Dr. Barnes

Our beloved doctor is battling a 2nd recurrance of his cancer. He was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia in 2006 and had a relapse in 2008. He found out about a month ago that it had returned again. He will be receiving chemo for the next 2 or 3 months and then will be preparing for a bone marrow stem cell transplant. He will be off for at least one year. Won't you please join me in praying for this sweet, kind man whom we love. He delivered both of the Wade girls...and is all of our doctor. He keeps Kevin calm, treats me, and charms the girls. We will miss him terribly, but know that he is battling for his life. I have added his caring bridge site to my list on the lower right if you would like to read about his journey...

cake.

I made a special dinner for my family tonight. Kevin really wanted my lasagne. I don't make it very often (that is an understatement! :P) It takes a long time to make the homemade sauce & assemble the cooked noodles & ricotta filling. But, he loves it. So, I made it for him. I was sick on Valentine's Day weekend (and our plans got ruined) so this was kind of my peace offering. :) Part of my Valentine's Day gift for my family was a cake. A homemade chocolate cake with buttercream frosting. :) The Wade girls (and Kevin!) always complain that I never make cake. And, I don't. I don't like cake. Unless, it's those fake Hostess Cupcakes. Ha! :) So, I made them a cake. A week late because like I said...I was sick with the flu. And, I couldn't bear to do it last weekend.

Here it is frosted...

I wanted to buy some little red heart sprinkles, but they were over $5 for a little bottle! So...

I put some little pink sugar sprinkles on. Elly said, "Ohhhhh! You put sprinkles on?!!" She was thrilled! For dinner, I put the roses that Kevin got me for Valentine's Day on the table. Aren't they pretty? Love flowers. They make my heart happy. :) We used fancy glasses & the girls used their new cups that light up (Thanks, Grandma Vicki!). Maddy said, "I feel like royalty!" And, Kevin laughed. Stinker. ;) They loved the cake. And, I'm so glad. I made it for them.

My little cake loving family. :)

Happy Valentine's Day. A little late...

i heart V-day!

I just love Valentine's Day. I love making handmade Valentine's. It is one of my most favorite things. :) This year, Elly picked out clay hearts to give to her friends. It was really easy...and so cute that I made them for my class, too.

She worked hard on writing her name on the tags. I only wrote a few...

Maddy wanted to make little cell phones. I wrote down a few little text messages & she chose which one to put on that friends' phone. XOXO, u r gr8, Happy V-day, BFF, and u make me :) Things like that. :)

She made a kitty cat Valentine holder for school. She is such an animal lover...it suited her well.

The teachers got cute little socks this year. All except Joe. We gave him a box of chocolates. I didn't think he would like little socks. Ha!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Christmas Eve...

Christmas Eve was a little different for us this year... The blizzard had arrived so we did not get to drive around in our jammies & look at lights. :( We did go the night before in anticipation, but it was not the same. We had several inches of snow by 6pm. The girls & I didn't even get dressed that day. We all wore our jammies...here are the girls feeding the reindeer a mixture of oats & glitter. Oats for nourishment & glitter to guide them to our house. ;)

Look how big the snowflakes are! It is the first Christmas Eve that the girls have had to get all bundled up & wear boots! They loved it!

Kevin asked me if I was going to make them wear their snow pants. ;) I thought about it. Ha!

They were so excited for santa to come!

Here's Kevin shoveling for the 1st of 4 times with this snow storm. He decided if we were all going to be outside then he would get a little work done.

This is the only picture I have of the girls in the jammies that santa dropped off about 5pm. Twinkle is in the background. Elly was a little sad to see him go, but they were not as dramatic about it as last year. Ha! I think Elly just enjoys the game of finding him every morning. :)

keep your fingers crossed...

When we purchased our camera, Kevin was wise enough to spend an extra $44 for a protection plan that covers accidental droppings! Unfortunately, it was only a 2 year protection plan that expired on 11.30.09! And, I dropped our camera on 12.24.09. :( But, he called & they said if we faxed them a letter and sent in the paperwork (receipt, p. plan) that they MIGHT make an exception. Keep your fingers crossed for me! We should know in the next few days...