Sunday, March 30, 2008

Please Pray

I just checked in with Nate on his blog and it seems that this might be the night/day that his beautiful wife, Tricia receives her gift of life - a new set of lungs. Please stand in the gap with me for this dear family. A side note, their 24 weeker Gwyneth is doing fantastic! Be sure to check out her updates as well! Thanks!

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Time with friends

So this week has been my spring break from work. It has been delightful to be able to spend time with Abraham. He and I have also had the opportunity to catch up with friends we don't usually see. On Tuesday we spent some time with Maureen, a former student of mine. She rode with us as we did a few errands. It was so gorgeous out that we hit the playground too. Maureen just loves Abraham to death. It was actually quite nice to have a "babysitter" for a little bit. We had lunch before we headed home. It was really neat to have time with her.











We also got together with my dear friend Tabetha and her daughter Bethany. We had lunch at Mc Donalds and then hit Target together. We don't get to see them very often because they live a bit away from us, so it was definitely good to see them both.


Abraham and Bethany having lunch together




Posing with Ronald




My Tabby and me :)

Monday, March 24, 2008

Spring pictures

Having a Picture People Portrait club card is great.. if you use it before it expires! Unfortunately, I'm not super good about doing this. The card is great - for each time you come in, you get a free 8x10 and $10 off a second sheet. It pays for itself in the first visit.

So I have had the card for nearly a year and hadn't used it at all. It expires in May - which means I have to get my moneys worth... and soon!

All that to say, Kari and I went this past Monday and got pictures of the kids done in their Easter finest. These are the 2 best shots of Abraham from the shot. Over all he was pretty good - considering that the appointment was right in the middle of his nap. By the time we got out of the mall it was after 4 and no nap. Can we just say, not a happy camper!!

Anyhow - I think I have talked Michael into getting a family picture done too before it expires... ahhh, leverage!! :)



Our sweet boy (2 1/2)



I did it!!!



Alex (6), Chloe (4)

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Happy Easter!

We had a rather uneventful Easter here. Kari and I usually go to Beachmont for the Easter sunrise service but this year, after seeing that it was supposed to be 29 degrees... had a change of heart! We were plenty cold last year and it wasn't that cold out!!
We enjoyed Easter service at church and then went to mom's for dinner.
I managed to wrangle both boys outside for a family picture. I promised them both it would be quick and painless... and I held up my end of the bargain! 5 minutes and we were done. Pictures are not a favored activity around here! :) Too bad they are living with a picture-a-holic!!




Me and my boy



Finally, a decent picture of Abraham and me!!



Abraham and Daddy



The Ragan's

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Easter Egg Hunting

Kari and I took the kids to an Easter Egg hunt at Oak Grove Baptist Church the Saturday before Easter - mainly because we didn't want to have to do our own with them! But it was a really great day together. They had some games inside that the kids played. A moon bounce entertained the kids for a while as well. We saw a really cool karate demonstration and then there was a mini-Gospel message presented. The church did a great job at community outreach. We certainly enjoyed it! Then there was the Easter Egg hunt - Alex did much better than Chloe and Abraham!



Moon Bounce Fun!


I'm supposed to put the eggs IN the bag???


Baseball game


I got to help Chloe on the putt putt station and darn if we didn't get a HOLE IN ONE! Yahoo Chloe! You go girl! :)


Alex is ready to go and grab him some eggs!

Cheese!!

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Steelhead fishing in Ohio


Steelhead fishing in Ohio - this sucker was HUGE! We have a replica of it hanging on our living room wall!








Fly Tying with Daddy






For those of you who might not know, Michael is a fly fishing enthusiast. Fly fishing being completely different than the fishing I think of when you sit in a boat and throw in your lure and just wait for something to bite. Fly fishing, to me at least, involves much more skill. I cannot say that I'm an expert by any means but when Michael talks about the fish, water, flies... I do listen. He has been tying his own flies for a while now and really enjoys it. I tried to take a picture or 2 of them but the pictures just don't do the art in them justice.

Since Michael gets very little time on here I thought I'd devote this post to him and his hobby.




Starting early, Daddy is teaching Abraham to tie flies. Abraham has his own Wooly Bugger fly!

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Rice update take 2...

Ok so I determined this past Sunday that it was NOT rice in my lung which caused the pneumonia. This will perhaps be TMI for some but I was in the middle of a coughing fit on Sunday when something came shooting out of my mouth. I looked on the floor after I calmed myself down and lo and behold, guess what was on the floor??? A GREEN PEA!!! NO lie!! A freaking PEA shot out of my mouth - most likely coming from my lung. What the heck?? Would you believe that I haven't coughed once since Sunday?

Something this weird could ONLY happen to ME!!

Monday, March 10, 2008

Rice update...

