Uppercase Living

Have you heard of this company? I hadn't until my birthday back in November. My small group got me a gift certificate to this company and I have been in love with it since! They are expressions that you can either choose from or create your own to go on your walls in your home. Here are some of the ones I have purchased.

This one was my first purchase!

This is my more recent purchase

This is an expression I purchased for my girlfriends birthday and placed on a ceramic tile with an easle to put in her entrance of her home! She loved it!

Another Birthday present for a friend

New Playset

Do you like puzzels? Then I have to tell you about a couple projects we put together last weekend. The first one was a little cottage playhouse, which my mom and I agree was probably more for us than the kids! However last Saturday Morgan's friend from daycare was over for the afternoon to play and visit, they had so much fun playing with that while the rest of us worked on the swingset. After my dad and I finished assembling the cottage, it was time to go to work on the "big" project....the long awaited swingset! Kyle's parents had come up for the weekend to see the girls and willingly participated in putting this "adult size puzzel together! So, Jim, Cindy and my dad and I worked on the swing set, while my mom "managed" the kids - which is a whole different story for later! God bless my mother!!!
Now I like this kind of thing and find immense pleasure and joy in doing things like this. I guess because I love to work with my hands and really find it to be my "thing" for lack of a better word. I also enjoy learning how to use different tools. The swingset I had got from Home Depot - one of those do it your self guys. We had one major issue to contend with...a gradually slopping surface! So leveling the thing was our biggest issue, the other was actually putting the thing together the correct way the FIRST time. We found ourselves going back and redoing things at least a few times! There has to be nothing more frustrating than this. The entire project claims to take 3-6 hours. In fact, the box says build and play in one day! Well, not exactly...we started about 2 pm and didn't finish getting the "bones" of the swingset together until 10 pm. Getting just that finished was my primary goal, because I knew I could to the rest later on my own. We ended up leveling the swing set with some brick pavers (on two sides) and shims (on one of those sides). Then the A frame of it was supposed to take 4x4x8's and I thought that if we got 4x4x10's we could measure the difference in the slope of the ground in relationship to where the box part of the swing was to where the A frame would sit. We figured 16" need to come off, but I decided only to do 15" instead to leave us a little bit of wiggle room. We put that thing up and the bubble of the level was almost right exactly in the middle - had we taken more off, it would have been further off. So here is the finished project and some pics from today of us having fun!

Testimony to God's Faithfulness

God is so faithful and good, amen!?! He never fails and his love is never ending. As I look over the course of my life since my second conversion, I continue to see God's precious hand on and in my life. His faithfulness never ceases to amaze me again and again. About oh, 2 months or so ago, I sent out this email:

Hi Everyone!

I hope you are all doing well in this new year! My reason for writing is a creative effort to try and find childcare for the summer for the girls. And please don't discount the fact that you are receiving this email, because I carefully thought about you and your circle of friends, family, young people you know, and co-workers you reach. I had sent away for information on an Au pair, but after receiving it, we could not commit to a 12 month stay due to the high price when I am still at home in the winter months (if I was working year round it would be a no brainer!). I am still looking into the possibility of a 4 month stay though. In researching this avenue of childcare it has brought me to think a little more outside the lines of finding someone to help this summer. If you are receiving this and live more than an hour away from us, but do know someone who would be responsible enough to care for a 5 month old and a 4 year old, I would be more than happy to first interview them & if it works, have them stay up here with us for the summer. I am sure there has got to be some 17+ yr olds out there who would love a summer away from mom and dad! I would need this person Tuesday - Friday from 8am - about 3 or 4 pm. And possibly for Thursday nights, so I don't have to give up going to my small group during the summer. Maybe occassionally on the weekends, but the weekends and Monday would be mostly free to them. And it might be nice to occassionally have another night a week to go out for a "date" with my husband! I would prefer that they have some kind of CPR training and/or knowledge and have worked with children before. What else? I can't think right now, but please would you ask around in your circles for me? I would be forever grateful!

The golf season is upon us, and before we know it we will be in full swing. I contribute a very important and necessary part to Kyle's golfing staff, yes, even though I still don't earn a paycheck!!! So, for me to stay home would be a huge loss for him. I am in charge of running the arts & crafts portion of a 9 week camp, which consists of 3 hours each morning 4 days a week. I am also seperately looking for a helper for that as well, i.e. someone different from the childcare part. In addition to that I help with the golf shop, merchandise, and occassionally do Kyle's billing, which may seem meager, but it is the consistency in staff and a familiar face for the members which makes my job important. And I really love being there. For me it is a nice change of pace from a stay-at-home mom in the winter months, to a working mom in the summer! If you have further questions, i would be happy to answer them. Thank you in advance!

