Tagged. . . TWICE!

I must admit, I have been putting this blog off for a while. I don't really know why. . . maybe it's the avoiding "forwards" thing, or maybe it's the unknown answers to questions. Who knows! Anyway, I have been tagged twice now and figure it's time to step up and get it over with. So, here goes. . .

First memory. . . racing the boys in preschool and actually beating them!

First real kiss. . . Joey at church camp, age 15. Enough said.

First love. . . basketball. By the time I was 13, that's all I could think about. That and boys *wink*.

First concert. . . Accappella and I still love them.

First thing you think in the morning. . . That depends on what the first thing I hear is. (A) If it's Karsyn, then "not yet - I need more sleep - shh, maybe she's doze back off." That never happens by the way. (B) If it's Seth's sweet little steps sneaking up the stairs, "Go watch some cartoons downstairs Seth. Mommy will be down in a minute." (C) If I wake up on my own (no alarm), then I think, "Where am I and how long have I been sleeping?" That rarely happens to mommies for those of you without kids!

First pet. . . my dog, Chip

First book you remember loving. . . probably Anne of Green Gables. Wouldn't it be lovely to live next to the Lake of Shining Waters and have a bosom friend like Diana Berry? And do I even need to mention the dreamy Gilbert Blythe?

First question you'll ask in heaven. . . Hmmm... I just can't think of one... I feel like once I'm there and start singing and praising I will never stop.

First thing you think of when you hear the word vacation. . . Can we afford that?

First best friend. . . I moved lots as a kid, so a few names come to mind, but as far as as a REAL BEST FRIEND. . . Annie and I will always be kindred spirits!

Last time you dressed up. . . Does my wedding count? No really, other than church, I can't think of the last time I was really dressed up *so sad*.

Last thing you ate. . . Ghirardelli chocolate and a cup of coffee.

Last CD you bought. . . Jack Johnson

Last good book you read. . . Little Myth Marker, by Robert Asprin (clever mythical comedy my little bro recommended). I am looking forward to reading the new Harry Potter book though - coming out in late July for those of you not into HP.

Last time you cried. . . earlier tonight when Seth left for his long month away. He is gone to his biological father's for the entire month of July *tear in eye*.

Last time you told someone you loved them. . . again, when Seth left a couple of hours ago.

Last really funny thing you did. . . yeah, I 'm not really such a funny person. More sarcastic and dry with my whiplashes. Funny to me, but not so funny to others I'm afraid. I did record Seth singing a silly WoW song, "Roflmao," and turned it into one of my ringtones. Again, funny to Drew and I, but not to many others (especially if you don't play WoW).

Last thing you watched on TV. . . I'm watching Music & Lyrics while I blog. . . so funny.


This is the point when I am suppose to tag someone else, but I don't really do the forward thing very well myself, so I feel a little guilty tagging someone else. . . Hmmm. . . Oh well, in the spirit of learning more about great friends, I tag. . . Annie, Sarah & Apryl. (Hey you girls, don't feel guilty if you don't do this - hehe!)

New Things!

It is always fun to see what Karsyn's reaction to new things, specifically foods, will be... below you can see that she LOVES fresh veggies and fruit. Both strawberries and broccoli are winners! She loves to sit on the counter in her bumbo (yes, I realize the dangers this may cause, but I always stay very close by) and watch me do dishes or cut up veggies. It was here that she was eyeing a broccoli stalk that I left by her bumbo. I checked for loose pieces that may come off and plucked any remaining leaves. When I thought it was "safe" I handed it to her... what a fun chew toy! It didn't go over as well as the strawberries, but she didn't complain either. :O)






Seth went to an outdoor water-fun birthday party recently and he fell in love with the slip & slide! He has been asking for one ever since. I finally gave in (after he was cooped up in the hospital for 4 days - guess I was feeling sorry for him). He LOVES to run and slip - on his knees - and splash into the end. He is not always successful at making it to the pool, but he is not discouraged. He just runs back and tries again. I have tried to explain to him that he is suppose to slip on his tummy, but he just doesn't think that sounds right, and in his strong-willed little head, "on the knees" is the only way to slip & slide!

Sweet Siblings

I just love to see my kids loving on each other. Karsyn adores Seth and literally lights up when she sees him. He is almost always sweet to her. He lets her reach out and touch him on the face and she loves for him to give her hugs. . . she grabs hold of his head and just grins as big as she can (sometimes dripping drool into Seth's hair - but we won't tell him that *wink, wink*). Karsyn wakes up in the morning grinning and happy to see me. Seth is my sleeper though and he lays in bed as long as possible. He can't help but smile and wake up when I lay Karsyn on the bed next to him though. "Come here little sweetie," he will say to her. And then he will proceed to sing our little good morning song to her. I am sure they will be great friends as they grow through the years. God has truly blessed us with sweet little siblings!

