Thursday, November 26, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving





























Hope each and every one of you has a very Blessed Thanksgiving weekend with your families and friends ! Everything you see above... is everything I am SO THANKFUL for. Of course I am also very thankful for our wonderful extended family and friends. Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving weekend !

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Belated Birthday Wishes....


How on earth I managed to fall behind on this blog post is beyond me.. lol ! That's such a joke... I find these days I rarely have time to breathe. I was grateful to be offered an 'as needed' school nurse substitute job in September and they said they would probably keep me busy on my days off from the Dermatology clinic and they weren't kidding !! The flu season has taken quite a toll on the county schools here and it's been nice working in the local schools with the kids !



Our Ella is TWO !!!! SOOOOOO hard to believe this sweet child is two. Well..... let me re-phrase that... so hard to believe she's already two. She defintely has the 'two year old attitude' let me tell ya' ..... Oh... the drama with little girls !! Her vocabulary is outstanding. I hope I say that without sounding 'braggy'..... but she is very good with her words and speaks so well ! Her favorites things right now are of course, Dora the Explorer and baby dolls. She loves to put her dolls in her stroller and get her diaper bag all fixed and tell us all ' Bye... I going shopping. '


She has learned that Carter & Cole are her 'rescuer's' in that when she is in trouble .... she calls for them to come get her. We've had to explain to the boys of course that they can't rescue her and that she needs to learn there are consequenses for bad behavior. Yeah.... not workin' out too well right now...... but we're slowly getting there.....


Ella's favorite food ( believe it or not ) is tossed salad with ranch dressing ???!! She LOVES it. Always asks for more. She loves pizza too and all fruits ( grapes, strawberries, melon, kiwi..) and she still loves cajun rice and chicken !


She enjoys coloring (both in coloring books and the walls....) and LOVES to play 'waitress' She walks around holding her pencil and tablet and asks 'what you order? '


She has a bad habit right now of constantly wanting her pacifier and blanket. She walks around with her blanket dragging the floor all the time. It makes me crazy... but I know this too shall pass......


She is a blessing. A blessing that we cannot even imagine being without.


HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY ISABELLA ROSE WE LOVE YOU SOOO MUCH !!!

Friday, October 9, 2009

Happy Fall Y'all










The kids and I took our 'annual' Pumpkin Patch farm trip last week and we had such a good time ! Ella enjoyed 'climbing' on all the mountains of pumpkins and loved eating apples and helping us pick out pumpkins to decorate the front porch. We are looking forward to a family picnic soon to Roan Mountain and (weather permitting) taking a plane ride across the mountian and dispersing my Dad's ashes across the beautiful terrain. This was his wish for as long as I can remember and I can't wait to finally do this. It has been a hard 5 months for us. Losing my Mom 4 years ago was heart-wrenching...but losing my Dad this past summer has taken quite a toll on me. I have had to remind myself frequently that I was blessed to have my parents as long as I did... which has NOT been easy. They were both so young. I miss them both so much and my life, while soooo rich with God's blessings and so very appreciated, will never be the same without them. Please visit my shop blog http://www.fiddlycat.blogspot.com/ I am selling a book that I compiled this summer of my personal home made family recipes and folk art patterns of which all proceeds will be split ( 50/50) to both the Susan G. Kommen breast cancer Foundation ( in honor of my Mom ) and The Black Diamond Search & Rescue Foundation in SW Virginia ( in honor of my Dad ). Have a safe and fun Fall weekend .....

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Mark your Calendars !

I have been a busy bee.... sewing...painting... hooking. I will have a small booth set up ( An outside tent) at the annual Fall Folk Arts Festival at the Exchange Place in Kingsport, Tn. Really neat !! If you've never visited.... please be sure to !

Friday, July 24, 2009

Thursday, July 16, 2009

One Year 'Gotcha Day' !!!!

Now
Then

It is hard to believe that one year ago today.... we were in Guatemala City pacing our hotel floor with one very unhappy 8 month old little girl who's whole entire world changed in a split second. It was probably the most bitter-sweet experience We have ever endured. She cried continuously.. (never stopped) for a solid 6 hours. Ella lived with her wonderful foster family from November 21, 2007 to July 16, 2008. It was a day that will never be forgotten ! Ella cried... I cried...Wendel cried... the foster family was sobbing... and it was all because of one little girl that was leaving one family and uniting with another. I cannot even begin to imagine how difficult it must have been for Ella's foster family to say good-bye to her...but we have over the months kept in touch through email and letters. We are blessed to have her and fall more in love with her each day !

