Consequences

 I want you to meet a very special girl.  Her name is Annie.  She was born to two Chinese parents living/working in the US.  Her birth parents admitted that if they knew she had Downs Syndrome they would have aborted her.  They also admitted that if they had known two days after she was born they wouldn't have consented to life saving measures.  They wished her dead because by their estimation, she is damaged goods, less than perfect. They love her, but believe that living with Downs Syndrome would be a burden to Annie and therefore aborting her would have been an act of mercy. They weren't equipped to raise her and by the grace of God, they put her up for adoption.

Unless you live in more of a bubble than I do, you probably have been exposed to more than your fair share of discussions focused on "women's health" or more specifically, the right for women to choose to kill their babies. Yes, I'm not denying that there are lots of unwanted pregnancies in this country, but I refuse to believe there are unwanted babies.  Just ask my friend, Nora and her family.

In paragraph 222 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (A written publication of the Church's faith and Catholic doctrine) states Believing in God, the only One, and loving him with all our being has enormous consequences for our whole life. If adopting a baby (to total 7 children in number) doesn't scream of faith, then I don't know what does.  These last 6 weeks I've been blessed to watch my friend and her family go through the process of adopting this sweet baby girl, Annie.  My friend, Nora, felt God calling her to adoption and as God does, he worked on her husband and now they have added this little cutie to their family.

I find that my faith has always been encouraged when I am able to see God working in the lives of others.  It's the most beautiful thing to watch God's plan unfold before your very eyes in a sequence of events that are far too perfect to be "coincidence".  I love that Nora and her husband let their faith have enormous consequences on their life.  I love that when I went to see Annie for the first time that every.single.kid. came up and asked when Annie was going to get up from her nap in a span of 15 minutes.  This will be one loved little girl!

Mother Teresa said:

"Motherhood is the gift of God to women.  How grateful we must be to God for this wonderful gift that brings such great joy to the whole world, women and men alike!  Yet we can destroy this gift of motherhood, especially by the evil of abortion, but also by thinking that other things like jobs or positions are more important than loving, than giving oneself to others.  No jobs, no plans, no possessions, no idea of "freedom" can take the place of love.  So anything that destroys God's gift of motherhood destroys His most precious gift to women: the ability to love as a woman.  "

I know you probably don't know my friend and her family, but I just thought you might be blessed to hear how one regular family (well I guess I'm lying because they are pretty special) went out on a limb to be the hands and feet of Jesus. I can't imagine this baby being put to death anymore than I can imagine not waking up tomorrow. Please join me in living courageously and speaking out for those that have no voice. Annie can't speak yet and when she can, she won't be aware how she was saved so that we might be encouraged by her life and that of her parents.  Congratulations to the "B" family!

Smelling Like the Zoo

 "Good morning to you, you smell like the zoo, good morning dear Nashy Boy, good morning to you."

Nearly everyday starts off with me serenading Nash with that little ditty about the zoo, but last Wednesday we actually took a trip to the zoo.  The weather has been pretty darn awesome around these parts so we've been spending lots of time soaking up the sun before it disappears until the middle of March. 

 We have a standing list of the animals we typically see every time we visit the zoo, but we got crazy and deviated from that list.  Look out, the Glaser's are getting CRAZY!  We went into this outdoor enclosure that holds Lorikeets or pretty, friendly birds for you lay people.  You can feed them if you want to pay a dollar, but we just decided we would hang out and see how things went.  We didn't have to hang out for long before we had company.  Mark has had a prior experience with these birds so he knew what to expect.  I, on the other hand, did not. 

 I was standing there enjoying snapping pictures of the birds climbing on Mark when suddenly the tables turned.  I soon found myself trying not to hyperventilate when a bird flew on my shoulder. I was internally freaking out all the while staying cool as a cucumber because I wanted to be a good roll model for the kids.  If my camera strap slung over my shoulder didn't have a bird sitting on it, Mark would have taken a picture.  I was hanging on by a tread with one bird on my shoulder, so you could  imagine what happened when 2 more birds came to join the first.  Yes, I almost let out a blood curdling scream and peed my pants.  I resisted the urge to go crazy and found my voice when one of the zoo volunteers asked if I'd like her to remove the birds from me.  Yes, please!  Luke got bird poop in his hair and I decided that for my mental health I should probably stay away from the Lorikeets next time.

 The Cincinnati Zoo is really amazing.  They keep improving it every year and I'm always so impressed with how they are able to replicate a natural habitat in an unnatural setting like a zoo.  One thing that's not new at our zoo is the tulips that bloom every spring.  They are planted in large quantities in the fall and in the spring the effect is breathtaking.  Tons of workers and volunteers were working their rear ends off planting thousands of bulbs. It's fun to see.

