Sunday, May 31, 2009

Quiet Weekend

This past week was pretty quiet for us. Even though it was a short week, it seemed to take forever. I had a bunch of house work to get done since we were out of town last weekend, so Friday night was spent cleaning house. It was beautiful on Saturday so we got some planting and yard work done. Maddie enjoyed playing with the neighbor kids and just being outside!
We went to a birthday party today and there were a bunch of kids for Maddie to play with. She had a lot of fun and we were glad to get to celebrate Trevor's 5th birthday with him and his family. We are lucky to have such great neighbor's! It's cold and rainy, a perfect day to do nothing and hang out as a family. Some times you need a quiet weekend. ;)Maddie couldn't wait to get outside to help Daddy wax his bike.

Maddie just being silly!



Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Swing set!

Maddie was really surprised to find out that her daddy put together her swing set and sandbox while we were gone. She ran right away to go down the slide and getting her off of it was a challenge. We are looking forward to some warmer weather so we can play outside more often.
Maddie going down the slide

She thinks the glider is pretty cool too!



Thanks Daddy!








Minot Visit

Our trip to Minot was great! We were able to celebrate Dalen's 3rd birthday and many graduations around the area. It was fun to see so many friends and family that we hadn't seen in a long time. The trip went really fast, but we were glad when we finally got home. Here are some more pictures....The kids had fun watching a movie with Papa.
Maddie and Dalen had fun playing with remote control cars.

Dalen....Melanie's Cutie!



Cousins that are buddies!!! They played really well together!


My grandma and Maddie's great-grandma Bonnie. We went to visit her in the nursing home. She is recovering from hip surgery and it was nice to visit with her.





Melanie, Maddie, Elly, Emma, and Lynelle

Our girls had a great time playing with each other and it was great to be home at the same time.


The girls....aunties Shelly, Em and baby Shelby






Happy Birthday Dalen!!!







Dalen and Lexi









All of the cousin's together, they are so cute!









Friday, May 22, 2009

Minot Zoo!!

Maddie and I had a great trip to ND! We got on the road around 1 pm and she slept the first two hours. We only stopped once to eat dinner and play a bit. She was a trooper and watched her movies, but was ready to get out once we were home.
Maddie was so excited to see her cousin Dalen! She talks about him all of the time. Mom, Jen, Emily and I took all of the kiddos to the zoo. The weather was perfect and the kids had a great time. I took a ton of pictures, so here are a few....
So excited to see each other!
Running to see the monkeys!


They thought they were pretty funny!

Maddie on the horse




Handsome Dalen!




Sweet little Shelby Jade!





Our little penguins!







Grammy and Shelby






Grammy, Dalen, Jen, Maddie, Emily and Shelby








Grammy and precious little Lexi! She was a good little girl and hung out in her stroller the whole time.









Cousins!!










Check out these cute girls!











Grammy with all of her grand kids!
Dalen - 3
Maddie - 2
Shelby - 9 months
Lexi - 3 months


We had Dalen's birthday party tomorrow night and a bunch of graduations to go to on Sunday. It will be a fun, busy weekend!









Sunday, May 17, 2009

Grandparents and the zoo!

We had a great weekend with my parents, Shelly and a trip Como Park Zoo in St. Paul, MN. We got down to Minneapolis around 2:30 pm on Saturday. The girls went shopping and the guys went and did their own thing. We had reservations at P.F. Changs and had a wonderful meal. We spent most of the evening just hanging out and watching Papa entertain Maddie.Papa, Grammy and Maddie Grace


Three generations



Our Family





Maddie was so excited to get some popcorn. She made sure to hang onto the bag the entire time.




Here are a few pictures of the animals that I took. I'm not sure why they are so far spaced? It must be the way it got loaded and I had a hard time getting them closer together.















The gorilla's were fun to watch! There were three of them that were chasing each other around.








Maddie got her duck glasses from Grammy and she thought that they were the best! She wore them all weekend!








We also visited the conservatory at Como Park and it had some really beautiful flowers! I love orchids so I had to take a few shots.










Maddie all "ducked" out! This was her first experience with flip-flops and she had a hard time keeping them on. She was pretty cute and helped Daddy water the flowers with her new watering can. She had more water on herself then the plants, but she had fun!


This week, Maddie and I are taking a road trip back to Minot, ND. It is Dalen's 3rd birthday and we have multiple graduation parties to go to. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone and meeting my new niece for the first time. We haven't been back since last September so we are way overdue! I will have lots of pictures to post when we get back! ;)

Have a great week!






Sunday, May 10, 2009

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Happy Mother's Day everyone! Our weekend was pretty quiet because Bob had to work the weekend. My friend Robin and her daughter Whitney came over Saturday morning for a visit. We always have a good time together and Whitney is my precious goddaughter. Bob took Maddie and I out for dinner on Saturday night to celebrate Mother's Day and we had a lovely night together.Robin, Whitney and Maddie
Buddies! I can't wait for the girls to get a little older so we can take them on adventures together.

My sweet girl on Mother's Day. All dressed up for church!


After church, Maddie and I went home and I started to clean while she napped. Bob will be home in time to b-b-q for dinner and have a little time together. The only thing that would have made this day better, would be to see my Mom. I guess I will have to wait until next weekend when we go to Minneapolis to see Michelle and Matt. My parents will be there too and it is always a treat to spend time with them!




Friday, May 8, 2009

Fortunate


The blog world is really fascinating to me. I have discovered that there are a lot of women just like me. Women who have been married to wonderful men and want nothing more then to be a mom. Infertility, a word that is pretty hard to swallow and understand. It affects more women then we realize and the financial burden makes it really hard on couples. Babies are a miracle and it breaks my heart to read about their struggles. I know exactly where they are coming from.

With Mother's Day this Sunday, I have thought about how fortunate I am to be a mom. After eight long years of fertility treatment and thousands of dollars, my dream came true. I never want to take that for granted. I truly believe that God will give you the desires of your heart (Psalms 37:4). I am so blessed to have a husband that is so supportive and understanding through those hard days.

The day Maddie was born was the happiest day of my life. I felt complete. I felt like I had everything I had ever wanted. I finally was a mom. We were a family.

Mother's Day has taken on a whole new meaning to me. Not only do I have the privilege to be a mom, but I have a new respect for my mother. She is a women that I admire greatly and only hope that I can do just as good of a job. So, Happy Mother's Day to all of you wonderful moma's and for those who are longing to be one, you are in my prayers.




Sunday, May 3, 2009

Great Weekend!

We had a great weekend! First, Bob arranged for a friend to take Maddie Friday night so we could go out for my birthday. We went to dinner and then to the movie Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. The night was still young so we headed to Black Bear Casino for a little entertainment. We were there for a little over an hour and headed home. It was a great end to a wonderful day.Here is my girl, just being cute in the bathtub! We took her to the circus for the first time on Saturday and she did great!! She was cheering and clapping for all of the acts. I think her favorite was the popcorn...a little like her mother!!


These are the beautiful flowers that I received at work on Friday!!


Ready for my hot date! Thanks honey!


I was chasing Maddie around the yard and got a picture of her trying to hide from me. She loves to play outside and will be out there every chance she gets!



"I'm gonna get you!"