Easter Sunday & Uncle John and Amelia's birthday

We always try to capitalize on our time together as a family. So today we celebrated the Resurrection of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and my big brother and Amelia's birthdays.

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Lots to do and see~there was cutting down of trees in the backyard and some drought victim evergreens in the front yard. We now have more firewood for our fire pit. Then we had an Easter Egg hunt with a Dora Pinata for Amelia's birthday. Unfortunately, the girls didn't care for "wacking" Dora with the big stick. So being the #1 candidate for mother of the year, I gave the ole girl a few wacks and down she came. Needless to say, just another reason for my kids to be in therapy when they are older. Then there were Easter gifts from Grammy and a nice Easter ham to devour.

Finally, we had cupcakes for the birthday celebration. It was big fun and now I'm ready to explode from all the food. Tomorrow is a big day...we head to St. Louis to see Dr. Dobbs. Pray for safe travels!

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Easter Egg Hunt~Smith Farm

We took Elise and Amelia to my friend, Karen's, for an Easter Egg Hunt. Karen lives on a farm about 40 minute from our house. I missed the hunt last year...I was training for Philmont~backpacking in some remote place in Ohio/Indiana. But this year....I was there.

Naturally, I wanted my girls to look extra cute. Last year, Elise wore an OSU jersery, hair back in a sad pony tail and mismatched shorts. I wanted her to look "cute" this year. Sadly, we've had so much rain that Noah is building an ark....so "cuteness" was out and rubber boots and jeans was in. Remember, we're on a farm.

We arrived at Karen's and she pleasantly informed me that they had "baby chicks" in the house and that there were eggs in the hunt that had "baby chicks" as a prize. GREAT! I'm thinking of making a quick exit but decide to tough it out. So we take the girls in the house where the "baby chicks" are (remember, this is a working farm) and there is a big box of chicks with about 5 kids gathered around it. All I can think is...."I wonder if they've figured attrition in to the equation today". I grew up on a farm and raised many animals. I know what happens to baby chicks, especially when there are tiny little hands picking them up and "loving" them. I questioned Karen about this...she raised her glass of wine, winked and said, "that's what I'm counting on". So off we went to cuddle a chick.

The girls had a blast! Elise wanted to open each egg she picked up. That definitely inhibited her from gathering too many eggs. She LOVED the candy that was scattered about the field. Smarties are a favorite. Amelia was a CHAMP....she was definitely all about picking up the egg and putting it in the basket. Way too cute!

It was a great day! Thanks Karen and Adam for a smashing good Easter Egg Hunt!

HE LIVES!!!!!

Enjoy the pics...

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Presidential Scholar Candidate

Matthew has been nominated for the Presidential Scholar Award. Matthew, along with 5 other students from Lakota schools (4 from West, 2 from East).

The United States Presidential Scholars Program was established in 1964, by Executive Order of the President, to recognize and honor some of our Nation’s most distinguished graduating high school seniors. Each year, up to 141 students are named as Presidential Scholars, one of the Nation’s highest honors for high school students. In honoring the Presidential Scholars, the President of the United States symbolically honors all graduating high school seniors of high potential.

Final selections will be made in May by a committee of 32 people appointment by the President. There will be one boy and one girl selected from each state, D.C., Puerto Rico and US students living abroad.

Congratulations Matthew! We are very proud of you!

What's up with this table.....

There seems to be something about our kitchen table that draws my children to want to sit in the middle of it.

This is Elise in January of 2006


This is Amelia~March 2008

Elise looks to be a bit happier than Amelia does! But that's nothing unusual. I just can't figure out what the fascination is with this table. Elise started getting stuck in the middle as she got bigger. It took about four times of her getting totally frustrated because she couldn't get out and we would let her stew a bit before she finally gave up on the entire idea. Amelia doesn't have the leg strength that Elise had so she just sits her bottom in it and pulls herself up. Amelia has amazing upper body strength.

