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Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Don't you love productive days?

OK, so we haven't done school - yet. However, so far today I have:
  • Gotten a file folder frame for my portable cart for our school stuff, and gotten everything in it organized. (Woo hoo!)
  • Scheduled Emma's pediatric dentist appointment
  • Called the OB to schedule an appointment to discuss my gestational diabetes.
  • Rescheduled my chiropractor appointment so I can go to the previously mentioned OB appointment
  • Scheduled the replacement of the windshield on the minivan - the crack has been go\rowing since October and we decided we would rather not go on vacation with a big crack through the driver's viewing area
This has been a big day, can't you tell? The cleaning ladies, bless them, have also been here and a friend came to pick up a Mary Kay order so we went to lunch.

I know most of it was phone calls - I have been putting them all off for a very long time and I'm feeling quite as sense of accomplishment today.

Monday, May 28, 2007

Random Funnies

This week, we started decorating the ceramic piggy banks that Aunt Leigh and Uncle Jeff sent for the girls' birthdays. Emma had me trace her name in a bubble alphabet in yellow, and then she colored it in with orange. She said, "This is the antique part." Abbie said, "Yes, Emma is a real antique." Emma responded that she was not a real antique, as I sat there and giggled. They asked me why I was laughing, and I asked them if they meant "artist?" Of course they did - but I got a big kick out of "antique."

Also, Abbie informed me that she's quite jealous because Emma can read Kurdish. This would be a true miracle, since I've never even seen Kurdish and had to look it up (if you happen to be a language geek like I am, you can check it out here). Abbie told me that she would like to learn to write in Kurdish. Come to find out they were talking about cursive - phew!

This just in.......

"My mom can't drink caffeine when she's nursing the baby," says Emma Hollmann, age 7. "It makes the milk all fizzy and bubbly for the baby."

Sunday, May 20, 2007

Twelve Years Today!

Today, Todd and I celebrated our 12th anniversary. We had a beautiful spring wedding in Michigan with quite a crowd - around 400 family and friends. The funny thing about marriage is that sometimes it seems like we've been together forever, and other times, it seems like it hasn't been long at all.

It's been an interesting 12 years. We bought our first house in Michigan just before we got married, and we loved it there! We lived in a little ranch house on an acre of land on a dirt road, and it was perfect. We thought we'd live there forever... and surprise! We moved to North Carolina from Michigan 9 years ago, and I've been pretending we would move back "home" ever since. I think I've finally accepted that we will be here for at least a wee while longer, though, and we've started painting things. Heh.

Emma joined us in March of 2000, and Abbie joined us in March 2001. "Schmooey," who will probably really be called Isaac, will join us sometime in August of this year. His impending arrival was a bit of a shock, but we're so glad he's coming and can't wait to meet him.

Like all married couples, we've had our share of tough times. I have come to believe that staying married is only possible through the miraculous grace of God. I don't see how else it could happen. I can remember being quite sure that I would never like him again, wondering how we were going to stay married - but now, we like each other better than ever, our love has certainly grown and our commitment deepened.

I remember being told that marriage is a lot of hard work. I had no idea what they - my parents, grandparents - were talking about. I guess you can't know what that means until you experience some tough times. Then you realize that sometimes, the hardest thing about being married is staying married when you don't want to. When you get to the other side, though, you will be glad you did.

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Horse Camp!

Today we had to drive the girls' applications for horse camp to the horse farm to save our spots. The girlies are so excited to go to horse camp, they can hardly stand it! We even got to see some horses walking by, much to our delight. They're going to camp at Macnair's Country Acres, if you'd care to see the website.

The very nice lady, Debra, who signed us up for camp, told us the names of some of the ponies that the girls could ride. Emma decided that she would like to ride "Toby," and Abbie would like to ride "Lacey." I had to break it to them that they get to ride ponies based on which one is the right size for them rather than which one has the name they like best.

We also got to go to the Tack Shop and get their helmets, riding boots and riding pants. They're allowed to ride in jeans, but the riding pants are nice and thin and since they're going to horse camp in July, I thought it would be kinder to let them have the cooler option. Emma got a pink helmet, which made her quite happy. Abbie, naturally, was between sizes so she got a (far more expensive) green helmet - her choices were green, blue and gray. The helmets make their heads look huge. I will try to get a picture of them in their riding gear.