Sunday, July 12, 2009

~*~ The Wedding ~*~

Rather than take up alot of room with writing... I just wanted to share some photos of my brother and sister-in-law's beautiful wedding this weekend ! Congratulations Brack & Jenny ! We Love you guys !



























































































































































Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Catchin' up ....





























First off, I would like to say 'Thank You' to all those who have emailed, called, sent cards, and prayed for us during these last four weeks. The loss of my Dad has been unbelievably difficult on us all and your heart felt messages were comforting. Thank you !

On a lighter note, we have kept ourselves very busy ! The 'boys' were chosen to play in Little League All Stars this summer. This was Carter's second year and Cole's first ! Carter played both pitcher and outfield while Cole was hind catcher. They had fun and Ella was so sweet cheering them on ! She would shout " Go Cole " ... " Go Car ".



I have been fortunate enough to step down to part-time RN at work and this has been a huge help for us here at home. I am now working 2, sometimes 3 days a week and it's been such a relief. I have missed having free time with my munchkins and am just grateful the physicians were willing to allow me to cut back on my hours.


As for our little Guatemalan Queen .... she's absolutely amazing ! She has made such huge strides in the last 11 months that she's been home with us and is growing like a little weed ! I did something last week that I swore I would never do... I placed her in a little beauty pageant ! It was here in our hometown and I didn't go to drastic lengths with a fancy expensive outfit... it was very spur of the moment. Carter and Cole were SOO excited to watch her on-stage and the judges must of thought she was just as beautiful as we do... she won in her age group ! She could not have cared less.... her trophy was as big as her... and she did find it interesting ... She called it her "Tro-see" .


The BIG WEDDING is July 11th !! My brother, Brack and his fiance Jenny have decided to tie the knot closer to home rather than California due to the loss in our family.. and we can't wait !!! We are packing our bags for a mini vacation this weekend to the beach and are looking forward to some much needed R&R..... Have a fun , Safe, 4th of July ! Next post? Wedding pictures !!












Friday, June 12, 2009

In memory of my Dad, Dickie Owens








We will miss you Dad. This man was the best Dad, Poppy, and husband to my sweet Momma, Sandy, and will be so missed. His plane went down the 29th of May in Dickenson County, Virginia as he was on his way to one of his job sites in Ashland, Kentucky. We Love you Dad.

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Saturday the 2nd of May
















I cannot believe that one month passed without one post here on the blog ! I have been SO busy with work, family, laundry, sick kids, etc..etc... that I have absolutely fallen so behind on journaling. The kids are on the mend. The boys were sick with stomach bugs....and allergies. I think it was the 2nd day they were sick the 'swine flu' epidemic was announced on T.V. Cole ( very seriously ) was frantic .... absolutely sure that this was what he had.... ( a true hypochondriac like his mom...) Ella has had her first ear infection, walking pneumonia, and strep throat ( although that last ailment was not confirmed because she was crying so hysterically at the clinic ... they just decided to bypass the throat swab....and assume she was positive...) With the help of antibiotics she is doing much much better and is anxious to get back to day care to see her friends next week !




The boys have begun baseball this season...and have had a pretty rough start so far.... both games were lost and they have had their sportsmanship tested for sure ! I have 'preached' all the way home from both games... " winning isn't everything guys...it's having fun .... and learning the game... you are still trying to learn the rules and skills of baseball..and besides that..you've both been sick..." They each gave me that 'whatever' look and sulked in the back seats the entire way home. Nontheless.... we're really proud of them!
As for 'hot rod' ( aka: Ella Rose ) She's fallen victim to the 'terrible two's' epidemic... She has an attitude with a capital 'A' !!! Her favorite things to say currently are "NO" and 'MINE" and will hit or scratch you if you're within reach. If you tell her 'No-No' or 'that's not nice' she hides her face and cries as if you've broken her heart... and then she smiles really big and gives whoever scolded her a big kiss on the arm....leg...cheek. ( Our little drama queen I'm afraid ! ) She LOVES her ballerina tutu and will grab it every morning wanting to put it on.... Perhaps she'll have a career on Broadway one day ?? ! I'm often asked " Is it different raising boys and girls" and the answer most defintely is Y-E-S ! Enjoy the pictures of our growing weeds....