"I got a DS!!!!!"

For Christmas Monica got V-Tech mobigo game system. I have to say that it is the most kid friendly hand held game system I have never seen. I am very impressed with it, and she loves it. When Daniel was 3 years old a game system meant sitting with him helping him and explaining everything to him. With the mobigo Monica can play it on her own and she has a lot of fun. The new touch screen technology is amazing. She calls it her "DS" and could not be more pleased that now she can be even more like her big brother. They both have a toy story 3 game and it is very cute then they sit together playing.

Monica's Magic Trick

Today Monica I taught Monica how much fun a couple of magnates can me. Now she calls the following video her magic trick.

Christmas Dinner on December 27th

After being sick all weekend I finally got the energy together to make my Christmas dinner, even it is was 2 days late. Poor Monica has not been feeling well all day so she spent most of the day snuggled up on the couch.
































































I love the look on Olivia's face in this picture. First of all it is a look I have gotten from Brandon before, and second it communicates her annoyance with me taking pictures of her all the time.

Christmas Pictures

Christmas Weekend

This Christmas weekend has been very interesting to say the least. Christmas Eve morning we woke up and all got ready to be out the door by 9 am. We quickly dropped Olivia off at the baby sitter (Thanks again Janna!) and then off to Harrisonville for Grandma's funeral. It was snowing when we left, but thankfully the roads were not too bad. During the visitation I got a text from my sister telling me that she was heading to the hospital for a blood transfusion. I of course flipped out. Come to find out her hemoglobin count was very low and she had to get a transfusion immediately. Two days later and they are still not sure the cause of her low blood count. She heads back to the doctor in a few days to hopefully see what is going on.

All Friday night I had a hard time sleeping because my throat was hurting so bad. By Saturday morning I could not swallow hardly anything and throughout the morning I got worse and worse. Turns out I have strep throat and I spent the rest of the day in bed fighting a fever and chills. As Brandon put it "when mom is sick Christmas dinner turns into grilled ham and cheese and chicken nuggets." I spent most of Sunday in bed as well, and today I have felt a bit better, although I know I am not 100%. Today Monica woke up with a rash all over her bottom and sores on her lip. After taking her to the doctor I found out she has Strep Impetigo and she was put on antibiotics. I am just praying that no one else gets this because it is highly contagious.

Besides the negatives that were mentioned above I had a wonderful time with my family at Christmas. The kids loved opening their presents and were a lot of fun to watch. Daniel got a MP3 player and you would have thought we have him a million bucks. He also got a buzz light year that he has not put down since he opened it. When I asked him what his favorite gift was he categorized his gifts making it where he had several favorites. He said he favorite toy gift was buzz lightyear, his favorite electronic gift was his MP3 player, his favorite alive gift was his Guinea Pig (which has been named Mrs. Frisby) and his favorite gift to put on his bed was his pillow pet. All I can say to his categorizing answer to such a simple question is "professor jr!"

Monica and Olivia got a toy kitchen which they both really love. Olivia also got a dog to sleep with that sings and says her name, which she thinks is great. Monica's favorite thing she got from Nanny and Papa which was a Mobigo hand held game system. She calls it her "DS" and carries it around acting like Daniel.

For me, Brandon bought me a digital SLR camera. I could not be more excited when I opened it. I have wanted one for 5 years, and my excitement when I opened it could not be contained. I am very excited to learn how to use it. He also got me some wool socks and a pair of house shoes, which I love. I am not sure if I will ever wear cotton socks again during winter months. They are WONDERFUL!

For Brandon I bought him a frame for his PHD diploma. I think that it looks very nice in it's new frame, and it is about time that we got it up on the wall. It is now proudly hanging with the rest of his diplomas. And tonight he went to Arrowhead and picked up a ticket to go the chiefs playoff game. He is so pleased, I don't think that he has stopped smiling since he got home. He and our friend Steven Enoch will be going together to cheer on the chiefs to hopefully their first play off win since 1994.

I will be posting pictures soon, but I am tired tonight, so I will leave you with this update.

