Indoor soccer

Another indoor soccer loss tonight, 3-7. We played the team that we previously lost 0-8 to so I guess we are doing better. They actually looked pretty good in the first half. At half-time is was 2-3. I guess we can't expect much when they really aren't practicing at all right now... just getting together for 1 hour to play. Indoor is very different from soccer outside. Madison got kicked in the ankle, to the side of her shin guard. She came home and put ice on it. She'll probably have a nice bruise. We've sure had lots of lessons in losing and how to be good sports about it all I guess.... (sigh).

Earthquake in the midwest?

Quinn ran into my bedroom the other night with this half-scared-to-death look on his face. "Something" was so loud and it vibrated the house so bad that it knocked some books off of his book shelf. ...The washing machine! OK, time to wave the white flag. We've put up with some abnormal vibration for some time now but why wait until the foundation of our house actually cracks right? Well, you see... we have Maytags. When we bought them, we felt like we were buying the best and expected to have them for decades, 3 to be exact. After all my mom and dad had their Maytag set for 30 years. Ours are still a young 14, so it can't be that bad right? Wrong. The look on the repair man's face was almost as bad as hearing that the school nurse was on the phone... "you're better off replacing it." After the initial shock and hearing myself sputtering something like... "30 years" and "14 years" and "You're telling me....?!" I've finally accepted the news. Old faithful needs to be buried. We've never had a problem with it in all 14 years but 7000+ (literally) loads later, we are told it's time to say good-bye.

Now, you might be thinking "what's the big deal?" However, those of you who know me well know that decisions like buying a major appliance (or a small camera... not to mention the agony of even bigger purchases) are HUGE to us!! We have to read all the Consumer Reports, read all the on-line reviews, compare stores for prices, talk to the sales people, our friends, our family and then go back to the Consumer Reports and start the process over again. We feel like somehow we are going to get ripped off in the end and spend too much money for a product that isn't worth it and make a bad decision.

Anyway, we've started the process. Does anyone have any suggestions?

I made a promise to Quinn.... no more late night laundry and so therefore, no more earthquakes either.

BTW... According to the Lowe's lady, most washing machines are made to last only EIGHT years now. Pathetic. (Insert big sigh)

2W, 2L

Four basketball games today! Quinn had CDBL and Upward and netted the wins. He does a good job of including others in his game. Some boys~ you know if they get the ball they are going to dribble and there will be a shot, no matter what. Quinn does a good job of passing the ball around. Today he tried so hard to get the ball to Tate, who hasn't scored this year (OK, may be he scored once?). Tate is a cutie. He would just pass the ball back to Quinn or another boy.

Madison's Sports Center team debuted today. They are the "Hot Dawgs" and in smaller print it says "Try to ketchup." They lost the first game 5-36 and the second game 10-26. Ouch. Actually it's about what we expected. The teams playing at the Sports Center come from all over. These teams are put together and coached by individuals (not a school or community based group). Today's teams were from South Bend and one from Wawasee... both about 45 minutes away. The teams that play here are for the girls who are "serious" about their sport. We knew that if we wanted our daughters to improve in this sport, they needed to play against players better than themselves. The elementary ball just didn't cut it. I'm excited to watch how they will improve. The girls said they had fun playing... Kiley even told me that it was "awesome"... so I guess we have a team with excellent sportsmanship. Ha!


Look at how much bigger the girl is that is guarding Madison (#2)!!

A special thanks to Nancy all the way in Kansas City who helped me with my header. I love you Nan! Wish you were here to help with this basketball team!

Playing Jocker with a puppy around

The kids and I played Jocker tonight. Cocoa felt left out because she had to be in her kennel. She would have those cards scattered all over and chewed them up if we let her out. Madison pulled her kennel right up to our game so she could be involved. I guess it did help. The pathetic whining and sad looks stopped. What has life come to??? : )

6 things that made me smile today...

1. Quinn woke me up by cuddling up to me and saying, "I think I would like a pancake today for breakfast because yours are the best!" He later added that my pancakes are "spectacular" and "awesome" and "spectacularly-awesome". I'll share my secret recipe with you another day.


2. Hearing Quinn's voice on WFRN after he called to request "Made to Love You" by Toby Mac. He was so nervous and told me, "I'm too shy... you do it!" It was his idea to call in and request a song so I refused. He finally decided to do it and did a good job! The DJ said, "I bet you're the one who rolls his window down and hangs your head out when this song comes on right?" Quinn said, "Yep"... ha! He loves this song!


3. Hearing Madison say that Abby's professor counted her as a student during his attendance taking this morning. Ha! She loved her time on campus. They stayed up until 1am watching movies and talking. She enjoyed campus and the information about Martin Luther King, Jr. today during chapel. She's tired but would go back in a second. Guess where she wants to go to college now?


