Teeth and Daddy Dogcatcher...

It has been a good couple of weeks since I last blogged. We have been busy with baseball (the ones that have been played amidst the rain, snow, sleet, and hail), Lenten soup supper Wednesdays (as an elderly woman in our congregation said last week, "A requirement of being a Lutheran is the ability to make a good soup/potluck item."), Late Winter Spring Break (for Jeff), work, etc....

We have been getting ready for Easter...well, really, I am not sure what we have done to get ready, but I have been craving chips since Ash Wednesday. I will be downing an entire bag of Sour Cream and Cheddar Ruffles to celebrate our Risen King! Lent is supposed to be a sacrifice...it has. This sounds kind of trivial, but to steal the line from Faith Hill, "I need [chips] like the needle needs a vein." We still haven't found Maddie an Easter dress. Jeff says it must include a cute little hat:)

Race for the cure is coming up on April 19th. We have around 50 people registered. What a statement of support for my mom! If you have any questions about the race, please email me or leave a comment. Also, I am not sure if you read any of the blogs I read, but Stellan is not doing very well. Check out MckMamma's blog in my blog list. She can use any prayer time you can give.

The pictures below will explain the story of Daddy Dogcatcher better than I can tell it; however, first, take a look at the first picture. It shows Maddie's two teeth that just came through all of the way. She loves to feel them and chew anything in sight. She got a hold of my finger the other day and it hurt! Maddie loves sitting up and playing with her stacker rings and stuffed giraffe. Check out those pearly whites!

Like I said above, she puts anything and everything in her mouth. In this case, her giraffe is getting the abuse.

She calls out "doggie (more or less in baby scream language)" and Nils reluctantly meanders over.

"Hey Nils," she says (again, more or less). "Run around with my giraffe. I want to watch dad chase you around and yell at you. I will laugh my cute little booty off."

Nils has the giraffe and plays a little tug-o-war.

Nils reports back to Maddie. He gets a little pet on the head. "You sure are a good brother Nils. Now get out of here, because you are going to shed on my blanket. You know what that means...Mom will be on it with the vacuum in no time...ahhhhhhh!"

"Hey! I said BEAT IT! You are an annoying brother. MOMMMMMM!"

The saga will continue...

Hoping for Spring...

It has been a little while since the last post mostly due to a case of denial and hibernation after having a mid-March snowfall. With daylight savings providing an extra hour of sunlight and Madison contributing with her bright smile, the pictures below are in hope of Spring's arrival.

With the snow came some scary as hell interesting situations. First, Jeff decided to jog into Maddie's daycare to protect Maddie from frigid weather. He was crossing a little walking bridge and almost inside when he found some ice, or it found him. His first thoughts were what to do with Maddie? He threw his arm out and she had a 10.0 landing on her carseat. He wasn't so fortunate, and there is a blue denim streak on the concrete to prove it. I called him and asked if he wanted me to bring him pants, and he declined as it was a good story to explain his limp...according to him.

Next, I had to wake up after only 3 hours of sleep to pick up Maddie from daycare and take her to the doctor for her 6 month visit. In my right mind, I wouldn't have attempted Midway Hill (a pretty steep grade), but I was in a hurry, so I took it easy. Going ten miles an hour, I started to break...and couldn't. Next came the emergency break. That didn't work either. With, images of my car in the Little Spokane River, I contemplated bailing the Highlander. Looking down the hill with three other cars in the ditch, only divine intervention slowed my car (is that my reward for keeping faithful with my "no chips for Lent" promise:) ?).

*Check out Cupcake Couture! They have the cutest tutus, burp rags, hooter hiders, and blankies! Here are a couple of pics of Maddie wearing her Cupcake Couture tutu...SHE LOVES IT!

Thanks to Greg and Kelly for Maddie's first pair of shades...she's an optimist:)

We had so much fun @ Steph's Wedding Shower today! We are so happy she found someone who makes her happy...she deserves the best!

Happy Belated Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

As Jeff likes to say, "Life has been a zoo!" I know most of you read this and say, "who's isn't?" Well, here's an outline of the other night:

Grammie: arrives to our house @ 6:00pm for Maddiesitting
Karissa: leaves for work @ 6:10pm after kissing and hugging Madison relentlessly!
Jeff: leaves for baseball practice @ 6:15pm*
Maddie: eats lots, plays hard, reads w/ Grammie, and hits the pillow @ ~7:45pm
Jeff: gets home @ 9:45pm from baseball practice
Grammie: heads home @ 10:00pm
Jeff: wakes up @ 5:45am
Maddie: wakes up @ 6:00am, eat, get beautified...she needs nothing for this:)
Jeff and Maddie: go to their respective schools @ 6:45am
Karissa: gets home from work @ 8:15am

As Nelly and Tim McGraw say, "Over and over again." Luckily, this is just one of the crazy days. While all of this happened during one of my shifts, I am so blessed to begin my new schedule of 2 days one week and 3 the next! I am so excited!

*So, Jeff has had some crazy practice times due to our "situation" here in Spokane. With Spring sports beginning last Monday, 5.5" of snow remained on their field. It looks as if they will be competing for gym/fieldhouse space for a while. We have no way around his baseball schedule and my work schedule, so the grandparents stepped-up big! My mom came over tonight and last night while I worked and Jeff played practiced. [Insert either Madison or Grammie here] couldn't have been more excited to share in this celebratory day, however. For, March 2nd is Dr. Seuss' birthday! Grammie and Maddie read in honor of Dr. Seuss. Check out the birthday pics below.

Race Update (and cute pic)...

I am sorry that I haven't updated the blog much as of late. I am starting my regular schedule on nights tonight, and Jeff starts baseball tomorrow, so we have been "prepping" for that...whatever that means:)

Kari update: My mom has found a new doctor (and hopefully better communicator). She may be moving her surgery up, so that she is able to get ready for next school year. It would be much easier for her to miss part of this year, rather than part of this and part of next. The doctor seemed very confident in getting everything necessary to put the ball in her court...not in cancer's court. I can't wait until the day that cancer never has a chance! With that being said, please continue to keep my mom in your prayers. Please pray for her doctor, her decisions, and everything else impacted. I pray that her students adjust and make this as easy as possible on her as well. Any comments left on the blog are also read by her.

Race update: There are a couple of ways to be sure you are signed up properly and ready to go. First, you can click here. That link will take you to Kari's Dream Team's site, where a roster is kept. This is also the place to check if you want to join. We are also in the works for shirts. If you have any design ideas, please let us know!

Madison update: Maddie turned 1/2 year on the 27th! She is growing up so fast (cliche, but I never thought it could be so true). She also went to her first "Ash Wednesday" service last week. I gave up chips for Lent. Jeff is adding @ least 20 minutes of spiritual reading a day. Madison is giving up Green Beans:) I couldn't help but think about her as we sang "Faith Like a Child" at church today. Oh, to have faith like a child...and the passion that comes with it. She is only 6 months old, but she has blessed us with what already seems like a lifetime. Check out the picture below. It was taken during a visit by Aunt Rachel, Jessica (Rachel's best friend), Grandma, and Wally. Thanks for the awesome pulled pork lunch Grandma!