We're all sick minus one!

This Spring Break will go down in the records as being the WORST ever! I have been sick for abour 3 weeks and on Monday, Matt came down with the yuckies and then it went into a head cold. I was on bed rest through Friday although I over did it yesterday by going to Trader's World (and I paid for it later!) I felt a little bit better yesterday and had some energy but that energy was very short lived and I felt like I needed a wheel chair to get back into the van. I had the chills and achiness for the rest of the evening.

Carleigh came down with a fever at Trader's World and slept the entire evening and through the night. I am home from church with her. I am thinking she may have a slight ear infection because that is what she does when she gets one. She is up and playing today though. Cody is the only healthy one, but I fear he will come down with something due to all the germs in this house.

Hopefully I will have the energy to go back to teaching tomorrow. I have further testing on Thursday and then a follow-up with my dr on 4/9 to discuss our plan of action. I appreciate your prayers on this situation!

Won't be posting for a few days

I won't be posting for a few days due to my health. I covet your prayers for strength and healing. If you want to know more, just email or call me.

Spring Break

Cody, Carleigh and I are enjoying our Spring Break. Well, Cody and Carleigh are. I am a bit under the weather but hopefully after a doctor's appointment tomorrow, things will be on the upswing for me! It has been nice to sleep in until after 8am. Sleep is a wonderful thing! We have been debating on going away this weekend, but due to my health concerns, we are really waiting until after this dr's appointment.

For the past two days, Cody and Carleigh have really been showing sibling rivalry and jealousy. Last night, they fought over Cody's sweater or Carleigh's Minnie Mouse doll. The biggest accomplishment is to sit in my lap. Many times I have to share my lap which can get very uncomfortable with a total weight of 64 lbs sitting on it! I think the problem is that they are usually don't see each other as much due to preschool and now that I am home, they need to compete for my attention. Their newest fun thing to do is to lay on the bookshelf in Cody's closet like mini-bunk beds. They will close the closest door and just giggle away! They can really entertain each other so well.

Happy Easter 2008

All of us posing at church today.
We had dinner with Jen's family before going to Matt's sister's house for dessert and an Egg Hunt. You could see snowflakes when we were leaving!

All the grandchildren

All the Schmidt Grandchildren! They range from tens year old to 3 years old with Carleigh as the youngest. The second picture is Cody with two of his cousins, Riley and Devon. (His other cousin Ryan was no where in sight!)

Cousins

Carleigh and Raygan all dolled up in similar dresses. They are the only 2 girl grandchildren in a number of 6!

All dressed up for Easter

Checking out the baskets

Cody and Carleigh slept in this morning (hmmm...maybe they were exhausted from yesterdy) and had fun checking out their toys and goodies in their Easter baskets.

Bunny Cakes

These are my two first bunny cakes! They turned out ok, except I couldn't find the right material for the whiskers. They were yummy and Carleigh loved watching me make and ice the cakes.

Saturday Fun

We had quite a fun day today. First, our church had its annual Easter Pancake breakfast and Egg Hunt. Normally they would have an egg hunt but due to stinky Ohio weather (rain and snow), the kids lined up and received a bag full of eggs and candy. Cody and Carleigh loved watching the puppet show and their cousin Devon was the lamb in the story to Carleigh's delight.

After the Easter party, we decided to go to Run, Jump, and Play. The kids had a blast! It has an indoor playground with very expensive playsets that children can play on by paying a small fee. I would love to buy one of these sets but they are really out of our price range! Cody could climb up to the slides, but had to have guidance and a little push to get him to go down them. Carleigh was our little daredevil and went up everything on her own and slid down every slide on her own. The kids had so much fun that they slept on the way to lunch.

Now I am making two bunny cakes for our Easter celebration with Matt's family. Hopefully they will turn out well!

Swings

Champion of slides!