4. Getting to take a 1/2 hour nap during the middle of the day. LOVE IT!

5. Watching Madison pick up Cocoa and love her, kiss her, hug her and tell her how much she loves her. Madison told me yesterday afternoon before dropping her off with Abby, "I'm sorry Mom, but I think I'm going to miss Cocoa more than you tonight." Move over Mom!!


6. Tony's "help" started today!!!!! "Help" has a name... Beverly; like Quinn proclaimed today at lunch, "This lady is going to change our lives!" Ha! I asked him what he meant and he said that this means Dad won't have to be at work so much!

Madison is off to college!

Abby invited Madison to come and stay overnight with her in the dorm at Bethel College. She was so excited about it!! That was so nice of Abby to invite her. Madison doesn't have school tomorrow and so she is going to go to Abby's first two classes with her at 8 and 9 and then to chapel at 10. I'll pick her up around 11am. They had plans of playing games and watching a DVD tonight. Abby has one roommate but used to have two so there is even an extra bed. I can't wait to hear about their adventures tomorrow!

CDBL Winners, 30-28

Quinn had basketball from 8-10 this morning. They played a game from 9-10 and we won a close one by 2 points. Quinn had some nice passes, an assist and 8 points.

Upward BB: Sooners 30-17

Today was the opening day for Upward Basketball. It was different without Madison playing in this league this year. She played for 4 years and will play at the Sports Center this year. Quinn's game was at noon. Tony is coaching and Quinn and Nate are on the same team. They had fun and their team looked really pretty good. Better than his CDBL team from this morning. After each game they receive a special colored star which will be ironed on to their t-shirts. Tony gives a different colored star to each player after the game. They sit in a circle and he tells the player things they did well and why they earned their colored star. Upward is big on "Everyone is a winner" and so this is one way to build up self-esteem with an adult complimenting them in front of their peers. Quinn was awarded the gold star today which is for good sportsmanship. He gave high-fives to his team mates after they scored, passed the ball well and encouraged other boys to shoot the ball... not always calling for the ball (which is what they often still do at this age). The players will get green stars to iron-on if they repeat their Bible verse. LOVE this program!!!!

Our team is the Sooners... there actually is a Hawkeye team and Quinn is all worried about playing the Hawkeyes already! Ha!

In other news, Cocoa went to the vet today for another routine check-up. She gained 2 1/2 pounds in 2 weeks! The doctor made several comments about how easy she seems to handle and what a happy puppy she looks to be, what a nice coat she has. It made her mommy (Madison) smile! She got vaccinated today for... something... can't remember. Ha! Can't remember the non-human names for vaccines I guess.

Notice Madison's sleeve in the picture above. It has some of her Upward stars on it from last year. I love how she doesn't mind wearing her Christianity on her sleeve. She said she told her whole class that her favorite Christmas gifts this year were her new puppy and her new Bible that has a nice carrying case too.

OK, that's all for tonight. Madison is making a recipe from her Cooking with Kids cookbook. I better go and check it out.

Love, Leah

Indoor Soccer

Madison had an indoor soccer game tonight. We have a nice indoor facility close by. She is playing with her Flames team. They lost, 1-3, but she played very well defensively and she felt good about it. Indoor is very different from outdoor soccer. They use the walls to their advantage and the ball has a much bigger bounce. They haven't been practicing for indoor soccer so I think they did a really good job. Last week was their first game and we lost 0-8. Much better tonight! They play 6 games, mostly on Wednesday nights.

Our entertainment

Addi had a special request today... "Can you update your blog tonight?... because it's been like 2-3 days now." Ha! I said that there wasn't really anything to talk about so I'll just post pictures of Cocoa. She bought in so here you go. Most of these pictures are of her when she is sleeping... because when she is awake she basically doesn't hold still long enough to have her picture taken.

She's been a lot of fun. We've had her 2 weeks now. We are learning her personality. She's very sweet and also playful as I imagine most pups are. She enjoys tearing around the circle with an off-limits item in her mouth, taunting us to catch her! The house training has good days and not-so-good days. Overall I think she is doing as well as can be expected for a pup. The kids just drip all over her... especially Madison. She is so good with her. They will be such good buds as they grow up together now. They both tell her how they love her so much and give her hugs and kisses. She isn't short on love I'll tell you. Tony thinks he is her favorite because he gets her out of her kennel late at night to play with her.

Anyway Addi, you've had something to read now. Post some more pictures of McGraw when you get a chance. She just adopted a sweet kitten and she named him after Oprah's star: DR. PHIL (McGraw)!!!! OK, just kidding, she named him after Tim McGraw... I guess he's some country singer or something. ; )

Good-night!