Sincerely,

Taylor

It was my heart's plea to friends and family to bring about someone responsible to watch my girls at home for the summer, after discovering the bank breaking costs of putting two children in daycare. I received a few response back of which one resulted in a hiring. I had been considering an Au Pair b/c the golfing season is longer than most college students summer vacation. However, I didnt' mention that I would prefer to have some who is a christian and what I really desired in the Au Pair program is the whole cultural experience. So, I prayed and prayed and took it to my small group and church and I believed that God would present me with someone who was perfect for my needs and my family. Well, He did just that and more! I never asked God for the cultural experience or more than 4 months. One of my friends I met from CBS, Dawn, told me about a girl who may have been interested. After she called her, and later told me that she was interested, Erin, called me that night. We spoke for about 30 mins. I asked her everything that I thought was hands down important for watching the girls. And I felt led to offer her the position, without speaking to any other potential canidates. I hadn't even met her face to face, had no idea what she looked like, but my thought was "what is that going to do for me other than make me feel very superficial?" But I could feel God reassurring me that she was His choice for us.

Erin has been living with us for nearly 3 weeks now. She just completed her sophmore year at Grace College in IN. Is fluent in French, as it is her major, and her family came from South Africa. She is the only one of her siblings born in the US! So there is some culture! She is planning on studing abroad for a year in France starting in late Sept. She moved in on the 28th of April following her last final that day and plans on staying with us up until she leaves for school in Sept! That is nearly 5 months! Is God good or what? But not only all of this, she and I have also clicked very well, we have many commonalities, she is awesome with my children, and she helps me even when she is not obligated to do such. She is also very laid back like I am and easy going. I am so in love with her spirit! And God planned and work all of this out - be it to His glory. Here is a pic of Erin - she is the one on the left. Love this girl! Thank you sweet Jesus for always taking care of us!

the invitation

My all time favorite singer at Harvest hands down is Meredith Andrews. It is not her that I love, but rather the voice and the words she sings for Jesus. Her voice is so pure and sweet and on April 29th she will be releasing her first album ever, titled, "the invitation." I have much awaited her to release an album, and am throughly thrilled to see that one is coming out!!! I will be at the bookstore first thing! I have also been pining to see her in concert for some time now, but just did not have anyone to go with not to mention what I will do with my children.... She is coming to Harvest Saturday, April 19th, with Aaron Shust (another sure favorite) and Brandon Heath (I really like hime too!). Click on the picture to go to her myspace page where you can actually hear some of her music. She is very talented and has an absolutely amazing voice! I hope you enjoy her too!

I Love This Place!

Friday I renewed our Brookfield Zoo membership in anticipation for the nice day on Saturday. The membership is $101 and includes a lot of nice perks. Plus if you use it just twice it more than pays for itself! So Saturday morning, I got us (Morgan, Addison and myself) ready, which only took an hour longer than I wanted, but hey, who cares right? Packed our snacks, zoo cups, stroller, front pack, and camera, and off we went. We arrived at the front gate exactly at 11 am (which I was wanting to be there by 10 am, oh, well!), and spent 4 hours of fun walking, looking at the animals, and playing at the park, while Addison cat napped. To much of my surprize, Addison enjoyed the zoo as much as Morgan and I, if not more. She was facing out in the front pack and "talking" almost the entire time! I only spent $4 the entire day! Yippee! Morgan was slightly disappointed that the sting ray exhibit was not open yet, as she had gone last year with Grandma Bauer and was looking forward to seeing the little creatures. But top on her agenda were the giraffes and the monkeys! We also saw the camels and the two babies born just months ago. Did you know that they are gray when they are babies? Me either! Below are some pics of our day together. If you ever want to go to the zoo, please call us as we would LOVE to go, and make the investment in the "plastic zoo cups" as you will get free refills all day and you can bring them back at your next visit for free refills as well....well worth the investment! Also, bring you lunch with you, as the cost of food is worse than the baseball or football games up here!

She On A Roll!!! At 3 Months?

