It's A Zoo Around Here...

Everyone in our family loves pets... ESPECIALLY Jessica! I am a big pet person, too... and James just can't say no. So... it is a zoo around here with 4 children, 2 dogs, 2 clown fish (crab & snail in the tank, too), 2 water frogs... and introducing the newest member of our family... "Peep" the hamster!She is a 7 week old fancy hamster. We have been talking about this for a long time and had promised that we would get Jessica one "soon" (Jessica has been asking for years)... and we decided that now is the right time. I asked Jessica yesterday when she got home from school if she wanted to go to the pet store and get a hamster... now! Fortunately, Peep seems to like being handled... Jessica's last words to me as I was leaving her room at bedtime... "Mom, I just love her!"

Too Much Horseplay...

Last night, Jessica and I were goofing around... we both ended up falling... and my knee landed on the back of her lower leg. She was hurt and I felt horrible. We propped up her leg and applied ice... but she was still in a lot of pain an hour later. I took her to urgent care for an x-ray... fortunately they said there was no break. So... she wakes up this morning and still cannot put ANY weight on her leg. She stays home from school today and we ice her leg all morning. I really wanted another opinion, so I talked with a friend and he said he would take a look at her and the x-rays... on his afternoon off (thank you, thank you, thank you!) Fortunately, he confirmed that there is no break... and he said her tendons are fine, too. She has a contusion and he can feel the knot in her leg, which explains her pain. They put her in a removable/partial cast... and now she can walk! She should be good to go back to school tomorrow... and will only have to wear the cast until she can comfortably walk without it. She chose a paw print cast... she was delighted to see that as an option! We are VERY thankful that this will heal on its own & that she doesn't have any broken bones!

SNOW MUCH FUN!!!

The "official" measurement at our house... according to our very own personal weatherman... is 4 inches of SNOW!!! And it wasn't the icy, yucky kind... it was the perfect powder type... and even MORE perfect... it came in on the weekend when James could get out and play with the kids... and by this afternoon it was almost gone! The kids went out and played a few minutes last night when it started... and went out several times today! Nana & Papaw are visiting this weekend to celebrate Jamie & Jacob's birthday... fortunately, they safely arrived before too much accumulation began on the roads. The pictures say more than words can... the kids (and grown ups) had a BLAST. And... our yard has the biggest snowman I have seen yet ;o) BTW... it is still standing now... after many here in the 'hood have fallen...

For the record... Jessica got him FIRST.... and she got him GOOD!There really are no word to describe my little man... he LOVES to make everyone laugh and he is ALL BOY... that about sums it up...Jessica... my sentimental one... made a miniature snowman and snowdog for the freezer... so we can have a little bit of snow all throughout the year!

Dear Winter... thank you for the perfect snow day... now send in Spring! Love, Jennifer

Big Birthdays!

Happy 4th Birthday, Jamie & Jacob! It really is amazing how quickly kids change... and it seems impossible that it was 4 yrs ago that Jamie & Jacob were born. They were born at 34.5 weeks and had to stay in the NICU for 10 days... and look at them NOW! They had several wonderful birthday celebrations... James' family came down the Saturday before their birthday to celebrate. They loved spending time with their cousins... and they love their gifts... especially the boxes ;o)

The day before their birthday... they celebrated with their friends at preschool. I sent in birthday cookies, their friends sang them "Happy Birthday" and their teacher let them choose 4 toys each from the treasure box! They also got to wear special birthday hats!

The actual day OF their birthday was a BIG day!! We started the morning with painting... thanks to new paint sets from Colin & Anderson. Then off to lunch at Chuck-E-Cheese with their friend, Allie. I let them choose the location... and this was it. They had a blast! Then we went to church for Girl Scouts and Ms. Mary (she keeps the twins while I teach Girl Scouts) was celebrating a birthday, too! Ms. Mary takes such wonderful care of the kids and they LOVE her so much! They enjoyed birthday cookies with her, too! That evening... a pizza party at the house with Hunter (yes, that makes pizza for lunch AND dinner... but it was their birthday and they love pizza!) Londa & Troy brought the pinata... and it was "supposed" to be one of the ones where you pull the strings and one magically opens the pinata... yeah, right. By the time we were down to 3 strings, we pretty much knew that wasn't going to happen. We ended up in the garage giving everyone turns hitting the pinata... and after James & Troy joined in, the candy was finally revealed! The kids thought it was hilarious! Of course, we had cake... (which didn't turn out exactly like planned... but that is another story... the cakes were delicious AND peanut and egg free... and that is what counts!) We got them a glider for the swing set and booster seats for the car... they are SO excited to be "big" and ride in booster seats. I must say, I am delighted, too... b/c for the FIRST TIME IN ALMOST 10 YRS... I DON'T HAVE TO STRAP ANYONE IN A CAR SEAT!!! Amazingly liberating!

