The Queen and the Princess

I'm not sure which is the queen and which is the princess....but I know one thing for sure.  These two both wear the crowns in our house and both love each other a whole bunch!!!!

Prayers for Karrie

I am simply asking that you take some time from your day today and say a prayer of peace for the Dodez family. Karrie is a beautiful child of God who has endured so much over the past seven years of her life. We just ask that you lift up her precious family as Karrie is battling "The Bad Guy" again in the form of neuroblastoma. The Dodez family coverts your prayers. And I thank you personally for praying for Karrie.

http://karriedodez.com/karrieshome.html

Happy 4th of July Weekend!

The little firecrackers would like to wish everyone a safe, happy, and thankful 4th of July weekend!!!!!

Entirely too long of a post!

Hilton Head Family Vacation 2011

Here we are! Hilton Head Island! Wooo-Eeeee!

Ellie and Reid are ready to hit the beach!

We found Santa there! His shirt even read, "Yes, it is me!"

Reid missed lunch at the Salty Dog Cafe'. The beach wears you out!

Ellie loving every part of the beach!

Best buddies....for this picture at least!

A beautiful end to a beautiful day!

Beaching it one evening.

"OHHHHHHHH, YESSSSSSSSSS~!"

Eating at the OSU restaurant. Fun stuff!

Ellie and Reid on the dolphin cruise.

Shark fishing!

I wish my child had one ounce of fear in him!

One of my favorite pics from the trip!

Reid and his most favorite person in the whole world!

Ellie loving the ocean!

Ok, another of my favs!

Sweetness....
...with a dash of orneriness!

And even a little more orneriness from the little man in blue!

Horseback riding, anyone?

Ellie wanted to take "Romeo" home with her.

The view from our condo. The ocean is just beyond the greenery. Gorgeous setting.

Children's Museum. Reid wrote his name here entirely on his own.

Miss Creative at the Craft Table at the museum.

Dessert????? YES!

It's hard to be this cool....

Ellie couldn't stop laughing!

The end of our journey! Coming home. Reid had to pee so bad! He would exclaim, "Please, Daddy.....I gotta go....BAD!" And for miles, this is what the signs on the side of the road said. Nothing around! So, Reid made his "peeing from the side of the van into the bushes off the side of the road" debut! I think we have created a mad-man. Because now when driving, I hear, "Mommy, I gotta pee BAD.....can I pee on the road?" And there you have it! Hilton Head 2011 in a nutshell. Miss it already!

Vacation

We are on vacation right now taking lots of great pictures to share!!!! Once we are home, I will upload and post!!!! Hang on friends!

Apologies!!!!

First of all, my apologies! It has been WAY too long. I have found that I post a lot on Facebook because it is simply where a lot of our family goes to view pictures, but I want to get back into the swing of things here, and continue my "photo journey" of this kids through Blogger.

So, there is a lot to catch up on, and I will go back in time and dig out some pictures to share here later. I wanted to share though these current pictures from today of Reid's preschool graduation (May 2011).

I had a lot of mixed feelings about Reid going to preschool so young. He turned 3 in November 2010, and zapo-presto....preschool began. I felt with all the language that he would be exposed to and all the speech opportunities, I could not hold him home. Although, sending your little one at 3 yrs. with a backpack and supplies was more difficult that I thought it would be. I went back and forth several times in my mind really wondering if this was the best decision for Reid....and I definitely think that sending him was something that turned out to be wonderful. Reid seemed to bloom into this little person who needed the structure that was given to him in a preschool setting. He behaviors changed for the better, his attention span got better, his speech was being worked on constantly, and he has made friends who we hold very dear to our hearts. Without further introduction.....here is Reid's graduation day in pictures.

Reid with Makenna, his buddy. These two have come a long way together. I was grateful to find Mak's family after Reid was born. These two are bound by cleft, but their friendship is much deeper than that. Mak and Reid share the same surgeon and we are grateful that we live so very close to each other. We are traveling this journey together, and it will be so different to not see Mak in school next year with Reid. She is moving on to Kindergarten. We are so blessed to have Mak and her family in our lives, and Reid loves her like no other! Congratulations, Mak!!!

Reid and his teacher, Mrs. McClusky. It's been a great first year of preschool!

Reid and Miss Jan, his aide. Reid has a MAJOR spot in his heart for Miss Jan!

Reid and Grandma Karen. We were grateful she could go to graduation today. Brian and I were on a field trip with Ellie and could not make it in today! Double booked! So, Grandma came to the rescue!

Pappy was also there! He comes to the rescue for us a lot! We have been blessed to have had Pappy take Reid to school each day. It has created a very special bond for Reid, and I would say for Pappy, too!

Ice cream goes great with graduating!

Preschool Class 2011

Reid- 3rd from the right

Actually sitting down!!!!

We are proud of you Reid, and love you much!

Daddy-Daughter-Dance 2011

Ellie is so excited today. She is getting some major one-on-one time with her daddy. It is the Daddy-Daughter-Dance this afternoon, and Ellie has been asking all week if it is time to go, yet! I am positive that Ellie and her daddy are both in their glory today.

Tonsil and Adenoid Surgery

On March 18, we hauled Reid to the hospital at 5 am for his tonsil and adenoid surgery. He was a trooper, and I am always amazed at how well he does.

Reid in the pre-op room all set for surgery, and as you can see, he was in good spirits. He was even more excited when he realized his bed was on wheels and moved!

Getting all set to be wheeled back. The dazed look is from being up so early in the morning!

Brian had his I-Pod with him which was a good time killer while we waited for the prepping of the OR room.

Made it through. This was in the recovery room. He was just waking up, and he was very happy that Mom brought blankie along to make everything better.

My little man....He has been through a lot over the past 3 years. This marks surgery number 5...and I am not even counting all the other little procedures he has undergone in the past. A trooper, no doubt.

Going home to rest and recover. Blessed by our family, friends, prayer warriors, and medical team that again have held us in their arms. We thank you.....