Christmas Chapel

Today was Bella's last day of preschool before Christmas break. It was also the day of her school's Christmas Chapel. Above is a video of one of the songs her little 4-year-old class did. Needless to say, Bella was one of the loudest voices there. If you have 2 mintutes to spare, check out the video. I apologize in advance for the shaking - I had to laugh at what turned into a volume contest between three of them!

After the service, we went to Bella's class for some of Jesus' birthday cake. Luca just walked in and sat down at the table with her classmates! It was really cute. He really can't wait to go to school!

It was a very nice time, and Fredericksburg Christian Preschool's Stafford Campus did a great job at kicking off Christmas!

Winter Wonderland

This past weekend we decided to take a little jaunt through some nasty weather to spend some time at Nonna and Pappy's house. We were so glad that we did, because on Saturday morning we had a great time playing in the snow!Did you know that my parents lived across the street from Clark Griswald?

Keith and I got in on the fun, too!

Bella is always so excited to see her cousin, Jilli. This was a reunion shot - the first time they'd seen each other in weeks!

This was Luca's first time playing in the snow. He had a blast! His little cheeks got all rosy and cute!


Let's plow, Pap!

Christmastime!

I've been a bit sluggish on the blogging... can't believe I let Thanksgiving go by without even 1 post! We were very thankful to have our family from Brownsville, PA come and stay with us for a few days. We had a houseful and it really was a lot of fun! We stayed up to late, drank too much, ate too much, and basically needed a week to recover - but fun!

I wanted to post this picture for 2 reasons - one, becuase I wanted to show off the ginormous solid poplar shelves that my dad painstakingly made for our grand room niches. Don't they look great? Now all of our medical books have a good sturdy home! The second reason is the Christmas tree, of course. This year it's our only one but we think it fits the bill!

This weekend we're off to Nonna & Pappy's for some before-Christmas preparation. After that it's going to fly! Merry Christmastime!

Rainbow

Maybe I have been living in a hole,
but I don't recall ever seeing the entire arc of a rainbow!
I took this picture outside of my house at 5 pm today. This was the kids' first rainbow, and they were pretty excited to see it.
I was, too. It was a great reminder to me that God is always in control. It was like He was giving us a little sign, saying, "I am still here..." That's reasurring!

The pictures don't do it justice, is was beginning to get dark - but I really wanted to share it!

Fall Fun

Dont you just LOVE fall?
We sure do... especially here where fall looks like fall! I'll get over having seasons again, soon - I promise.
Anyway, here are some pics of the kids having a great time outside. The cold doesn't seem to phase them one bit (I, on the otherhand, find that my best friend is now my down vest!)

Sibling LOVE!

Luca just doing his thing.

Bella and her best friend of 3 years - Baby.

Yes, mom... I'm using my good eye.

Pretty in pink!

100th Post

I've just noticed that this will be my 100th post on my blog. I honestly never thought I could stick with it this long. Although the posts get fewer and farther between, I'm still at it.

Anyway, I wanted to post a couple of pictures of Bella taken yesterday at her school. She really doesn't have much to say about the Firefighter's visit, except that when she grows up, she wants to be a firefighter. I guess he made a good impression! She still loves her school, and every time Keith and she leave to go, Luca cries. He wants to go to school, too! I've investigated a couple of two's programs (yes, actually school - not daycare), but there isn't any space for him. I'm actually kind of glad... I'm not ready to let him go just yet! (Although HE seems to be chomping at the bit!)

We're doing pretty well here - the leaves are slow to change in our neck of the woods, and that makes it nice. I'd say they're at their peak right now, and very beautiful. Soon they'll all be on the ground... especially after the wind we've been having here. These winds are COLD (nothing like the warm Santa Ana's we had gotten used to!) We are looking forward to a trip to PA for the weekend. The kids will be happy to get back to Nonna and Pappy's for a few days!

Moving right along....

