Wow, December 24, 2008... where have I been and where has the time gone? I sometimes feel like there is a void in my life. Something is just missing. I've been thinking and searching for it for a while. Well, maybe since 2008 when I posted last. I have a very loving husband, two amazingly wonderful children, a beautiful home, a great job, the Lord in my life and plenty of friends. However, it is the last on the list I sometimes question. Family is #1 and will always be, but friendships are as equally important in my life. I'm a very "in touch" type of person. I wear my heart on my sleeve and I take friendships to heart! If you are a close and dear friend of mine, you understand. I feed off the emotional connection you get from those friendships. Lately, I feel as if I long for those friendships I know still exist, but the miles between us are cause for separation. We can talk on the phone, chat on an instant message, text message each other or keep up-to-date with one another via facebook. But to see their beautiful faces in person, to embrace in an endearing hug, to just sit quietly across from each other and look into their eyes... this, is the void... this is what I long for! I long for a gathering of these special friends. I know it won't be something I get weekly or monthly, but I want to stop saying, "Our weekends are full, we'll try next year!" I'm planning a time for this moment to happen. Come one or come all, I look forward to the happy tears I know will stream down my cheek when I feel the long awaited embrace! We'll pick up right where we left off... we'll laugh, cry, and sit in silence together... Before I sign off for today, I'd like to thank Renee Swope at Proverbs 31 Ministries for her blog post. It is her devotion that shined light on this "void." I've been searching for it's cause and you're words where exactly what I was looking for... very heartfelt and uplifting, today!

Time to stop...

I sit in front of my computer wondering how on earth I'm going to get everything done by Christmas morning. Exhaustion has set in. Happy and Jolly are more like Numb and Blah. "White Christmas" is playing over and over in hopes to stop the rain and ice. It's dull and grey outside and the white powder would make it feel so much more like Christmas.

I try to shake the dulldrums but thoughts of 2008 race in my mind, the date on the calendar is 24 Dec... I think of Granny P... she would be 88 today! Tears trickle and I silently sing happy b-day... and then the thought of cherry cordials appears... she loved thoughs... I smile and chuckle!

I open an email from a dear friend... always one to shed light and help me realize the good... Happy and Jolly reappear and I am thankful... for family, friends, coworkers, my job, the roof over my head, the food in my pantry and the clothes on my body...

It's time to stop the hustle and bustle, take a deep breathe and remember what Christmas is all about... Thank you Greg!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all~ Le

From Greg:

Good Morning,
It is that time of year again....to reflect back and look at everything we have accomplished this year, and look forward to 2009. As I reflect back, I think about what I did or could have done to be a positive influence on someone.....Alot of times, I look to my family....and think, could I have been a better Dad, a better wife, taken more time with the kids....family is so important to me....and I am sure to all of you as well....the times you spend with family is priceless....it doesn't cost anything (it shouldn't).......how often do we take "time" to talk with siblings, parents, grandparents....take a day to go for a walk with them...and truly ask them about their lives, and what they are doing and if there is anything we can do for them....and just "listen"....most of us probably talk alot, but just listen.....
The last couple years, I have mentioned that my son has gone on a mission trip from our church....he did it again this year without me......which was sad, and tough on me....it was somewhat preparing me for his leaving for college next September I guess....anyway, he went to Gutemala....and distributed medicine to families, took blood pressure, and actually got to do some stitching on a patient who had a surgery....he worked on the medical team...as he wants to go to medical school...what a great experience....but the best part was....it gave him another chance to see how other people live, and what they don't have....and truly how much he has....even better, was that when he came home, he told us he doesn't need much for Christmas....and as a family we donated stuff to a charity......
I guess when we all think of the holidays......remember your familes.....love them, spend time with them, encourage them, and give them what they need......life is to short to not take the time....we take so much for granted...me included, and yet we have soooo much....we are blessed as people and a nation....and others have so little......if we all dedicated to giving to one person in need during the holidays, we could make a difference....to put a smile on someone else's face......so many people are homeless, and will not have anything for Christmas.....I truly am Thankful for what I have.....and for all of you, and the relationships we have built....its because of the partnership we have, that we have success.....
Thank you all for being the people you are.....and in 2009, look to be even better....look to make a difference in one persons life......give to someone who has hardly anything, and is truly in need.....be with family.....hug your kids and spouses every night...and tell them how much you love them.....life is to short not to.....work is busy, but family is forever......make sure you tell them that every day......

May God bless you this holiday season with happiness, joy, peace and good health.......

Waking up Happy!