Yesterday, as I was making lunch for Morgan, I had placed Addison on her back on a blanket and on the kitchen floor when I looked over and she was on her tummy! Dumbfounded I put her back on her back and sat back to watch her roll over to her tummy again! I couldn't believe it! So, I did it again, and there she went! This kid has not ceased to amaze me since she was born. At 3 1/2 weeks, she rolled from her tummy to her back. Everytime we put her down on her tummy, she must have thought that she needed to be on her back....so I thought she wasn't getting enough time on her tummy, but evidently from yesterday, that just isn't the case. Here are some pictures to chronicle the event:

Update

Thought that I would update with some pictures. We did get back from vacation and as soon as I have more time I will write about it. Since then we have purchased a new computer, b/c our home computer is on it's way out....quickly. I have been transferring files, pics, and iTunes - which has taken quite sometime.

Morgan's Track that She Made (with minor assistance)

Addison in Morgan's Dora Chair

"The Hillary Clinton Memorial Bridge"

Our Visit to Grandma and Grandpa's House and the Hospital

Morgan, Addison and I went home to visit my parents this past weekend and celebrate with my mom her retirement after nearly 34 yrs of service. My biggest concern for the weekend was simply the trip to and from with an infant and a toddler in the car for an extended period of time. I armed myself well, with videos of Dora and Thomas, purchased a portable v-smile for Morgan's games, fed Addison before we left and had her pacifier on hand. With many people praying for us and our travel I felt blessed by God's answer to our prayers. Morgan, who will not take a nap for the life of me - even in the car, fell asleep with in 25 minutes of leaving! Addison did well as well and fell asleep some time afterward. Both slept almost until we arrived at my parents! Unbelievable!

However, we had a bit of an unexpected event.... Addison had not been eating well Wed, Thurs, Fri, and Sat. Then Saturday night I was up all night with constant, no stop screaming. She was very inconsolable. My mom and I took her temp on Sunday morning and discovered a 101.9 temp. We called the er and they told us to bring her in right away. When the doctor told me that they were going to admit her for a minimum of 2 days, I about fell off my chair. They did a chest x-ray, urine sample, nose swab (for the flu and rsv) which all came back normal and took blood. They also attemted to obtain spinal fluid via a spinal tap to rule out meningitis. They were unable to obtain spinal fluid after 5 attempts, two with guided imaging and from what I understand it is easier to get spinal fluid on an infant than drawing blood. On her blood work, her white blood cell count came back really high, indicating an infection somewhere in her body. So they treated her for antibiotics for 2 days and then they took her off and monitored her for 24 hours to make sure she did not spike another temp. They also took more blood early Wednesday morning which came back all normal.

So, finally yesterday, after 3 days in the hospital, they released us and we drove back home. However, we are not totally out of the clear as she could have a partially treated case of meningitis, but the dr thinks that it is probably a virus she picked up. We see our ped on Monday. Although, she is eating well, smiling a lot and not fussy at all, so I believe we are most likely in the clear. Praise God for taking good care of her!

Here are pics from our stay....

Feeling better...

Some First Smiles

Warming up.....

Getting there.....

There we go!!!

She's so sweet! I just love cuddling with her....running my cheek alongside her hair...especially after a bath, I just can't get enough! It seems like this time around, I have either had more time or really just taken it to enjoy her. I don't remember having as much time with Morgan and it went so much faster than I realized it would, plus I had to go back to work right away, which really stole time from her. I think knowing that this time, I have really focused on enjoying this time when she is so small and still so sweet.

Morgan's Way of Saying Good Morning......

Sounding like a stampede of elephants Morgan makes her way from her bedroom to the family room. Then, just before she reaches the family room she inquires in a very strong and authoritative voice, "Whose out here?"

When Quiet Is Not Good....

The Crime Scene...

The Weapon.....

The Evidence...

The Result...

The Haircut to Fix the Haircut

I guess Morgan was trying out a future occupation in hairdressing. I walked in the family room to find Morgan in the corner behind her table with sissors to a huge chunk of hair. Next to her was already a wad of hair and pieces from her dancing Dora dress. I almost started crying as I was so upset that #1) she would actually do something like this, #2) that she did do it and #3) that I wasn't around to catch her before she did it. Luckily I was able to get her in for a haircut to fix her haircut! She has been smiling more since then and when I ask her why she is so happy she tells me that she likes having bangs now.