 These crazy monkeys (which I think are really Gibbons) were making the most obnoxious sounds, so of course, we had to go see them.  Imagine kids fighting "No it's mine...No, mine!...He touched me!...No, I didn't..." That's what the communication passing back and forth between these two sounded like times ten.  It was either a really big disagreement or they were getting ready to mate.  Whatever the occasion, they were fired up.  Can you see the skin under their chins all puffed out? 

 One of the new zoo exhibits that opened this year was for the big cats.  It's really nice with an outside enclosure for the tigers.  There was only a thick piece of glass keeping this tiger from eating us.  It was pretty awesome!

 The pilot took a picture of his wife.

 Nashy Boy loved the zoo.  We took the double jogging stroller, but he would have been much more content in the backpack carrier.  Lesson learned.  He's totally addicted to his pacifier.  More on that another day.

 I asked Brooke to pose for me and then...

Believe it or not, Luke actually requested I take this picture.  His smile is so unnatural you'd think I forced him.  I don't anymore because I'm tired of pictures that end up like this.  Our nice weather days are numbered so I can't imagine we'll be back to the zoo until Christmas when they have it all light up.  That will be here before we know it!

It's Good to be Eight

 For the last 2 years Brooke has been talking about horses.  She's wanted to take riding lessons for almost that long too.  Mark and I were reluctant to oblige her horse fantasy because it was difficult for Brooke just to deal with everyday stuff. We figured it was best to wait until she was more mature and could show us she can navigate life being flexible, helpful and obedient. I refused to fight with her to get her some place for her recreation. Tough love.

 It seems in the last 3 months Brooke has really grown up.  She is doing what's asked of her even when she doesn't want to which is an amazing improvement in her behavior.  If she didn't throw herself on the floor on occasion, flapping her arms up and down simultaneously, I would hardly know that tall, slim blond girl is my daughter. 

We really hadn't talked about allowing her to take riding lessons until two weeks before her birthday.  Everyone was asking what she'd like for her birthday and Brooke herself couldn't think of anything and what kept coming to mind is that she doesn't want things, she wants lessons.  Riding lessons, art lessons, and knitting lessons to name a few. 

Brooke's tutor from our home school group has a daughter that rides and one day we got onto the subject of horses after one of Brooke's many presentations involving horses.  I wanted to know where she rode, the instructor and the cost.  What I heard sounded reasonable, so the next week we went to check out Apple Creek Stables and to watch a lesson.  Brooke was under the assumption that we were invited to watch a riding lesson simply because Brooke was interested in horses.  It wasn't until we talked with the instructor did Brooke look at me with a gaping mouth and asked if she was going to get lessons.  I told her we were thinking about it and that we'd let her know on her birthday.  On the way home Brooke wanted to know on a scale of 1 to 10 how certain we were that she would be able to take lessons.  I told her about a 7.  She waited 4 long days to hear the verdict and she has been over the moon ever since.

Mark's parents were so sweet to purchase Brooke's riding helmet for her birthday.  My mother-in-law, Brooke and I took a field trip to a local tack shop recently and we had the best time browsing at the endless horse paraphernalia.  Brooke wondered what Mark would say if we came home with a horse and a trailer that day. :)  Not only did Brooke get her riding hat, but I splurged on a pair of riding pants.  I am kicking myself for not getting a close up of the pants (I had all the kids with me and Nash on my back!) because they are the most adorable pants with hot pink stitching and pink horse shoes on the back pockets.  She looks like a little rider!

Today was her highly anticipated first lesson.  The farm is only about 15 minutes from our house so it's really convenient.  In all honesty, I would probably drive to Timbuktu to be around horses.  Hello!  The photo opportunities are endless. I would say the next best thing to riding is taking photos of horses.  Maybe someday when we hit the jackpot I'll take lessons again too.

 Brooke was a good student and she exceeded her instructor Kevin's expectations because she has some horse sense from all her reading.  She helped groom, tack the horse (his name was Eli and he was an old man at 24 years old) and did some exercises on the lunge line (that blue rope attached to the bridle).  She learned to stop, go and turn.  Luke and Stella waited and watched patiently from the sidelines. Nash, not so much.

