Eggs

I don't remember the last time I dyed eggs and had an Easter egg hunt.  It was so much fun... that I don't know if we can wait another years before we do it again.  I think next year Maggie will have a better idea of what to expect.  It took a lot of coaxing to get her to find all the eggs, especially since her basket contained plenty of candy.

Easter

We feel extremely spoiled.  Grandma T. made Maggie's her Easter dress.  It fits perfect and matches her personality.  Between grandparents and aunts there is hardly an outfit in her closet we purchased.  She definitely gets to dress like a princess.  Thanks Grandma...  we love the dress!

Yoga Master

Don't try this stretch at home.  Paige captured this wonderful series of images at National Yoga Championship.  It looks almost like baseball... but in fact this is Professional Yoga... it is a new Olympic sport.  Every Yoga Master gets a number, a cap, mitt and tights.  The mitt is used for balancing and extremely delicate, almost ballerina like, moves.  They are judged on their balance, rhythm, foot placement and mastery of one-foot movements.  The new sport has been criticized for its similarity to the American past-time sport, baseball.  But other that the field and outfits, these two sports are nothing alike.

Puzzle

Ever wonder where your day goes?  I love the scene from "About a boy", where the jobless bachelor Huge Grant breaks-down his day into various activities and then he wonders how normal people fit a job into their lives.  Most days it is struggle to get everything in.  I was so excited to have a day with nothing on the schedule.  I was going to get so much done, including cleaning the house.  I cleaned the bathroom and I seemed ahead of schedule.  Then we went out to the garage and I worked on a project.  Then we went on a bike ride and to the park.  Then we ate a late lunch.  Then we took some pictures.  Then Grandma called and said she was almost here.  And then Sara called to say she was coming home early.  Somehow I had neglected the rest of the house, it was a disaster.  There was paper all over the floor and furniture thrown about from the photo-shoot. None of dishes had been washed.  The floor still needed to be vacuumed.  Breakfast and lunch was still on the table.  Maggie's toys were everywhere.  I was sweating bullets for the next twenty minutes.  Who knew I could move so fast.  Okay, the dishes didn't get cleaned but the house looked nothing like it did twenty minutes prior.  Whew!  Anyway, I threw Maggie in some old mismatched clothes because we were going to the garage but later we ended up taking a slew of pictures... and I was thinking about the lighting and everything else but FORGOT she was in this awful outfit.  Anyway, she currently doesn't care what I dress her in, besides she was too busy with her puzzle  and barely noticed the camera.  Moments later, it would be one more thing I would be scrambling to pick up.  Of course, Maggie's outfit was the first thing Sara noticed when she walked through the door... and that was a good thing!

Stuck

Maggie invented this sign for stuck.  We often wonder where all these things come from.

Maggie's Artwork

 Okay, they are just scribbles but these are beginning to turn into something.

Paige is the word

Maggie has been excited the whole week anticipating Grandma's visit, but without fail every time we mentioned Grandma she would ask for Paige... go figure!  Paige is the only name she knows by heart.  Despite the misunderstanding, she was happy when Grandma Richins showed up today... even if Paige wasn't there.  I guess she can wait another week for Paige.

Things break in threes

It started with the water heater.  A small drip was puddling in closet outside making its way inside... osmosis .  I think Clarke and I spoke more this month than in the entire year of 2010.  I called him a dozen times with various questions.  I installed an energy efficient water heater from GE.  It took a little bit of a day.  I ended up taking the door off the closet.  It was such a tight fit that I had to kick it through the doorway and then gently maneuver it around the gas outlet that projects ten inches into the closet.  It was a tight fit but I was so happy to see it light up without the house exploding.

It was followed by our dishwasher breaking.  I pulled it out and tinkered with it for awhile and order a part, which came but didn't fix the problem, which took me back to square one.  We have resigned to washing our dishes by hand... quite aweful, I know:)

Then in an effort to get a banana off the counter, Maggie dropped my camera on the floor.  The lens hood snapped in half and the fall warped the mounting bracket on the lens ($1,800) and who knows what else.  While taken apart the lens a small spring fell out.  I picked up all the small screws and spring and put them in bag.  Last week the new bracket arrived in the mail and I managed to get it all back together after several attempts.  I still will need to send it to a service center to repair the internal seal... which is well beyond my mechanical skills... but at least it works and seems to take pictures without any major distortion.

Cousins

Another one of my favorite pictures of Taya with her cousin Megan.

Taya and Maggie

This is one of my favorite images of Taya with her baby sister.  I planned to post a series of images of her during her birthday week but I lost all my steam.  This picture was taken under my favorite tree in Fairview, in front of Grandma and Grandpa's old house.  I think my Mom planted the tree in her childhood.

Stretches with Maggie

My chiropractor has me on a rigorous stretching and exercise program, which is difficult because every time I get on the floor, Maggie thinks it is playtime.  Her endless supply of energy keeps me laughing.

Spondylolisthesis

I was born with a mild case of spina bifida.  I went into surgery immediately after entering the world and because of it I have lived an active pain free life... that is until recently.  MRI's revealed the difficulty and at the beginning of the year I started decompression treatment, hoping to avoid back surgery.  At the close of last year I could barely stand on my feet more than five minutes without severe pain radiating down my left leg.  Since I have embarked on this journey I have seen numerous doctors, all of which recommend surgery, of course... but we hope the decompression continues to be successful.  I am currently optimistic, since my pain level has dropped significantly.  I still experience mild numbness if I am on my feet for hours during the day but my pain level has significantly improved.  Only time will tell.

Maggie and Mom

Sunday was nice and relaxing.  I finally felt the urge to pull my camera out.  Sara was patient as I set everything up for my all-natural photos.  I fed Maggie slices of dried apple to keep her engaged.  Sara fell into a slumber towards the end... but it was all for a good cause.

Maggie swings

Maggie graduated to the big swings.  She still needs an occasional push... but don't we all need a little push now and then.

Hair pulling

I don't know if any of these pictures made it to the blog but these are some of my favorite images of Taya with Maggie, especially this hair pulling series.

Cousins

Here is a picture of Taya with her cousins. She will be eighteen in a few days. There is sixteen years between Maggie and Taya. We feel fortunate that each child has a great set of cousins. I love having cousins, they have always been a great influence for good in my life.

Cousins

The boys club and a girl

Switch

Maggie playing with the light switch

These boots were made for walking...

Belly

"Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies." Proverbs 31:10 

Despite the pregnancy blues, Sara is amazing.  Everyday she gets up at the crack of dawn and regardless of how she feels, she drags herself to work.  She is truly amazing and wonderful.  Her heart is always in the right place.