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Madeline has gotten so much more aggressive in soccer! She's a real fighter out there on the field, and has been named the goalie for the rest of the season. Our girlie is very proud of herself! What a wonderful thing as a parent to see your child thrive...



Madeline was really happy to have a whole bunch of family as a cheering section this week. She's been lucky that Grandma and Grandpa have been to several games, Johnny & Jeanine came to a game, and the family this week-end. Tons of fun :-)

Favorite Subject

I'm loving the new camera - still learning, but loving it. Here are a few pictures of my favorite subject :-) I LOVE that you can actually get a photo of action with this camera!







P.S. Yes, I figured out that I shouldn't let her go crazy on the swing while I was taking photos :-)

Daisy Scouts

Madeline is a Daisy Scout (which now comes before Brownies). She has tons of fun doing fun projects like scrap books and painting pottery. I thought you might enjoy seeing this picture of her troop. For those of you in the know about her gang, Buckley is to her immediate left, Laurel is next to Buckley on the other side, and Ellie is in front of Madeline and a bit to her left. They sure are growing up!

New Camera

I have had a great Birthday! Steven bought me a fabulous new Canon Rebel EOS EX Camera as a combined Birthday/Anniversary Gift, and I am loving it! I have not had a chance to watch the CDRom that came with it yet though, so my pictures aren't perfect, but this camera is fabulous! Dad and Mom also got me a telephoto lens for it, so I'll be taking some action packed soccer photos soon :-) Thank you family for all of the LOVE!

This is Me

Today I'm 40!?:-) As you may already know, I have had a bit of a struggle with this Birthday. Am I successful enough at 40? Am I thin enough? Am I kind enough? Have I done enough? Am I old now? Will things be different? Does Madeline have an ancient fat Mother? These are the questions I have been playing in my head. But, I have come to this conclusion, at 40 years old I have come to realize that I am me! Do I earn the most money of anyone? No. Do I have everything in the world I'd like to have? No. Am I a perfect Wife and Mother? No. But, I am me, and I try very hard to do the right thing for all of the people in my life. And, honestly, I think I'm doing pretty good! I have succeeded at having a husband who still loves me and wants to be with me (no doubt in my mind). I have succeeded at having a happy healthy child who also loves me (hey, she's not a teen-ager yet;-) I have a strong faith, plenty of food (more than enough of that) and a comfortable home. I work at an office where I have the flexibility to be there for my husband and child when I need to be.

Is everything perfect, no. But, I would not change a single thing (except maybe I'd be thinner - hey, I have to be honest here). My marriage is so strong! I have more love than one person truly deserves. My whole family is healthy. Mom and Dad are close and I get to see Rebecca and her family often (not as often as I'd like). I'm blessed to have two sweet living Grandmas. I married into a beautiful close family. How can I look at my life and be dissappointed? I CAN'T! That's the beauty of it all!

I am happy to be me!

Easter

We had a great Easter this year - we went to Church at 7:00 for the annual family Easter Church gathering. It was comforting to walk into church and see all of those smiling faces. Madeline did great too, particularly considering it was so early!

I got a bit of a stomach bug later in the day, which was a bummer, and my camera battery died! So, I didn't get any photos of Madeline having a great time in the big bouncy that Johnny & Jeanine had at their house, or the mega Easter Egg hunt, but just imagine Madeline smiling hugely and you've got a pretty good idea. Dad and Mom came, which completed the whole picture - it was wonderful (other than my yucko stomach!) The few pics I got are below.

Sadly, this was the best picture I got of Madeline's Easter dress. Nice of me to make her stand with the sun in her eyes, wasn't it! :-)


We had a great time painting the ceramic eggs that the Radicchis gave Madeline - I thought they turned out great, and my picture wasn't half bad either!


The Easter Bunny left a scavenger hunt for Madeline, so after running all over the house she finally found her basket under the desk. She thought that was a ton of fun and enjoyed her goodies very much.

Happy Birthday Mama

We had Mom & Dad over to celebrate Mom's Birthday and had a really good time - Mom liked the frying pan and storage bowls that Rebecca and I got for her Birthday, and we had a good dinner of Chicken and Dumplings. I have to admit I was pleased with them, particularly when we ate them as left overs the next day...

Painted by Me

Madeline went to the local paint your own pottery place with the Girl Scouts a couple of weeks ago, and has talked about it non-stop ever since. We started off our days at home with a very creative day at the pottery place. Madeline said I needed to let my "wild" out, and eventually I did loosen up and paint a chip and salsa bowl (not pictured for obvious reasons :-) Madeline painted a cool patch work dog. It was a great Mother-Daughter time - priceless!




Madeline's dog turned out really nice - I'll have to post a picture of it after it is fired and glazed....

Shawowie!

Madeline and I had a great time on our trip to see Rebecca, Mark and Sophia. My Sister does not live close by, so we value the time we get to spend together very much. We had some good talks, went to Church (their church is amazing), went to the park, Chuckie Cheeses, a great bounce place, and overall enjoyed each other's company. I was so happy to get a chance to bond with Sophia - what a cutie she is! On the way home from Chuckie Cheeses she said "Shawowie" about 10 or 15 times, so now Madeline and I use that as an all around expression of joy :-) I uploaded a bunch of pictures, in an effort to show most of the fun.

One thing I know for sure - Sophia loves her some Mouse! She could not get enough of the Chuckie Cheeses Mouse guy. Too funny!


Madeline was proud, she got a bunch of tickets and was able to "purchase" a cool necklace making kit.

Check out the smiles on these faces - they LOVED it!

Madeline thinks Rebecca is the coolest thing since macaroni and cheese!

These folks had some fun playing Mouse!

I love this picture!

Me having some fun on the slide :-)

Having some fun on the giant play set.

Sacrifice

I am remembering the Cross today - this is the reason that we eat fish when we want a burger. The reason people give up little things like chocolate or Facebook or macaroni and cheese. To remind us of the ultimate sacrifice that was made for us .... every one of us. Today I pray that all people remember the sacrifice made for us so that we might live. I pray that I might truly remember. It's hard to get in our modern world of computers and conveniences, but when that last day comes all of those things won't matter any more. I thank God for all of the wonderful things I have today - a husband who took the day off to spend with me, a happy healthy child who is growing every day, family that I got to spend time with this Spring Break, and his wonderful saving grace. May you be blessed with peace this day.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16