More Cruise Pictures

Cruise March 2011

A friend in need...

Please go to my friend Jessica's blog and read her post regarding her sister Janet.
http://rockyandjessica.blogspot.com



Please also go to Janet's site and consider making a donation to NFT, and if you do, please follow directions so the donation goes directly to help Janet.
She needs a kidney and pancreas transplant. She has been devastatingly ill for so many years now and she is still so very young.

http://sunshineforjanetmccrary.blogspot.com



Also, here is the link to the NFT site:
http://www.transplants.org/donate/janetmccrary


You should be able to see Janet's picture as you donate if you've followed directions properly.
If you can't donate, then please help by reposting this on your own blog or on Facebook. If everyone could help where they can, a little would add up to a lot!
THANK YOU

Happy Birthday David Daddy Dooley!

On Dave's actual birthday, we made him an orange soak cake with white chocolate drizzle and fresh strawberries. It was simple, and the orange juice, butter and powdered sugar glaze seeped into the cake and made it unbelieveably moist. The kids liked poking the holes in the top and watching the glaze soak in. Dad made corned beef and cabbage and potatoes and carrots and onions... (Two days early since I had class on St. Patty's Day.
We had a nice little dinner. The kids assisted in all aspects of the cake making process. The kids worked together a week before to write a poem for their Daddy and the day of his birthday Anna labored over writing each word of it onto a homemade card. She kept having to tape pieces of paper together to add more room.Then, my Mom threw Dave a dinner party at her house. I had said I would bring the cake... and I FORGOT! Whoops... So she just stuck some candles in a round loaf of bread that she served with the delicious dinner she made. THEN we got to go on a cruise ten days after his actual birthday... and I think it is safe to say we all had a very happy David Daddy Dooley birthday! :)

Horseback Lessons

I love the way Jon rides with his chin up and a smile on that sweet face. You can just tell how good he feels about himself. Worth every penny (and it costs LOTS of pennies!)

I love this picture of Anna... she reminds me of Chelsea Clinton for some reason? But I love it because she looks so confident and proud.

Pretty little girl, pretty little pony. Anna wants to get back into gymnastics, though... She says she can't stop thinking about it and it is her dream to go back there.

I love when Jon and Anna are side by side so you can see the difference in their horses. :). I love the two of them together. God couldn't have put two siblings together that complement each other more. Jonny and Annie forever.

Jonathan has been on a different horse named Vegas. I guess they needed Buttercup for someone else?

One great thing about the time change is that it is still bright outside for horseback lessons. Dave was able to get some great pictures this time.

Trystan's 6th Birthday Party!

Uncle Dave going down the slide.

Anna going down the slide.

Trystan on his birthday throne.

Jonathan

Trystan's beautiful sister Justine!

Anna Recites Her Memory Verse

Anna has memorized 13 verses so far at her AWANA club. She looks forward to going every week and has earned 2 patches for her vest so far. The video clip on the left is Anna saying the verse without holding the book. Jonathan sort of accused her of "reading" the verse in the clip on the right. She does look like she is reading it! But, not yet. She is only in Pre-K.

In case you can't understand her, she is saying:

He said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven.

Right now...

Right now, there's a kitchen sink under my dining room table which is in my living room next to the fridge that is by the front door in front of the fireplace which is stacked with drawers full of stuff from the kitchen. There is an oven and a dishwasher in my living room, in front of the TV. There is about 10 feet worth of modular IKEA storage crap that we usually keep in our dining room stuffed in Jonathan's bedroom, along with bins and garbage bags full of the contents of our kitchen drawers and cabinets... food, plates, utensils, spices, etc. Right now I'm supposed to be writing an essay that has to be uploaded by 5 and I am have to leave here to get to my Orlando class by 4 so I have less than 3 hours to get it done. I can't concentrate for some reason. We just had a nice Chinese takeout lunch picnic in Anna's room. We haven't slept at our house since Thursday night, but luckily we've been able to stay at my Mom's. We think we can sleep here tonight. Last night, it took me a long time to go to sleep, then Jon woke me up at 130 AM with nausea and a fever. It took him about three hours to fall back asleep. Then I finally fell asleep out on the couch, and then had nightmares about being trapped in a department store and being forced to try on dresses, all the while having to see all of these super awesome Michael Kors handbags on super clearance (and if you bought one you got your choice of a free pair of shoes!) but I kept being redirected to try on dress after dress after dress. I woke up and went to sleep back in the guest room with Dave. Then Anna woke us up an hour later. Dave and I were both sick starting yesterday so he stayed home from work, thankfully.
I have a terrible headache, neck pain/back pain, etc.
I am just hoping our problem is resolved, there will be no more leaking drain water coming up through the tile. The smell in our house was terrible. The new drywall/tile/paint etc., smell in the house smells like heaven in comparison. We have no idea if insurance is going to cover anything. But we have a good contractor who is doing things right and working really hard to get everything done, thank God. And we have my Mom who has been helping watch the kids all week and do dropoffs and pickups and feed us and do laundry and everything.
So right now, I am feeling a little insane because of the chaos of my personal space, and because of the chaos of trying to keep everything going with the kids and school and everything. Only 35 more days till we leave on our cruise. I'll tell you what I am NOT packing: anything school related. No books, no computer, nothing. NOTHING. Luckily, my spring break comes before the kids does so I should be able to get a lot done then while they are in school so I can mostly just be their mom during their spring break. I am STRESSED out right now. Although, I know, it could be worse. And I am excited to see how the kitchen turns out. I am just looking forward to the night when I can cook a meal and we can sit down in our dining room together and eat. I had better go and get my paper done. It will not be a good paper, but it will be turned in on time, and even though I feel awful, I will go over to class, 3 hours round trip and 3 hours sitting in class... I am so tired but it seems that action is better than inaction. Like if I just decided to stay home from class because I do have legitimate reasons to do so, I would just sit here and be totally stressed about missing class. And even though I feel like I will turn in a crappy paper, it is better than turning in nothing at all. Pictures to follow of the kitchen/dining room disaster and the finished product. I never get any time to blog anymore. :(