Maddy is home...Maddy is home!

Maddy is home! Yeah...what a long week we had with surgery, Maddy being gone....and finishing up the house! I went to pick Madisyn up on Sunday and what a welcome sight to see her smiling face get off the plane. It was a busy week but I sure did miss her! She is such a smiley, bubbly girl......I really did miss her company! So..she is home now and we are settling back into a routine! I am going to start driving her to school again for the remainder of the year since Chris will be home in the mornings to keep an eye on Lyza. She must get up at 6 am to get on the bus at 6:50.....this is an hour long drive to school on the high school bus and then she switches to a middle school bus. Way to early to be up and at em' just to sit on a bus. So...when I take her she doesn't get up until 7 am and we leave at 7:35 am. I know that I am WAY not a morning person, therefore an extra hour of sleep does a body good....especially for an 11 year old. She has track, soccer and dance tomorrow....so we are officially back into the spring mad dash season!!! Keeps me busy and hopping though...and keeps her out of trouble. Not that she is ever really in trouble....She has her first track meet on Wednesday and her first soccer game on Saturday.

We got all our airline tickets, Busch Gardens and Adventure Island tickets purchased. I am really looking forward to the family time on the ocean. The ocean is my favorite place in the world. It is so calming and relaxing......it really does make the troubles of the world go away for a little while. I am really looking forward to seeing Lyza's reaction to the ocean and the animals...and even moreso looking forward to the mother/daughter time with Madisyn. She is going to be so fun on the ocean this year.

We are getting more and more rain here in Indiana. It is actually very warm out...and we are getting thunderstorms. Before and after dinner tonight we have been sitting on the front porch. Very soothing....I love Lyza's "surprised" face when the thunder claps. Very cute!

xoxxo

Misty

Updated Website:

www.maddysgab.blogspot.com/

Happy Birthday to Lia!!!

Happy First Birthday Lia!!!

Spring is lurking.......

It would appear that Spring is here!! I love when the flowers and greenery start shooting up!! I cannot wait for the warm temps to arrive and STAY!

We are a bit sleep deprived in our house. Chris really could have used a few nights at the hospital. He has been in some pretty severe pain and can't sleep at night. So...I am the on call nurse and very tired! He had his first therapy appt. today and they basically just changed his bandages and checked his range of motion which was zilch! He goes back Tuesday and will continue a couple of times per week for awhile. We then went to breakfast at Bob Evans and had a nice time. Lyza loves pancakes and ate three in addition to a piece of bacon and some hash browns. The girl can eat and she is not picky! I then came home and booked our airfare to Florida along with car rental and tickets to Busch Gardens and Adventure Island Waterpark. About 1/2 hr later our bank called with a recorded msg that they blocked our debit card due to "suspicious" activity. That couldn't have come at a worse time....I have to drive to Louisville tomorrow and I need gas/money for the trip! The hold will not be lifted until Monday. VERY inconvenient!!!!

Madisyn called late last night and had been to the Casting Crowns concert. One of our favorite Christian groups. I took her last year and we had back stage passes...and fourth row seats. It was great. She had a great time with her dad and family......she was super excited. I can't wait to get the little booger home tomorrow!!!

xoxoxo

Misty

Favorite Foto Friday ~ The EYES Have It!!!

There is no better FFF than "Eyes" in my opinion!!! You can see why below! Lyza has HUGE eyes....yes, they get her out of a lot of trouble! They are like tootsie rolls! At ten weeks old when she was introduced to the camera her eyes would get HUGE after the flash! What a jewel she is!!

Favorite Foto Friday ~ Today's Theme is "Eyes"! So here are my brown eyed beauties!

Happy Friday to everyone......I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Blessings ~

Misty

Do you like my new Blog Header and Background? I love it and a new one is in the works that is even cuter :-) My wonderful friend Jennifer is designing blogsites to help raise money to go towards the adoption of their GuateCutie Gabe! She is wonderful, fast, efficient and very reasonably priced! She has the most wonderful, bubbly personality and you will love working with her to create your new custom design if you so desire! Please contact her at info@jensdesignshop.com. To view some of her recent work go to http://www.jensdesignshop.com/ . Thanks Jen for the very cute and fun design!

Surgery is over.......

Is this just not the BEST DAD EVER??? First to save the box and make a playhouse out of it......then to cut windows and doors? But then he went ever further and played in there with the kids like he was a kiddo himself......then left it in our small living room for three weeks! :-))

It has been an interesting couple of days with surgery lurking around the corner for Chris. We had to get all of our painting done because we knew his arm would be out of commission for 6-8 weeks! So....at 6:30 pm last night he was still painting our living room. My mother arrived in from out of town to help out with Lyza and we didn't even have a living room to sit in! It was a mess......but, by 8 pm the room was done and all the furniture was arranged back in place....just not against the walls. How did it turn out?????? Well, it was supposed to be tan and my mother walked in and said "Oh....I didn't know you were painting it GREEN"! Yes...the walls have a hint of green in them......a very pretty subtle green but all our rugs, furniture and decor are black/tan! BUT, with the lighting and walls, it kinda makes the tan in our rugs look the same green color so we are safe. The TERRIBLE part......well, all his work to tape off the trim backfired. When we took the tape off it peeled off the paint on the trim......so, after we thought we were done now we have to go back and fix the trim! Such is life I guess.....but the house is done and aside from crown molding...we are DONE!!!