PS... the green patch blanket is straight from Goodwill...for like $2. It's a lap-blanket size which means it probably was used for someone in a wheelchair or someone who was sitting down most of the time. We thought it was perfect for a puppy and Madison liked the Concord colors as well. : )

CDBL Basketball

Happy Saturday! Today Quinn had his CDBL (Concord Developmental Basketball League) from 8-10am. They played a game from 9-10. His team won today, 17-8. He scored 9 points. It's fun to watch.

Quinn went to Nathan S.'s birthday party today... a football party. He wore his Vikings jersey. They went bowling and he had a good time. Madison is at Mackenzie H.'s (from Flames Soccer) birthday party tonight. She invited a couple of girls to go ice skating and then she is staying overnight. I wish I could see her ice skating... and I hope she doesn't break anything! She'll probably be extra tired tomorrow in church.

Tony worked until 11pm last night and so is taking today "off"... he has gotten a few things done around the house and is spending time working in his office tonight. We have a congregational meeting tomorrow after church so he is putting together his last financial report. (!)

I've done a little running kids around today, laundry, made homemade pizza, watched Cocoa and even snuck in a short nap. Madison and I tried to do a craft project today... we tried putting "rub-on transfers" onto a jar to make a treat jar for Cocoa but for some reason we can't get them to transfer. We are following the simple directions so may be the transfer is defective. I don't know. Nothing is ever easy.

Well, that was our day. Hope you've had a good day too.
Love, Leah



Using his "bad hand" as he calls it...

Quinn making a free throw.

Look at that form!

The good, the bad, and the ugly...

The good news is that Addi's 92 year old boyfriend played 2 songs on his harmonica for us today... because I gave him samples of medicine. He played my request of Amazing Grace and then a song called, "When are you too Old to Dream?" or something like that. How sweet is that? He's been playing since he was a kid. That's a mighty long time.

The bad news is that one of my patients I've had for 6 years now was diagnosed with a brain tumor today and was transferred to a hospital in Fort Wayne for possible surgery/chemo/radiation. His horrible headache was my challenge to control over the last 24 hours and basically has been in excruciating pain. Poor prognosis is my guess. I keep thinking about him today. So sad, only in his 50's... very hard working guy, super nice.

The ugly news is that I spent about 3 hours cleaning up water in our basement tonight because our sump pump's float isn't working (as diagnosed by Dr. Ed V.) and we've had tons of snow/rain and the ground is saturated with standing water. Cocoa had potty and poo accidents, Madison had trouble with wheezing/chest pain and needed inhaler treatment. Tony picked a good time to be out of town for work huh?

My back aches and I'm going to bed!

Monday morning...

Today my day started out by finding flowers and a really nice card on my desk... which I quickly discovered was from a very challenging patient whom Addi snuck onto my schedule as the first patient on a Monday morning after a holiday week when Dr. Poovendran is gone. You get the idea? Ok, may be it was Randa. Neither one will probably ever admit to it. I've told my family some general information about this patient before... like the first several visits he would give me a hug at the end, because he is so appreciative of my care. That's OK the very first time, may be... but after each visit? No. So I've found creative ways to avoid that. Even Tony was trying to give me pointers about how to get a handshake instead. It's weird. He comes with his wife and she's with him the whole time. They are my age or younger. He's had the run around at many an office and he truly does appreciate my care... but please don't keep hugging me. So I was telling Madison about the flowers and card and she asked me, "What's next?... a heart shaped box of chocolate with 'I love you' on the box, next to a teddy bear?" Boy she loved teasing me about this let me tell you.

Speaking of boyfriends, I'm going to see Addi's boyfriend tomorrow. That's how she refers to him. He's about 99 years old give-or-take-a-year and just as cute as can be. He can't remember a thing. He was supposed to call me back with a doseage of medication and he called back and left this essay long list about the Tylenol and Advil he takes. ha!

She at least got the cute one.

: )

Christmas break...

...officially has come to an end. We played a lot of games over the last 2 weeks. Lately we've been playing Jocker (aka Golf) with cards at home and tonight we even got in a game of Scrabble. Madison won big time by getting to play her Z and Q letters. The kids aren't really looking forward to going back to school yet. I'm not looking forward to helping with the homework again. It's been a great break for them. They both had these vague stomach complaints today, which is translated by this NP as not wanting to go back to school tomorrow! They'll be fine once they get there. Routine is good for you but a break from it is also refreshing. My day tomorrow promises to be busy. You all know how I love Mondays. Dr. P is still on vacation (2 1/2 weeks) so I'll be extra busy. That's OK... my day will go fast! : )

With warm holiday memories,
Love, Leah

A few of my favorite things...

A while back someone challenged me to do a post on "A few of my favorite things," so here goes.