They had a wonderful birthday... thanks to everyone who shared it with them and loved on them!

Snowshoe, WV

My Christmas gift from James... a trip to Snowshoe, WV!!!! I was completely surprised... and he even arranged childcare (thanks, Anne & Jimmy!) We had the GREATEST time... drove up last Sunday... skied Monday & Tuesday... back home on Wednesday... relaxed! It snowed most of the time we were there... there were VERY few people on the mountain... and the slopes were perfect. We skied the main ski area, went night skiing at Silver Creek, and even braved the Western Territory (Cupp Run... 1.5 mile black diamond!) We both came home in one piece... thankfully!!! We cannot wait to go back... thank you, James... what an awesome surprise!!!

We stayed in the Allegheny Springs Resort overlooking the village.Sunrise or Sunset??? For anyone who knows me well... you should know this is definitely a sunset b/c I prefer to be asleep when the sun rises ;o)

Taking a break at the Boathouse.

At the top of the Widowmaker!

At the bottom of the Widowmaker... we are in one piece!
Our snowbunny... we promised the kids we would make a snowman...

Polar Bear 5K

Leslie & I ran the Polar Bear 5K again this year... the weather was perfect and there was record turnout for the race. This race is on trails, not the road... and we really enjoyed it! We finally broke a 10 min/mile pace... despite the big hill at the end of the race (woot woot)! We are still training and hoping to improve our pace so we can finish the Bridge Run in under 1 hr!!! Lots of work still to do...

Roller Skating

We spent a Saturday afternoon at the roller skating rink... Jessica & Jaycie love to skate, but this was the first time Jamie & Jacob tried! I really wasn't sure what to expect... and we drove 2 cars b/c I honestly thought one of us would be taking the twins home after ~ 30 minutes. Once again, they proved me wrong! They LOVED it... especially Jamie! They skated the entire time everyone else did... and after Jamie got comfortable, she didn't want us to hold her hand OR skate behind her... Miss Independent. Jacob did well, too... but he held on tight to one of us the entire time. When it was time to go... it wasn't b/c the kids were tired... but b/c James & I were! Jamie has constantly asked to go back since the minute we left... hopefully soon!! I always love it when we find activities that all the kids really enjoy doing!!

Mary Francis, Jessica, & Marianna

Miss Independent on skates...

Conversations

Jacob LOVES to talk! More so than all of the girls, combined... seriously. I never imagined that HE would be our talker, especially since he pretty much didn't talk at all until he was 2 yrs old... but since he started, he hasn't stopped.

Yesterday at breakfast:

Jacob (with an uneaten bagel & fruit on his plate): "Mommy, can I have some yogurt?"

Me: "After you eat what I have already made for you."
Jacob: "But I want yogurt now..."

Me: "When you finish eating what I have already given you."

Jacob: "Mommy, you don't take very good care of me!??!"

Me: Laughing too hard to reply...

Jacob's conversation with Santa at the mall before Christmas... he didn't start with hi... or Merry Christmas... or a list of items he wanted for Christmas...

Jacob: "Santa, how did you get here? Where is your sleigh?"

Santa: "They dropped me off and went back to the North Pole to work."

Jacob: "Oh!"

This morning:

Jacob: "Mommy, does Jesus live in heaven?"

Me: "Yes, he also lives in your heart!"

Jacob, tapping his chest: "Well, I don't feel him in there..."

And... Jamie & Jacob's conversation while playing house... I love listening to their conversations together and how Jamie answers Jacob's many questions... Jamie was the Mommy, Jacob was the Daddy, and they were carrying a baby doll...

Jamie: "Jacob, we are on our way to heaven."

Jacob: "Why are we going to heaven?"

Jamie: "Because our baby is sick and God will make her better."

Jacob: "How long will it take us to get there?"
Jamie: "About 9 minutes."