fuzzy pics...sorry

We snapped a few pics with Josh's iphone. Stephie was in a snuggle mood, I had just had a shower and we didn't want to waste any time getting the real camera out and have the moment fade away, haha! Here is me and my BIG belli! Went to the dr today and he said I can sit back, relax (or clean the house) and wait for little Mary to come. No more taking it easy if I start having contractions or anything like that (Praise the Lord!) I about pulled my hair out the last 4 days "taking it easy" Enjoy :)

This is how I feel....HUGE! Nothing fits because Mary is so low so I live in these pants, a black pair like them and sweatpants...poor Josh :)

My little snuggle bug! She was so excited to give me love (because I had gone to take a shower and left her all along with Daddy). Normally she doesn't mind but this night she did! She kept playing with my hair.....she doesn't see it down very often :)

Playing peek-a-boo with Mommy's hair

Saying "cheese" for Daddy (she WON'T do this when Mommy wants to take her pic, haha!) Notice the clip in her hair...it's her new thing. She asks for her "cip" every morning when she gets up :)

From lauren via twitter @ 10:44: "He's out of surgery! He was able to recognize the surgeon~praise the Lord"

Praying

Praying for Matt (our sr pastor) and his family. Surgery began to remove a portion of his rt frontal lobe at 10:45 this am due to a tumor that caused a seizure on Thanksgiving morning. Please join me in prayer (and fasting if you can). He posted a WONDERFUL blog t his morning that can be found at "Dwell Deep" (on the right hand side of my blog) and his family blog is "Them Chandlers" where twitter updates may appear (you don't have to be a member of twitter to click the updates and view some sweet pictures of the kiddos). You can also check out www.thevillagechurch.net for updates and information.

Thanks for your support. The Chandlers have changed lives in such an amazing way.....we pray God's strength, peace and healing over them during this difficult season.

Stephie's first Snow

Well have first time to play in it anyways. We woke up Tuesday morning to a nice little coating on the grass....that QUICKLY melted! They are saying a chance of more tomorrow and again next week...FUN! This first batch had stopped falling before she woke up but she enjoyed going outside and playing in the "sludge" and then picking ice off her slide :)







It's not that I'm a bad shot, it's that she REFUSED to look at the camera! Looking at the ground while she stomped was much more exciting :)

Christmas Tree

So our house is all decorated for Christmas. Stephie and I did most of it while Josh was at work...but waited to do the tree as a "family". At our house that means Josh helps put it together and then takes pictures while we decorate, haha! It was so much fun though and Stephanie LOVES her tree, the "pretties" and the lights. It's going to be a SUPER fun Christmas! Christmas through a kids eyes is the best!!

Fun Pictures

one of the FEW moments she is still :) Watching Disney's Earth "Animals" as she calls it

She set the table for us! 11/29. I gave her the spoons and she put each of ours at our correct chairs...big girl!


Silly little princess playing in her playroom

Had to take the drawer out because she kept climbing on it (see pics below) so now she climbs in the hole!

Hey Sassy Pants, what did you find??
I guess it's time for an art project :)

Where I come from....

Being adopted I have always struggled with "Who do I look like" and "Where did I come from" my roots and what my biological family would be like? I would have crazy dreams about running into my birth mom and her wanting me back, or her rejecting me....all sorts of things. I actually worried about her coming to take me back until I turned 18, crazy! Through a crazy course of events I was able to find my biological mother and her family during my freshman year of college. Mommy helped do the research, got the names and numbers of Donald and Vernille Cubbage and then left the rest up to me. I spoke often with my Great Aunt Vernille (the closest thing I have to a biological grandparent since Francille and Richard died in a car accident in 76). I have spoken a handful of times to my biological mother Toyka, but she has chosen not to have a relationship with me and we have not spoken for over 7 years now.



Donald and Vernille have 4 children (3 living) and one of them lives about 45 minutes from me. My 2nd cousin Sheila and I text often and FINALLY got together the second week in November. She brought TONS of family pictures, shared memories and stories and then sat and listened to mine. It was awesome to see where I come from, who I look like and hear where my sassy attitude comes from (we can trace it all the way back to my super cute Great Grandma Evelyn :) The women in my family go gray early, many of my family suffer from depression, they are HARD working, get your hands in the dirt kind of people and I love it! The stories were great and it was so much fun to see how much of "me" is because of my genetics and how much is because of the wonderful family I was adopted into.



Sheila loved to hear stories about my family and the wonderful life I have had.....we both agreee it was SUCH a blessing I was put up for adoption!



Here are the few pics I took from our visit.....I'll get real copies of pics one day, but I couldn't let her leave without taking a little bit of my family history for myself :) My favorite picture is the one of my grandparents, Richard and Francille. That picture made me cry and made me feel whole. They were the missing link and I finally have faces.....I have so much love for that picture and the people in it. CAN'T WAIT to get to heaven to meet them :) Enjoy the little glimpse of where I came from.....

Halloween PIcs (FINALLY!)