Carleigh had a wonderful time conquering these massive playground sets. I think everyone was amazed at how well she could climb all on her own and slide down these very tall and FAST slides. She loved the spiral slides the best. Cousin Devon loved playing with her and Cody which helped us out since I am too old to be climbing up those things!

Having fun on the slides!

The Carousel

On the way out, Pappaw Schmidt bought tokens for Cody and Carleigh to ride the carousel that they both had been eyeing all morning!

Good Friday

As I reflect on this important day for Christians, I am just blown away by what our Lord did for us. All of the torture and pain that He endured for our sins makes me want to praise Him all the time.

When I go to a store and I see people buy bunnies and Easter baskets, etc., I wonder, do they REALLY know the true meaning of Easter? I also think of children in public school and how they may have "Spring parties," but do they know what is the true meaning of Easter? I tell my class all the time that they are blessed to be able to study God's word and to celebrate Easter by hearing the resurrection story and know that He has risen!

As I was taking Carleigh to have her 3 year old/Easter portraits taken today and we were walking around the store, people were exclaiming how beautiful she was in her dress, I was thinking, Carleigh is a great testimony to the Lord. By telling others that she celebrates Easter and loves to go to Sunday School, she is telling the world that she LOVES Jesus! I am just amazed at how she already loves the Lord: she prays at every meal, sings praise songs with movements, and loves to listen to stories in the Bible.

May you and your family have a blessed Easter!

Too much rain = No Preschool!

It has been raining here in Ohio for two days. Not your little drizzle, but major downpours with no end in sight! I have driven to and from work for two days in the pouring down rain. I can just shudder to think how much snow this would be if it were just a little bit colder!

My mom calls me on my cell phone around 9:10am in a panic. She says that the bus hasn't come yet and what should she do? Well, at first I was puzzled and then I thought...are they on a delay? I call my house to check voicemail and sure enough there was a message from our school district saying that all AM and PM Preschool & Kindergarten classes were cancelled due to flooding on their little lane in front of the school! I quickly call mom and she brought them back home. They were probably confused because they had their backpacks or "pack pack" as Carleigh would say and was fully expecting a few hours of learning and fun. Oh well! Hopefully school will not be cancelled for tomorrow!

There is major flooding everywhere. We live near our local county airport. The land around the airport is very low-lining and it looks like we have an ocean on either side of the road. When I was little, the county had to re-structure the road and build it up because it always flooded! There were parts of roads closed on my way home today and lots of potholes. Even our school had a few leaks! The rain should be ending my late tonight.

One more school day until Spring break....I am SOOOO counting down!

First bus ride

Today, Carleigh rode the bus to and from school for the first time. And guess who who seatmate is? Cody! I imagine that Cody was wondering why Carleigh was riding the bus with her. I am so glad that they sit together and can look our for each other. My mom said that she looked like a big girl getting on the bus and coming off the bus. The afternoon bus aide told my mom that her granddaughter is in Carleigh's class.

Yesterday my mom and I went to pick Carleigh up at school. Well, when we got there, she saw us, but then continued to do what her other classmates where doing. She LOVED the songtime at the end of the day. She absolutely loved her first day. I am sure that she will have a blast! She even talked to her teacher and the pyschologist on the first day. And I was so concerned that she wouldn't say a word!!

2 more school days until Spring Break! Yahooooo!!!!!!!

Carleigh's First Day of Preschool!

Today is Carleigh's first day of preschool! She was very excited! We were hoping she would be able to ride the bus with her big brother Cody, but they did not have the information. Luckily I took the day off and was able to take her to her classroom and meet her new teacher. I found out that her class was just created last week and there are just 5 students in her class! And her teacher graduated from CCS! How cool is that?!

Carleigh was not scared at all and started picking up toys and saying the shapes and letters and was talking to her teacher! And I thought she was going to by shy?!! I left her while she was coloring a shamrock. My big girl is growing up! *sniff* *sniff**

Getting ready for school!

Carleigh was so excited to put her "pack pack" on as she says.

Carleigh's 3rd Birthday Party!

