Who can beat this?

I decided to tackle the high chair today. As I removed the cover, I thought, "Wow. I wonder if anyone else's high chair can beat this." So, can yours? Or do I win?

Results.

It's a girl. :)

Reading.

I just wanted to say...

I just wanted to say two things:

#1. Tomorrow we will know if baby Roper # 2 is baby pink or baby blue :) .

#2. In three days Mark, Mel and I will land on a little island called MAUI.


!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can ANY combination of words describe how out -of -this- world, beyond- beyond- beyond- excited I am for these events? No. But I am. TOTALLY. BEYOND. BEYOND. BEYOND. excited.

The Count of Monte Cristo.

I have very recently read The Count of Monte Cristo.

HELLLLOOOOOO!!!!!!! What an AMAZING read! Super long, but I finished it in about a week and a half- NEVER a dull moment in that one. LOVED it. LOVED it!

I LOVE Mark.

My emotions have been very much at the surface as of late. I have recently cried while watching Ratatouille- if that says anything to any of you.

Two nights ago Mark and I watched the Pixar "Up" for the first time. We had to stop the movie like 5 time so I could get a grip. I was literally sobbing.

Mark is out of town for a few days... then he'll come home for a few days, and then leave again for another two. I KNOW- no big deal. I am a baby. Almost as soon as he left, I felt completely alone and miserable.

During Mel's nap, I indulged, and opened the little box which contains my earthly treasures of love notes that Mark has written to me over the last... 8 years. I still have the VERY first one.

It was written on a plane our junior year in high school, while on our way to NYC for choir tour. It was delivered to me by the flight attendent- "airmail."

I cried and cried because--

I love him.

Oh how I love him.

Best Halloween EVERRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!

No kidding, I just had THE best Halloween of my LIFE!!!!!!!!!! For the stage we are in right now, LESS IS MORE!!!!! I REALLY didn't want big plans- parties, dinners, blah blah blah- sometimes all the festivities can get in the way of my holiday fun, so we planned a very low-key Halloween... putting the emphasise on a few particulars....

1. Melvin costume

2. Carmeled apples

3. Jack-o-Lanterns

4. Trick-or-Treating/ passing out candy while watching an extremely light Halloween movie- we chose Harry Potter The Order of the Phoenix. :)

Here are some pictures....

SOOOOO adorable right?! I could NOT get over how unbelievably CUTE Melvin was! and THIS cute, without his tomahawk and Indian drum... which I remembered for the next picture and trick-or-treating. :)

The three little Indians. Clearly, Melvin was, and is, Chief.

I hate to keep going on and on... but I really should have taken just a small video of Melvin toddling along, clutching his tomahawk- with his Chiefly feathers blowing in the wind. Oh sigh... it was too perfect. EVERYONE thought he was THE cutest ever- and they told us so time and again. :) I was so proud.

Here are the pumpkins. :) I attempted to do a portrait of Melvin... it didn't turn out exactly right... but still.... I was proud of myself. Mark and Mel teamed up for the others... pretty much Mark did them, and they look awesome... while Melvin sat in his diaper on the table playing with our carvers. :) We kept a watchful eye.

The end.

Public Announcement

No, I'm not dead, just VERY VERY VERY sick.

FINALLY!

I was worried this day would never come!!! But, voila! Mel has FINALLY, after much coaxing, began to toddle this VERY evening. It's just a beginning.... but I'm thrilled!!!!!! I hope to be chasing after him in the very near future!

we couldn't help ourselves...

We normally wait until Sunday to visit our house... but today we just couldn't help ourselves.
Two weeks have past since the last blog house update... we now have a sidewalk, garage door? Was that there before? A driveway, our real front door, and a mailbox. Our railings have been installed, and stained... the wainscoting (sp.?) is up and painted, doors, light fixtures, outlet covers, light switch covers etc. have all been installed... as well as trim etc.

A view of the kitchen cabinets and counter tops!

We have light in our basement.

I love the light fixture in the eat in area.

A glance at our master bath cabinets... with drawers! I'm so excited to have drawers in the bathroom... :) The wooden kind that is..... :)

Anyways............. blah blah blah. And as we were leaving, the vinyl installation team had just arrived! I AM SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO EXCITED!

on the mend...

Climbing up...

And going down!

The end.

Mel is on the mend.

Mel's Bump

We thought it necessary to post some pictures of Mel's injury he received Saturday evening.... Here is the tough little guy after HOURS and HOURS spent screaming at the children's urgent care close by. The WORST part, by far was the FOUR different x-ray sessions, each consisting of 3-4 x-rays.... they had to "mummify" him time and again... but he's no average baby. He kept breaking free. Even when they taped him to the table and held him down... he still broke through.
It was awful to say the least... But the good news- he is fine. No skull fractures, no concussion- just a huge goose egg. In these pictures his bump actually looks pretty good. When he was screaming it was honestly at least twice this size.

