Bubbles

Madison and I had a fun filled morning while Abby slept. We learned letters in the alphabet by playing a game with blocks, and then we colored (Madison drew her first spider!!!!), and then blew bubbles on the porch outside. She is so funny. While drawing her spider she said, "Spiders can bite you." To which I replied, "Yes they can and it hurts." Madison was quick to say, "I can squish them." While I was coloring she kept saying, "good work. Good work honey." She is a joy to have around:-) I'm glad I took the time to play one-on-one with her today. What a treat!

She loves blowing bubbles and gets so excited when bubbles come out:-)

Bellatrix

I wish this was me...nope, this is my sister. She made her own costume and went as Bellatrix from Harry Potter. She looks good huh? I was a witch, but not that good of one:-)

Pumpkin Monkey!

Sisters all the way. Madison woke up this morning and when given the choice to either wear her costume or clothes, well, you know what she chose:-) I thought it a perfect time to do a photo shoot of their costumes.

Madison was all about getting her picture taken this morning. What a good sport!

Little sister like big sister!

Here is an overview of our photo shoot!

Pumpkins Everywhere

Madison carved her pumpkin the next morning with Mama:-)

Brian couldn't see his design well enough, so he had to get his head lamp:-) He looks like a surgeon in training eh?

The pumpkin guts!!!! Madison loved to play in them, so I had to document a picture of it...tempting huh?

Brian insisted that Madison help carve pumpkins Tues. night. So he got home from work, ate, and we began the messy process of carving pumpkins. Madison was a big helper as you can see.

What a cutie!!!!

Pumpkin Carving Fun!

Madison's Thomas the Train

Sarah's Raccoon in pumpkin

Brian's Flying Owl

Witch...pretend or real?

Today I was shopping in the Listen (second hand store) for a Witch costume while trying to keep tabs on Abby in a stroller, you would think that would be easy in that she can't go anywhere.

WRONG, Madison says, "I push Abby." I begin searching the bottomless laundry baskets full of hats, wigs, ninja turtle chest plates, sticks, swords, etc. I manage to find one that is bent and twisted and another one that you can see through. Isn't everyone a witch at some point? There should be tons of Hats!!!! I manage to pull my nose out of the laundry baskets only to discover Abby, Madison, and Madison's friend gone.

I call for Madison and the nice man looking in the men's pant isle says, "I think that is her over there." So, I find Madison and try to locate the other little girl I have with me and find her OUTSIDE THE STORE! Madison is right behind me and heads for the puddle in the street! I grab her and remember Abby is in the stroller in the store and I am outside. I ask the two girls to come in and end up having to chase Madison and bring her in. Yes, Abby is still in the store. I frantically get back in the store and tell the girls to stay by me. They end up grabbing batons and pretend to fight and even go as far as jabbing at random people in the store.

I am still searching for a Halloween costume when I hear, "My family, church, in the name of Jesus Christ amen. Your turn." I turn around to see Madison and her friend standing at this pole, that resembles a microphone, taking turns bearing their testimonies. After a few rounds, yes I said rounds, of this, Madison's friend announces "I am at church." Many grandmas smiled at me and thought they were cute...I thought so too!

"Ten more minutes and the store is closing" comes the announcement from the cash register.

Great, I have managed to find nothing and I need a costume by Wednesday. I give up and gather up the girls and head for the door. There in a nice basket are three witches hats. Why didn't I see them when I came in? Well, one hat down and boots, face paint, fingernails, dress, funky nose, and earrings left to go. At this rate I may become a witch without a costume:-)

I must say I used to think two was hard:-) How do people go clothes shopping with children? Any tips would be great! Not that I am planning on having more any time soon:-)

Concern for the One...

"The Lord did not people the earth with a vibrant orchestra of personalities only to value the piccolos of the world. Every instrument is precious and adds to the complex beauty of the symphony. All of Heavenly Father’s children are different in some degree, yet each has his own beautiful sound that adds depth and richness to the whole." -Elder Wirthlin

Isn't this a great quote? I just taught a lesson on Sunday and this was my favorite quote from the talk by E. Wirthlin.

