All's well that ends well

So today was Monday. I would say it was a "medium" Monday. Nothing horrible, but not a super smooth one either.

 But all that was forgotten when I picked up the mail. Postal Service mail is just usually that much fun any more. Bills, unsolicited crap for companies that I would call if I wanted information from.... yucky stuff.

Today I hit the lottery! First I got a graduation announcement from a friends son & how does that not make you smile. AND I got a letter from Courtney! I have to say mail from her never crossed my mind! I have been writing to her every day, even if it's just a little note card to tell her what happened the night before. I've been sending pictures too, of her girls & her new niece. 

My day became awesome!

This did me in. All the eye rolling from that girl, the sneaking out (ok, that was payback) the fortune she cost in prom & homecoming dresses, camp, musical instruments, 2 wrecked cars... should I keep going? 

ALL WORTH IT! 

This mom is in heaven seeing this.

xoxo

Lissa

Happy non-Easter

I'm still trying to get things done around here that haven't been done for going on 2 weeks. Such as laundry, bathrooms, vacuuming. You know, the glamorous part of being a grown up. So anyway, I did not go out to see the kids today. Even typing that is hard, and it's been a harder day than I thought it would be. A completely non- Easter feeling day. 

What I decided is that I would get stuff done around here & would get them next weekend to have a do-over Easter. Brilliant if I do say so myself. I'll be hitting Hy-Vee & Target tomorrow for the marked down, forgotten stragglers of the Easter this & that. HA! Take that budget. I won't get a lot of candy since that would be shooting myself in the foot. Who wants 3 little girls hopped up and sugar & red dye #5? Not this Nana. 

So we'll be coloring these and the Easter Bunny will be making a stop next Saturday night for 3 special little girls. I cleared it with him, so it's cool.

Oh, and we'll be watching this too. I watched it when I was little, so did my kids and now I'm teaching the girls to love Sunny the Bunny and his Easter antics. Yes, I have a cartoon thing. Why do you ask?

On another "feel good" note for me today. Courtney was able to call home & talk to Ray & the girls for minutes! *HUGE smile* She is now able to tear down & reassemble a M16 in under 2 minutes. Before you groan, I'm really proud of her. She's ahead of the curve & has set her mind to what she has to get done. She's quite a girl. She is getting our letters, which I have to admit is a relief to me. Not really sure WHAT I was worried about, but so glad she is getting them. She was already gone when Myla was born so I sent her pics and all the specifics of the birth. I've sent off at least a note card, if not a letter every day. If anyone could find some time to write a note of encouragement to someone they have never met, to make her Mama feel better let me know!  *smile*

Hope everyone had a wonderful day whether you celebrate Easter or not. 

xoxo

Lissa

Movie marathons

I love movies. So many great memories are tied to certain movies.... some bad ones too. They are like songs in a lot of ways. What was going on in my life when I saw it, who was I with. 

For example- the first night I was in labor with Danee I watched Dirty Dancing  over & over- VHS of course. 

Going to the theater is really the first thing that Adam & I did together. I used to save every ticket (yes, I'm corny like that) but somewhere along the way I stopped doing that. Still have a lot of them in a 'treasure box'. 

We have had a fun winter tradition of sorts for the last few years- a weekend long movie marathon. Before outside fun dominates, it's the perfect way to spend the weekend. Jammies, movies, pizza & pina coladas. Sounds like fun right? It is!

Here's some of the favorites

Lord of the Rings trilogy is a great way to spend the weekend.

The Harry Potter series will be complete soon.

Star Wars is still our all time favorite! 

xoxo

Lissa

Myla

I have no excuse for not writing other than I am tired to my bones. But it's been so worth it. 

I got a phone call Tuesday morning at 4:55 am that Danee was having contractions, and had been since Monday morning. Nothing big, just consistent. Her regular doctor's appointment was at 9 that morning so she wondered if I thought she should just wait it out until then. That's exactly what she did. But unfortunately, after all those hours she wasn't far enough along to go to the hospital. 

Little did we know that we still had a really long wait ahead of us. Danee decided a long time ago that she only wanted EJ in for delivery (I was GOOD with that), so late in the afternoon we headed to the waiting room to give her space. 

Our wait started with Casey, Jamie & I.

Then we added Kasey & Nate

Then even more

All of us looking at this door every time it opened. And it opened A LOT! 

After no progress and complete exhaustion they decided a C-Section was where they needed to head. Daddy showing off his cool duds and giving us an update.

Miss Myla- meet your Mommy

This is a happy Mommy & Daddy.

Good thing they have big rooms here. 14 of us. I think the nurse thought we were crazy.

Nate is going to have his own little one in about 6 weeks or so. He's baby #5's daddy. :o)

I'm a happy Nana

So tired, but so happy.

So here she is. Myla Marie. In the blink of an eye Danee went from being this baby to having this baby to love. I don't think she would believe me if I told her how fast it goes.

A little Spring project

This is how it starts. I sit down and watch a show on DIY TV and BOOM, we have a project. Poor Adam.

 

Hard to tell how the thoughts about the current project on the board started. Probably with this outdoor furniture. It's not expensive, it's metal so no maintenance, and the chairs stack so it can be stored in the winter. But we don't have room on our current deck. So off I head to one of my favorite places in every city I live in.... the library, and I get these. Now, I need to make in clear that it was ADAM's idea to go get the books. Just sayin'

This is the back of my house right now. Boring with a tiny little deck. It has served us well, but we've outgrown it. 

So the research has begun. I'll keep you posted on whether this seed takes root and grows into a great new deck!  

Have a great weekend!

xoxo

Lissa

Baby boy #3

Back in January (seems like a lifetime ago) I posted this  about all the babies coming into my life. On Sunday I attended a shower for the baby that I'll call "Baby Boy #3". His mommy & daddy haven't picked a name yet, so what are my choices?  These girls and their problems picking a name. They both got Baby Name Books and that's about the same as putting a 4 year old in a closet full of cute clothes & telling her to pick an outfit!

So Danee looks ready to POP. Today is 4.4.11, the day I was hoping our little princess would come. Guess I can wait till 4.11.11??  :o)  Kasey is due at the end of May.

Again, the super cute cakes were made by their friend Katie. It was close to 90 degrees in the church where we were so the cakes got a little melty. But still delish! 

I had monkey cake since I didn't want blue lips. Chocolate with caramel frosting. Oh yeah, it was yummy! 

This is "The 6". This little party crew is little by little becoming mommies, mortgage holders & *gasp* responsible. Funny how that works. 

xoxo

Lissa

Looking forward to

This morning was heaven. After false starts & fake outs Mother Nature threw me a bone. Just in the nick of time I'd say.

Although this is a crazy early time to be up on a Saturday (6:45), it was so worth it. Don't you think?

This is where I'll sit and drink my coffee on the beautiful Spring & Summer mornings that are headed our way. 

Have a wonderful weekend!

xoxo

Lissa