On a sour note, I've totally thrown out my back. Yep, it's so bad that my leg hurts and my foot gets numb. I had an MRI today, go back to the doctor tomorrow. This has been going on for almost two weeks now. Pray that I get some sort of resolution tomorrow. I need to get some sleep. I'm completely and totally miserable. I can't pick up the girls and they just don't get it. They are used to me just hauling them up on my hip and not batting an eye. Hmmmm....maybe that's part of the problem...33 lbs plus 23 lbs= lots of weight for Mamma. Anyway, I'm off to try to sleep. That will be on the couch in the basement since our family room is void of furniture right now. The new stuff is coming tomorrow. We watched American Idol sitting in our fold-up camp chairs!

Happy Adoption Day

It is so hard for me to believe that it has been three years since Elise officially joined our family! WOW, time does fly! The waiting and turmoil to get to her is a distant memory to us all now. Everyone said that when you finally get her, it all fades away and they were so very right.

Elise is a beautiful and bright child. She goes through her life with a zeal and zest that makes everyone around her smile. I am so grateful that God put her in our lives. What a blessing and gift she truly is.

The day passed by rather uneventful. Our area was hit with a minor blizzard yesterday, so we've been a little housebound. Most of the problem is my aching back...I feeling pretty icky with pain. I'm praying that it subsides a little. But it's been hanging with me for over a week now. And I'm getting rather grumpy with the lack of sleep.

I plan on doing something very special with the girls next week. I think a trip to Build a Bear is definitely a must to celebrate a few things. It should be interesting.

First photo of Elise on 1/6/05

Elise, you are such a delight. Everyday, I thank God for the Red Thread that connected us and brought us together. Thank you for loving me back!

Happy Adoption Day, Elise Christine Feng Wells!

Elise~February 2008

Lakota West Wrestling Firebird

Tucker is a freshman this year~Yikes! He is wrestling for the Lakota West Firebirds http://www.westfirebirds.com/ . We were thrilled when the high school coach moved Tucker up from the Freshman wrestling team to wrestling JV at the high school. Our freshman school is separate from the high school. Every attempt is made to integrate the freshman with the upperclassman, but it's very difficult since the schools are so far apart. So, it was a big deal when he got moved up. He missed his buddies at the freshman school, but he got some great experience wrestling this year! His record was 24-7, not bad at all!

Wrestling season is over, but Tucker did win his very first tournament this year. It was one of those moments that a parent will never forget. I've added a video of the final match as well as photos of him on the "Winner's Podium"

Link to the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ai7cnKJ3IZA

First Place, Deer Park Invitational 103 lb. weight class

Tucker was also selected as "Hammer of the Week" by his coaches. You can check out his picture here....

http://www.westfirebirds.com/sport.php?sport=w&page=hammers

It's been a very challenging year for Tucker. He's staying active by participating in some tournaments and by doing Free Style Wrestling at the high school. I'm not sure what he'll do this summer, but I'm sure a wrestling camp will be on the agenda!

Four years old....

Happy 4th birthday, Elise....

WooHoo, it's a party!

Is this all for me???

Singing happy birthday....


Big smile.....

Party Participants...Elise, Tucker & Amelia

Elise turned four years old on February 3rd. We have affectionately dubbed her Tacky the Penguin. Have you ever read the children's books about Tacky? They are a must read for anyone with little kids. Suffice it to say, that Elise reminds us of Tacky. She's a joyful, happy little girl that is full of drama. She wakes up happy as a lark in the morning and goes through her day in much the same way. Don't get me wrong, she has her "moments" of drama and fits. But she goes through life with a zeal that makes us all smile!

There was a very small celebration for her birthday...just family. Elise gets very embarrassed in crowds, so we skipped having a big party. She loves Dora, so we had to have a Dora cake. We're hoping that she outgrows Dora this year....we can only pray for that to happen!

We had professional photos done by my friend Laura. You can check out her stuff at www.lauralainephotography.com My favorites are of Elise with the flowers...they are just stunning. Happy Birthday Tacky!!!!

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