Peony Pageant

Jenna had the opportunity to participate in the Peony Pageant on Friday night as a flower girl. The Peony Pageant is for high school seniors and is a part of the Peony festival that takes place in Van Wert each June. Each candidate chooses one little girl to be their flower girl during the pageant. Jenna was chosen by a girl who goes to our church, whose name also happens to be Jenna Nicole (to avoid confusion, I'm going to address my Jenna as Jenna C. and the other Jenna as Jenna H. from here on out!). Jenna H was Jenna C's teacher for vacation bible school and Sunday school, and has also babysat a few times....and they instantly bonded! Jenna C. was so excited for the pageant! I took her to get her hair done on Friday afternoon and she also got a new dress. She did a great job! Jenna H didn't end up being crowned Queen, but she did win "Miss Congeniality". Jenna C was so excited for her!! She was also excited that she knew the Queen - the respresentative from Van Wert HS.

I apologize in advance for the quality of the photos. I was in the balcony and forgot to bring my close-up lens. Plus, the lighting on the stage messed with all the colors in my photos (what were they thinking???). It's a little hard to tell, but Jenna C's dress was pale mint green and the Jenna H's dress was chocolate brown.





Waiting patiently for her turn on stage....
Her big moment! As each candidate was introduced for the final time, the flower girls came out and gave them peonies. Then they stood on stage with the escort as the girls walked the stage one last time.

The mom of one of the other flower girls sent me this photo. Her seat was a little closer than mine, so she was able to get a better photo!
All of the flower girls - Jenna is the 5th from the left.
Waiting for the announcement of the Peony Queen....I thought it was so cute that she was sitting there with her fingers crossed for good luck!

All the Queen candidates, flower girls, and escorts

Jenna and Jenna - after the pageant

Jenna with the Peony Queen - Heather (representing VWHS and one of Chris' journalism students)

Kalahari- part 2

On the second day, Jacob and Cade stood in line for the wave rider. Jacob really did a great job with the boogie board! Here he is getting instructions from the life guard.... ...and in action.......and then it was Cade's turn...

Jacob and Cade in the basketball pool....
Jenna and Dane in the wave pool (they had to wear life jackets because they weren't tall enough)....

Cade, Chris, and Jacob on the racing slides. I think this was one of my favorite slides!
Jenna and Gage in our room. We decided when they were very little that they would probably get married someday.

...and playing game boy together...Jacob and Cade - they've been best buddies since Cade was born!

Kalahari - part 1

We spent Monday and Tuesday at Kalahari in Sandusky with our friends, the Chiles' and their 3 boys. Kalahari is a HUGE indoor waterpark and resort....and a very fun place!! On Monday, Deb and I stayed with the younger kids while Chris and Mike took the two older boys and went on the bigger slides. Tuesday morning we were able to switch for a little while so Deb and I could spend some time on the bigger attractions. Our suite was amazing, so when we weren't in the water we spent a lot of time there eating and hanging out together. The hotel also had a huge arcade and indoor play area, so we made sure we spent some there, too. The kids all got along great and had a lot of fun together. Of course the grown ups had their share of fun too (we just didn't manage to make it into too many photos!).




Jenna and Dane in the van on the way to Kalahari....

The view from the back of the waterpark. It's really hard to tell from this photo just how HUGE it really was.
Jacob and Cade trying to shoot me with water....
The wave pool....if you look closely you can see Chris, Jenna, and Dane next to the black arrow.Jacob and Cade in the wave pool.... The kids in the lobby...Jacob had a slight accident with the rhino's horn (and yes...they are in the pj's. We decided to go explore the hotel after they were already in their pj's).
Check back....I have more Kalahari photos to share!!

Easter

I finally have a chance to share some Easter photos! Dad, Mom and Grandma D. came to our house Saturday evening on their way home from Texas. We all went to church together on Sunday morning and then went to Pandora for a Lehman family get together.....lots of yummy food and lots of visiting! Later Dad, Mom and Grandma headed home and Chris, Jacob, Jenna and I came back to Van Wert for Easter with Chris' family....which meant more food and more visiting....and more Easter goodies for the kids! Here are a few random photos from the day. I really need to get Jacob to lighten up and be in a few more photos.