God Forgot to Give Addison Teeth

Last night on the way home from gymnastics, Morgan asked if she could give Addison a goldfish cracker. Of course, I said no and added we don't ever give a baby food, just her bottle. She then asked why and I thought the simpliest way to explain to her without giving her information she wouldn't be able to understand was "well, because she doesn't have any teeth to chew the food." To which she responded, "God forgot to give her teeth."

Re-check of Weight & Heart Murmur

We went in today for her follow-up from last week and she weighed in at 7 lbs 13.8 oz. So this is good, as she has gained enough interium weight. However, she is still only in the 25th percentile. But regardless, good! The heart murmur is still there, but it is not as pronounced as it was last week. Our dr. still decided to go ahead and refer us to a pediatric cardiologist at Children's, out of formality sake. He is pretty confident that we will go and it will just be a waste of our time, but that it is a good idea regardless. I certainly agree! I will keep you posted as to when and what occurs from this. Please continue to pray for God to heal her heart completely and her weight to continue to increase.

Addison's Favorite Sleeping Position

She seems happiest when she can contort herself to this position!

2 - Week Check

Addison had a two-week check this last Monday. Her weight was still down at 7 lbs. 9 oz. Also, when the Dr. checked her heart, the murmur was still present. Normally we would come back for a one month check but b/c her weight gain was poor and the murmur is still there we are scheduled to come back next Monday for re-checks. Please pray that the murmur is gone and her weight gain is good.

Welcome Addison Claire!

Addison was born December 24, 2007 and shares daddy's birthday! They are 33 yrs apart! She weighed in at 7 lbs 11oz and was 20 1/4" long. Amazingly she looks almost identical to Morgan's birth picture. Although her hair is a little lighter and eyes a little more on the blue side rather than steel. It is almost as if I go back in time when I hold and look at her to when I held Morgan as a baby. Even though their personalities are different.

We had quite an interesting and much different experience from Morgan's arrival. I had woken up at 2 am to go to the bathroom and when I laid back down I started noticing a cramping feeling about every 10 minutes. So around 3 am when it didn't subside, I woke Kyle up and told him about it. He got a shower and some clothes together and we went to the hospital. We got there about 4:40 am. After about an hour and a half of walking and some time later, the resident determined that I was not in labor and sent me home dialated at 4 1/2! From what I understand, typically you get a choice of whether or not you want pitocin at 4 cm but, my guess is that b/c of Christmas, they were short staffed and not equipped to take me on.

We then drove 45 mins home and spent an hour at home before I told Kyle to call the doctor back and ask her what in the world else could this be other than labor. And that I wanted to be induced if they still think it wasn't labor, b/c the pain was unbearable. So 45 mins later at 11 am we arrived back at the hospital. After getting set up they determine that I was in fact in labor! Of course I asked for an epidural right away. Again, b/c of Christmas and being short staff the only anesthesiologist working was with a c-section patient and would come as soon as he was finished. By the time he arrived and started to prep me, I had a contraction and my water broke and the next contraction she was coming! She was born in about 5 -10 mins without any pain relief! Holy cow, I thought that I was going to die! It was fast and slightly scary considering I hadn't planned on not having pain relief. And had I waited too much longer, I would have had the baby in the car on the way.

As aweful as the pain was, I was thankful to God for having had the experience. This is something I never thought I would survive or even planned could happen. I have always had a great deal of respect for those many women like my mom who had their children without any pain relief. I still have the same respect, but now I know it is possible to get through something so unbelievably painful.

B/c the delivery was so fast, Addison had some minor issues. One being a heart murmur that is still present. Although she had an EKG and her heart looks good and the pediatrician thinks it will heal over time. We see our dr. on Monday so I am hoping that the valve will be closed by then.

Morgan has done exceptionally well, with this new transition. The one thing I feared most was her adjustment. But we talked to her about it alot and she has been wonderful with Addison. Quite the little helper too! She is so excited to be a big sister and loves Addison.

We are all doing very well and Addison has had 4 nights in a row of good sleep, waking up only once in the night. I pray that it will continue that way. I have recovered phenomenally well. I think because I didn't have any pain relief the recovery has been so much better. I gained 25 lbs this pregnancy a far cry from my 50+ with Morgan, which I think has helped too. I am currently within 3 lbs of my starting weight. Then my goal is to work on that extra gained with Morgan again. We are enjoying our time off and especially our time and new routine with our two girls!