Finally! The BIG GIRL BEDROOM is complete, well, once we get her rug cleaned tonight it will be complete. And, she transitioned from our bed to hers quite well... sleeping all night on the very first night! WHOO HOOO!

Let's back up a little in this story. We have been trying to transition the "nursery" to a "big girl" room for about a year and a half now. This is our second child and unfortunately we didn't learn from our first born when it came to the whole "conversion" bed craze. You see when we found out we were pregnant for the first time, we got sucked into the "One Stop Shop" (a.k.a. Baby's R Us). They convinced us to buy the 3-in-1 conversion bed: Crib, toddler bed, full bed. Well... Owen didn't last a week in the toddler bed before he either rolled out (yes, even with a rail) or woke up and walked into our room. So, thankfully, we had the conversion rails to make it a full bed and that was that. We swore we wouldn't do it again... WRONG. Although we weren't at the One Stop Shop, two and a half years later we are shopping for Olivia's crib and WHAM BAM... sucked in to the 3-in-1 bed again. This time we tried to keep her in the crib even though she was climbing out at one and a half years old. After a few "hard" falls, though, we changed it to the toddler bed. Just like her older brother, she didn't last a week before she was walking into our room at two o'clock in the morning. Unfortunately (and once again, this is something we should have known going into this), there was no room for the full bed in her quaint little room. Well, that is if you want a dresser to store her clothes. So, the toddler bed for the last year and a half has been used as storage for her babies, blankets, laundry, etc. And the conversion rails for the full bed are enabling spiders to create there beautiful webs somewhere in the attack. So, Olivia either sleeps in Owen's bed (forcing Owen into our bed) or she sleeps in bed with us.

Finally, after having our backs, heads, faces kicked a million times we decided we'd better do something (umm, hello?!). We found the most beautiful bed online. And why wouldn't the rest of the toddler parent's out there think it was just as beautiful? Maybe we should have thought about that a trillion weeks ago. The dresser was in and ready to be shipped, but the bed... the most important piece... was on backorder, and backorder, and backorder again... and so on. The kicking of the backs, heads, faces... being pushed to the outer most parts of the bed... waking up grouchy with kinks and sore backs... continued on for another gazillion weeks.

We sang the praises yesterday, though: ALLELUIA, ALLELUIA, ALLELUIA, ALLELUIA, ALLELUIA! The furniture was delivered! The bedding was purchased and the Princess is as happy as can be!

More importantly... the evil king and queen woke up and were suprisingly happy!;)

Just like riding a bike...

Welcome back, me! I'm a little nervous about posting again. It's been a month or more since my last post. I've been quite busy. So, with my helmet and training wheels on, I'm back at it again. I really don't know where to begin. So I'll start with the week of September 8-12: I was off to the west coast for a work conference. The conference was in Anaheim, and I was able to venture out each evening to Laguna, Hollywood Blvd, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Sunset Blvd and Malibu. It was my first trip to that part of California and it was pretty much what I expected... huge homes on the hills, lots of fancy cars, fine dining and beautiful weather. I did splurge and buy a purse on Rodeo Dr. for the mere pleasure of one day saying to my grandchildren as we sit and watch an "old" movie called Pretty Woman that I have been on that there Rodeo Drive.... and this is the purse (pulling it out of a dusty old box) I bought. All in all, it was a great and quick trip. We packed a lot of fun into a week. Next visit to CA will be to visit family in SanFran area and do some wine adventures...

While I was gone, I missed Olivia's first dance class but came to find out parents aren't aloud to watch. So, thankfully, I really didn't miss anything. She continues to have dance every Tuesday and is loving it. She wants to wear tights and bodysuits every day. You may remember a time this was "cool and in style" attire. I may even have a few of those snap crotch body suits tucked away somewhere for when the 90's attire comes back full circle! Anyway, she practices her twirls and marching all over now... even down the aisles of the grocery store. She's quite good! She enjoys the hour with her cousin Ellie... I'd love to be a fly on the wall.

Owen continues to love Kindergarden. We enjoy getting to hear all about his new friends, what fun things he learns and all the fun he has at recess! Is it abnormal that a kindergardener's favorite thing about school at this age is the two recesses? He does great at homework and always has good stories to tell. We continue to get good reports from the teachers, despite the one call we got from the Principal's office. YEP... that's right. I got back to work from lunch one day to a note stating, "call the school." When I called, the Principal asked me to hold on for a minute as she was going to put me on speaker phone with Owen. Seems he and his best buddy had an altercation in the bathroom... hmmmm! Needless to say, they learned a lesson to keep their hands to themselves and NO PUSHING AND SHOVING. It had to do with wanting to get back to the classroom first... so belts were taken off and pushing was involved. I'm pretty sure from that point on, they are kept apart when not in the classroom.