Well, I'm finally getting a minute to post on our blog. The past 2 weeks have been a whirlwind for our family, but we're settling down and taking a minute to breathe!
It all started last Saturday when our moving truck arrived with all of our things that have been in storage since May 23!
It was a long, hot day, but thanks to the Vesley Bros. crew (who we love, by the way), it all went pretty smoothly. We also had a huge furniture delivery scheduled so that Luca and Keith and I would have a bed to sleep on, but that didn't happen. Oh well... for that to be the only thing that went wrong, we consider ourselves blessed!
It was like Christmas for the kids when we started unpacking things. They hadn't seen their toys for 4 months, so they were very busy and excited.




















My parents and Aunt Lisa were here for 5 days to help with the unpacking and organizing... and I must say - they were GREAT. My dad also did some major projects here, which I will display as soon as I get things all pretty! He's awesome.
We got pretty much everything put away, which is unheard of in 5 days.


We also had a little 33rd birthday thing for me, because my birthday was on Oct. 6. I'm totally quitting counting.
























October 6 was not only my birthday, but also Bella's first day of preschool at Fredericksburg Christian. I can't believe that I just couldn't hold it together! I was a mess, but she did absolutely great. She loves her school as well as her excellent teacher, Mrs. Hoilman. We're so happy and relieved that she's happy!

Well, that about sums it up (the short, painless version, at least)!
We are finally here and extremely happy! We think our new neighborhood (which is mostly trees and big pieces of land) is great, and we are loving that Keith is so close to the office.
The kids can't get enough of riding their quads, digging and exploring in the big back yard. We think that we couldn't have picked a better place to call home!

Thoughts at the Bottom of a Beanstalk

For my cousin Amie and other moms on their first day of school! This is exactly how I felt last year when I tried swallow the lump in my throat on Bella's first day of preschool. I got this from her teacher here, and I thought other moms would like the encouragement!

Thoughts at the Bottom of a Beanstalk

Once upon a time there was a little boy named Jack who was about the climb his very first beanstalk. He had a fresh haircut and a brand new book bag. Even though his friends in the neighborhood had climbed this same beanstalk almost every day last ear, this was Jack's first day and he was a little nervous. So was his mother.

Early in the morning she brought him to the foot of the beanstalk. She talked encouragingly to Jack about all the fun he would have that day and how nice his giant would be. She reassured him that she would be back to pick him up at the end of the day. For a moment they stood together, silently holding hands, gazing up at the beanstalk. To Jack it seemed much bigger than it had when his mother had pointed it out on the way to the store last week. His mother thought it looked big, too. She swallowed. Maybe she should've held Jack out a year... Jack's mother straightened his shirt one last time, patted his shoulder, and smiled down at him.

She promised to stay and wave while he started climbing. Jack didn't say a word. He walked forward, grabbed a low growing stem and slowly pulled himself up to the second leaf, then to the third and soon he had vanished into a high tangle of leaves and stems with never a backward glance at his mother. She stood alone at the bottom of the beanstalk, gazing up at the spot where Jack had disappeared. There was no rustle, no movement, no sound to indicate that he was anywhere inside. "Sometimes," she thought, "it's harder to be the one who waves good-bye than it is to be the one who climbs the beanstalk."

She wondered how Jack would do. Would he miss her? How would he behave? Did his giant understand that little boys sometimes acted silly when they felt unsure? She fought down an urge to spring up the stalk after Jack and maybe duck behind a bean to take a peek at how he was doing. "I'd better not. What if he saw me?" She knew Jack was really old enough to handle this on his own. She reminded herself that, after all this was thought to be an excellent beanstalk, and that everyone said his giant was not only kind but had outstanding qualifications.

"It's not so much that I'm worried about him," she thought, rubbing the back of her neck. "It's just that he's growing up and I'm going to miss him." Jack's mother turned to leave. "Jack's going to have lots of bigger beanstalks to climb in his life," she told herself. "Today's the day he starts practicing for them... and today is the day I start practicing something too: cheering him on and waving

good-bye."