Brooke was so happy today and I'm grateful that we are able to give her this opportunity.  My parents indulged my horse fantasy which brought me years of enjoyment and I am happy to be able to do the same for Brooke.  The countdown is on until next Friday when she has her next lesson.  I'll keep you posted.  :)

Stricker's Grove

 I mentioned a while ago that we are playing the "Yes, Mom!" game at our house .  Our basic attempt to encourage obedience by earning tickets is improving our family life with leaps and bounds.  So far the kids have worked at collecting enough tickets to go to Parky's Farm, Pump it Up! (inflatable heaven for kids), and last but not least, Stricker's Grove.  We're trying to figure out our next celebration to work towards.  Suggestions welcomed!  :)

Stricker's Grove is a tiny, family friendly amusement park by my parents' house that usually hosts company picnics and such.  Four times a year they open it to the public and leave it to my husband to figure that out and plan our family celebration.  It was simple, inexpensive, and just the right place for a Sunday afternoon of family fun.

 We invited along our friends (Luke's previous Sunday school teacher and her daughter) to enjoy a day out with us.  We kicked it off with free snow cones and Skee ball. I forgot how much I used to love Skee Ball!  Can you say addicting?  It's a good thing it was only 25 cents per game.  The kids earned some prizes and the parents relived the old days.

 Anna and Stella are both 4 so they were perfect riding companions.  Anna told her mom that "Stella was a gift from God".  How sweet is that??!!

 Cathy and Anna

 The kids were excited to find that Disney World in Orlando isn't the only place with the Dumbo ride.  For all you parents who've waited in that painfully long line for the sake of your children's happiness, Dumbo redeemed himself at Stricker's Grove.  No wait, no problem.  :)

 Luke was in heaven because he was tall enough to ride all but one ride.  He missed out on riding the Ferris wheel at our church festival, so Mark very kindly rode with him even though he's afraid of heights. Everyone lived.

 What originally drew Mark to this park was the fact that it has a real, fun sized wooden roller coaster.  The guy who owns the park bought the plans for the track and built it himself.  That's a comforting thought, isn't it?  I took comfort in knowing that there are regulations and inspections for things like that.  It's called the Tornado and it's really a lot of fun.

 The kids played mini golf.  As you can see in Stella's form, they weren't very good at it, but they had so much fun without keeping score.  It's a good thing because I probably couldn't have added numbers that big.

Where did it go?  The day was perfect and so much more fun since we dropped Nashy Boy off at my parents on our way.  We were concerned because the weather forecast wasn't in our favor, but it turned out to just be a little windy and a few rain drops fell on occasion.  Will we definitely be going again next year?  Yes, mom! :)

Just Add Water

 On Friday I was tidying up in our bedroom when I realized Nash was way too quite and probably up to no good.  Upon further investigation, I almost peed my pants when I found him sitting in Mark's sink brushing his teeth with Stella's toothbrush and his own.  He climbed up using the stool I sit on to get ready in the morning and made himself quite at home.  When I called everyone to check the situation out, he gave us this look as if to say, What?  I'm just brushing my teeth.  He did not understand what all the fuss was about.

He's so adorable that I don't want him to grow up, ever. :)

Picky Peggy

 As you can tell I am mildly photo obsessed.  I sometimes catch myself thinking that whatever situation I'm observing would make a really beautiful photo.  I've learned a lot photographing families in the last year (but I won't go so far to call myself an expert by any means. There's still so much to learn!) so I would say that my standards are pretty high when it comes to the type of family photos I desire for our family.

I was so excited that I had booked a session with a photographer named Arielle located by our old house in KY.  She's young and takes (in my opinion!) some of the most beautiful photographs I've ever seen.  Her images always have beautiful lighting and a classy, country, peaceful feel to them.  To say I was looking forward to our session at a local farm/orchard was an understatement. 

Key the doom and gloom music...Unfortunately, Mark's work schedule didn't cooperate so the photo shoot never happened.  What's hard about being a pilot's wife is that planning something more than a month ahead of time is almost impossible.  Needless to say, I tried to reschedule but all the other sessions Mark was available for, she was already booked.  Next year if Mark's schedule and photographer extraordinaire's don't jive, he may have to miss our family photos. :)

 Mark and I always joke about the pilot scheduler at his first job that told him while we were in the final days before our wedding, that he's going to have to miss some important days in his life and he better get used to it.  Our wedding? Really??!!  So next to a wedding, I guess family portraits would seem like no big deal.  Actually, Mark might prefer that.  Right, honey?

Knowing how important our family photos are Mark suggested plan B which included hiring a Bowling Green photography student we know named Jessie.  She is a sweet, sweet girl that's kind to children and polite to adults.  She's photographed weddings in her brief career and I am sure will graduate and go on to capture beautiful images wherever she goes.  The bottom line is she was so patient and worked really hard, but the photos weren't Arielle's.  I hate to be so critical like that, but it's hard to quiet the ideas I had in my mind already.  I am picky and that's all there is to it.  Jessie, if you stumble upon this, I don't mean to hurt your feelings.  Honestly.

