It's beginning to look alot like Christmas....

Well, December is upon us & it's bringing pretty chilly weather, isn't it? Cold outside right now. Tonight we have our church Christmas party after Mass w/ Santa & lots of good food. Kayla has to go up at 2:00 & help decorate. Should be lots of fun--always is. It'll be lots of fun trying to get Olivia to take a pic w/ Santa. She is not too fond of actually sitting on his lap. She likes him, likes pics of him & movies of him, but when it comes to sitting on his lap--no way Jose`! Pretty funny. Guess she's not too fond of big hairy dudes wearing red suits & hats!

We always have had a real tree even when I was growing up. I have never known a fake tree in the house--ever! So we went to Home Depot in Jasper last Sunday & bought a really nice Douglas fir. We put it up & decorated & then this past Thursday on my day off Olivia & I decorated the house. She refused a nap so she had to help! She only broke 1 snowglobe that day!

Tomorrow the girls are in the Loogootee Parade. Hope to post pics of all our fun times soon!

Random Pictures

Okay, so I'm at work w/ the high speed computer & it's lunchtime so I'm uploading some pics to put on here to get updated. Here are some random pics from over the summer--we've had lots of weddings, reunions, swimming, Elnora, etc.

First pic is Papaw Brown & Josh at the Washington Park for the 1st ever Brown-Lingenfelter Reunion. They are both just the best. Josh is doing great & is probably the happiest I've seen him in a very long time. I'm very proud of him as always.
The train was running that day so they all hopped on--Grace L, Matthew H, my 3 girls & Haylie M.
Josh pushing the kids on the merry-go-round!
My cousin Erin Arvin's wedding. Here she's doing the dollar dance w/ the girls. Olivia loved her sequins!
My Dad dancing w/ Erin.
All of us doing the chicken dance. I love dancing at receptions. Of course my Smokey Mtn wine helps too--LOL!


The bridal party did the "Boot Scootin Boogie" as their dance. It was so cute. Yes, she did get married in her white cowgirl boots.
Danielle & her friend Aubrie at her 2nd grade field trip to Elnora. Eric & I were chaperones and had a great time too.
Eric w/ Aubrie & Danielle on the wagon.
Danielle "milking" a cow. It had water that squirted out.

This was at my cousin Landon's 3rd b-day party this past weekend. He had a Handy Manny party. Our cousin Hunter is the same age & they are like best friends especially since they go to the same sitter every day. They were so cute.


Olivia preferred to be outside during the present opening part!This was Landon's big present--a John Deere bike his mom & dad found in Owensboro! He loved it!

He took off riding and asked Hunter to get on the back. Then he rode around for awhile and said okay, get off now!

Haylie (his sis) & Landon w/ his Handy Manny cake made by the notorious Heather Arvin!

Olivia back in July feeding her baby doll her sippy cup while sitting in her Princess chair.

Olivia having a fit because Josh is giving Danielle a ride instead of her. My mom rescued her. She just doesn't understand you have to take turns on the 4 wheeler. She's a 4wheeler hog!

Olivia waking up from a nap! Getting ready to take the pacifier away next month. She only has it to sleep so hope it won't be too bad, but it sure is handy in church, long drives, etc. I think we might miss it more!

Kayla Bug

There's just so much goin on that it's hard for me to keep up on this bloggin thing! Let me start by telling you all about my Kayla & her sickness. She had complained off & on for awhile w/ a bellyache, etc & then after starting school she had "attacks" a couple days. Course, being parents, you first wonder if something is going on at school that's bothering her, someone picking on her, etc. She told us over & over again that she LOVES school, has tons of friends, loves her teacher, etc. The pain started to become more and more severe and not leaving when finally last Monday morning I took her in to see Cathy. She related that sometimes it seemed to bother her more after she ate. We did a KUB (regular xray) of her belly & it only showed moderate poop, not severe constipation or gas. Then I took her to have gallbladder U/S & it was negative. That night the pain was so severe she asked me while taking a bath if she was seriously going to die. I decided to go to the Jasper ER right away. That doc thought it was possibly a kidney stone so he did a CT of her abdomen. It showed mesenteric lymphadenitis, negative for appendicitis. It showed several of them to be exact. This is when she picked up a virus & it settled in her lymph nodes of her rt lower quadrant of her belly to be exact! The next morning we decided to go ahead w/ an upper GI. It showed she had mild gastritis so we started giving her a Zantac morning and night. That night, of course, she had another attack so Dr. Clayton worked her in. He did an excellent exam, went over all reports, poked on her and asked lots of questions and said to be assured that it was only mesenteric lymphadenitis. I think it relieved all of us finally to know exactly what was going on w/ her. I thought for sure she was going to end up in surgery but thank the Lord she is back to school this week and doing well. She has had a bad bellyache 2 nights in a row now but if she takes the Zantac and Ibuprofen she seems to do okay. It really bothers her if she eats something spicy so we try to avoid that. That is a hard thing for a kid to do when they love pizza, spaghetti, lasagna, fried stuff, etc.