Back to School

This was the 2nd year that Bella shared in the excitement of Jilli's first day of preschool. We just happen to still be here in Brownsville, so we enrolled Bella again at Fort Burd Preschool for the month of September.
This year was much different than last year, when Bella was nervous and apprehensive for the first day. This morning the girls ran up to the door and couldn't wait to get started!
Bella had a great day, and said that she "loves Mrs. Popsickle." (Her name is Mrs. VanSickle, and she just happens to be our cousin.) It looks like she will be enjoying her time there until we move at the end of September!

Little Flipper

The kids spent most of Labor Day in the pool. Thanks goodness my dad won't be closing it just yet! I just thought I'd share our little fish, Bella's swimming progress - I took this video after she suprisingly did what she calls a "flip dive" off of the diving board! I thought she did a great job... it won't be too long before she gets all the way around!

You can also hear her negotiating for a popsicle. Oh, well... sometimes bribery gets you videos!

Hooray for Kennywood!

This weekend we decided that we've waited long enough this summer - it's time to take the kids to Kennywood! Keith and I had put it off all summer, because we just didn't want to brave the sweltering heat. This weekend was perfect timing. Although the lines were long (we went on a Saturday), it was certainly worth it. The weather was great - high of only 78!

Bella and I rode the Jack Rabbit (a traditional wooden roller coaster, for those of you who aren't Pittsburgers) first, and to my surprise, she really didn't like it! I thought that we'd be standing in that line at least 4 times this year because she loved it last year. She said that she thought she was going to fly out on the "double-dip!"

Luca was a blast this year, and loved pretty much everything he rode. Both of their favorites were the Whip and the Kangaroo (which just happened to be my favorites when I was a little kid!)

We spent most of the day in Kiddieland, which was okay for us - we really didn't go there to ride the Phantom's Revenge! I was mainly interested in Potato Patch fries and a funnel cake, which we did manage to fit in before we called it a day.

Our Expedition

Luca snoozing during the car ride.



Taking a picture in front of Bella's new preschool - the Stafford campus of Fredericksburg Christian School.
Keith with three of his office staff - Jill, Becky, and Jennifer.
Bella in front of our new home in Stafford, VA. We just love it!



I've not been doing well with the blog lately, and I'm sorry, Mama P! Here are a few pics to get you caught up on our latest expedition.


This past weekend the kids, my mom and dad and I took to the roadways for the 4.5 hour jaunt to Fredericksburg, VA to visit daddy and our new home. This was the first "long" car-ride for the kids, and after they figured out that asking "how many more minutes?" wasn't going to make the trip end any sooner, they settled in and did pretty well.


We all stayed in the Homewood Suites where Keith has been calling home for the 3 days we were there and my lifesavers (a.k.a. my parents) took care of the kids while Keith and I tried to do some furniture shopping for the essentials. (We sold pretty much all of our furniture when we left SD, so we had a lot to do!)


As far as an update on the house, my last trip to VA was to meet with a builder who was going to be building our home. We went over plans and got everything settled. However, we also saw a home that we just couldn't get out of our hearts! We decided that we wouldn't have to build after all and bought a wonderful home in Stafford. We took the kids to see it and they couldn't get enough of the enormous back yard, walking in the woods, picking out their rooms, etc. We also met the very gracious people who live there now and Bella and Luca made fast friends with Natalie and Luke, who will soon be moving to California! (How ironic!)

We are back in town and I spend every spare second shopping on the internet for furniture, rugs, design ideas, etc. This is the second house I get to decorate in 3 years!
We are all very excited to move in at the end of September.

I hope this gets everyone up to date. A lot has happened and changed, but this is the scoop! I'll try to be a better blogger!

Salute!

Luca was proud to have his first "taste" with Pappy Joe this week. For those of you who don't know, a "taste" is Pappy's drink - Old Grandad with Pepsi. If you want to get on Pap's good side, you always have it, and you always offer him some when he comes around. When we were little, we used to like to have "tastes" with him. It made us feel big, but most of all, we liked having that special time just sitting down, sipping on our little jelly jar glass of Pepsi (only Pepsi) with Pappy Joe.

