Saturday, February 27, 2010

Church talent show & Odyssey of the Mind

2/24--Today Macella & her friend Sarah sang at the church talent show. Macella sang with the teens at the end of the program. All of the kids were so cute.
Here are some pictures:

2/25 & 2/26--The girls and I got snow days! Even though we had a winter break last week, we were so busy that we started the week exhausted. These two days were such a nice chance to catch up on just plain relaxation.

2/27--Kirstie was in an Odyssey of the Mind competition in Binghamton today. She was on a team of 7 kids. It was an all day event. Kirstie left on a school bus at 7am. We met her there later in the morning. We were excited to see that some Whitney Point teams were there as well. We watched one of Kirstie's friends from WP compete and then she watched Kirstie later. My grandpa and Aunt Joy came to watch as well. While we were waiting for the awards ceremony we went out to eat at Friendly's together. We went back to the ceremony at 5:30. We were able to join our friends from WP, so that was nice. Kirstie's friend won 2nd place and Kirstie's team won 3rd place in their division. We made it home around 8pm. What a long day!
We forgot our camera, so below are some pictures from Joy's phone:

Sunday, February 21, 2010

February 2010 trip to NYC

Due to Maria's appointment during our winter break we took an extra day in NYC, so the kids could have some fun on their time away from school.

Wed. 2/17--We left for NYC at 6am because Gary had to work in the city. When we reached the hotel Macella did homework, I worked on paperwork, and Gary went into the city to work. Maria was not feeling well, so she slept most of the day and Kirstie watched a lot of tv. When Gary returned from work he took Macella & Kirstie swimming while I watched Maria in the room.

Thurs. 2/18--We took the kids to Dave & Buster's (it's kind of like Chuck E Cheese). We had some very good food and had a great time! Then the girls went swimming again.
Pictures from today below:

Fri. 2/19--Today we walked from the bus station to the doctor's. The girls chose to save the cab fare for ice cream instead:) It was a cold walk, so I'm not sure why we wanted to eat ice cream, but we did! Maria immediately became upset when we walked into the Audiologist's office. She clung to me like her life depended on it. Her audiologist said that Maria had met her volume limit. She changed some things and made her four new programs. The programs are now based on her environmental conditions instead of gradually getting louder each time. She has a program for regular everyday, for speech therapy, for music, and for loud environments. After the appointment we walked a very long ways to get ice cream. It was our lunch!
Pictures from today below:

2/20--Today we traveled home and caught up on laundry and cleaning because tomorrow is another busy day!

2/21--Today we visited our home church in WP. It is always such a blessing to see old friends who continue to keep our family in their hearts. Then we went to Bob and Brooke's for Bob's 82nd birthday party. The girls really enjoy getting together with their cousins. What a wonderful way to end our winter break.
Pictures from today below:

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Valentine's Day & Chinese New Year!

Today we celebrated Valentine's Day and Chinese New Year together. It was quite fun to have Valentine and Chinese decorations mixed together! The girls looked so cute in their outfits from China. We had a nice big family dinner together. Gary did a great job on the turkey!
Pictures of our celebration below:

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Talent show, ENT, & family visits

2/9--Kirstie sang with a friend at the talent show in her school. They sang "One and the Same." Kirstie also sang a solo, "Draw Me Nearer." She is such a good girl.
Pics below:

2/11--Today Maria had a follow-up ENT appointment. It was a follow-up from when she had tubes put in her ears. He said everything looked good. Even though her ears look good she is having a very difficult time with her devices. She is constantly scratching her face and pulling her hair. She has scabs all over her forehead from her agitation. Please pray that she will be able to handle the noise soon.

2/13--We visited lots of family today. We started with grandma at Cortland Rehab. Then we visited Shirley and some of the kids. Then grandpa at home. Then Bob and Brooke. It made for a busy, but wonderful day.
Pics below:

Monday, February 8, 2010

Marsha's bday and the Superbowl

2/6--Today Gary took me out to Friendly's and the movies for my birthday. Then we came home and watched a movie with the girls. It was a nice restful day.

2/7--Today we went to church and had a nice relaxing day. The girls enjoyed having me open my gifts. They are so sweet. We went to the Proper's for most of the Superbowl. We all a good time. The kids enjoyed being with some new friends.

2/8--We got to eat my birthday cake!
Enjoy some pics from the whole weekend below:

Friday, February 5, 2010

February looks like another busy month!

2/2--Gary met with Macella's guidance counselor today. She signed up for courses for 9th grade. Due to her grades she will be taking quite a few 10th grade courses. She will take 9th & 10th grade English, 10th grade math, and 10th grade Spanish, gym, computer course and band. She doesn't have to take 9th grade Social Studies because she will be taking an honors Social Studies when she gets in 10th grade that covers both grades. It seems she is growing up way too fast!

2/5--Today Maria got her 1st haircut! Her hair was able to be evened up, but because it hasn't gotten long enough she still needs to have it put up in high pony tails. She's starting to look more like a little girl rather than a toddler:)