For those of you who were worried about me with my rice escapade... I am feeling better and was back to work today. I had a check up tonight and the DR said the antibiotic did what it was supposed to do. I'm not quite 100% but I will be. Thank you for all your prayers!

For you Patty Sue!

On one of the blogs that I frequent often (Lawrenson family)had a mom post on there some of her wishes for Tricia, being a new mom. I wanted to join in on the fun so here are some of my favorite things from my mommy viewpoint.

1. When she is able to wear clothes and even the preemie clothes are too BIG!

2. When she passes her carseat test and is ready to come for the first time. Get the camera ready!

3. Midnight feedings and cuddling with Gwyneth - her little hands on your face or holding your fingers.

4. Tossing her in the air and getting a face full of... well you know what!! :) (This actually happened to me with my niece - thanks Chloe!!)

5. Watching her fall asleep on Nate and seeing them together.

6. Being the only one that can calm the frantic cries - sorry Nate!

7. Belly laughs when you do raspberries on her belly.

8. Watching her hit milestones the experts said would be slow in coming,ON TIME!

9. Hearing her say I love momma/pappa for the first time.

10. Having her carry a book to you, plop in your lap and declare "Read to you, Momma!"

11. Hearing her emphatically proclaim at the end of a prayer - "In Jesus name AMEN!

12. Having her pat your face when you are having a bad day and say "Don't cry Momma."


My sweet boy is just 2 years old and we have had so many amazing memories.. but I look forward to the next 2... 5... 10... 20 years with him. Watching him grow up to be a strong, independany, God-loving man will be such a gift to me. We are BLESSED!

Friday, March 7, 2008

There's something in my lung...

Ok so here is an explanation about the comment about our Saturday lunch in the Harbor... We went to the eatery and I got Chinese food - rice, chicken, veges. I had taken one bite successfully but on the 2nd bite I took I realized that I couldn't do 2 things at once - like talk and eat :) I inhaled the rice and it got stuck. Couldn't breathe. And drinking something didn't dislodge whatever was stuck. Come to find out, the rice was in my windpipe (I think) So all Saturday, Sunday and Monday it really hurt to breathe deeply. I kept saying something was wrong. But then the pain subsided. I had the nurse at school check my breathing on Tuesday (at the urging of a teammate who is my 2nd mom) and she suggested I get checked out. Went Wednesday to the DR and they found that I had PNEUMONIA!! It is possible it was caused by a foreign object in my lungs but it wouldn't show up on the chest xray. So I've been home from school yesterday and today... I feel better today but it's still hard to breathe. I'm on antibiotic to prevent anymore infection.

This could only happen to me!!!

Washington DC

It was a beautful day to be in DC. The weather couldn't have been more perfect for walking around. We didn't go in any museums but we did sit in the Mall and enjoy the sunshine and lack of snow!! (She went home to 4 ft of snow - sori tru Laura!)



Smithsonian Institute - main building


Me and my Haggarty!


Lincoln Memorial


Laura at the WWII Memorial


Entrance to the WWII Memorial


Reflecting Pool and the Washington Memorial



Korean War Memorial

Weekend with a friend

So last weekend my friend Laura came to visit. I posted about this earlier. We had a really good time together reconnecting, and reminiscing about old times. I picked her up on Friday in Washington DC and decided that we should see some sights until the traffic died down... needless to say we ended up almost in Falls Church, VA! Which isn't too hard to do down there but still... We went to the Inner Harbor on Saturday. Kari and the kids went with us too. We walked around Fort Mc Henry for a bit and then had lunch (which is a whole other post!) Then on Sunday we just chilled and watched movies and talked. We left earlier on Monday then we needed and just walked around DC for a while before her flight took off. It was a good weekend for me and I hope it was just as relaxing for her. Here are some pics from our weekend.


Reading with Laura



The kids in the Inner Harbor - it was really windy and cold!!



Playground with Laura



Playground with Laura

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Ring Factory students give back to the Hopkins Children's Center!



Again this year, I have had the privilege of asking my school to join me in the MIX 106.5 Change for Change Fundraiser. This program raises money for the Johns Hopkins Children's Center here in Baltimore. It holds a special place in my heart because it was the doctors and nurses here that gave Moses a chance at life. It was these doctors and nurses and staff members that took care of us in the middle of an extremely difficult time. The Child Life Staff had such loving care of Moses after he went home and really cared for us as a family. The Children's Center is also where my niece Chloe spent 2 weeks after her accident. My sister and her family became friends with the staff in the Child Life Office as well. We are eternally grateful for the wisdom and compassion of the doctors there. We are blessed to have Hopkins in our back yard. It is in the top 3 Children's hospitals in the country.

So, my school got together and brought in change to donate to the Children's Center. They raised $635 to go towards the kids. It just really encourages my heart to see the outpouring of love and giving by these kids and their families. It really gives them a sense of giving back to the community, which is a big focus at Ring Factory.

I applaud these students and say THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart!