.

Who says that you can't be fashionable even in the Winter?

Dreaming of warmer days

We woke this morning to find another four inches of snow falling outside. We were lucky enough to have my brother Jeff, his wife, Susie, and kids: Courtney, Nick and Abby visiting so the kids had eachother to keep busy during the long winter days. Attached is a picture of Kate playing in New Town with Grandma. Dreaming of more play dates coming soon sustains us during this long cold spell.

Royalty among us

Princess Mary otherwise known as Belle loves to wear her crown and princess dress just about anywhere and anytime. She has even started responding to my requests with "yes, your majesty." There must be blue blood somewhere down the family line. Tim claims it is just wishful thinking on mommy's part.

Mary & Daddy mingle with reindeers

Computer Kate

Kate loves to play with computers especially when mommy needs to check her email. Mainly she loves to turn it off when I am working on it - hmmm . . . maybe she is trying to tell me something.

The cold and ice continue

Old man winter still has a strong grip on St. Joe. The trees are the view from our deck. The girls have been troopers but we are all getting cabin fever and are ready for Spring.

All tied up!

Kate loves to put on all of Daddies ties each morning as he gets ready for work. It makes it hard for Daddy to leave for work because 1. she has all of his ties and 2. because she looks so darn cute.

The Kissing Hand

We found a wonderful book called "The Kissing Hand". It is a must have for every parent.






Here is a poem I found that goes with the book.





Kissing Hand Poem (Tune :Twinkle Twinkle Little Star)





There's a special trick I know


When I'm sad and scared to go.


Take my hand and kiss it here.


This kiss from you, I will hold dear.


Down my a hand and up my arm,


Into my heart the kiss goes on.

The Kissing Hand~A perfect first day story. This is a story about a little raccoon ready to start school. He talks about his fears to his mother, fears that most children have before beginning school. His mother comes up with a wonderful solution to help her little raccoon remember that she loves him and is thinking about him, even when she isn't with him. A wonderful and heart-warming story to share with little ones.

For adults only

St. Joe has almost completely recovered from our recent ice storm. If you have never experienced it firsthand, you can't imagine what it is like. Almost every tree was bent to the ground and 90% of homes were without power for as long as ten days. As devastating as it was it was also like a winter wonderland. On one night following the storm we arrived home to find our reindeer in let's just say "romantic positions". I guess it is nice to know that someone did not lose their sense of humor during such a difficult time.

Christmas fun

The girls got so many wonderful presents for Christmas. These were just a few moments of them enjoying their gifts. Santa brought Mary a big dollhouse. She loved spending time with cousin Abby setting up her house. Katiebug the Ladybug is riding her Ladybug from her Grandbug. Mary loved listening to her teddy bear tell her stories.

Kate checks out New Town

Always independent - Kate decided to take a walk around the new construction at New Town. Even at eighteen months she is quite determined to get wherever she wants to go whether we go with her or not.

Super Babies to the rescue!

What a beautiful moment!

Baby Grace meets mommy and big brother, Gannon!

Oh Happy Day!

Andrew, Estelle, and brother Gannon welcomed baby Grace into the world! What a gorgeous baby girl. Is it just me or do I see a lot of her Daddy in that beautiful face? As great Uncle Frank would say "it doesn't get any better than this!" We wish everyone love, health and lots of sleep (if that is possible with a newborn)!