The New {HOUSE}

Well, here it is, my friends.....our new HOUSE!!! I'm just so in love with it!


So...come on in and I'll give you a little tour! This is my front door. It's black, just like my shutters. And I have a little peeky window,
so I can see who is out there! (Don't worry, I have an alarm system, too!)

And don't you just *love* my wood floor?! It's real wood, not laminate! (although, I've had laminate before and realllllly like it....this real wood floor is gorgeous!) The wood goes from the front door into the guest bathroom, down the hall, in the kitchen and in the dining space.

When you stand at my front door, you can see down the entry hall to my kitchen! And what a kitchen it is! I love it. White and bright, with LOTS of space and
I'm loving all the brand new appliances! I am SPOILED!!!!!


When you turn the opposite way, you are looking into our big Family Room or Den, as some people would call it. It's a really big room with a marble fireplace with gas logs!
It's so fun to light that baby up while it's still cold outside at night!

(and the little door to the left is my laundry room, which even has a big, deep sink in it! *loves* It's smaller than I would like, but I'm sure I'll live! :) When you walk thru it, it leads to the garage. Nope, no pics of that....it's boring~)

Back inside, standing in the kitchen, you look into my formal Dining Room. Don't you just love that chair rail and the crown molding?!?! Oh darn, now that I have 2 eating spaces, I guess I'll be forced to go out and buy some new dining furniture!!!! (Sorry, Big Daddy....ps. leave the credit card on my bedside table!
Ha Ha Ha!!)


When you stand in the dining room and look towards the front of the house, you will see our Formal Living Room. What a nice space! More crown molding, a patterned wall treatment
and windows with wood blinds....what's not to love?!?

Then, turn your body to the right and your looking back at the front door! (We just made a big tour circle!) There are 2 doors to the right of front door....the first is ::drumroll, please::
MY SCRAPROOM!! And next to it, is the guest bathroom! So, when you come over and we stay up super late scrappin'...we only have to walk a few feet to get to the potty!

Let's check out MY SCRAPROOM!!!!!!

Take a peek into the door! Isn't my window beautiful?!?! And I have a tall, vaulted ceiling! (and a kid in the hall ruining my picture!)


And here's that guest bath and the banister leading up the stairs! And a peeky into the guest bathroom! Up the stairs, we go! (hmm...I'm now thinking I should have videotaped this tour!)

Anyway...look to the right.....3 big bedrooms a full bathroom and a huge linen closet! Then, look to the right at the top of the stairs and you have the master bedroom,
walk-in closet and bathroom! This picture is actually in the room and shows the little cubby corner where our big mirrored dresser and hutch will fit perfectly!

We have a vaulted ceiling and lots of space!!! And now a peeky into the master bathroom.

Luv, luv, luv the tall cabinets and double sinks! Woot Woot!! And when you look at that bathroom window, I have a perfect view of the 614 acre federally protected wildlife preserve!!!! It's marshes and ponds and has birds and animals galore! I haven't seen all of these animals, but from what I hear there are 300+ species of birds over there, deer, raccoon, ducks, geese, brown bats and who knows what else. I'm cool with that, as long as they stay over there! If I came face-to-face with any of those critters...I'll freak!!!
(you must remember, I am a C.I.T.Y. Girl!!!!!!)But, for now, I am enjoying the views! (and sounds!)


SO Peaceful out here!


And I can't wait to get completely unpacked and settled!


So, who's gonna be the first to come visit?!?!

IT'S TIME........

to SHAKE this BLOGGY up!!!!!

As you see...changes are under way!

Too bad I have NO CLUE how to do this stuff~
(anyone want to help me?)

HTML experts...email me!

Kare Bear

I'm heartbroken to say that Kari passed away today in the arms of her mother. It was peaceful and it was time. She's an angel now.

Thanks sincerely for all the prayers. They were answered. It was time for her to no longer suffer and God took her home.

Love,
Roxann

Prayers Needed!

I just had to update only to say one thing..... this sweet baby <--------------------------right over here is Kari. Kari is the 9 month old daughter of my dear friend and college roommate, Jenny and her hubs, Jeff. Kari was born with a serious heart defect and just this last week, this little sugar had a full-on heart failure. (of course, this is my layman terms of what happened) Technically, it was Congestive Heart Failure.