Center: This is a cross stitched picture that I made the first year we were married. I loved the saying on it and still do... "I hear footsteps down the hall, you are home again and safe, all the burdens of the day are lightened, and all the night noises are music to my ears." Tony was working in public accounting then and was getting home very late at night. Who would have guessed that this saying is still applicable 17 years later. And yes, I still have this picture hanging up.

11am: This is a set of bowls that Amy gave me. I love them! They have a rubber-type of "waistband" and fold flat for storage. The best part though is that you can wash them while flat in the dishwasher and they still get clean. You know how your mixing bowls hog all the space in the dishwasher? Not any more! Love 'em!

Noon: My mom embroidered these pillowcases for me for Christmas this year. One reason they are so special is because she is not a crafty person... and she would be the first person to tell you this... and I don't think she's ever embroidered before (at least I can't remember it!). It took an extra special effort to get this gift to come together. She told me these pillowcases have been prayed over and that is perhaps the best gift of all. Look at how well they match my comforter. Thanks Mom!

1pm: This should make you laugh. This symbolizes both my BED and the HEATED mattress pad we got this winter! Ha! Tony tells me sometimes that I love my bed more than him. That's not true of course but I do love it an awful lot. I love to sleep. Last Spring we got a new bed and after we went from a warm water bed we noticed the shock of cold sheets every night. He came home with the heated mattress pad one night and now I love my bed even more!

3pm: A picture that Archie sketched of Madison, Quinn and Jade. Isn't it beautiful? What a gift he has! Such an awesome way to capture a moment in time of their childhoods. Already they look so different. I have this framed and on our fireplace mantel. I love it.so.much.

5pm: This little statue was given to me by my mom after we had to make some really, really tough decisions about where to send Quinn for childcare/school for his kindergarten year. This little figurine can still make me cry if I let it! It is such a reminder of God's care during a rough time in life.

6pm: I have a few Precious Moments figurines that have always been special too. (I really am not much of a nick-knack person but I guess that's pretty much what these last two things are... I'm surprising myself...anyway...) Tony gave this to me on our first anniversary. We were pretty strapped for money at that time and this was quite the splurge and yes, it made me cry then. It doesn't have that control over me now but I still like it enough not to put it away.

7pm: This picture is a little hard to see. It's of Jenna, my Grandma and Madison as they celebrated their birthdays together. The little girls were celebrating their 8th and my grandma was celebrating her 90th. They had a Kim Possible party and wore party-hats, the whole thing. It was great fun and I'm so glad my kids have the blessing of knowing their great-grandmother.

9pm: Last but not least... I know I really should move these pictures, hang them upstairs or something... but I just love them as they preserve a snapshot in time when the kids were each 6months old. I loved the baby stages. Yes, I do have plans to move them upstairs... some day.

Putting together this post made me realize that most of these favorites are actually favorites because of the memories attached to them. I could come up with a bunch more but didn't really want to spend all day on this little project either.

So there you have it. Now just imagine Julie Andrews singing, "These are a few of my favorite things!"

How it all happened...

A lot of you have asked how the kids acted when they found out we were getting a dog... something they've asked regularly for for at least 2 years (especially Madison). I thought I would just post the pictures so you could see for yourself. One of these days when I figure out the video stuff you can see the short clip. I can't wait to look at it again myself. Here goes...

They know they are getting the same gift... but have no idea what it is!

Madison has this look of shock as her gift of dog treats and dog toys is processed. Quinn told me later that he was wondering why we gave him dog treats for Duchess... hmmm...he was thinking "that's weird."

Madison quickly fills Quinn in and he "gets it!" There was suddenly a lot of screaming and yelling.

They quickly dashed out of the picture! Quinn ran around the circle several times. Madison came and gave us big hugs. They couldn't believe it... they were seriously going to get a dog!

Madison right before she gave me the first of multiple big hugs!

Soon to take home the "best Christmas present ever!"

Happy New Year!

Today we spent the day at home with a near perfect day. The kids played in the huge amount of snow we've gotten. Tony helped them make an "igloo" which even has a "door" to keep them warm inside. We watched plenty of college football. We also made countless trips outside with Cocoa to keep up the house training. At first I wondered how this was going to go with all of the snow but Tony dug a path out for us and it actually went just fine....it's pretty chilly to go outside every hour but Madison did most of it today. Terry, Karla, Katie & Nathan stopped by for a bit this evening. They ended up taking Madison and Quinn home with them to stay overnight. They were already planning on spending the day with them tomorrow. I told them that will probably be the last time they stop by... they picked up 2 unexpected kids in the process! ha!

Enjoy the pictures. The picture in the top left is of our neighbor's house across the street. Everything looked so pretty with all the snow.