Going Back in Time - Catching Up!

See? This is why I gave up on scrapbooking on a regular basis. I love to do it, but it gets too overwhelming and discouraging once you fall behind! The last time I posted, blogger was acting so crazy and it took f.o.r.e.v.e.r. to upload photos; I think that just made me crazy enough to drop blogging for a while. But, Jay was out of town this week for a couple of nights, and the boys and I snuggled together in our bed and read old blog posts for hours on end. The LOVED it, and so did I. It was fun to re-read and re-live those memories, almost like looking through those old scrapbooks that have been put away. They begged me to post more often, so how can I resist?

I'll start with summer 2010, which is where I left off. Just a few pictures of where we spent most of our summer... King's Dominion! We definitely got our money's worth last summer; we were there at least once a week, and sometimes more often. This was the summer of the roller coaster for Reed. He conquered his fear, and rode them ALL! I was amazed, and thrilled for him!

King's Dominion with the cousins ... the photo op in front of the fountains!

Reed, Mac, and Lily ride "The Dominator" ... their first upside-down roller coaster!

The younger kids spent a lot of time on some of the tamer rides ...

More catching up later ... I have a sick little Miles to love on now ...

And, they're out!

**Blogger was completely not cooperating with me... pics are obviously out of order!

Reed had his tonsils out Monday (July 19). Unfortunately, he inherited my susceptibility to strep throat, and has suffered with several bouts of strep per year for several years now. He also recently was seen by his doctor for stomach pains, which Dr. B thought may be from chronic throat infection settling in his tonsils. All of this together meant: time for a tonsillectomy!

We were referred to a wonderful ENT, Dr. Tarasidis. He is a fun, caring doctor who put Reed (and us) to ease knowing he was in such good hands. Here is a picture of the two of them, just minutes before heading into surgery. Dr. T decided to pose for the picture, since Jay said it would definitely be appearing on facebook!

The first few pictures are of Reed when I was allowed to come into the recovery room to see him. Jay had to go back to work, and had left just minutes before, so Reed called him to let him know he did great! He was sitting up eating a slushie when I got to him, and a sweet nurse (I didn't get her name) was leaning on his bed rail talking to him. When I walked in she said "Mama, I don't know what you've been doing with this one, but keep it up; he is precious". Do you even know what that does to a Mama's heart? Yes, I teared up. He had all of the nurses gushing over what a wonderful patient he was.

And here he is being wheeled out to the car by the discharge nurse, Lizette. I think he liked all of the attention!

Goodbye, sweet Laci girl. We love you and will miss you!

I am Currently Loving...

... Bath and Body Works "Sea Island Cotton" scented anything
Have you smelled this? Ahhhhhh... it is the best!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter from the Roddenberrys. Celebrate Him!

March Madness

Just after getting his credentials... feeling pretty important!

If you know Reed, you know the boy loves some basketball. He entered a contest a few months back at our bank, and the winner got to be the "ball boy" for one of the rounds of the CAA Basketball Tournament that was being held at the Richmond Coliseum. Well, he didn't win the contest, but he did get to do it! In a casual conversation with a man that goes to our church, Jay mentioned the contest. The man then said that his friend is the one in charge of the CAA and he'd email him to see if Reed could be "in"... the next morning, he was "in"! Talk about excited! He even got us free tickets so we could all go and enjoy the games. We had a blast (and if you know me, you know that the fact that it was free made it extra fun!!) watching the game, but even more fun watching Reed enjoy this fun day.

Reed ran up to tell us about all of the free food in the hospitality suite... all of the Buffalo Wild Wings and free Mountain Dew he could devour! He is pumped!I took the above photo so you could see how close Reed got to enjoy the game... see him in the white shirt sitting just below the basket??? Talk about great seats!

My Goodness...

... I stink at this thing called "regularly updating your blog". (Hey Jen! Thanks for the nudge!) So, I was asked if we survived the Daniel fast, since that was one of the last things I talked about on the blog. Yes, we survived and came out with a new appreciation for a few new foods, a few "keeper" recipes (but definitely not all of them!), and eyes and hearts opened wider to appreciate everything we have. I told someone recently that I'm so good at following the rules that I don't know if that qualifies as a successful fast.... simply "following the rules". It was a great experience though, and I'm still seeing the fruit of it some days. (Unfortunately, the few pounds I lost have come back to me. And I think they brought a friend or two along for the ride.)

Well, a couple of weekends ago we headed to NC to host a baby shower for my cousin Joey and his wife, Joy (yes, we took the shower to them!). It was a fun whirlwind of a day. Lots of laughter, lots of good food (recipe to follow) and lots of PINK! We are so excited to meet baby Charlotte in a few weeks! I made this punch recipe and it was a big hit... I thought I'd share the recipe here.

Frozen Cappucino Punch

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup instant coffee granules
1 cup boiling water
8 cups milk
1 qt. vanilla and 1 qt. chocolate ice cream, softened

In a small bowl, combine sugar and coffee. Stir in boiling water until dissolved. Cover and refrigerate until chilled. Just before serving, pour coffee mixture into a one gallon punch bowl. Stir in milk. Add scoops of ice cream and stir until melted.

If you have tried a Coffee Toffee Twisted Frosty from Wendy's and love it, you will be pleasantly surprised to find that this tastes almost exactly like it, minus the toffee! It's a tad addicting... I almost cried when we had to pour out the leftovers. Couldn't exactly bring them back to Virginia with us, but I did consider it. It really is that good!

I think that explains where the pounds came from!!

Miles can tie his shoes!

Big happenings around here... no more tying shoes! Woohoo!

Day 2

"Sometimes you are so hungry that the only way to get fed is to fast."
~Susan Gregory, The Daniel Fast Blogger

I'm chewing on this quote today, since I'm not chewing anything else!!!

Daniel Fast, Day One

Today is Day One of the Daniel Fast that our church is participating in. We had lunch today at my mom's as we usually do, and now are on a liquid fast for the first 24 hours of the fast. We resume eating tomorrow night at dinnertime, when we begin the Daniel Fast which is basically fruits, vegetables, and nuts. I've never participated in a lengthy fast and I am excited to see what God shows us in the 21 days we'll be fasting.

So far I've only been without food for 3 hours. I'm sitting here with a growling stomach and thinking about the people in Haiti who haven't eaten in 3 days, perhaps. I also think of Robin, our Compassion child who eats the equivalent of our "fast" on a daily basis. He writes and lets us know that he ate rice, lentils, and beans for lunch at school. To be writing and telling us that, he must be eating well and wants us to know. I feel overindulgent today.

I'm also doing a Bible study at church... a Beth Moore study on the life of Daniel. What neat timing. The study was planned long ago, but the fast was laid suddenly on the heart of our pastor and within one week we found ourselves fasting. In her teaching, Beth tells us that our "Babylon" finds us in the midst of tremendous overindulgence. Our culture has too much, and it's so true. Too many food choices, too many t.v. channels, too much, too much, too much. As I fast from the "choice food" that Daniel also fasted from, I am hoping to let go of some of my Babylonian influences as well.

My kids are participating as well; for them, it's sugar, soft drinks, and dessert. Reed has also chosen (on his own) to fast from his favorite Xbox 360 game. They were sent home from church today with a calendar and guidelines for prayer each day. I plan to incorporate the fast into our school day, and I pray that they are significantly changed during this time as well.

So, day one has me wondering what things He'll reveal to our family and church. If you are in it with me, what has He revealed to you??