H&R Blog

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Locks of Love

M1 donated her hair to Locks of Love (LoL) on Wednesday (3/11/09) at a ceremony at school. Her hair was then styled that evening at an appointment with H and M2. H had her hair cut, too. Here are some before and after pics of 3/11's happenings.

Each LoL participant decorated a tagboard heart with names of family and friends who have dealt with cancer. Take a look to see if you're on the heart (family members). H helped with the design, but M1 signed it. This is M1 with her heart right when she arrived at school.

Two volunteers from local beauty shops helped pony-tail the hair of all of the participants before the ceremony.

Here is M1 after getting her hair pony tailed.

M1 in the gym, next to her heart (taped to the edge of the stage).

This might be hard to see, but M1 is smiling, sitting on the bleachers. She is looking around the standing girl in the black shirt. Two other girls in M1's class also participated in the program. M1 is sitting next to one of her classmates and the classmate's mom (a teacher at school).

This is a shot of all of the participants. There were a record number of 35 participants, ranging in age from 5 to adult.

This is a shot of all who came to watch. The entire elementary is sitting on the gym floor and the JH/HS students who were able to watch are standing/sitting towards the back. I couldn't believe how many were there. It was awfully loud! Thankfully there aren't too many events in the elementary that allow for all of the students to scream like they did for this ceremony.

This is M1 having her pony tails cut.

M1 holding her heart after the ceremony (with the short hair).

M1's "after" picture from behind.

M1 at home, giving her thumbs-up after getting to view herself in her mirror.

M1 at her hair appointment that evening.

WOW! What a little poser all freshly styled! Obviously, she LOVES her short hair!

After M1 & H had their hair cut, the 3 girls went out for a treat at a local restaurant. As you can see, M1 could sell just about anything if given the chance (especially attitude).

In case you missed it, M2 did come along for the 'girls' night out' and she is showing how silly she can be while eating an ice cream cone. Sometimes you just can't avoid the fact that she is her mother's daughter...ok, ok, she looks like me when she does this, I know.

M1 and H in a shot taken by H. They had a great time out on the town (on a school night!).

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Here are some random pics since M4's birth.

Eventually M3 realized that there was a new baby in the house and once that happened he couldn't stop hugging his new brother. In this pic M4 couldn't stop trying to eat off of M3's nose.

Our church's senior pastor's wife (a Viking fan) gave us a gift for M4's birth. One item was a super spiffy Packer hat that fit M3 perfectly! M3 loves his awesome hat!

M4 has slowly been adapting to sleeping in places other than someone's arms. This is his maiden ride in the swing. So far so good...

Grandma came up for a weekend to help with the munchkins while R was gone for something with work. I was still home to take this picture. As you can see, M3 is a little poser ("Where's the camera!?").

This is M4 at about 1 month of age. He's not too sure about having his picture taken.

H caught the best pout face as M4's patience was quickly gone.

Here is a pretty recent pic of M4. Aunt Rodie made the beautiful blanket that he is laying on. It is a super blanket because M4 loves to sleep in it.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Here are more pics since M4's birth...

M4 in the hospital.

M4 w/Dr. M1.

First full family picture in the hospital.

Big sister M1 w/little brother M4.

M2 w/M4.

Happy girls and sad boys.

The whole gang (even Marco hiding behind M2).

M4 sleeping on Mom (his favorite place).

And then there were 4...

We welcomed M4 to the world Tuesday, January 27, 2009, at 11:43 AM. 8 lbs, 12 oz, 20 3/4" long (a lot of that is just his toes).

He has 'finger toes' like his dad (poor boy).

He of course joins M1 (5), M2 (3), & M3 (16 mos). Mom and M4 are well.

Graphic details will be shared at a later date.

