Meet Bella!

Isn't she darling?? Let me introduce you officially . . .

This is "Bella Bella Dancerella" a.k.a. Bella (Long story, and Megan is involved - enough said!)

After our devastating experience with Tucker last fall we took some time to recover, and recently started considering a new pup. We prayed long and hard about her . . . and those prayers were answered beyond what I ever could have imagined!

We started watching the Petfinder listings, and found a few pups that we were interested in. One by one they were crossed off the list. Yesterday afternoon Ali asked me to show her some of the pups on Petfinder. We were looking and came across a listing that was brand new, for this little sweetie. It gave her basic info, and said that she would be at the adoption event at Petco in Fenton that day. We ran upstairs and told Aaron about her. We decided to load everyone up and go check her out in person. We were immediately smitten. She is literally the most beautiful pup I have ever seen. She is also very sweet and mellow, but still playful. We decided to bring her home, feeling like we had struck gold . . . little did we know that there were more treats in store!!

We got her home to find out how sweet and mellow she really is. She loves her toys, has never nipped at the kids, doesn't jump up and is completely uninterested in the cats (SCORE!) Now I am well aware of the fact that we have had her for about 24 hours, but hey . . . I'll take it!! She also has not had a single accident in the house. All in all - VERY different from our first 24 hours with Tucker!

(We also found out that our vet (who we love!) is one of the approved vets to do her free spay - minor, I know . . . but still a treat!)

In our adoption papers we had a note from Cindy (the owner of Bella's Mama). She had written to request an email from the family who adopted her pup, including pics as she grows up, etc . . . I was more than happy to oblige, knowing that it must have been tough to give up this little sweetie. I also had a few questions for her. What an awesome thing to be able to be in touch with the woman who has raised her so far! To know if/when she has had Frontline/Heartguard. Where she slept, what house training she has done, etc . . .

We were so blessed this afternoon to get an email back from her, answering all of our questions, sending a ton of pics (starting with 1 day old!) and including a pic of her Mama. We also found out that she has been working with her on house training since she was 3 weeks old!! Talk about an angel!!!! You can't even imagine how that made my day! Thanks Cindy!

Now that I have made a short story very long, here's her basic info:

She is 9 weeks old
Mama is a Boxer, Papa is a Black Lab (I think she has a Lab's body with the markings of a Boxer)
One eye is blue, the other is blue on top and a brownish-hazel on the bottom (Beautiful!)
She weighs about 14 lbs.

So . . . with all of that said . . . enjoy my insane amount of pictures! :)


Meg snuggling a very-happy-to-oblige Bella
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Sleepy girl
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She's been doing a whole lot of sleeping . . . but Emma was happy to pet her anyway.
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Ali's turn
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Pretty eyes . . . the pics really don't do them justice!
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She is thoroughly enjoying all of her toys
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Meg and Julie trying to convince her to play
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Just some random cute ones . . .

I love the wrinkles on the forehead!
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Apparently her crate feels "homey" to her. That's where she goes when she wants to nap.

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And here are 2 from Cindy (Thanks!!)

Bella's Mama, Penny. Isn't she beautiful?

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1 day old pups!

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Time to end my insanely long post! : ) Much more to come!

Welcome to China!

We have spent these past two weeks studying China, and today was our wrap-up. I had it written in my plan book that we would make paper lanterns. The girls had a great time with that. Then when it was time for lunch (and I didn't really feel like making lunch!) I decided to go for a full feast. When I told Julie that we were going to order Chinese, she literally started jumping and shouting, then ran down the hall calling "Yeah! We're getting Chinese! Ali! Emma! Megan! We're getting Chinese!" The response from the other three as they came sprinting out of their rooms was similar. It cracks me up. When I was a kid, the thought of Chinese food grossed me out!

This was such a hilarious experience! They really felt like they were authentically experiencing China . . . and I wasn't going to burst their bubble. We enjoyed broccoli with beef, sesame chicken, pineapple chicken, honey chicken, egg rolls, crab rangoon, egg drop soup and of course, fortune cookies (funny story about that yet to come).


Watching them as they tried to use chopsticks was awesome! Emma was the first one to discover the "easy way"


Julie didn't last long - she quickly opted for the fork!


Nice try Ali! (But no luck!)

I guess now would be a time for that funny story . . . While we were eating our fortune cookies, we were talking about the legend that if you can get the fortune out without breaking the cookie, then the fortune is supposed to come true. Ali looked up at me and said, "But what if the fortune says that you're going to be in the hospital for a week or something like that?" She's always thinking! : )


Meg proudly displaying her skewered pineapple.