Grandma's Funeral

I decided that I was going to try to say something at Grandma's funeral. I know that I will probably just start crying and not be able to get through it, but I wanted to say something. This woman is amazing, and there are not many people in the world like her. The following is what I typed up to say tomorrow.

Grandma Lester
I did not really have grandparents growing up. Three of mine died before I was born and my living grandma really did not have much interest in me. I have very few memories with her as a kid. At the time I did not think this was abnormal because I did not know any different. About 3 months after meeting Brandon he invited me back to Kansas City for the weekend. We had a very full weekend planned and in the midst of all the busyness Brandon said that he wanted to visit his grandparents. I have to be honest, my first thought was “why?” but I did not say anything. When we arrived at Grandma and Grandpa Lester’s house I remember the joy on their faces when they saw us coming. Not only where they happy to see Brandon, but they were happy to see me too, and they had never even met me. During the visit I could not help but smile at Grandma’s constant smiles and her contagious energy. She just kept saying to me “Thank you so much for dating Brandon.” She probably said that about 10 times, to the point when we got back in the car I turned to him and said “What is wrong with you that your grandmother has to thank me so many times for dating you?”

Over the past 8 years Grandma showed me what it was like to have a grandma. She accepted me from the very second she heard my name, and loved me ever since. I quickly started to understand why it was that Brandon desired so much to visit his grandparents, and it did not take long before I desired it too. Grandma always showed such great hospitality to us, serving up homemade pie, breads, and other goodies. And of course we never left her house without a zip lock baggie full of candy and cookies.

Just days before she died we went as a family to visit her. Monica and I went into her room and first thing she said was “I love you honey.” Throughout our stay there she kept going in and out of sleep, but every time she opened her eyes she looked right at us and she said “I love you.”
This will stick with me because I know that she meant it. She counted me as one of her own grandchildren. She accepted me without a question. She loved me with all her heart.

I have only knew Grandma for about 8 years but during that time for the first time in my life I knew what it was like to have a grandma. I will miss her greatly.

Conversation about death with Daniel

Mommy: Daniel what do you think about Grandma dying today?
Daniel: I feel very sad.
Mommy: It is very sad that we will not get to see her anymore, but the good news is that she got to go to heaven and see Jesus and Grandpa.
Daniel: Is heaven in outer space?
Mommy: I am not sure exactly where heaven is, the bible tells us that when Jesus went back into heaven he went up into the clouds, so I am pretty sure it is up there somewhere.
Daniel: "Can you fall out of heaven?"
Mommy: "Fall out of heaven?"
Daniel: "Yeah like if there was a door there in the floor and when Jesus opened it to look out of it you could fall out and just be in space." (just a side note I am thinking he got this concept from watching care bears.)
Mommy: "I am sure that God has made heaven a very safe place and you cannot fall out of heaven."
Daniel: "That's good because when I get to heaven I don't want to go out and be with the astronauts."

My Olivia Leigh is 1 Year Old!!!

My baby turned one today and today was filled with lots of emotions. I cannot believe how quickly this past year has flown by. Olivia has been such a joyful addition to our family. I remember going into the hospital to be induced and waiting and waiting and waiting to see if Olivia would be willing to make her presence in the world. More than 24 hours after entering the hospital Olivia was born with no doctors in the room. That's right, it was almost just me and Brandon but I made him go get the nurse. She seemed annoyed to be called back in after just leaving because according to her I was just barely at 8 centimeters. It was not even 3 seconds after she walked to the room that out onto my bed falls Olivia Leigh. Within a few minutes the room was full of doctors and nurses all complementing how beautiful my baby's red hair was! RED HAIR! Sure enough she had a red tint to her hair. This past year she has grown from a tiny baby into a almost toddler, full of personality. Although most of this year she has struggled to breathe due to her asthma (poor baby) she is generally very happy. She always has a smile for someone to see. All of her teachers in Sunday school and bsf talk about what a joy she is because she is always chatting and smiling at everyone. Today was a very busy day, but in the end we all had a wonderful meal of spaghetti, and we had cake, which Olivia LOVED. I think that she would have eaten the whole thing if I let her. Her big gift of the day is the bounce and spin zebra from babu and shosho. She has enjoyed it so much! Here are a few pictures from her birthday dinner.