"Here's my pumpkin Grandma!"

Madison wanted to show her grandmas her pumpkin, so we decided to take a picture of it and post it. Madison is so excited for Halloween and to carve her pumpkin. Brian gets her so excited about it all. What a great daddy!

This is Madison's official 2 1/2 years old picture. Isn't she growing up so fast! I love how we can put her hair in pig tails now. We have waited so long and been through her being called a boy, people asking if I cut her hair, etc. It's growing:-0 I used to have dreams about Madison having long hair and how I had to do all these special things to get it long. I guess in a way it's a dream come true:-)

Here are some pictures I promised...

Here is our beautiful car Brian pounded out!

This is the before picture...we replaced the headlight, pounded out the fender and Brian just pounded out the door and replaced the side view mirror.

Our Laundry Room, I mean closet. You can imagine how hard it is to get the clothes from the washer to dryer...the washer lid can only lift up a few inches:-) Then when I have to turn on the dryer, the controls are on the top and I have to hold on the the door frame while standing on the washer, and reach in to one side and turn the knob and then reach in on the other side and push the start button. It's quite comical! But hey, we have twice as much space in this apartment.

Did I mention how fun Abby is?

It was freezing outside, but Abby just loved being in the great outdoors. She talks all during stroller rides and loves to be by Madison in the double stroller.

I couldn't help but take a picture of the girl eating. She has a few skills to refine, but she ate the gerber stick all by herself! She was in the kitchen and was crying since I was in the office, but the second I brought her in with us she was as happy as could be. She just loves to be with us.


Brian and I love to just lay with her in bed in the morning. She is obsessed with our faces and is such a happy baby in the morning. I can't help but love her when she is smiling at me when I go and get her in the morning...even if it is 6:15 am.

L@@K at Me!!!

She should be a GAP model don't you think?


These are Abby's new tricks. She has yet to move her arms with her legs and crawl. I just love to watch her!

"Got to stretch"

Today when I was putting Madison to bed I got down on my knees to pray with her and told her, "get down on your knees like this so we can talk to Heavenly Father." She started to spread out her legs and squat while resting her hands on her knees. I asked her, "what are you doing." She said, "I got to stretch." She had the biggest cheesiest grin on her face. She was just being silly, but I couldn't help chuckling. She is so funny and loves to make us smile or laugh. She will do anything!

Mom in Training

I couldn't help but laugh as Madison changed her babies diaper. She had the old one on top of the new one just like we do when changing her or Abby's diaper. She kept saying, "eww gross, that's a stinky one." She would throw the wipes away, as if they were dirty, and then put the new diaper on. It was so funny. She spent about 10 minutes fussing over her baby getting this and putting that on, throwing this or that away, and making her stay still where she wanted her. I see myself in all she does. I better be careful what I do and say:-)

Tribute to Brian

So, we thought Brian was white collar all the way since he never did handy man stuff around the apartment or worked on cars. Well, he has proved everyone wrong these past few months with replacing a headlight, pounding out the dents in the fender, and breaking the drum away from it's rusted position. In the past week he has built a stand for the dryer to stand on since we have a closet for a laundry room (made for stackable washer and dryer), but to save a buck or 1,000 we decided to stack our unstackable dryer on top of our washer. I will have to take pictures once it is done. Then today he took the door panel off, pounded out the dent in the door left by the deer, replaced the side view mirror, put the door panel back on and hooked up all the electrical so it's working properly! I stand all amazed. He can do anything when he puts his mind to it and has the time to figure it out! I read the manual and was completely lost. Brian has spent hours working on the car today and finished it! We now have a somewhat good looking car (better than before) and it was pretty cheap:-) I just can't tell you how proud I am of Brian. He even watched the girls today for over four hours and ran errands, changed diapers, made dinner, worked on the car, and kept the two alive and happy:-)

Halloween came early!

I brought out Abby's Halloween costume to show my mother and Madison had to try it on. Of course it was too small so I suggested she put it on her baby. Madison was so excited about it all! She can't wait for Halloween. She says, "I go Halloween, knock on door and say trick-or-treat. I get CANDY!!!!"


