Chelsea

Here are a few more pictures of Chelsea. I get too excited to put pictures up and don't finish editing them..so I played around with a few of her pictures and here are the final products...

Goddaughter..

I picked up my god-daughter, Miss Chelsea Grace for a couple hours this afternoon to bond and do a photo shoot. If I do say so myself, it didn't go half bad. What a sweet little girl she is...and so photogenic! Enjoy! (I think the first one is my favorite)

It stings the toes and bites the nose...

....and the fingers and the ears and the cheeks..Holy cow it's cold out...again. Tom said last night, "winter isn't even halfway over and I'm already sick of it". I think he says that every year, but I totally agree with him this year. The temp hasn't been above zero now for a couple days. Todays low, with the windchill, its -50 degrees!! I woke up this morning and here is a picture of our weatherbug on the computer screen.....
Yea, that reads 26 degrees below 0....with the windchill it is negative 48! I CAN'T wait for our trip to Vegas in a couple weeks...right now it is 110 degrees warmer in Vegas then it is here...

Welcome to Iowa...

I checked the local weather this morning because we are under a "wind chill advisory" and the weather.com read, "-4 but feels like -27"....Yep NEGATIVE 27 degrees...Holy cow! I don't even wanna walk outside! Anyways, we had Christmas with my family this weekend, it was such a fun time! I have a little story about Christmas. When I was little, we had this cheesey little elf:

Not sure exactly where it came from but we have had it for as long as I can remember. When I was younger, as soon as the Christmas decorations were out, I would take the elf off the tree and go to my room and play barbies, or house with it. When it was time to put the decorations away, my mom would have to search my room because I would hide it from her. I don't exactly know what my fascination was with this dorky decoration. Anyways, this brings me to one of my Christmas gifts from my parents this year. A big(ger) elf Christmas decoration:Apparently there is a childrens book that talks about how the elf sits on the shelf and every night when kids are asleep it goes back to report to Santa on the good and bad things that the kids do during the day. Now, I don't know if the little elf has anything to do with the story, or where my mom even got the elf 15 or more years ago....
but I have to say, they do look a lot alike....

"Great Great Great" Woman

I want to wish my mom and dad a very happy 26th anniversary today, however, I know my mom is going to have a hard day because this morning my Great Grandma died at 105.... She was definately a Great grandma and we will miss her deeply - heaven is so lucky to be getting her!

A couple weeks ago, I got together all of the jewelery that my Great Grandma had given me over the hundreds of times I visited her when I was little. My mom found the neatest idea in a magazine, so I took all the backs off of the (clip on) earings and pins and glued those and some pendants and bracelets to a frame, one for myself and one for my mom..

Big Birthday!

Today my Great Grandma turns 105! That is one milestone I hope to never hit!! I remember when my cousins and I were little, every single day during the summer we would go visit her for a couple hours. I don't know if it was more to get away from day-care (both my mom and my cousins' mom had in-home daycares) or if it was for the ice cream. We really enjoyed listening to her stories and looking at her old pictuers. When we got new puppies, we ran all the way (ten blocks) to the nursing home to tell her about it, she asked to see them so we ran all the way home and brought them back and knocked on her window. She was inside her room smiling, clapping and waving - she seemed to be so excited for us. We took the puppies back home and got on our bikes to go back to visit with her. When she could leave for visits, she always came over for Christmas - as soon as she would get here, she would park her wheelchair in front of my piano and refused to eat until I played her a couple songs. The pictures are from her 100th birthday and sadly that is the last year she had her full memory - she was sharp as a tack up until her 101st birthday. We go to visit occasionally and she gets so excited when you walk into her room - you think it's because she recognizes you but she just gets excited to have company. My favorite quote she used to say to us everyday when we were getting ready to leave "Oh I could just eat you up but then I wouldn't have you anymore". Happy Birthday Grandma!

Tom and I with my grandma at her 100th birthday.

Five generations - myself, my mom, my grandpa and my grandma

Take your time

That is what I ask of you this Thanksgiving day. My second cousins (my moms cousin) husband found out the worst possible news yesterday, the day before Thanksgiving. To be honest, we haven't been close to that side of the family for years. We exchange Christmas cards and talk when we run into eachother uptown, but that's about it. So I have been reading updates on his caringbridge site. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/shawnberg Shawn turned 37 on Father's Day this year, a few days earlier, he found out he has cancer. Up until a couple weeks ago, they had no idea what kind it was, adrenal cancer. Yesterday he went for a scheduled visit in a lot of pain. The doctor told them that they were going to be taking him off of his cemo because it was causing more bad then good. They were then told the news you never want to hear, that they were sending him home with a hospice nurse and he should start saying his goodbyes to friends and family, including his two daughters, Isabelle - 7 and Peyton - 4.
This is why I say take your time. Not just today, but everyday. Take the time to think about what really matters to you. Take the time to thank God for what you have. The vaccuming, the dusting, the laundry - it can all wait - stop what you're doing and go play catch or barbies with your kids/nieces/nephews. It's a sucky realization that I have come to see, watching my grandpa lose his battle with cancer - watching my mom kick cancers ass (Mom, you are my hero!! I love you so much!!) You never know how much time you have, so spend your time with those you love most! I have been praying and continue to pray for my cousins family. And I am asking for your prayers also, they are needed and will be greatly appreciated. I commend my cousin for looking through all of this and seeing the good times that they have had and will continue to have.
I hope you all have a very Happy, family filled, Thanksgiving.