Thanks to everyone for the calls, prayers, concern, etc for Kayla. We are so very thankful to you all & so glad she's back to being Kayla. I knew she was back when I heard Danielle & her arguing this past weekend:)))

Tomorrow Eric & I are chaperoning Danielle's 2nd grade field trip to the Elnora Antique & Tractor Show so I'll post pics soon I hope! We also have a wedding & reunion this weekend. I'll get better at this blogging stuff hopefully:))

Jamie

Wedding, B-day party & pics!!!

I finally had time to get the girls down to get their pics taken before school started. I love Summer pics when they still have their sunshiney tans! Of course Kayla & Danielle did great, looked beautiful, smiled nice, etc. NOT Olivia Jean! She did okay w/ the ones of them together, but by herself she refused to smile. She did not want to get out of one of those stupid foam seats they sit newborns in & drape a pretty blanket over it. Well, wait til you check out this pic! The photographer finally grabbed the foam chair, sat it on the furry blanket & snapped one! It's crazy---covered in fur & hair, her diaper is sticking out and her head is thrown back. I had to buy it just because it's her & it's memorable for me!!! What a bullhead:) Click HERE to view those pics.

Kayla & Danielle were in my cousin Mary Rehl's wedding this past Sunday. She married Tyler Stoll. They were program & bubble attendants. Click HERE to view the pics! We all had a great time. The girls danced & danced. I noticed the photographer snapping alot of photos on the dance floor & just laughing. When I went to check it out, she was taking pics of Olivia. She would shake her butt & then throw back her head laughing. I actually got one of those pics too. Spoiled rotten! K&D did a great job and we came home w/ extra bubbles:)

I can't believe the weddings we have this year to attend! We also have 2 reunions, hog roast, 3 showers--it's crazy. Plus, dance class will be starting soon for my girls too. I always dread getting started w/ it but they love it so it's worth it. I just hate paying it:)

Will post more later!
Jamie

1st day of school 2009

Well, the time has come around again for school to start which means the end of summer! I really hate it this year. We've had a fun summer. The girls have bickered a little but for the most part they have not hardly fought any & Olivia is at a good age where if we decided to go somewhere we could just pack up & go. This morning I got Kayla & Danielle up at 6:35 a.m. to start getting ready. With a new bus driver we didn't know what to expect as far as what time he'd arrive. Here's the link to the pics: click here I just can't get pics to upload on here hardly anymore! Check them out--my girls are growin up fast!

My Baby is 18 Months!!!

Olivia Jean is 18 months old! That's a year and a half--that's only 6 months til she's 2 years old!! What the heck?! Where did it go? When you're young people tell you that time flies by so quickly and to cherish every moment & I always thought yeah, yeah, whatever, I just want to be a grownup. Well, now I'm the one telling others that. Truly cherish every moment because it is so very true~ time flies so fast it's undescribable.