I love this photo! Jenna was reading her poem notebook to Great Grandma D.

The traditional after-church Easter morning photos.
Jenna loved her new hat from her Easter basket...
Jenna and Megan playing with bubbles at Grandpa and Grandma C's house.....

Spring Break randomness

YEA....SPRING BREAK IS HERE! Today I'm having a hard time calling it "spring" break considering we woke up to snow flakes falling! Luckily we only got a dusting of snow, and now that the sun is out it is melting away. Unfortunately, snowflakes mean cold temperatures!

Yesterday, after PT we had our first official spring break adventure. We all piled into the van and headed down I75 to the brand new IKEA! Note to self...next time wait a little longer than a week after opening day to venture to a new store! It was crazy crowded. They even had big highway construction type signs directing you to alternate parking for Ikea. Considering how big the Ikea parking lot is, that made me pretty nervous. We did manage to find a spot in the far corner of the lot and made our way into Ikea with a couple thousand other visitors. Seriously, it was like walking into Cedar Point or something! Once we got into the store it really wasn't too bad. Thank goodness the store is HUGE and all those people could spread out. We had a lot of fun just looking around...I think Chris even enjoyed it. I only bought a few things - new canisters for our kitchen, a new organizer for my desktop, some jars for my scrapbook supplies, and a photo frame - but it was fun just to go exploring. On the way home we stopped to buy Jacob some new baseball cleats and then got ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery.

Today we have been cleaning like crazy! We had new mattresses delivered for Jacob's bed (his new furniture arrived on Thurs. - photos to come) and our bed this afternoon. I also was on a cooking/baking binge - dinner for tonite, breakfast for tomorrow, grasshopper cake for the Lehman Easter get together tomorrow (it looks amazing - can't wait to try a piece), and cut up veggies for the Covey Easter get together tomorrow evening. I just finised getting Easter basket goodies ready for the kids' baskets tomorrow. Dad, Mom, and Grandma D. are on their way to our house on their return trip from Texas. They'll stay with us tonite and go to church with us in the morning.

Tomorrow we have 2 Easter get togethers. I feel fat just thinking about all the food! It's always fun to get together though.

Monday morning we leave for Kalahari. We can't wait! I'm sure I'll have lots of photos to share when I return.

HAPPY EASTER!!

Slowly but surely....

It's been a while since I posted an update on how I'm feeling. This is week #3 of physical therapy, and I really think it is helping. I do stretching exercises for my back/neck/shoulders and also get massage to the back of my head (it's too painful to be a relaxing massage though). Last week they tried something new - traction. I know it sounds pretty rough, but it actually made me feel better than I have in a long time (until the next day when my neck and shoulders were very, very sore). I have now had the traction treatment 3 times and I feel really good aftwards.

As of now, I am having more good days than bad days...which I haven't been able to say in a long, long time. In fact there are some days when I don't even take any motrin! On the good days I feel like I'm finally starting to get pieces of myself back. It feels good to feel good again! I'm not 100% yet though....and that can get frustrating. I've had glimpses of feeling like myself...and I want to keep feeling that way! I still have some days with yucky headaches and dizziness, but they aren't as frequent or as severe as they have been. I'm waiting for the day when I can wake up and not have to worry about whether it will be a "good day" or a "bad day".

I had a follow up appointment with my dr. today. He commented that this is the first time he has seen glimpses of "Amy" for a long time. He also said that it is the first time in a long time that I was actually moving around normally and not being cautious with my every move because it might make me dizzy. It was nice to have someone else notice.