San Antonio

Recently, Drew had work in San Antonio. What FUN! We joined him and while he worked during the day, the kids and I played and had fun! I love the Riverwalk... great place to people watch. Plus, the lights and music and of course good mexican food make it all the more enjoyable. We also took in some Ben & Jerry's (for those of you who have not tried the new Cinnamon Bun flavor - YUM!) as we walked along the river. It was good family fun!

We went to the zoo (a long 5 hour expedition... I always forget how big it is and how much time it takes to get through it - well, if you're zoo lovers like us anyway) and had fun gazing at animals, taking pictures, taking breaks, and eating snacks. Apryl and Tess joined us for the fun outing, so this was the first time at the zoo for both Tess and Karsyn.



Crazy habits. . . always have to take a picture of a flamingo / schwalla!




Feeding nectar to the parrots was incredible. God's beautifully colorful creatures would land right on you to take a sip of the yummies in your cup. Be careful though, they might try to take a nibble of you too! Karsyn did get a kick out of them though. She would try to pet at them wildly (probably looked like an out of control swat to the parrot) and then just giggle away. It was so cute!




My crazy little sister poses like the drama queen she is. . .

We also loved the Jaguar. It was very active... pacing back and forth through it's cage. It's paws were huge... would hate to run into it on a dark jungle night!

Tess and Karsyn enjoyed the zoo so much! Check them out having fun.... ZZZZZZZ!

We also made time to visit the Alamo. Seth really enjoyed it and wanted me to read every sign we passed (even the really long ones). I think we will really enjoy TX history!

Karsyn, again fully enjoys her Alamo experience. . . ZZZZZ!

Blackberry Picking

In an effort to support the local farmers in our area, Apryl and I took the kids to Sweet Berry Farms (that and we love berries!). We especially like blackberries and are determined to teach our kids the love of them too. We packed up strollers (I absentmindedly forgot our hats though) and headed off to the berry farm. We had such a good time and picked way too many berries (probably 18 lbs. between the two of us). After getting way too hot and tired we found a picnic table in the shade and had a little lunch. We ended our day with some yummy fresh strawberry popsicles. Tess would make the funniest faces eating them. You could tell she wanted a bite, but would scrunch up her face from the cold and make a little squeal... then she would do it all over again. Karsyn took to the sweet treats right away and just loved them... never making a sound or funny face... just eating/sucking on it as fast as she could. We had a great day! I can't wait until fall and we can return to buy our pumpkins!

Mystery Virus... Found!

The past week or so has been a bit of a roller coaster for us. Last Thursday Seth woke up with a high fever (he had already been running a low fever for 2 days) and he wasn't able to keep Tylenol or Motrin down to help with it. So we loaded up and headed for the doctor. As we drove through the parking lot, I wanted to stick my head out the window and shout... "Lady with a baby & a really sick kid!" but alas, I did not and we settled for parking spot 3 rows away from the entrance. I'm sure I looked like a complete mess to everyone who saw us... Seth was so weak & could barely walk, so I loaded him in K's stroller... Karsyn went in the sling, and away we went. Oh, did I mention that this is about the time that it started raining. By the time we got in and they started checking him out he was up to 104.8 degrees. Lethargic does not even begin to describe his behavior when the doctor was in the room. When she began talking to me, Seth rolled over on the examining table... he was having trouble breathing and was mumbling through what appeared to be a fitful sleep. The Dr. was concerned about his fever and many other symptoms he was showing (abdominal pain, cracked peeling lips, reddish eyes, weakness & so on). She was concerned he might have an appendicitis or Kawasaki's disease. We were transferred to the children's hospital for what turned out to be days of blood tests, cultures, IV fluids, EKG, Eco Cardiograms, roller coasters temperatures, multiple doctors, but no answers. Test after test came back negative. :O( Seth's fever continued to spike during the night & they would not let us go home until he was fever free for 24 hours. Finally that day came & we were sent home with no fever but with follow-up visits with different doctors to set. We saw Seth's Infectious Disease Dr. Tuesday & she was pleased with how Seth was recovering, although she did not like not having an answer. She reviewed Seth's lab results with me. All negative, except for one that was pending. She said that, unfortunately, we my never know what it was that caused Seth to be so sick & she was sorry. We continued to see Seth's pediatrician, who I knew would not have answers, but just wanted to follow-up. We made an appointment to see the Pediatric Cardiologist later this month, and for the most part, life was continuing to go on and I was fine with that. Then today while we were visiting little cousin Tess & delivering her birthday gift (we were all at the hospital the day of her party - so sorry Tessy Girl), the ID doc called and said that the final test came back POSITIVE! Finally an answer! Life now can continue on without the mystery virus haunting us. I do want to thank all of you awesome prayer warriors out there who continually lifted Seth up to our Father. His healing hand brought us home!