I decided to list some things that Olivia has accomplished, her likes/dislikes, funny things, etc.
***loves to play w/ her sisters. They have taught her lots of stuff~~some good, some bad:)
***loves animals--ALL animals & can make every animal sound. By the way, did you know a rabbit makes a sound like a tractor? She has taught us that. She feeds the guinea pig for us every night too by sticking carrots in for him to grab.
***knows her body parts by name & will point at them especially her belly:)
***can make a "strong" face & "scary" eyes which she knows will make us laugh & beg for more!
***yells for her sisters all the time. If she is in the van first she'll yell
"Dalla" which means Kayla or DD which means Danielle. She also makes sure to wake them up if she's the first one awake.
***loves to go 4 wheelin & screams & cries if she has to take turns with others! As soon as she hears keys rattle she's putting her shoes on.
***knows who Santa Claus is already thanks to our Holiday World trip & can say "HoHo"
***she's a big meat eater & prefers meat for breakfast, lunch & supper over anything sweet! Loves pizza (especially Fat Boys), spaghetti, hot dogs, sausage links, cheeseburgers & french fries, corn & potatoes.
***attends church every weekend & is pretty good at behaving & being quiet (but not always)
***loves to be outside & the hotter the better for her!!
***has little "obsessions" with things like the snaps in the carts at Wal-Mart which is the same snap that's in her high chair & swing, etc. She'd sit for an hour working the snaps! Also, closes any drawer, cabinet, door, etc that's left open for even a second. She has closed me in the pantry & refridgerator several times. Also, throws trash in the trash can really well at the right times.
***loves shoes & has been putting them on by herself lately. Her favorite is her black crocs & pink shoes.
***loves going places. Would go with anybody anywhere just to be going somewhere. She's great at traveling & loves crowds it seems. She loves to look at people & scream at babies.
***can say most everyone's names & gets so excited when she sees family members or her babysitter Mindy or the kids at Mindy's. Loves to be at Mindy's playing w/ her friends. It's so sweet to watch her.
***has just recently started telling everyone "no" & "bad" which is nothing good but it's funny. I have to turn my head and laugh!
***LOVES her purple blankie & has only missed a couple of nights sleeping with it since she was born. I don't listen to the "experts" that say no blankets in the crib w/ the baby, yadda, yadda! My babies all slept w/ their special blankie & they love them! She still takes a pacifier every now & then but not as often & not at all hardly during the day. Mainly naptime & bedtime but I've noticed her not wanting it lately as much. I have set a goal for October to throw it to the moo cows to have so that's what we're shooting for.

There's tons more I could list but it would probably fill a book so I think I'll stop with that. I still can't believe she's 18 months & the girls start school next week. Time can slow down now--please!!!

Pics of summer.....3 links

We took a week off of work the week of July 20. We spent the night at Santa's Lodge in Santa Claus, played miniature golf at Frosty's, ate at the Brick Oven, visited Santa's Candy Castle & got up the next morning and opened Holiday World up and spent the whole day there. Here are a few pics from our visit. I already posted these pics on Facebook so I'm just going to post the link instead of downloading them onto this blog. (I have dial up at home still, remember?!) You may have to copy & paste it to view...I don't know for sure as I've never done this before!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2013461&id=1272014863&l=676bd492e8

The girls and I also visited my grandma Brown's grave July 16 for her anniversary of her death. It's been 3 years! We always cut fresh zinnias here at home which were her fave & put them on her stone. I think I miss her more & more every day. We still go visit her grave in times of need to pray and reflect and ask for her guidance. My brother did just a few weeks ago in need of help & he got it. Thanks Grandma Brown for always being there for us still!!! Here's a few pics from that day too...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2013005&id=1272014863&l=2f11493601

Today (Sunday Aug 9) we had a GREAT day. Fun in the sun all day long & of course Mom fixed a big lunch fit for a King. Then Olivia,Josh, Dad & Shawn took short naps! Their bellies were a little too full I think. It was sooo very hot that the pool was just perfect. We played ball & just swam. Everyone had a blast & it was good to just laugh & have a worry-free wonderful day! I'm sad the girls are starting school next week so I'm glad today was fun! Here's another link for pics: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2014674&id=1272014863&l=c07d593720

If you can't click the links and view the pics please leave me a comment letting me know! I've never done it this way before but don't have the time to upload them all!
Have a great week!!!!

Jamie

Happy 11th B-day Kayla--late

I always try and post something special along w/old pics of each one of my girls' b-days. Well, with the fair, vacation, etc. I am a little late putting Kayla's on here. Kayla Renee Abel came into this world July 12, 1998 after deciding to break my water in church!!!! They say it's really rare to actually have your bag of water break in public, but mine did!!! We all (me, Eric, mom, dad & Josh) quietly left the pew one by one with everyone knowing what was going on:) I labored for a few hours when they noticed trouble on one of the monitors, actually drew blood from her head while still inside of me for an oxygen count on her & gave me the dreaded news of a c-section! Oh my! I had not prepared for a c-section at all! I had went thru all the birthing classes, breathing, etc. After sobbing for awhile, Dr. Hawkins (he has since moved), calmly told me it was best for the baby & me. Then I was fine! She came out screaming & has been causing drama ever since!!!! Ha. This first picture is me (not looking so wonderful) w/ Kayla right after she was born. I was still coming out of my spinal...
This is Kayla Renee at 2 wks old....