Today was Chris' surgery on his arm. It was to repair the cartlidge in his right arm for the second time. They had to tie the cartlidge together and put in another two anchors. This surgery only lasted for 1.5 hrs.....but we had to be there by 6:30 am so it was an early morning for us. Very early for me since I am not used to getting up. I looked like a zombie and when I had to put my contacts in my eyes watered for 20 min. I instantly remembered why I love my life so much.....I don't have to get out of bed and get ready in the mornings!!!!!!

The surgery went well but they had some trouble getting him awake from the anesthesia so they called me back to help. He came out of it and was in intense pain and was making NO sense. Comical.....yes, but a little scary because the tears started and he asked for morphine. The sentence prior he asked to go go-cart driving....don't ask me why, we haven't done that in four years!!!!! Funny.....but, they did give him the morphine, pain pills, anti inflammatory and he felt better. We finally made it home around noon....so it was a long morning. He will be out of work for several weeks and won't be able to fully use his right arm for about 8 weeks. He starts therapy this Saturday all ready! Thank you for your prayers and words of humor and encouragement! We appreciate it!!!

More to post tomorrow!!!

~~ Misty

Hellooooo......

Wow...I didn't think I was ever going to get around to posting again!!! We had a wonderful Easter weekend! We spent time with my family and then came home and spent some time with Chris' family! Lyza did find some eggs hunting....but her overalls didn't fit quite right and every time she bent over to get one....she was top heavy and fell on her head like she was trying to do a somersault! Thanks to my niece, LaRissa, for helping her find some eggs! Brydon wasn't so into it this year....he found about five and then went over to the creek and threw them in....quite cute!!

Madisyn is gone this week to Pennsylvania! I miss her and I am not getting near as much done as I had hoped. Chris has surgery this Thursday and we are trying to finish up the painting before then. He took the day off work tomorrow to get it done. My mother is coming down to stay with us to help take care of Lyza...I am looking forward to that.

Today was a really nice day out and we got to go out and play. I am so very anxious for spring to be here!!!

xoxox

Misty

FFF......Easter Memories!

Last year...we truly did have the best Easter ever! Lyza was not home with us, but it had been a hard year of waiting, visit trips, good byes.....and at Easter just about all of my family was together...aunts, cousins...etc! I got some wonderful pictures of all the kids at Easter (ok, us adults acting like kids too) and I could post a hundred I bet! It really took our minds off our heartache of missing Lyza for a day or two! We had a huge egg hunt, good food, great walks down memory lane (or not so great walks, however you want to look at it) and just plain had fun!

Misty, LaRissa, Trish, Amber and Dusty....out for a golf cart ride!

Our dog, Ellie, looking out the window! Like her tennis outfit? Too cute...and funny! She now lives with Grandma and Grandpa Melvin!
Emily, Kelci and Katelyn lookin for eggs in the bushes!

Whoops...Looks like Brydon has rocks!

Madisyn!!!!!

LaRissa and Ellie!

Well...since this is the first year Lyza has been home...I only have this year's Easter photos! And oh how cute they are......They were taken at JC Penny's a few weeks ago. She was a riot at the photo shoot too.....always trying to get someone to laugh!

My little comedian!

In this photo...the photographer said "I'm gonna get your piggies"....naturally, she stuck her "piggies" up in the air for her to get!

This was the last photo taken and she'd had enough!!!

St. Patrick's Day!

Lyza with pigtails IN and with her pigtails OUT!!!!

Madisyn has spirit this week at school! St. Patrick's Day was obviously green attire! Don't you love it??

Easter!!!!!

I hope you have all had a wonderful weekend! Thank you for so many compliments on the poem below! I found this poem and fell in love with it, so I can't take the credit for the wonderful, meaningful words! The website that I found this poem at is http://www.manyheartsonebeat.com/ . When I first found this website I instantly fell in love...they have some wonderful adoption items. Chris ordered this poem for me in the "framed" version and it just fit perfectly with how we felt the first time Lyza was placed in our arms. It just so happened I had the perfect photo to go with it! So, checkout the website or copy the words onto your own special sheet of paper and frame it!!! A gift to yourself that you will treasure for a lifetime!

On to the weekend news! I finally got myself out of the house today...aching back and all! It felt good to get out but after roaming a couple of stores I have to say I felt pretty lousy! I go for x-rays on my back tomorrow and am setting out to find a good chiropractor. I have only been to a chiropractor once but I clearly see this chiropractors office being one of my new hot spots and best friend!!!