I know, I've been slackin! I've been a little busy growing a kid and chasing a toddler :) Enjoy the pics! Two more updates to come tonight!

Christmas....keeping it in PERSPECTIVE

Many of you have asked about how we will handle Christmas with the kiddos. For sure we are taking some traditions we were raised with (and leaving others). Here is a WONDERFUL post from our preschool ministry. I LOVE the idea of giving the kiddos three gifts (especially since Christ got three gifts from the Wise Men). We are working hard to establish Christmas traditions that place the emphasis on Christ and not on how many toys the kids will get. We also are not doing Santa in the traditional sense.....they will learn about the true story of Saint Nick when they are old enough. For now they will enjoy a stocking full of little goodies (just like the rest of the kiddos in America :) It's a delicate balance that we are trying to find....know it's not the "norm" but its something that Josh and I are both very sure of! Once the kids are old enough (Mary being around 4) we will also spend a portion of our Thanksgiving and Christmas days serving in a homeless shelter serving meals and enjoying fellowship with the people. The thought of serving together on such important "family" days warms my heart. The Holiday Season will be filled with giving and serving those in need as a family and I can't wait until Stephanie and Mary are able to be involved with us!

We also plan to do a Hanukkah study with the kids when they are older and celebrate many of the Jewish traditions.....we want them to understand the history and culture behind Jewish traditions because that is the culture and traditions of Christ (and I am amazed how it all fits together and helps the Bible make SOOO much more sense the more I learn about it!!)

Here's the story from the church preschool blog.....enjoy and pass it along!

Iphone Pics of Family Visit

Stephie sleeping in her bed with Penguin keeping watch (SCARED THE POO outta me until I realized what was sitting beside her bed!)

Wearing Mimi's boots (while everyone was over watching football

At the duckpond

Jer pointing out all the turtles (there were TONS of them!!)

Playing the race car game before dinner
Yummy cinnamon rolls!
More pics to come once I get a chance to sit and edit the million on my camera :)

Christmas lists, bday lists, fun pics and video's to come over the weekend.....stay tuned :)

Kiddos on the Move

A few unedited shots of our fun family time! SO MUCH MORE to come!!!

These two are having a BLAST together and it's SO much fun to be a Mommy with Michelle! Josh has been able to take the last several days off and spend tons of time with us. Stephie and Jer are loving having Mamaws attention and lovies......and all the treats and fun things that go along with vacation. It will be sad to see everyone leave in a few days. More pics to come when Michelle and I have more time :)

more kiddo videos

crazy kiddos

Koehler Oaks aka Stephie's Outdoor School

We went out to Kimmi and Michael's to see the progress on their barn renovation (aka apt/man cave/mother-in-law cottage) Stephanie had a BLAST! I so look forward to her being old enough for us to go out there for little science activities!! They have just under 3 acres, a pond, a million trees and tons of room to run and explore! Stephie wore her oh so cute rain boots because it was muddy...she loved it! She learned how to kill aunts with a rock (thanks auntie Mimi) and how to throw rocks in the pond (thanks uncle gicheal).....she even went out on the dock (I was not too excited about that, but she LOVED it) Enjoy the pics!

Stephie and Lily

These girls are best friends (whether they know it or not, haha!) They had a blast together Monday at the McGrane house and then Friday Kinome and Lily came to our house to play. The girls wore princess dresses and were a crack up....not many pics though because both Kinome and I were not having the best of prego days :) Enjoy the slideshow!!

Pray.....a note from Lauren C

This is a blog I frequent (although she doesn't' have much time to post with three little one's!) Lauren is the wife of our Pastor and she has an amazing heart! I love to read her blog because she is so real!!! Enjoy! (it's also on the right side with my list of blogs)

Them Chandlers

Random Pictures

The one picture at the Pumpkin Patch before my camera battery died, ugh! We're going back!


Playing with her pumpkins....she loves to sort and organize them!

Potty time (notice Josh is NOT using the potty). Stephie LOVES, LOVES, LOVES to sit on the potty...but hasn't quite figured out she can actually go in it. Still super cute!

Coloring....notice Boulder under the table. That boy is ALWAYS near where his Stephanie is!

SOOOOOO many more pics to come (my hs reunion, playdate with Lily, fun out at Kimmi and Michael's land). Please check back tomrorow as I plan to update this throughout the day. I want to be caught up before Michelle, Jer and Kati arrive Wednesday. Then Mamaw (Stephie's great grandma on Josh's side) comes Thursday...busy and WONDERFUL week ahead :)

Daddy Time

This is Stephie and Josh playing while I cook dinner...He has to go to great lengths to keep her outta the kitchen!!!

McGrane Playdate

We spent Monday evening with our wonderful friends Colin and Kinome. Stephie and Lily played hard....it was so fun! Kinome is prego and due in a week and a half...holy cow! They don't know what they are having but I'm secretly hoping it's another girl :)

The first video copies upside down, not sure why! It's only 43 sec so be patient...the rest are normal :)

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com