And finally . . . Julie really enjoyed that crab rangoon!!

Happy Valentine's Day (A little early . . . )

Yesterday was our school Valentine's Day Party. Here's a glimpse . . .

Working on their crafts


Ali


Meg


Julie


Emma

After crafts were done they enjoyed some Freeze Dancing . . . sorry, no pictures to share!

Next was snack time . . .


Can you say "Sugar?"

Time to open Valentines! They were all in one room together and all you could hear were gasps followed by "Thank you Emma!!" Thank You Jonah!" Etc . . . It was very sweet.

And finally . . . time for the group shot. And while we're at it, how about the "worst mom of the year" award? We got everybody settled, took a blue million pictures, let everybody go . . . and then realized that Megan was upstairs playing the whole time! To quote Bruce Keller, "3 out of 4 is really good when your talking about batting averages!"

Fun in the Snow

Okay . . . better late than never, right?

This one cracks me up! Nice try, Jules!

What fun is playing in the snow without a little snack?

Group shot . . . the sun made this one tough!

The first snow angel of the year

Julie LOVES to swing. When she went outside, she went straight for the swing. Who cares about the snow!

Our neighbor boy making himself useful (and loving every minute of it!)

Ali being a good sport and swinging with her sis

I Couldn't Resist

This was one of those "quick, grab the camera!" moments. Julie got marinara sauce on her shirt, and since it was close to bedtime, we just let her wear her jumper "redneck style." Add the Bob the Tomato slippers that are about 3 sizes too big, and her outfit was complete! Someday she'll hate me for this picture. Right now she's standing next to me saying "Hey! That looks like me!"

Sisterly Love

Just a glimpse into my day yesterday . . . a conversation that we overheard in the van between Meg and Julie:

Julie: (While clapping) Megan, say 'Julie can you please stop clapping'

Meg: (Playing along) Julie, can you please stop clapping?

Julie: No.

Needless to say . . . our little ones have been on the receiving end of many spankings here lately. Lots of work to do in that department . . . obviously!

Christmas '08

In an effort to get caught up . . . here is my massively large Christmas post. We do many Christmas celebrations each year. We start the day after Thanksgiving with putting up the tree. This year, the Saturday before Christmas we did Christmas with Aaron's family (sans Emma and I due to overnight barfing and a fever of 102). Christmas Eve is our at home family Christmas. Nice and relaxing . . . and thankfully . . . no barfing. Christmas Day we go to see Aaron's Grandma House and fam, then head over to my parent's house to welcome my Grandparents (and my Uncle, this year) from Wisconsin. We also enjoyed Meg's digestive pyrotechnics all over my mom's living room floor! Rest assured, it was a very festive experience! : ) Our last Christmas celebration was with our good friends, the Alligoods, on Dec. 30th. (Postponed due to Emma's illness) It was nice and relaxing, with no yakking! : )
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The kids still had a great time (the ones who weren't barfing) and Christmas pics are always fun.
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A special thanks to Lydia for stepping up to the plate for me with the camera!
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Decorating the Christmas Tree
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What the tree looks like when you have short people decorate it. Later it got a tall person overhaul.
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Emma made a solo trip to Grandma Patton's house to get her presents, then came back home and became one with the couch for the day!
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Grandma Patton made poncho's for all of the girls. Obviously, Emma didn't open her's with the others. Uncle Joel is supposed to be PhotoShopping her into the group shot!

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Aaron with his girls (3 of them anyway) at his parents' house.

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Christmas Eve Morning. New jammies for everyone . . . though Julie was less then pleased to have me taking her picture!
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Julie managed to smile in this one!
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Our fully loaded Christmas tree
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Breyer horses (and a stable) for Meg and Julie
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This picture says it all. We are officially the coolest parents ever. Diamond Castle Barbies for Ali & Emma
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Christmas at Great Grandma House's house

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Meg opening her Bitty Twin at Grandma Klarner's house (pre-barf picture!)

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She was very excited about this one!
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Felicity and Josefina's new gowns from Grandma and Grandpa Klarner.
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Julie with her Bitty Twin
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I seriously slacked on the group pics this year. I don't have a single one with my grandparents or my Uncle. Oh well. Here are my girls with Brooke's boys (Austin, 10 and Kevin, 4)
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I made up for my lack of group shots at the Alligood's house. Aren't they a handsome crowd? I never get tired of pictures of all 7 of them together!
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Waiting to open presents.

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Jason and Amber's gift from Aaron and I. Isn't he darling?