It made me smile watching Luca, so taken with Pappy the same way we were, happy to be sitting (not running around) and sipping with him.

It was also funny seeing him have is very own glass of Pepsi for the first time. It was a bit it hard for him to get it down, but he loved every second of it.

Wild for Idlewild!

The second week we were here, we joined our Church's annual picnic at Idlewild Park in Ligoneer, PA.
It was an extremely hot and humid day, but that didn't stop the kids from having an amazing time.
Bella LOVED story book forest - they even got to sit in a one-room schoolhouse for a lesson!
Luca had his first pony ride and really enjoyed the trolley ride in Mr. Rogers' Neighboorhood. Even now he keeps repeating, "Come along, come along, to the castle hugginsong!" (If you've been there like most of us from western PA have, you know what I mean!)

The Soak Zone was a bit hit, too, on such a hot day - we all suited up and cooled off. Bella got a second wind after that and was able to ride the Rolo Coaster and the Whip one more time before we left to go home!

Happy Father's Day!

I know that I'm a bit tardy on the Father's Day post. I just can't seem to keep up these days!

Keith has been driving up on Thursday nights from VA to spend the long weekends here in PA with us, so we were all together on Father's day. We had a nice lunch at my Uncle Tony and Aunt Judy's after church, and then we hung out in the pool with the Brownsville crew in the afternoon. It was a nice Father's Day, and we hated to say goodbye to daddy as he had to make the 4.5 hour drive back to Fredericksburg to go to work on Monday!

This week I will drive down to begin house hunting! So much to do!!

A New Beginning...

I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted something... well, actually I can. Considering everything our family has accomplished this past month, blogging was last on my "to do" list!
After 3 good years in Encinitas, CA we've packed up and moved back to the east coast!
Keith and I have been looking for a good opportunity to move our family back for a couple of years now. After much answered prayer, we've finally been able to do so!
We have purchased an oral surgery practice in beautiful Fredericksburg, VA (the closing was today, so now I can finally make it public!) Last weekend with the help of my parents who flew out to SD the week prior, we packed up our home, got the kids on a plane and left for good.
We were very excited to go back east, considering we never felt like we fit in on the "left coast." However, we were very sad to leave our friends, neighbors, Bella's super preschool, and especially our church.
For the summer, the kids and I will be staying with my parents while Keith gets the practice running. He already has a packed schedule and we are so blessed to have been given such a wonderful place to call our new home! Now a new house search begins as we begin to settle in here with most of our belongings in storage for the summer. The kids are loving it, though, being so close to their cousins and staying with Nonna and Pappy. They don't like being a 4 hour drive away from their daddy, though. That will change, soon, we pray!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all of those angels out there known as "Moms."
To my own mother ~
Happy Mother's Day... thank you for giving me life. Thank you for continuing to daily give me and now my children pieces of your life. You have sacrificed so much, and we notice!
You are an amazing mom and I love you!

Mother's Day Luncheon

On Friday at noon, Bella's preschool class hosted a Mother's Day luncheon. It was adorable. The kids prepared two songs for us moms - above is a snippit of the first one. Then we had a great little lunch together on the playground. After the lunch, Bella and I got to share a Mother's Day treat - pedicures! It was great to spend the afternoon alone with her.... not something I get to do too often anymore!

Beach Day

Here in San Diego we had somewhat of a heatwave last week! It reached 94 here in Encinitas, and I've never seen my thermometer get that high! It finally cooled off today - back to the normal 72.
We decided to hit our beach on Monday since Keith was off and since it wouldn't be it's normal chilly windy beach day!
Bella was in all brights and couldn't wait to get there - she loves the beach. Luca wouldn't go near the water - it was too cold for the likes of him!
Luca wasn't the only one who wouldn't go near the water. Ever since the fatal shark attack in our neighboring beach, people are being a bit more cautious - I've never seen our beach so empty.
We did see lots of dolphins, though, and that put our mind at ease. If there are dolphins, there won't be sharks - at least that's what my Dad always said!