M4's Birth Story

M4's entrance was unique (just like everybody else). He started "sneezing" (leaking) on January 6 (like M3), but it was a false alarm.M4 was due around 1/19/09, but he needed a deadline. On Thursday (1/22), H was 4+ cm & Dr. Kathy said we would induce M4 on 1/27/09 if he didn't come on his own. Nana (R's mom) came Monday night for the presumed inducement. H started having strong contractions around 5 AM (on 1/27). H & R (and M3) took off to the hospital (as planned). The cell rang on the way to the hospital. They called to let us know there were 2 other moms laboring, so "just hang-out at home and we'll call you around Noon to see if we're ready for you." I informed the hospital that we were already on our way. We dropped M3 off at a friend's house and checked into the hospital. The hospital did not call our Doc, so she was there for the presumed planned inducement. It all worked out. H was 6-7 cm around 8 AM; 8 cm 30 minutes later. She was in the tub (water birth) by 9 AM and M4 came at 11:43 AM. Nana brought M1 and M2 to the hospital around 9:30 AM. They were sitting on R's lap when M4 arrived. They did great!M1 was excited to see M4; M2 was more interested in the contents of the tub (very mesmerized). H was her usual awesome self when it came to the entire process. The nurse did not think H was that far along, so she was shocked when Doc said H was 6-7 cm.

Oh, and those 2 other laboring moms? Both were first time moms. One was sent home by her doctor and the other did not deliver until very late Tuesday night.

It was nice to have a child in the middle of the day.M1 was born at 8:41 PM; M2 was at 7:28 PM; M3 was at 2:19 AM. We were all home by Wednesday (1/28/09) afternoon.

We're Here (or there, depending on your perspective)!

We are bloggin' like it's 199...oh whatever. Here's pics of kids and other stuff you might find worth using for wasting time.

Nicknames

M1 is our oldest blessing. Her main nickname is "DQ" which stands for Drama Queen. She can also be called "Harley" due to the sounds that escape her tuckus at randomly inconvenient moments.

M2 is our second blessing. Her first nickname was "BP" which stands for 'boy preview' (she was much more rough-n-tumble than M1). M2's nickname now is "Tonka" b/c she's 'Tonka tough'...she takes a lot of pride in this fact.

Marco the dog is often called "Marco Barko" for obvious reasons. Yes, we use to have a "Polo" but he was not a good fit with our family so we gave him to a cousin. Now Polo is not a good fit with another family.

Now That's Funny! (From Our Computer To Yours)

Friendship Bread is an Amish pyramid scheme. It's a little known fallacy that originally it was called Fellowship Bread, but the starter kits came in sackcloth; success was minimal.
A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself. -Josh Billings
My dog is worried about the economy because Alpo is up to $3.00 a can. That's almost $21.00 in dog money. -Joe Weinstein
If you think dogs can't count, try putting three dog biscuits in your pocket and then give him only two of them. -Phil Pastoret
"Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that It is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end." -- The winning entry in an annual contest at Texas A&M University calling for the most appropriate definition of a contemporary term: This year's term was Political Correctness.
During a visit to the mental asylum, a visitor asked the Director how do you determine whether or not a patient should be institutionalized. 'Well,' said the Director, 'we fill up a bathtub - then we offer a teaspoon, a teacup and a bucket to the patient and ask him or her to empty the bathtub.' 'Oh, I understand,' said the visitor. 'A normal person would use the bucket because it's bigger than the spoon or the teacup.' 'No' said the Director, 'A normal person would pull the plug. Do you want a bed near the window?'

Quote Tote (A Mixed Bag)