Other than the lingering headaches/dizziness, I still have very little energy and little appetite. My stomach just feels yucky a lot. The dr. said that feeling is probably a result of all the meds I've taken recently - they've just messed with my stomach. So, he gave me something for my stomach. He also recommended 2 different vitamins to help with my energy levels. He wants me to continue PT for at least 2 weeks. The best part was that he doesn't have to see me again for 6 weeks. :)

THANK YOU for all your prayers. I am not quite 100% yet...but I am slowly but surely starting to feel like Amy again.

Upgrading the blog security...

I have been getting more and more random comments lately. Most of them are spam with messages to click "here". PLEASE don't click "here" when you get a comment like that...it's usually some type of virus. In the meantime, I'm going to upgrade the security of my blog comments...which means you will now have to type in the annoying random letters before you are able to leave a comment. Sorry for the incovenience...but PLEASE keep commenting. I love reading all your comments!

Wrinkly toes

Jenna loves to take baths....she would stay in the tub for hours if we let her! The other night I walked in and saw her with her wrinkly little feet propped up on the side of the tub and had to take a picture. You can tell she had been in the tub for a while...look at those wrinkles!!!

Blog Stalker Fashion

I know I'm not the only "blog stalker" out there. In fact, we had quite a lengthy cousin discussion about it at Christmas time. I think we all need to get one of these t-shirts. What do you think??

Happy Birthday!

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY MIA!!

We wish we could be there to celebrate with you.

Tell Mommy to take lots of photos to show us.

Love,

Chris, Amy, Jacob and Jenna

Tagged by Cheryl....

Cheryl tagged me...and since I am a sucker for these things, I had to play along.

Here are the rules:

* Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
* Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
* Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

7 random facts about me:

1. I am very, very indecisive. I have a terrible time making decisions...and then after I've made a decision, I always am second guessing myself. Should I go to Ft Wayne or not? Should I wear these shoes or those? Should I scrapbook or do laundry? What on earth should I write for my 7 random facts??

2. I love my handwriting - especially my printing....and get random compliments on it frequently.

3. I am a magazine junkie! I am constantly looking at magazines at the checkout...and frequently get suckered into buying one simply because of the info on the cover. Lately I've really tried to control the urge to buy them though. I love sitting in waiting rooms at the doctor or dentist...just so I can browse the magazines!

4. If I could change anything about myself, I would change my shoe size. I only wear a size 2 shoe......a CHILDREN'S size 2. Thank goodness they make some pretty trendy shoes in children's sizes....but I would love to wear "big girl shoes"!

5. I can name the states in alphabetical order...thanks to my elementary music teacher and a song she taught us in 5th grade.

6. I cry during almost every movie...happy or sad. Bascially, I'm a sap! Chris and Jacob love to make fun of me for crying during movies.

7. According to Chris, I have a "mutant power"....reading. I can read book after book after book...and when I'm reading them I get totally sucked into them and block out everything else in the real world.


Okay....now I "tag" (come on...you've got to play along!):
-Brenda
-Jill
-Lori
-Kara
-Jessica
-Lisa U
-Lisa C

ENOUGH!!!!!!

It just doesn't stop! Last night we came out of the PAC after seeing Cirque Le Masque (which was EXCELLENT....similar to Cirque de Soleil...right here in Van Wert) and were hit with the sight of snow blowing all over the place! This morning...more snow, more blowing, and cold, cold temperatures. ENOUGH is ENOUGH!!

The good news is that for once it hit on a weekend, so we didn't have to use another snow day. It's the perfect day to stay home ! I'm trying to get some things done around the house this morning, and then Jacob and I are going to tackle his bedroom to get it re-organized in anticipation of his furniture delivery. Then I'm going to spend the rest of the day either scrapping, reading, or being sucked into Lifetime movies on TV.

The bad news is that Chris and Jacob had to cancel their trip to Cleveland today. Chris, Jacob, Ryan, and Ryan's cousin had courtside tickets for a Cavs game today. They decided it was best if they didn't go since everywhere between here and Cleveland is under either a winter storm warning or a blizzard warning!

Just a few photos of our latest snow. I refused to actually go outside, so I opened my doors and took photos from there! :)