We had Carleigh's birthday party today. It was a blast! Carleigh had a bunny theme and received lots of fun presents including stuffed bunnies, money and beautiful spring/summer dresses!

Opening Presents!

Loving the bunnies!

Carleigh loved the bunnies that Grandma Mary bought her! And here is a rare shot of me. I had my hair cut today and also got new glasses.

Once we were home, we all relaxed before hitting another party of a friend of ours. Today has been a busy day for all of us!

Happy 3rd Birthday Carleigh!

Three years ago today, my sweet little blonde hair, blue eyed princess was born. I wouldn't be aware of her birth until the following day as I receive a cell phone call from her social worker in my classroom. We brought her home the following day at 2 days old. I can't believe that my baby is 3 years old! I do not have any babies anymore! *sniff*

We celebrated her birthday as a family of four by having her favorite dinner - MCDONALDS and eating a special cake just for us. Since the weather was wonderful, we went on a little wagon ride and got to play out in the yard for a little bit. All in all, it was a good day for her!

Carleigh has grown into a beautiful, smart, and mischeivous little girl. She amazes me with her abilities. Many wouldn't believe what a slow start she had in life. She has come a long way! Her first day of preschool will be Monday. Oh boy! I am taking a personal day to take pictures like I did for Cody on his first day of preschool. We will then end the day by getting their yearly physicals.

Her bunny birthday party will be Saturday at 3pm. We will be shopping for party supplies, birthday gifts and cake necessities tomorrow.

Happy 3rd Birthday my sweet little girl!

The sun came out!

I don't think I have been this happy to see the sun out! The sun came out and the temps went into the 40s this afternoon! Woohoo! That meant that we could all get out of the house. Everyone needed some time out and it lifted everyone's moods! The roads were wet and slight slushy but very driveable.

Our first stop was to get haircuts for Cody and Carleigh. Cody was getting quite shaggy and his hair has been unmanageable for some time now. We wanted to get it cut before his Spring pictures at school on Tuesday. It was a special moment for Carleigh as she has never had her hair cut other than her bangs. She sat very still (except for checking out the razor humming around Cody's head) and let the stylist wet her hair and cut. We had an inch taken off and her bangs trimmed. I am hoping it helps with all the tangles.

We then headed to Target where I got a new very powerful vaccuum and a new gate for the kitchen. We also found Cody's Easter outfit and it was on sale. I still need to get Carleigh's birthday gift, party supplies, etc. but I plan on doing that Friday night. My dad installed the gate while Mom and I put together a new wet mop. I assembled the vaccuum and it is so funny to see Carleigh run with pure terror when I turn it on! This vaccuum has a louder sound with spinning and lights. Cody wanted to play with it. They are quite the opposites!

The Aftermath

The snow finally stopped around 4pm. Then the sun came out for a bit. All of our neighbors and family got out to shovel and clear paths through the snow. We all were getting a little cabin fever and were just itching to talk to others so we were outside for a few minutes chatting. Carleigh had fun attempting to build a snowman with her cousin (who lives on the same street as us!). My sister decided to get a 4 wheeler out and got stuck!! It was so funny! Carleigh just had to take a ride. It was nice just getting out of the house since I have been in there since Thursday evening.

Cool ride!

I let Carleigh take a very short ride with her Aunt Connie up the road on a 4-wheeler. It was a very short ride and Connie was going so slow. I just had to let her go! It was funny because Connie got stuck in a snowdrift and her dear husband Jerry had to push her out!

Building a snowman with Brittany

My niece Brittany and Carleigh attempted to build a snowman. The snow was very powdery so it became a snow pyramid instead!

Will it ever end?

It is still snowing! It is not expected to stop until late afternoon! We plan on making a snowman this evening when the snow has stopped.

Amazed and in awe

Shoveling

While Matt was shoveling part of the driveway, Cody, Carleigh and I played in the path that he shoveled. It was very hard for the kids to walk and Cody plopped down and was having a blast playing in it!