Easter Egg Hunt with Cousins

I know, Easter was a long time ago. But, we have some really cute pictures of the kids that I wanted to post.

Once again some of my pictures didn't load. I might have to try something else!

Our projects

We have been working on a lot of things around our house in the past few months. Here are some pictures of our projects:

P.S. I had a hard time getting my pictures to load, so a lot are missing. But, all three of the projects are finished. My wall is finally done and I really like the way it turned out. Our basement carpet is so much better than the industrial stuff that was there before and our backyard looks like a jungle. The grass is growing like crazy. I think I am finally able to mow it!

A Princess, a crown and a throne

We are potty training. Payton loves to sit on the toilet, but she also likes to have toys around her. When we first started, she would only sit on the little toilet in her room. Luckily we have moved up. She sits on the regular toilet in the bathroom and is ok that the toys can't come.

Finally some GOOD News!

Last night while I was at work, our pediatrician called and talked to Brian. Our doctor and a local Urologist have been examining Sydney's urinalysis and CAT Scan. They decided that she probably got an infection somewhere in her body (maybe when she had the stomach flu really bad in March) and the infection went to her Kidneys. So, Sydney is taking two 10 day rounds of antibiotics and hopefully she'll be better and back to her normal self. It has been so hard to see her like this. She just hasn't been our little girl for a month and a half. Thank you for all of your prayers and phone calls. We really appreciate all of the support from you, our friends and family.

Our sweet Sydney

UPDATE: The CAT Scan was performed last Thursday. So far here is what we know: Something is wrong with Sydney's kidneys. It is not an infection, and doctors are unsure what exactly is wrong. We are waiting for a Urologist to look at the CAT Scan and Urinalysis before we do anything else. On a good note, Sydney has had a few good days in a row. She has been to school yesterday and today. Hooray!

UPDATE: Since writing the below, Sydney's blood work has come back. She is anemic. She is taking an iron supplement, but still not doing any better. So, the CAT Scan is scheduled for tomorrow morning. Keep her in your prayers!

As some of you may know our little Sydney is having some health issues right now. We are not sure exactly what is the matter, but are hoping and praying it is nothing serious. Just keep us in your prayers!
Now, I am not writing this entry for sympathy, but to show you that even during stressful times, funny things can happen! Yesterday we went to the doctor-- again. Last week Sydney had an X-ray of her abdomen. This time the doctor decided to have some blood work done and he talked about a possible CAT Scan. It always surprises me how closely Sydney is listening. After we left the office, Sydney asked, "What will the kitty x-ray be like?" How cute is that?? I can just see her picturing a cat and an x-ray machine and wondering how in the world that will help her get better?? What a sweet girl. LOVE YOU SYDNEY!!

It's just an expression.

This morning Payton woke up in a not-so-happy-mood. She was having a fit and I said, "Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the crib." From the other room Sydney said, "What side should she have gotten up on?" So serious, so innocent and enough to send me into a fit-- of laughter! I explained to Syd that it was just an expression, but I am still not sure she got it.

Brian's Reputation

Brian is probably now known as the meanest guy in our neighborhood! A title he is proud of....On Tuesday night at 1 a.m. we were rudely awakened by our doorbell. We were pretty sure we knew who it was because we had recently told some kids not to skateboard in our driveway. Anyway, we were very upset. Last night we had just gone to bed and the doorbell rang just before midnight. Brian was ANGRY! He ran to the window and came back gleeful. "Those stupid kids forgot about the snow. I can see their footprints all the way back to their house. I'm going over there!" He got dressed and was about to leave when the same kids started walking up the driveway to ring the bell again (we didn't even bother opening the door the first time because we knew no one was there.) Anyway, Brian ran to the door and opened it. The kids froze and then started running away. Brian yelled at them that if they didn't come back he'd call the police. They came and also ratted out the other friend that was still hiding. Can you imagine how angry and yet joyful Brian was at this moment? Well, he didn't call the police, but he did explain to them that we didn't appreciate it, our kids were sleeping, etc. Then, he said, "Let's go talk to your dad." The one girl about died. She said her dad was sleeping. Brian asked if he'd appreciate having to wake up. She said no. He told the kids to go home and never do it again. They said sorry and quickly went home. Brian came back to bed angry but laughing, too. I think he relishes the idea that the neighborhood hooligans are scared of him!

My bad...

Sydney's favorite candy is 'Good & Plenty'. I must admit, they are also one of my favorites. Brian bought her some yesterday and she still has some left today. After lunch, Brian put some in a container for her to eat. I was with Payton and Sydney came up to me with a piece of 'stunted' Good & Plenty. (You know, the ones that are more round than long.) Anyway, she put it in my hand and I thought she was sharing. I ate it! MY BAD!!! As soon as I put it in my mouth I knew I had made a mistake. Oops! She meant for me to look at the piece of candy and admire the awesome shape. Dang it! Then, I made an even more tragic mistake. I started laughing. I mean really laughing. Like, tears and everything. Sydney had the most devastated look on her face. She ran crying into her bedroom and shut the door. After my laughing fit was over, I dumped out the rest of the package of Good & Plenty and found not one but TWO 'stunted' pieces. Hooray for me!! Sydney lovingly held the pieces of candy and life is good again.

Little Ears

My sister is having a baby as I type! I told Brian when he came home from work that my sister is in the hospital and the doctor is going to break her water. Sydney walked into the room just in time to hear 'break' and 'water'. She looked at me and said, "It better not be my water bottle that is broken!"
I know it's silly, but I am still laughing!! I had to write this incident down.

Sydney learned a new word

I am getting ready to paint my bedroom. I spend a good portion of yesterday afternoon taping. As I am sure many of you have experienced with your own children, my children gravitate toward whatever area of the house I am in. I had to move my bed to the middle of the room so I could tape behind it. I hide birthday and Christmas presents under my bed. When I moved the bed I made sure to keep all of the stuff under it hidden. Normally it works great because my kids aren't ever in my room. You know what happened, right? Sydney was playing with Payton and started 'looking' around. She pulled out her birthday present (not suppose to see it till June) and gleefully squeals, "Is this for me???" I didn't hesitate or crack a smile, "Nope, it's for someone else." The delighted expression on her face crashed. "Oh." And she put it back under my bed. Then I taught her a new word, "SNOOP". I explained (hopefully in a nice way) that looking in places that don't belong to you is called snooping. She still looked kind of confused so I told her that she'd know when she was snooping because the Holy Ghost would tell her she was doing something wrong. Anyway, I hope she understands. And I really hope she forgets about the birthday present before June rolls around!