Her name is...

OK, so we finally reached a decision. Her name is Bailey. She is the sweetest dog I have ever met. She slept on Claire's lap this morning for a whole hour. Then she let Claire carry her around for the rest of the morning. SO sweet.

New best friend...

On Saturday we got a puppy!!! She is a pure bread miniature beagle and she is super sweet. She is eight weeks old and only weighs five pounds. Claire and Luke adore her! We are still trying to come up with the perfect name... suggestions are welcome!How could you not LOVE her floppy ears?

Learning a new trick...

Claire is FINALLY potty trained. Hopefully I have not spoken to soon! Apparently, princess pull-ups are magical and did the trick! However, I might add that having a toddler who is very proud of her newly learned trick can be quite embarrassing!

Yesterday, we went to lunch with some friends. Claire announced that she needed to use it (not in those exact words!). So I got up and took her... she went, and then I proceeded with the "GOOD JOB, I'm SOOO proud of you" speech. She runs out of the bathroom yelling "Benj, Peyton, I tee-teed, I TEE-TEED!!!" Most everyone smiled and laughed, but there were a few odd looks thrown my way. OK, that one wasn't so bad... today's incident was almost to much to deal with. I took the kids on a shopping quest to find pants that Claire could pull on and off by herself. No pesky buttons and snaps. We are in the store and Claire yells "MOM, THE POOP IS COMING OUT!!!" ! Oh, my goodness, what do you say or do in that situation? We ran to the bathroom. I guess that's all you can do.

I hope I haven't grossed anyone out! I'm trying to find humor in all of this!

Have I mentioned that we are taking Claire to the audiologist on Friday. She failed her hearing test at her 3 year check up. Maybe that's why she seems to be yelling so much! :)

We are SO proud of you princess Claire!

Perspective

Have you read the blog "confessions of a cf husband"? If not, please go read about this amazing woman. She has CF. The same thing that Claire was tested for last month. Thankfully, Claire will not have to endure what this woman has gone through. This week Patricia had an emergency c-section to deliver a 25 week old baby. The babies name is Gwyneth. My words are not eloquent enough to describe to you the courage that this family has. Not only are they courageous, the husband and there whole family have an amazing perspective on there situation. He is not sad, he is rejoicing in the miracles that God has blessed his family with. This situation is such a huge reminder to me that God gives us free will to choose what attitude we are going to have about the situations that he puts in our lives. Think about that. I sure have.
Please pray for this family... I don't know them, but I know that God hears all of our prayers.

Story time with Claire...

I am taking a break from cleaning our office. When I say "clean", I mean CLEAN! It is jam packed with all of the stuff that we don't know what to do with... oh, and all of my craft stuff! It is an intimidating task, but it needs to be done. Mostly I want it done because my parents gave me that dress form I have been wanting for Christmas! (Thanks Mom and Dad!) I need a place to put it... a place were I will be able to use it! Anyway...

I wanted to post this video of Claire reading. I'm sure it is obvious to most of you, but Claire is only three, and is not really "reading"... she knows this one by heart!

Her favorite book is "Hey wake up" by Sandra Boynton. If you haven't read any of her books, they are a must for all small children! So with that said... here is Claire's reading debut!

More pictures

I meant to post these pictures a while back (before Christmas!). These were taken at our life group Christmas party. I think these pictures do a great job at showing Claire and Luke's real personalities!



Claire and Baby Blake... Claire adores babies, and baby dolls. She would have been content holding Blake for hours. So sweet!
This one makes me laugh. Luke is kicked back relaxing, and Claire is cramming cookies into her mouth! Usually it is the other way around!

Say Cheeeese!!

Pictures from Christmas: We are blessed to be able to spend Christmas with BOTH of our families at the same time! Let me tell you... the kids LOVE every minute of it!

Luke and Opa (my Grandpa, Claire and Luke's Great Grandpa)
Luke wearing Opa's hat.
C and L got new big kid chairs from Opa and Oma.

Claire, Nana Janis and Nana Sara playing "London Bridges!"

Can't remember what was SO exciting in this picture! It's cute though!
Cutest Santa EVER!

On another note... yesterday I got to hang out with my oldest friend Katie. We went to the same schools growing up and have stayed close the whole time! I am thankful for you Katie! Here are some pictures from our day. We were supposed to go to the zoo, but because of the cold temps Claire chose to eat at Chilis and go to the "pat" store (pet store). Fun was had by all! :)

Claire loves corn on the cob!
Rosy cheeks
Always posing for the camera!
Claire and Katie