I love being around Madison and seeing her get so excited about the small things in life!

If I would have graduated in 1968

I found this on my friend Stephanie's blog. It's really fun. www.yearbookyourself.com...

Saturday afternoon Football!

Brian looks forward to playing every Saturday. He pays for it the rest of the week in sore muscles, but he's good at it and enjoys it so much. Here is a picture of him outrunning them all:-) We get to go and watch him play for a while and then if Madison lasts until the end she gets to wear daddy's flags and he will chase her and try and pull them off and she does the same back to him.

Sisters:-)

Madison is so affectionate. Abby likes it sometimes, but not all the time.

She liked it this time. I love how her arm is around Madison.

Madison loves to strap her baby in the stroller and then push her and Abby around everywhere. She loves doing whatever I do. It's so fun to see her mother her baby. Here baby even has a band-aid like Madison. Madison had three on at the time. Anytime she gets hurt, blood or no blood, she has to have a band-aid on it and the same goes for her baby. She said, "My baby hit door and say ouch so now she have owee. Her have band-aid see?"

A funny story is Madison was at a friends house and we went to go pick her up and she decided she needed to go to the bathroom and so she went in and began to take off her diaper. The little boy friend came and said, "Madison is taking off her diaper in the bathroom." Brian went in and let her sit on the toilet. Madison began to say, "I hold on tight. I not fall in. I fall in I go like this (she demonstrated her plugging her nose)." I guess if she fell in the toilet that would be a good thing to do:-)

Anyone for a bath?

Abby can bite her own toes. She will demonstrate it for you. What talent! Wish I could even touch my toes let alone get them into my mouth to chew on. She is teething pretty bad and EVERYTHING has to go in the mouth.



It was time for bed and Abby had what we call a 'blow out' which is where the stuff that is suppose to stay in the diaper seeps out and gets everywhere. How babies do it I will never know. So we bathed Abby in the sink and then Madison wanted to also. So she got undressed and played in the sink and I scrubbed her down there. She loved it! It's been a while since we have bathed Madison in the sink:-)

Our Newest Nephew!!!!!

We wanted to announce the birth of our newest Nephew Mason. We have waited for this moment since the birth mom chose Seth and Lacey to be the adoptive parents of her baby boy months ago. It's been a long, beautiful, spiritual, tough journey filled with ups and downs. He has a strong spirit and is suppose to be a part of this family. It's amazing how our Heavenly Father works and to see this miracle unfold is beyond words. As we waited for the phone call to tell us all went well at the birth, hospital, and when they took him home, it bonded us all in such a way that goes deep and eternal. I was overcome with a feeling of gratitude knowing that I can have my own children, no matter how hard it is, and at the same time be grateful for those who give the gift of life so someone else can raise their child. I have come to find out that adoption isn't a simple thing. It's like running a marathon emotionally for weeks. I always thought adoption had perks like you wouldn't be tired after giving birth and still have to nurse a baby 3 times a night but you still do loose sleep due to anticipation before you are given your child and I'm sure Seth and Lacey aren't fresh and energized...they are running off adrenaline just like anyone else after giving birth. I thought you just get a baby for nothing, but I was wrong again. You may be offered a baby and get your hopes up only to have them dashed when the mom decides to keep the baby or give it to someone else, or take it back after placing it. Oh, my respect has deepened for those who adopt and those who give their babies up for adoption. What a selfless thing to do and the sacrifice runs deep. I have had so many thoughts due to this adoption and putting them into words just doens't cut it. I hope you get a feel for what I am trying to convey. Back to Mason...

He was born Tues. October 7 at 3:50 a.m. He was 7 lbs. 11 oz. and 21 inches long. He's got a full head of hair (Seth jokes that he will break the McVea cycle of loosing ones hair at about 24 years old) and is adorable. I can't wait to see Mason Cole McVea in November!!!!! Congratulations Seth and Lacey! We are so glad you are able to start your family now. Mason is blessed to have you for his parents.