We fall into temptation when we don’t stand against it.
Pride is when someone overvalues himself by undervaluing others.
First make sure you are with Him, then you can be sure He’ll be with you.
He who abandons himself to God will never be abandoned by God.
“God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply.” -- Hudson Taylor (Missionary in China)
Trials make us think; thinking makes us wise; wisdom makes life profitable.
"What we try to do is pass it on, to make the gifts and kindnesses that come to us the kind of human currency that goes on traveling. I will try to preserve it, transmit it, I hope refreshed, to another generation of the American republic, which is the inheritance of us all." --David H. Souter after being appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court
God’s love cannot be explained—it can only be experienced.
The trials of earth are small compared with the triumphs of heaven.
Without Christ we can do nothing. With Him we can do everything He wants us to do.
We know almost nothing compared to the infinite amount there is to know.
The richest person is not the one who has the most but the one who needs the least.
The happiest people don't have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.
"Life is the hot chocolate...your job, money, position in society are the cups; they are just tools to hold and contain life."
Invest your life in what pays eternal dividends.
God gives every bird its food, but He does not throw it into its nest.
To handle yourself, use your head. To handle others, use your heart.
Love people and use things; don't use people and love things.
Integrity means never having to look over your shoulder.
When you find time on your hands, put them together in prayer.
The treasures of truth in God’s Word are best mined with the spade of meditation.
Spend your time counting your blessings, not airing your complaints.
An offense against your neighbor is a fence between you and God.
Doing what’s right today means no regrets tomorrow.
Tomorrow’s world will be shaped by what we teach our children today.
A good test of a person’s character is his behavior when he is wrong.
When Christ is the center of your interests, life will be in focus.
"The successful person is the average person, focused." -Unknown
How foolish to worship the creation, when the Creator is so much greater.
"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Rom. 12:21)
Contentment is not getting what we want but being satisfied with what we have.
The measure of a man's character is what he would do if he knew he never would be found out. —Macauley
Unexpected changes are opportunities in disguise.
Satan doesn't care so much if you're a Christian as long as you don't act like one.
We always have enough when God is our supply.
The purpose of prayer is not to get what we want, but to become what God wants.
To guide your children on the right way, you must go that way yourself.
May our lives be a “show and tell” for God’s glory.
Adversity doesn't build character, it reveals it.
Count your many blessings and you’ll soon lose count.
It seems that most of our struggles revolve around wanting something we don’t have or having something we don’t want.
The motive of giving reveals the character of the giver more than the gift itself.
You can attract people to Jesus when you have His light in your life.
Someone has said, “What the caterpillar thinks is the end of life, the butterfly thinks is just the beginning.”
Joy comes from the Lord who lives in us, not from what’s happening around us.
Aspire to inspire before you expire.
God’s work in us isn’t over when we receive Christ—it has just begun.
One good reason for doing the right thing today is tomorrow.
The choices we make today produce the consequences we reap tomorrow. It’s far better to avoid sin in the first place than to struggle to overcome its consequences. —Bill Crowder
Our works and words should say the same thing.
I’d rather see a Christian Than to hear one merely talk, I’d rather see his actions And behold his daily walk. —Herrell
“Faith moves from belief into conviction, then to certainty.”
Where God guides, He provides.
You can teach more with your life than with your lips.
Gratitude should not be an occasional incident but a continuous attitude.
Praise is the song of a soul set free.
Treasures in heaven are laid up as treasures on earth are laid down.
Through prayer, we can step into the calming presence of the Lord and find strength to go on. As we bring our heartaches and needs to God, He meets us where we are and gives us His peace. He is an ever-present help who cares for us in every situation.
Our heavenly home is our real estate.
“It is true that for several days after you die, your hair and fingernails keep on growing, but the phone calls taper off.” -- Johnny Carson
It is better to suffer for the cause of Christ than for the cause of Christ to suffer.
When you look at someone else’s life, Thinking that it’s better than your own, Just remember what God’s given you Was designed for you alone. — Hess
"God may send a load, but He never sends an overload!" -- Ron Hutchcraft
Lord Chesterfield wisely said, "Aim at perfection in everything, though in most things it is unattainable; however, they who aim at it, and persevere, will come much nearer to it than those whose laziness and despondency make them give it up as unattainable."
"There are no secrets to success-don't waste time looking for them. Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty to those for whom you work, and persistence." --- Colin Powell
“Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.” — Goethe
"The best way to predict the future is to create it." ---John Jones
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” —Aristotle
"We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big difference, ignore the small daily differences we can make which, over time, add up to big differences that we often cannot foresee." - Marian Wright Edelman