Deja Vu

What are the chances that you'll get to be your dad and mom's patient at the same time in a make-shift OR in your own house?
Pretty well if your dad's a plastic surgeon, your mom's an anesthesiologist and you're a little wild man.
The crazy thing about it all is that this wasn't unfamiliar territory for Keith and me - last year we had to do the same thing for Bella!
Today, it was Luca's turn. As he was fleeing his dad to escape nap-time, Luca tripped and fell in our bathroom - right into one of the tile steps leading to the bath. Luca suffered a deep gash in his forehead, and Keith instantly knew that we would once again be sewing one of our kids up at home.
Luca was a trooper, and with a little help from Mommy's medicine, he did just fine. Keith was just finishing up the 10 stitches in the video above.
Needless to say, we are grateful that we are able to spare our toddlers the trauma of going to the ER, but hopefully, we won't be needing to do too much more of this!!

Luca's ABCs

This was too cute for me not to post (plus, I want to make sure my parents can stay caught up!) I know that it seems like the "Luca Show" lately, but he's doing so many new things that we can't help but be excited about it. He was truly a "late bloomer" when it came to speech (or talking whatsoever), but in the past few weeks he's come a long way. We're very proud of him, and he's proud of himself, too. The grin on his face when we can understand what he means when he talks says it all.

This is an adorable attempt at singing his ABCs (as you can tell, Keith has got his down pat)!

Broccoli!

A very exciting thing happened in our house the other night. Our extremely picky eater, Luca, ate BROCCOLI and loved it! As you can imagine, having Luca continuously turn his nose up at anything that doesn't look like elbow macaroni is extremely frustrating. Especially since our firstborn, Bella, always ate just about anything from sea bass to jalapenos to fillet mignon. I honestly thought that somehow "those picky kids" could be made to eat anything if us parents just handled it right.

I, however, learned that you can't force these little buggers to eat. Over time, I've had to accept that Luca will broaden his menu selection in time, and that for now, macaroni and cheese and chicken nuggets will just have to do. Thank goodness he's always liked fruit - that gave me some consolation every time we gave him some form of pasta for a meal!

The other night at dinner Luca was eating his easy mac and bologna (another newly acquired taste) when he spotted his steak-eating sister scarfing down some broccoli. For some odd reason he pointed to it and acted like he wanted it! I obliged him and he really liked it! Needless to say, I ran to the camera to record this monumental occasion. Check out the video - you can also hear how cute he tries to say "broccoli."

Easter Best

Keith did a great job on Easter Sunday! He got the kids dressed for church by himself, as I was there from 6:30 am until 1:30 pm to play and sing for the worship team. We had 4 services that day and it was a beautiful time!
Although it was so early in the year, our weather was very summerlike, as it was 78 degrees and sunny! Living here does have its perks, I guess.

Fun in PA

The kids and I went back east for a week in the middle of March - and it snowed! Bitter cold aside, Bella had an awesome time visiting with her cousins!
Noah had gotten a new quad for his birthday and couldn't wait to let Bella have a ride. Uncle Jason showed her the ropes and she decided she didn't like riding through the woods - they were too bumpy!
We've got to get her out of SoCal before she becomes any more of a diva!
The kids had their second party with our family at home. This time it was a Backyardigans blast - one of their favorite TV shows.

Catching Up

I'm a terrible blogger. Since my last post was over a month ago, we have some catching up to do!

The kids had birthdays this month - all month long! This picture was taken on March 4th. They were all ready for a little family party at Buca di Beppo's. Our cousins Amie, Matt, Garrett and Addison came as well as our cousins (Amie's parents) Jim and Natalie! Also there were my Aunt Lisa and Aunt Gina. They came here to visit for a week before helping me get the kids back for a visit to PA!