Owen's flag football started while I was in CA, so we are knee deep in football fever at our house. Monday games (high school), practice Tues-Thur, Friday games (high school), Saturday games (flag football) and then college all afternoon as we sit and take a deep breathe from the week. We (well, me between catching up on laundry and cleaning) also wind down on Sundays as we continue to fullfill our football needs with NFL.... ALL DAY. I sometimes sneak in a movie when the rest of the clan dozes off... but not usually!

Olivia turned 3 on October 9th. We had a small birthday party with the grandparents. She was bummed her cousins were all out of town, but we had a ball anyway. Her cake was Ariel from The Little Mermaid. This is her favorite Disney Princess right now, but Sleeping Beauty is a very close second. She got all kinds of fun stuff for a 3 year old... including a suitcase full of make-up, body glitter and fancy hair clips. I think my Aunt forgot she was only three... we have glitter all over the house... and my toenails this week are all different colors... blue/yellow and pink/yellow. My fingernails were blue over the weekend, but I didn't think it looked to professional so I convinced her to keep it on my toes.

Fall has crept in and we're loving it. Troy continues to keep busy getting yards ready for winter. We have started a few new projects outside at our house with some of the left over plants. It's great being in the landscaping business! As we wind down this fall, we'll keep our fingers crossed for a winter packed full of snow!

The backyard and woods are so colorful and we are having fun back at the camp fire. This past Sunday was our first day for roasting hotdogs and smores. Oh so yummy!!!! We are getting the woods all cleaned up and the paths cleared for the rest of fall and winter. Owen is our wonderful trail leader . It's spooky at night but he leads us through with his flash light... and only once did it go out! But we followed the voices from those hanging around the fire and found our way back.

This weekend is Halloween in Van Wert... trick -or-treat from 4:00 to 6:00 on Saturday. This year, Olivia is Aurora, Owen is Prince Philip and I am dressing up as Maleficent. No... Troy is not following the Sleeping Beauty theme. He is going to be a Treece Landscaper.

I'll get photos up soon. I've been taking sooooooo many. Actually, too many! I can't keep up with putting them on the computer and posting them. Oh well... winter is coming and I'll need things to do. I think...

Hope everyone out here in the blog-o-spere is doing well. All though I haven't been posting, I'm still reading all my favorites. And I admire all of you who post regularly. It's sooooo nice to read about "real" life, keeping away from all the political garbage.

Love to all ~ Le

Cosmetologist in training...

We found out what Olivia wants to be when she grows up...


Saurday morning was a delight. Olivia decided she was big enough to dry her own hair. We were getting ready to go to Daddy's football game, so I let her at it and went about dressing. We left the house, both dolled up and ready to root on the Cougars. See our stylist in action :)

Sunday... not so delightful. We got up early and were sitting at the kitchen table. Troy was doing paperwork, Owen was still half asleep watching cartoons and Olivia wanted to do her type of "paperwork." So, I got the crayons, construction paper and scissors out! Yep... SCISSORS! I helped her cut along the edges and "fringe" the sheet of paper. After a while, we had made quite a mess so I started picking up and then decided to make pancakes and bacon. Unfortunately, when I got up, there was still one sheet of paper, a red crayon and the scissors on the table. And, I won't mention Troy was sitting right beside her. I heard her repeat, "Daddy... Daddy... Daddy..." several times for attention. Then, it was "MOMMY"... and when I looked up all while pouring pancake batter in the hot frying pan, she was holding the scissors in her hand. I think I said something (really stupid) like, "Yes, honey... scissors." Before, I knew it... Troy was screaming and showing me 8 inches of hair that was on the floor! Pancake batter flying and a startled 2 year old screaming, I wisked her away to the bathroom to see the damage. Despite her Dad scarring the bejesus out of here, I got her calmed down and we looked in the mirror... See for yourself... she doesn't look too destraught, huh?

It really wasn't that bad. It's just the front part you can see in this picture. Maybe a little on the sides... like a layered effect. Thankfully, all the glitz and glitter now a days, there are some really great barrettes to help hold these bangs back while they grow out. It could have been A LOT WORSE... like..."She could have cut her finger off!" As Troy is freaking out. "Hair will grow back, honey!" He's still looking at me like I'm going to be able to fix it.

On a different note... notice the shirt she is wearing? Still loves horses!