Saturday, February 20, 2010

Sickies...

It's been a challenging week. Leah and Aine's colds just refuse to go away! And then I woke up Thursday morning feeling sick...argh...but I had a vet appt for Boo that I had to keep. England is rabies-free and has certain quarantine procedures, which thankfully can now be done stateside instead of when you get there. It requires giving Boo a rabies and FAVN vaccine, taking bloodwork and waiting 6 months before we can bring him over. We're within a couple weeks of that timeline, so I didn't want to postpone it. So I pack up the girls and a reluctant Boo in the van. When I got there, I wondered what had spilled on the passenger-side floor mat. That is until I got closer and realize Boo had peed in his cage! He was covered in pee (in fact it was dripping from him when he stood up). I don't know if there's a more offensive odor than cat pee!! Thankfully the tech towel dried him, while I cleaned the cage, but he STUNK!!! There was more drama, but that was the worst part! Ultimately he got his shot, we're on the clock now, he had a bath...and I'm extremely glad Eric insisted on all-weather floor mats... :)

Here are some pictures and videos from the past week or so...

Leah decided Katherine needed a hug while watching a movie (probably Sleeping Beauty, if I had to guess).

The girls climbed in Tracy's super snazzy jogging stroller... 
Aine and Libby. Libby better watch out..Aine could flatten her! :)
It was sooo beautiful yesterday that we just had to go outside. I had originally just planned on going for a walk, but Leah "informed" me while we were out that we were going to the park. Okay! There was a big group there and Leah tried to join in their play (they were playing tag). She didn't really understand the game, but loved running around with them. Aine was great and hung out in the stroller up until right before we left.
I originally put Aine in the back of the stroller (where she was when she had to be in the car seat), but she kept leaning forward and pulling Leah's hair! Sooo...swapped they were...
I stopped to take this picture because Leah decided to get up and kiss her sister's head. I couldn't get her to do it again for the picture though.
Our happy Aine...
I put Aine in bed with Leah when she woke from her nap one day. She thought it was so funny. This was the last time in her crib bed.
She now has a twin bed adorned with (what else but) princesses! She was soooo excited and even now tells me EVERY DAY that she has Princess Sleeping Beauty, Princess Cinderella and Princess Belle on her blanket and pillow case. "I show you...come here!" (Notice she's even wearing her princess shirt!)

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Devotional

I get a daily devotional from Greg Laurie, and something about this one just struck me (hence why I'm posting it on our blog). Let me know what you think!

Tuesday, February 16, 2010
A Freely Chosen Path

I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.
— Deuteronomy 30:19


Hell was not made for people; hell was created for the devil and his angels (see Matthew 25:41). It was never God's intention to send a person to hell. He does everything He can to keep us out of it. But God has given us a free will. We have the ability to choose, and God will not violate that. If you want to go to heaven, then you will—if you put your faith in Christ. If you want to go to hell, then you will. It is your choice.

People will protest on that final day and say, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?" (Matthew 7:22). And Jesus will sadly but firmly say, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!" (verse 23).

Some people might say, "Wait! I went to church on Sunday!" And, "Wait! I received communion!" And, "Wait! I was baptized." But Jesus will say, in effect, "But I never knew you. It was just a thing you did. We never had a relationship. You broke My commandments left and right. It's your own choice that you are facing."

It is not enough to say you believe in God. It is not enough to acknowledge that God exists. You need to turn from your sin and put your faith in Jesus Christ, and Him alone, as Savior and Lord.

As Timothy Keller said, "Hell is simply one's freely chosen path going on forever." If that is what you want, then that is what you will get. God wants you to go to heaven, but He will not force you. He gives you a choice, and it is up to you what you do with that choice. 


Greg Laurie [Signature]

Sunday, February 14, 2010

We're Moving!

We found out on Tuesday that we'll be moving to England this year. The exact timeframe has changed a couple times, but it now appears to be that we'll leave FL in late July. We'll go to Little Rock for Eric's Instructor Pilot School upgrade and then leave for England in September. Although we knew we'd get orders sometime this year, we weren't expecting to have to move until the winter timeframe.  We knew we'd be moving to either England, Japan, or New Mexico...with NM and England being the frontrunners. After getting over the initial shock, we are really excited. Overwhelmed with things to do beforehand, but excited nonetheless. Some people have asked me where in England we're moving, and it's to Mildenhall AFB (which to my understanding is near Cambridge, about an hour north of London). We're looking forward to the travel opportunities and experiencing different cultures. At least we'll be somewhere where they speak English (sort of ...haha). Please pray for our sanity over the next couple months (and anytime for that matter...) 

Here's a link to a map of England if you're interested..

Funny Quote

After Leah ripped a good one, I teased her about her "stinky farts" and she said,

"I like to do farts all day...from my heinie."

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day everyone. We're having a low key day here. I put Aine in her "My First V Day" outfit and tried to put Leah in hers, but she would wear nothing but her royal attire. If her princess dress is clean....she is Princess Leah! That is it. I cannot persuade her to wear anything else :) In fact I got her a little wand, tiara and fairy/butterfly wings yesterday, and she loves them! I put her in bed for a nap a while ago and could hear her "poofing" her wand....over and over and over again :)

We hope you're having a great day. We miss you all!


I have to put her in 18-24 month pants because the cloth adds so much bulk that if I put her in anything smaller, it's too tight to allow her to sit up without falling over!
I think I'm going  to stop asking Leah to smile because this is what I get...
Something looks a little off to me...
I caught her doing her "Aine wiggle"...



This was the first time I braided Leah's hair. I knew she wouldn't sit still long enough for me to (remember how to) do a french braid, so I just did a small regular braid. She looked so adorable. It made her look so grown up...sniff, sniff.
She's USUALLY all smiles, but occasionally she has something less friendly to say.....




Aine's first time sitting up in the stroller. She was all smiles.
And of course Leah couldn't allow Aine to have a photo op without jumping in it herself :)
I was trying to capture her rocking on her knees, but my phone was too slow...thus the blurry pictures. She's hanging out with her buddy Libby.
 

Monday, February 1, 2010

On the Move

Although Aine is not officially crawling, she's veerrrry close. She gets up on her knees and rocks a bit. She also does push-ups (especially when she's mad!) And if she can't get there by scooting around, she'll just roll over until she gets where she wants to go. Ahhhh, progress :)
Aine expertly supervising Leah's bath. Apparently she's pleased with what she sees...

I couldn't decide which one I liked better, so you get both :)

Leah is absolutely Eric's "mini-me", but in this picture, I can definitely see the resemblance with Aine...
Tracy took this the other day...I love both girls' expressions! I'm not sure whose is funnier...
Leah's such a good big sister...loves to give Aine hugs. We can't make it through a meal without her getting up a couple times to give Aine (and me) a hug. She's such a loving girl!

So I've been working with Leah on her alphabet, and taught her to write her name. She writes the letters in chronological order, but doesn't quite get the spatial orientation yet. What you see here is L-H-A (a very skinny one at that)-E