We had an early Easter today. Madisyn leaves for her spring break next weekend and will be at her dad's. So...we are a week early on Easter this year! As you can see from the baskets below my children got practically nothing this year! HA! I wasn't sure how Lyza would react since she wasn't so interested in opening her birthday and Christmas presents. However, I sat the basket in front of her and I am sure you can tell just by her lips in her photo she was saying...."OOOHHHH". It was very cute. Madisyn got her the life sized Dora that she loved....and in turn Lyza got Madisyn a beaded bracelet directly from Guatemala! We then had an Easter breakfast, church, lunch and then shopping! Madisyn got a weeee bit spoiled today with a new bed AND Chris got the last Wii and Guitar Hero at Target!!!!! We had been planning the bed for quite some time.....she had a waterbed and it took up a lot of space....and it was very hard to get in and out of........and my mom is coming to stay next week during Chris' operation and she can't do the waterbed thing! The new bed looks great in her room.....it took forever to assemble but it looks good and she loves it. We haven't gotten the wii out of the box yet because it took so long to get her bed together, but I am sure we will get some good use out of it in the days to come!

The Journey of Many Hearts........

my daughter......

The Journey of Many Hearts

In that moment, quiet surrounded me

My breath caught, my heart stopped.

I felt the steady rhythm of your heart next to mine.

Softly, I pressed my cheek to yours, closed my eyes and

E X H A L E D

In the stillness of that quiet miracle,

I held you, my daughter, for the very first time.

In that moment at last, The Journey of Many Hearts Beat as One.

Love,

Mommy

Favorite Foto Friday ~ Spring Fever!!!

Thanks to Sarah at www.kissthefrog4me.blogspot.com/ Our theme for this Favorite Foto Friday is "Spring Fever"!!! We certainly have Spring Fever in our neck of the woods...now if we could just get Mother Nature to cooperate! We had 70 degree weather the past few days....however, last week we had snow and no school! So, one day in shorts, the next in a snowsuit! CRAZY! Daddy got Lyza a swing this past weekend and she loves it. She wakes up and looks out her bedroom window...then goes to the door and tries to push it open so she can go swing. Today she went equipped with her sunglasses and her baby doll! It was too cute!

Lyza wearing her shades and hanging out with her baby!! Lyza on her new Backyardigans Harley that she got from Nonny and Paw for her birthday! She can't quite reach the "gas petal" yet!!

Lyza earlier in the week taking a stroll out in the fields to play with the "doggies"

Maddy feeding a HUGE duck at the park last week. He took the whole piece of bread and took off with it! Madisyn was NOT happy about it!

Madisyn hanging out in the hammock! There is no place I'd rather be on a nice sunny day!!! If only there were an ocean just to the right that you can't see in this picture!!!

Our week has been pretty calm, but very busy! Madisyn just started track and that takes up about 3 nights per week after school. She has dance one evening per week and soccer just started this week as well....putting us to two practices per week until the games begin. She is also in the "'fitness" club at school...which is a good thing, except she comes home and tells me everything I am doing wrong and even counts my calories for me! Irritating!!! She also had an orchestra concert this week, but I was unable to attend due to my back. I couldn't sit on the bleachers....I can't hardly even sit at the dinner table. I go for my x-ray tomorrow and start physical therapy on Wednesday. The grading period ends tomorrow for madisyn and she has all A's once again! We are so proud of her!!! What an accomplishment! Way to go Madisyn.

In Lyza news......she is a funny little kid! She keeps us laughing that is for sure. She has now started rewarding herself. I tell her no and she stops dead in her tracks and turns around to obey me...but she says "Good Girl" as soon as she turns around. She doesn't even allow time for me to praise her....she just does it herself. We tried to teach her to fold her hands when we pray this week. She folded them but I saw her peek up over her hands as we were praying and she saw no one was looking so she started picking up corn real fast and shoveling it into her mouth. Quite comical. I had to remove a splinter from her hand today.....you'd have thought I was cutting her finger off the way she exaggerates!!! Luckily it was at home and just her and I here! She can now point to just about every body part when you say "Where is Lyza's....."whatever you insert. Except when she show you where "YOUR" eye is she digs her finger into your eye! She can tell you how old she is with a very long #1 finger. She has the longest fingers!!

In house news:

Our Bedroom, Bathroom and Dining room are all complete!!!

The living room only needs a coat of paint. We already have all our accessories and painted the fireplace. It is looking more and more like "our home" every day! I am always looking for constant change....so I guess this is where I will have to put my efforts into seraching for a different change of scenary. Tomorrow we will start on our kitchen.....then we will finish up the living room and hallways this weekend. We will then have Lyza's room to do but we are not s ure if we are going wtih the sage green or pale yellow yet! Maddy should get her new bed this weekend and then we will all be done for awhile!!! Hopefully by the beginning of next week I'll be able to post before and after photos!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Sorry so lengthy, but I was trying to get eveythingtyped up becaue I know I will be super busy this weekend!!!

xoxoxo

Misty

Yes, this is what it appears to look like. Madisyn is pulling her little "Sista" to her new swing in the sled!!! There is no snow...but Lyza didn't seem to care...and neither did big "Sista"!