Imagine My Surprise.....

.....When I walked in on this!

Oh my, what a girly girl!

The End of a Treacherous Road?

Tomorrow marks the end of the road for my dad. However, it is not by choice. My dad has been an ordained Lutheran pastor since I was 4 years old. For the last 7 years, he has been the Chaplain for the South WI District of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod at the House of Corrections near Milwaukee. He wears many hats at this calling, where he adopted many ex-offender programs, counseled those in jail for drug and alcohol abuse, preached to surrounding congregations about his special ministry, shared the Word of God to those giving time, and I could go on forever. However, the position has been eliminated. After many dedicated years of service accomplishing more than anyone could have ever dreamed, the district has decided to make his job "volunteer-only." While we often joked that our dad was "behind bars," this is a sad state of affairs that politics can come between a dedicated man of God and a church organization. He will continue to preach on the weekends, and will always pray for those lives that he touched, hoping they never return to their old ways.
Dad, while this may be a test of faith for you (and a bit scary for a 57-year-old), I can hardly wait to see where God leads you. While I hope it is within walking distance of my family, I know that God has an intricate plan for you. You truly walk by faith, and not by sight, and that is to be admired.
To my blogfriends, while my dad enjoys 6 months of full severance pay, I have taken it upon myself to find him a job. If any of you know of a Lutheran church (Missouri Synod) looking for a dedicated pastor, a prison/hospital/establishment in need of a chaplain, or a private university, Christian/Lutheran grade school or high school looking for a theology teacher/professor, please let me know! In the meantime, I think my dad is looking forward to some downtime for a few weeks, and most of all, being a Grandpa!

Come see us, Dad!

Duluth!

Family photo by Lake Superior!

Horse-drawn carriage ride
Buggy-riders
Carriage fun

Me & my Em
Daddy's girl
Rock fun on the North Shore
"Carriage" rider
Sisters!



Pose by the water
Lake Superior
Still happy! (Check out those blue eyes)
Stomping in puddles
Happy girl!

The Week From Hell.

Trial #1: Suspicious bloody activity from breast warrants mammogram and ultrasound mammography. Thankfully, study was negative, but cause has yet to be determined.
Trial #2: Eva has fever for 5 days straight, resulting in many sleepless nights, crabbies beyond imaginable, barf (on me), won't eat and nears dehydration, finally cuts a tooth, and then breaks out in characteristic Fifth's Disease rash. This causes me to miss the most important day of my week, missing scheduled patients, very important meeting, and class that I teach.
Trial #3: Car won't start, stranding me in worst imaginable part of Mpls, requiring us to pay for repairs and rent a rental car.
Trial #4: Accidentally leave all of my lia sophia jewelry, supplies, cash and checks, 10 orders from show Friday night, (and my dignity), in trunk of aforementioned rental car. Can't begin to track down car's approximate location until opening on Monday for hopeful retrieval.

Being that my support system is elsewhere, I am thankful that I have Him to call on.

"Cast all your anxieties on Him, for He cares for you....."

~1 Peter 5:7

Stranded.

Have you been to 35th and Chicago in Minneapolis lately? Yeah, it's the ghet.to. This is the establishment that the Pillsbury House Integrated Health Clinic is located in that NWHSU operates with the U of M. I work here many Wednesday evenings and Saturdays. Last night, I was checking out at 9 pm and my car would not start. There I sat, in the ghetto, stranded. Thanks to Bobby & Steve, I got my car towed home safely last night, as I tried to figure out our transportation for the next few days. Richard and Jared, my heroes, are planning to fix Azzie tomorrow.

The next time you see me, remind me to get pepper spray, would ya?

Nanny Report

We have Joy fill out a sheet of paper each day about the girls' day. It keeps us all in the loop about feedings, naps and poops. I have a line where Joy puts their activities, etc. and any notes about the day. Today's note made me laugh. Today's "Notes About My Day" read as follows:

Emma: "Emma was super active today! A little more challening than usual, but more than made up for it with all of her giggles and smiles."

Eva: "Eva was perfectly content as long as she got the attention she wanted!"

That Joy--always positive. She has got to be exhausted.....

The Girlybugs!

Friends for life!
Don't you just wonder what they are thinking?

Look at all these cuties!

From L to R:

Back row: Sophia (at her 1st birthday party!), Emma

Front row--starring the 6-monthers: Natalie, Eva, Shirley

4 friends with 5 adorable girls! I cannot believe it! Will Naomi keep the trend going???

Blue-Eyed Squish

I can't take credit for this one--this was captured by our Nanny, Joy.

Behind every full-time working Mommy.....

.....there is an amazing [full-time working] Daddy.

6 Months!

It seems our little Squish has reached the halfway mark to her first birthday! We do not take half-birthdays lightly around here (right, Mom?). [Due to the great camera debachle, this first-moments picture will have to suffice.] Eva has grown from a laid back newborn to a full-of-life baby! She loves to be held, and loves her big sister. She has mastered the art of eating rice cereal and sweet potatoes, but still prefers Mommy's pumped milk. She sleeps through the night, and is an awesome traveler--which is nice since we have made many trips already to visit the grandparents! She rolls her way to get where she needs to be, and has learned that scooting works too! She sits for a minute or so, and has claimed a certain Nuk and blankie that have to be in sight! She has maintained her ever-bright blue eyes that sparkle across the room, which distinguish her from her big sis. She has her own personality, but molds well with our family.

We feel so blessed to call her our own.

HELP!

In all the excitement of meeting my new nephew and being diligent about taking lotsa pictures, I somehow managed to delete EVERY picture on my camera. Tear. Tears. SOB..... Every picture that I have taken of Eva and many of Emma's pictures are now gone. Thankfully, I have many of them stored on my computer, but not the last 100 or so pictures that I took that I haven't had the chance to download yet. Of course this includes all of the photos of meeting Baby D and the girls over the last couple weeks, and Eva's 6-month photo shoot. I tried to download a recovery program, but it cannot read the drive that my digital camera utilizes.

Can anyone help me? PLEASE.....

Meet Da'Montae!

I love you, little man!

Squishy Baby in a Dolly Stroller!

[Take off of "Fat guy in a little coat....."]