This is Kayla meeting her new sister Danielle for the first time on June 12, 2001 w/ my brother Josh & the nurse trying to explain things to Kayla. She wanted to know why she had pink hair! My brother took over as her protector from there. He's still very watchful over the girls. He stayed with us the whole time when Kayla was born & up to the first week after & also w/ Danielle. He loved being w/ us when they were born. Times I'll never forget.


This is Kayla Bug feeding her 3 day old sister Danielle w/ Josh & me looking on. She always held her forehead back w/ one hand and shoved the bottle in w/ the other.


Kayla Renee's 1st day of the 1st grade! Tiger is in every picture of her 1st day of school for every year--funny!



Kayla holding her baby sister #2 Olivia Jean on February 12, 2008. Her & Danielle both are great big sisters. Somedays I don't know what I'd do without them!

This is Kayla on her actual b-day this year w/ her nail gift certificate:) She's in a wedding August 22nd and wants to make her nails beautiful!

Kayla is my very inquisitive, passionate & dramatic daughter. She is caring, has a tendency to be lazy (like everybody), hates Math, loves babies, loves to eat pizza, spaghetti & cottage cheese. She has always cared an extreme much about what her clothes & hair looks like! She has always matched her clothes to her socks, to her hair thingy, etc. If I want to run on a Saturday morning to the Dollar Store & she wants to go then she has to run back in the house, comb her hair, change her clothes, grab money, etc. She will never leave the house w/o doing all those. Her nickname is "Aunt Jude" by her Dad most times because his Aunt Judy is always late and extremely slow. Anyway, thank you Kayla Bug for making me a Mommy. This is what life is all about. Not money, big houses, nametags on your clothes, but being a parent & watching your daughter mature & blossom into a young lady. I love you forever.

4H Fair 2009

We've been very busy this past week and a half w/ the Martin Co. 4H fair. The girls turned in projects & we had rabbits to show. I'm trying to get caught up so here's a few pics...The first one is Olivia checking on the sheep. It's hard work being a farmer!

Here she's telling the sheep what to do...
Kayla won the Clean Pen Award from Bob & Diane Dages. Bob made her a wooden carrying box, put a big water bottle in, rabbit magazine & really nice feeder. We were all super excited & very appreciative!!!
Kayla auctioning her rabbit Sugar last night....

Ellen & Mike Dant of M&M Trucking purchased Sugar. Here they are together. Of course it's just a donation to the kids so we get to keep the rabbit & the money---nice!
Kayla watching cousin Carter & Olivia play with Sugar.
Seth G. pulling around Olivia & cousin Emma!
Kayla & Danielle posing before the big show....love this pic!
I think this one is my fave though!
Right before the show!
Lindsey L. w/ the girls before the show Sunday.
Lola made it to the finals but was not chosen for anything. That's okay though. We can't get a trophy every year!
Danielle during showmanship. She did great. The judge is wonderful & invited us to his house for workshops.
Danielle w/ her rabbit Bryan & her winnings for showmanship!
Time for the baby show. Pop holiding Olivia w/ Eric.
Eric, Pop w/ Olivia, grandma w/ Danielle. She won 2nd for Prettiest Eyes & nothing for Prettiest Girl because she squawled & bawled the whole time because I took her bag of chips away from her! The girls wanted her in the contest or I wouldn't have even entered her in it since she won last year!
Alot of the grand champions. I loved the display this year. It was the "Year of the Tomatoes".
Danielle's flowers & garden vegetables.

Our Grand Reserve guinea pig! Couldn't believe he got a big award! That's my boy--haha!

Alot Going On..........