 

I really shouldn't apologize because finding a photographer that suites your style really is as important as making sure they have the skills to capture nice images.  To each their own.  I realize that my photos might not be for everyone and that's okay.  You know what speaks to your heart.  These photos while sweet, don't speak to my heart.  Lord willing and the crick don't rise, we'll have those next year. :)

 



 The kids were fairly willing subjects, especially Brooke.  She's used to this song and dance and I think she thought it was fun to pose for someone else.

 Sister Sue was silly.

 Nashy Boy was a ham...when he'd be still long enough to get a descent shot.  Family portrait sessions are a lot like herding cats.

 Getting a real smile out of Luke and capturing it before he locks back up is like finding a needle in a haystack.  He's a willing participant, but his facial expressions aren't always that pleasing.  I think this is pretty darn close.  Handsome little thing!

 Love this one!

 Cute idea, but I'm not loving my backside so much.  Good thing I drew attention to it!  :)

 If I don't squeeze Nash to death out of my love and affection for this cutie, he might live to see two. How adorable is this??!!  It's the combo of the jeans, plus the shirt, and one little handsome boy that makes for such an adorable little package.

 You have no idea how much energy we adults expended to get them all still in one place.  I needed a nap when we were finished and we even took along my neice Stephanie who was home from college on break!

 The pilot and his picky wife.  It's nice to have some photos of the two of us other than the ones Brooke took.  I can't wait for the orchard next year!  :)

 

A Broken Tradition

 I love fall.  I love the weather, the scenery, Halloween, and Thanksgiving.  I really love pumpkin patches and all the fixings that go along with them. We broke tradition this past weekend when we drove 20 minutes northeast of our house to go to Bonnybrook Farm instead of heading back to Kinman Farm in our old neck of the woods in Burlington, KY.  Mark and I being creatures of habit were worried that it wouldn't be as much fun for the kids, but we were wrong.  Very wrong.

 First I just have to say that Bonnybrook is a classy place.  It's also a photographers dream because the buildings and grounds around the buildings were something you'd see in Better Homes and Gardens magazine.  They also had two rusty, vintage Ford trucks that were just screaming for someone to pose with.  Maybe some day I'll host a portrait session there.  :)

 The weather was PERFECT.  Sunny and slightly chilly.  The light was perfect and the colors, awesome.  We couldn't have asked for a better day to head to the farm.

 The list of fun things to do goes on and on.  For starters the kids were happy to swing on these horses made out of tires.  So cute!

 On the list of the top three best things was this slide built into the hill.  It was a huge pipe angled into the ground that was not too steep, but not too slow.  It was perfect, but Stella still refused.  Brooke and Luke got lots of exercise running up the hill to have just one more turn.  :)

 When Nashy Boy was let out of baby jail, also known as the backpack carrier, he wasted no time in throwing himself down on the ground to throw a little tantrum.  Needless to say, he didn't get down very often. It's hard being a toddler.

 Sand table.

 Pacifier love.

 Mark felt sorry for Nash so he bent over so he could at least touch the sand.

 I love these little people and I told Mark today I don't want them to grow up and have grown up problems and disappointments.

 Raise your hand if you'd like to live in this picturesque lake cottage!  I think the owners of Bonnybrook might live here.  It's either here or the deluxe lounge in their posh barn.

 The lake was stocked with fish and a conveniently located fish food dispenser was located lakeside for only 25 cents a pop.  It actually was a bargain and feeding the fish was really fun because there were so many of them.  It was bonus that no one fell in.

 Cute little mini!

 This was the big mama horse who was kept company by her adorable little foal in a double stall.

 They had set up an empty stall with clean wood shavings where kids could use the mini wheelbarrows, rakes and pitchforks to pretend to clean the stall.  This, believe it or not, was one of the favorites of the day.

 Of course I am a sucker for anything horse related so we paid $4 per kid to ride the horses/ponies around their very beautiful indoor arena.

 I couldn't have imagined a better photo op if I had tried to dream up one myself.  Love, love, love the windows!

 That's $12 of fun, folks.  :)

 There was a basket of mini brushes set outside the stalls with animals so the kids could brush them.  So thoughtful!

 The picture to prove I went too.  :)

 The picture to prove we're dorks.

 I'm writing Santa tonight to ask him for a beautiful barn to go with the horse he's bringing us this year.  I've seen quite a few barns in my day and I can say I've never seen one quite this nice.

After we bought some kettle corn, fudge and little pumpkins for the little ones, we headed back to the city munching on snacks and thinking how blessed we were to have broken our tradition this year.  Next year we promised the kids we'd take the hay ride and do the corn maze.   Second Annual Trip to Bonnybrook Farms is already in the works! I can't wait! Happy Fall!