I honestly feel it is a miracle. He so easily could have had a serious and permanent head injury. I have never been so scared in my life as I was when all this happened, and then waiting to know the results of the x-rays.

I am SOOOOOOO grateful to God that He listened to our prayers, and the prayers of family. Mel is okay- but it could have been otherwise in a big way.

Often when something awful happens, you pray and pray and pray that everything will be well... and then comes the outcome. Either things are as you hoped, or they aren't. Often when things go well, we are grateful, but easily forget how awful it could have been, and that it IS a miracle- or gift straight from God. I don't want to EVER forget. I want to keep these feelings of gratitude fresh always.

The two pictures above are right after we got home from the hospital.

This picture was taken today- just one day later... his eye is REALLY swollen... though it doesn't look like it here... but doesn't he look a million times better?

Mel at the park today- clearly as active as ever... though looking around his swollen eye tissue bothers him.

Family, Cedar Point, Niagara Falls, Kirtland, our home, and my etsy! Whew!!!

This past week my mother, brother, and nephew all came for a visit. You see, awhile ago when my brother and nephew weren't doing well in school my mom told them that if they'd get their grades up, she'd fly them and herself out here for a good time. :) Those who DO come, DO have a good time by the way... :)
Apparently that was incentive enough.... Here are some pictures of our time together. On our way to Sandusky, the clouds started to get whirly swirly... we thought we were going to have a tornado! But sadly, it didn't amount to anything.

Here we are at Cedar Point, waiting for the park to open.

Even mom enjoyed the rides! well.. kind of. Julian and Kyle forced her....though we were all a bit worried she would either break her neck again, or die of a heart attack. We checked about it after every ride.

This picture is out of order. But here is my little family at Barcelona N.Y. on Lake Erie.

Mark and I forced the travelers to take this picture...and right as we did someone honked and waved, by means of friendly gesture... so that is why their heads are turned... it's a pity though... I kept missing the Ohio and Pennsylvannia signs.

The gas station at Barcelona N.Y. what a cute town. Right off Lake Erie- they even had a light house!

We stopped in at the beach in Barcelona for a potty break- but got so much more! Here is Kyle being a stunt man.

My momther, (yes, momther) and I...looking fabulous at this adorable waterfall.

Kyle and Melvin- they SERIOUSLY hit it off. By the end of the trip Mel was calling Kyle "Baka" or something like that. VErY sweet.

Niagara Falls was THE BEST part of the vacation. But, for those of you who have never gone, Niagara Falls the town is super junky! AAAA! If you ever go, make sure to stick to the Canadian side- much less scary.

Woot WOoot! Look at these hunks!

The gorgeous falls...

Ma Famille Encore...

All of us! I'm wearing a poncho to protect myself from the mist. Not necessary- but I don't like getting wet.

There were a couple time, of course, when Mel COMPLETELY lost his mind- and after hours of screaming, and eating nutrigrain bars, he'd finally doze off. Whew. Traveling with babes is not for the faint of heart.

Apparently TONS of grapes are grown around Niagara. Who knew.

Here we are at Kirtland.

The Kirtland Temple.

A picture of the open road on the way home.

Finally home, but the adventures don't stop. The boys see, and catch their first fireflies.

We also looked at the house- but I didn't take pictures... you'll have to wait till next week.... but good news- tentatively we will have the keys to our house on September third!!!!!

Last of all- my etsy shop has nearly been cleared! I've had purchases here and there, and then someone in AZ bought 11 items, and then my mom, and nephew (if you can believe it) nearly bought the rest! :) Go brittas.etsy.com!!!!!! So, it's back to crafting and rebuilding my inventory. :) I am so happy when others like what I have made.

Sorry this is insanely long. I would not doubt it if knowone ever makes it to the end of this post.

Mom, Julian, and Kyle- Thank you SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much for your awesome visit!!! We love you guys and miss you already!

our "home" update

Mel's favorite part of checking on our house... playing in the gravel. He wonders if we can just keep the driveway like this....

The exterior is almost done... this week the cement should be poured, garage door installed, and the last bit of vinyl attached on the back.

A view from the dining room (we'll use it as a den area) looking on the stairs, coat closet, half bath, and other closet...

The kitchen and eating area...that little closet is the pantry, you can also see the basement entrance...

The great room.

The boys in Mel's room.

As you can see, things are coming along! It was SOOOOOOO exciting to see our house like this! Things will be moving quickly now! We anticipate we'll have the keys in 6 to 8 weeks!