It's been so long since I've posted that I don't know where to start!! There's been so much going on that I have to stop & think back to everything. First of all, we've had sickness in our house. Last Wed morning I awoke to the sound of Olivia gagging. I thought she was vomiting, but she was just gagging like she would any minute. I put her in bed w/ me and before you know it we were both covered! I had noticed a couple days prior she had been pulling at her ears really bad & my sitter said she had been really fussy which isn't like her at all. I decided to take her into the clinic where I work & have Cathy look at her. Good thing I did. She had a bilateral ear infection that was really bad. I decided to go ahead w/ the Rocephin shot to help her get better faster & an antibiotic was called in also. That kid will not take any kind of medicine by mouth at all & I'm not exaggerating any. It's like feeding a bull medicine. She has yet to take a full dose of it. Anyway, that night she proceded to get sick again, next day had diarrhea really bad,etc etc. It got passed on down to Kayla, then Danielle, then me & now Eric. I scrubbed this house top to bottom last night so much that my nose and throat were burning from bleach! As soon as I think it's completely gone, it starts over. I'm tired of it. I am really questioning now & wondering if Olivia had rotavirus. Yesterday my sitter called & said she had diarrhea so bad that she had to put her in the tub & that it smelled of rotten eggs. She had to actually scrub the smell off of her. She said she had watched other kids that had that smell and that's what it always was. Could be. I just hope we are all over it now.

Onto better news, the 4H fair starts this week. We've been working our butts off getting our projects ready, preparing the rabbits & helping at the fairgrounds. It takes alot of work & I'm proud of all the kids. We are showing 3 rabbits this year. Kayla is also exhibiting our guinea pig, Bandit! (if she gets a trophy it should belong to me--ha! I take care of him all the time:) Eric & I am working the gate Saturday night from 5-7 which should be hot & busy! Maybe time will pass quickly! Anyway, come out & support the 4H kids & take your kids out to ride the carnival rides, etc. It should be fun for all. A demo derby, tractor pull, all kinds of animals, baby show, etc.

I entered Olivia Jean in the baby show this Sunday @ 7 so of course last night she trips over her blankie (she's Linus) & falls flat on her face. I figured I'd for sure see blood oozing from somewhere but didn't. She cried so hard you could tell it really hurt. This morning she gets up and has a black bruise on her rt cheek! Poor thing. Danielle is beside herself w/ worry that she'll have a black eye for the baby show.

This will be Danielle's first year showing the rabbits & Kayla's 2nd. We are very excited. The rabbit show is this Sunday, July 12, which is also Kayla's 11th b-day. Where in the world has the time gone?? I remember trying to get pregnant w/ her, telling our family & now she's 2 yrs away from being a teenager. What the heck!!

Happy 4th of July too! We celebrated at my uncle Joe's farm. Danielle slipped and fell on the cabin steps in the rain wearing flip flops so I decided to show her up. I slid on the steps also, dropped my good glass cake pan & broke it, sliced my knee open, and had to end up going to Dr. Nonte Monday for a good back adjustment. I felt like I'd been in a car wreck!!!! I must be getting old if I can't handle a fall at my age!!!!!

I'll post pics after the rabbit show!
Jamie

Girls B-day Party

We celebrated Kayla's 11th & Danielle's 8th birthdays this past Saturday at my mom & dad's house & pool. We had a blast. Thank God the weather cooperated and was hot and all the kids were excited to be swimming. At one time all you could see was heads & hardly any water at all:) They decided on a Hawaiian themed party & we decorated the garage a little but it was so humid some of the skirts & stick-ons fell off!
Some of the kids enjoying the pool.

The 3 boys that came were afraid to join in for a little while but after they warmed up they enjoyed the pool.

Fun in the sun!!! See Olivia in the pool in her dress? She just HAD to get in:)

More pics of Olivia being held by Kayla.

K & D w/ their awesome cake made by the best cake maker in the world, Heather Arvin. She accidently made one to feed 80 instead of 50 so we had enough cake left over that we are STILL eating it. I really didn't mind-ha.

Getting ready to blow out their candles while surrounded by some of the friends there.

Opening gifts...

Olivia in my brother's old coupe. He's 22 now!

My mom, MIL Darcus, Shawn W & my bro Josh.

Shawn, Josh & my dad!

Olivia, the boss of the party! She kept all the kids in line!


At this house if you take your cell phone out of your pocket you WILL get thrown in the pool. After Josh threw Taylor Walker in, she was begging Josh to throw her mom Mindy in. He was just pretending like he was going to when Taylor came up from behind and pushed her in!!!!


Taylor hurried up and went over to explain to Mindy that she was the one who really did the dirty deed. Josh has Olivia in this pic.
div>

Here's Mindy w/ Brittany, Taylor, Kendall, Olivia & Josh. We had a great time. I haven't counted how many guests were there yet. Big day but had a blast.