My Beautiful Cousin

Isn't Megan beautiful?!

No wonder Livie & I love her so much  :o)

Livia's Bug (Still Continued)

I stayed home from work today with Livia. Ever since I took Liv in to the Doctor a couple of weeks ago, she's had an on-and-off cough. Today, I decided that her cough was getting bad enough to warrent another trip to her Doctor.

It turns out that my mommy-gut was right; Livia has bronchitis. She'll be on amoxacilin for the next 10 days. But just as long as she doesn't have a fever & she's feeling ok, we've been given the go-ahead to take her back to day care tomorrow.

Though I'm very thankful that Livia wasn't seriously ill, I'm praying that this will be the end of her sickness!

Kid Pile!

~ Livia & the Triplets ~

My Happy Day

Oh, so much has happened over the last week or so...! I'm not even sure where to begin, so I'll just focus on the most recent wonderful thing. God has blessed me with another year to add on to my life. And more importantly, He blessed me with a wonderful family to spend it with (after work of course).

Perry, Liv, & I went out to eat with my Mom, Dad, and Sis at Shyler's (Michael had to work, unfortunately). I was spoilt rotten with all sorts of lovely gifts! And not that I didn't love everything, but I think my husband's gift took the cake...

A beautiful Blue Topaz ring!

Happy Birthday to Me  :o)

Persimmons & Playing

A couple of weeks ago out in the country, Laura & Michael, the triplets, and Liv & I were out at my parents. While Liv was napping, Mom thought we should all go for a walk on such a beautiful day, so we took the triplets (and Michael) to the persimmon tree. We all had lots of fun, and here's just a few photos from our afternoon...

Michael just couldn't resist jumping on the hay bales on the way!

And the kids loved throwing rocks into the creek.

Below:  Everyone looking around for persimmons

I wish I would have actually taken a picture of a persimmon for those out there who don't know what they are... I will try to explain though.

It's a very small fruit roughly the size of a buckeye (sorry, there are no other fruits that I can think of even close to the size of a persimmon!) They grow on persimmon trees and ripen in late fall. The very best tasting fruit will be on the ground. Unless you want to taste the most bitter thing you'll ever put in your mouth, DO NOT pluck them from the branches! The persimmons are loaded with seeds, and the fruit is just a bit stringy -- it almost feels like cooked sweet potato in your mouth.

Most importantly, they remind me of my Granny. The first time I vividly remember trying them was with Granny, out in the field behind the milk house. I remember her telling me that the ugliest ones tasted the best. But being a head-strong little girl, I just had to try a pretty one for myself... Boy did I regret it! But twenty some-odd years later, I still remember that day. Granny helped wash out that bitter taste in my mouth with the sweet persimmons she gathered, and with a glass of milk when we got back to the farmhouse. I miss my Granny so much sometimes... But it would be selfish of me to want her back here on earth; she and Pa are both in Heaven. And we will always keep them close in our memories and hearts.

After the persimmon tree, we headed back towards my parents

Laura hand-in-hand with Sam & Meg

Meg & her best friend

But before our adventure was over...

Michael just had to climb a tree

 So off he went to climb to the sky...

 

Most literally!

He made us all so nervous!

Thankfully he began descending

And finally...

Down...

On solid(ish) ground!

*Whew!*

We would have hated to have to call the fire department to help get him down! Not just because it would most likely take them more than an hour to arrive, but how awful would it have been for a fireman to have to be rescued from such a silly situation!

Michael's escapades didn't come without ramification though. Besides a sore arm shortly after getting down, he also ended up with a raging case of poison ivy all over his legs!

All that mattered for this moment was that my sister's husband had safely made it back to earth...! And as of yesterday, they have already been married for 4 months. I pray for them daily as they've really just begun a long, wonderful journey together!

~Oh, it is Love~

Little Jumping Bean

My daughter never ceases to amaze me! A couple of weeks ago out at my parents house, Livia decided to play with my sister's Tigger. She's loved that Tigger for most of her young life.

When Tigger is placed hard enough on the floor, he says "I'm gonna bounce!" followed by:  Boing-boing-boing-boing-"Woo Hoo Hoo Hoo HOO!"-boing-boing-boing-boing-"Bouncin's what Tiggers do best!"

Liv used to LOVE jumping with Tigger!

Well, now she's taken it to an all new level...

Jumping OVER Tigger!

Again...

And again...

And again!

My parents and I got a huge kick out of it, and I'm sure our reactions encouraged her to do it even more. Mine in particular -- I was getting some fantastic photos! So she kept jumping...

 

 

She had a spill or two...

 

But I don't think she minded too much!

She also didn't quite clear Tigger a couple of times.

See him getting knocked over?

But Livie made sure to always pick him back up!

Such a sweetie  :o)

And just a few more...

 

 

Livia makes life so fun!

She makes our world a better place  :o)

Happy Birthday USMC

Today is the United States Marine Corp Birthday -- 234 years and still going strong! So this post is in honor of both the USMC, and my husband who honorably served our country in the USMC for 5 years (from 1996 to 2001).  In honor of my husband's stint in the Marine Corp, here are some scanned pictures I'm blessed to have archived (Enjoy!):

Is there any wonder why I love my Marine?!  *swoon!*

My husband & his father

 

Matt, Perry, & Trilby

 

Matt, Bill, & Perry

 

The whole family

 

Perry & his parents

And more pictures of Perry & others in the Marine Corp:

 

 

 

 

I hope these photos will bring back some wonderful memories for my husband... Perry will always be my Marine. He's said many a time to me, "I'm not as mean, not as lean -- but still a Marine!" Here's to you, Perry! Thank you for serving and protecting the United States in the Marine Corp.

And Perry, here are just a few images I found that made me think of you.  I love you more than all the Birthdays the Marines will ever have!

 

 

On a side note:  I'm happy to report that Livia is finally starting to feel like herself again! She's still coughing, but not nearly as much as days prior.

She did go to Day Care both today and yesterday -- they noticed that she just wasn't quite herself yesterday. A little whiny, clingy, and congested; but no fever and nothing else worthy of sending her home.

Today, they said she was much more like herself! I noticed it first thing this morning, and she was just as sweet when I picked her up after work. I made some homemade Chicken Picata with pasta for us, and she loved it! Too much I think -- it ended up all over her! Nothing a warm, bubbly bath wouldn't fix though.

Tomorrow, I'm off work thank to Veteran's Day! Lots that I hope to accomplish. We'll see how it goes  :o)