From Rags to Riches

There has been a huge plus to this move. Here are the specs:-)
Old
2 bedrooms
1 bathroom
tiny kitchen
2 drawers in kitchen
no carpet originally
small bedrooms

New
3 bedrooms
2 full bathrooms
large kitchen
5 drawers and tons of cabinets
Carpet everywhere
large bedrooms

But even with all of this new, Madison was crying last night that she wanted to go home. She said, "I want to go to MY home." She couldn't understand this was her new home. She wasn't impressed. She ended up sleeping in our bed and we had a grand old time. She talked until 10 pm about anything and everything. At one point she was doing 'creepy mouse' (running one finger over face very lightly) to Brian while whispering "go to sleep". She talked about night lights, going on a big plane to see grandma, her desire to go in a boat on the river, all sorts of stuff. She was so funny. We truly enjoyed the fun we were having and she finally fell asleep after a FEW hours:-)

IS THERE A NEVER ENDING SUPPLY?

TEARS...I have come to find out through Madison that there is no well that dries up, no such thing as not being able to produce more tears, no empty bucket thing, and the phrase "I cried so much I didn't have any more tears to cry" is a falsehood. I know this because Madison has proved that no matter how much one has cried, there are always more tears to be shed. It doesn't stop. I used to think that it wasn't possible to cry all day, but I am learning otherwise. This whole moving thing has been hard on us all, but Madison expresses it more openly than do the rest of us. Thanks to friends taking Madison and playing with her and letting her play with other children, she is coping much better. This will all be over and she will have a bigger bedroom, more space to run around, a porch, two bathrooms to pretend to go potty in, more cupboards to raid, and a real dishwasher that you don't have to hook up to your sink!

Today...

We are doing the whole packing thing and had music playing from the computer. A song came on and Madison said, "I love this song. I do dance." She then began to swing her hips while standing in one place. Brian and I couldn't help but laugh.

While driving in the car we passed this place where they had this Hot Air Balloon Festival a few months ago that Brian and Madison went to when it was raining so they canceled the launching of the balloons. As we passed it Brian was reminiscing with Madison and said, "This is where they had the balloon festival and they didn't even launch them darn it." Madison from the back seat says, "darnlit, darnlit." Brian then corrects himself and says, "no, I said darling." To which Madison replied, "oh, darling." I then said to Brian, "you need to watch your mouth." Madison quickly said, "Watch your mouth. Watch your mouth." We both laughed and she kept repeating it. I guess I too need to watch what I say:-)

I was in the bathroom and heard Madison coming up the stairs saying, "you have to go to time out. I will take you to your room." I then saw her at the top of the stairs carrying her baby. She then placed her baby in the room and said, "you need to stay for five minutes and then I be back to get you." I asked her why she was in time out and she said, "She hit my arm." "Oh," I said, "And we don't hit do we." "NO!" She said. Don't worry, by the time Madison got to the bottom of the stairs she was heading back to the top to get her baby.

Billings Farm

We took time on Saturday to enjoy a trip to Billings Farm. They had apple tasting, apples on a string, pumpkin bread tasting, pumpkin sauce, apple cider press, pumpkin bowling, apple trivia, home made ice cream, horse carriage rides, and corn fields. We spent over two hours there! Madison and Abby were a joy to be around. It's been so nice having Brian home these past two weeks. What a blessing! We will miss him when he has to go back to working:-(

Someone was nice enough to take our picture while Brian waited in line for the horse and carriage ride. Madison and Abby loved the pumpkins, horses, cows, sheep, geese, etc.

Madison has yet to understand the concept of waiting in line. This is what she did while WE waited in line for her:-)

They made pumpkin homemade ice cream with a hand crank ice cream maker and Madison took two turns churning the ice cream. She then got to sample it and was one happy girl! It was REALLY good ice cream. It tasted like pumpkin pie with cream on top!

Madison loved running through the corn stalks with Brian. Brian was a kid again as he chased Madison and ran through the corn rows. Madison couldn't get enough of it and was not too happy to leave.

Abby as usual was just happy to be outside and be there with the family. What a happy child she is:-)