Jenny had made plans to come see me in Ohio the week this happened. They didn't make it because her older daughter was sick with a fever. And thank God they were at home, rather than my house when this happened....close to Kari's Doctors. Don't think I was disappointed that they couldn't come, but I am so glad they didn't. I am glad they were home and could get Kari to where she could begin getting help very quickly!

Sweet Kari needs your prayers. And so do her momma and daddy, and brother and sister, Jeffrey and Katie.

So please, take a moment and hug your babies. And give thanks for your healthy children. Jenny and Jeff are so strong and are fighting for their girl. And Baby Kari is a fighter, too. But, all the fighting can make you very tired! So, pray for strength and pray for baby Kare Bear!

Here is a link where you can read about Kari and her journey. Here's the link for the charity set up by Kari's parents to help children like Kari.


Please know I am fine, just very, very busy. I'm currently in Kansas, preparing for the movers who come on Monday to FINALLY make our move to Ohio "official!!" I return to Ohio on the 2nd, to meet the movers on the 3rd. In the meantime....email me or call me on my cell! I miss you all!!!! (ps...thanks for all the comments, posts on Facebook and emails telling me how much you guys miss my blog! It will be a little longer, but I will be back. I promise!)

FOR JAMIE (and all others who are concerned about my well-being!

Hey friends. It's me. Still Alive. I've had nothing for breakfast and I plan to watch PS. I Love You on the DVD player tonight.

TV STARS!!!!

Ever since these boys were babies, they've been exposed to TV. Both boys were less than a day old when they were filmed the first time to be shown on the News. (Yes, it's shameless bragging, but a job perk to show off your beautiful offspring on tv for all to see! We even had some people so inspired by the beauty of our babies, that they actually sent GIFTS to the TV Station for the baby! The downside, when Logan was born at 10:01pm (1 minute into the nightly news...) they wanted to come film me and the baby RIGHT THEN to use THAT NIGHT! Breaking news...you know! Well, I basically said there was no way in HELL that was gonna happen!!!! And believe me, you don't mess with a new mom who's been in labor on pitocin (the devil's drug!) for 12+ hours. You just don't. (if your smart, anyway....)


Anyway, I digress.....


So, there have been times while we were in Topeka that they have called on my kids to do certain things for the news. (offspring of the business tend to understand a bit better.....) So, anyway, they were doing a feature called "Kid Cast" to help with the weather forecast. They wanted kids from 7-13 to come tape the Weather Almanac.


These are the highlights.....


The computer monitor with the video marker before the teleprompter starts rolling...


Stand By..... Logan in front of the green screen. (in case you didn't know, almost all
weather is shot in front of a green screen, so they can use a
"Chromo-key" to super impose the weather graphics.)

Big Daddy giving the close-up approval. (see you can see the graphics now!)


Now, Jensen's turn....I LOVE this photo! I think it's so cool showing the teleprompter that he had to read and him in front of the green screen! Very cool! And a shot of Jensen's Full-Screen with the graphics. I love how Big Daddy is watching in the background. He looks "unconcerned." Meaning, he wasn't worried about the boys performance, at all. (even though reading on the teleprompter was a real challenge for Jensen, since reading is harder for him. And to do it out loud AND on camera.....HE DID GREAT.
They both did!

And here are the links where you can see what actually aired on the News.

Jensen

Logan

I'm so proud!

**BUSTED**

Well...I've been called out.
My good friend TS has gently reminded me that I never posted anything from Marinne's birthday on the blog.

Yes, I have to make up for lost time.

I'll get right on that......

Jenny II: And the Original Frying Pan Named Jenny

Meet Jenny -------------->

She's a good pan. I've had her for over 15 years. (a gift from my college roommate and BFF Jenny) So, of course, we named the frying pan Jenny.

Now, I know you must think I am crazy, naming a frying pan. But, it's not so crazy when something so simple reminds you of someone you love! And that's just the way it was, every time I would use Jenny the frying pan, I'd think of Jenny.

So, let me tell you about Jenny. I met Jenny our Freshman year and we became fast friends. And very close. We had as much in common, as we didn't. But, she has a warm, loving heart. And this drew me to her.

In 1990-1991, she and I lived together. I told the story in another post here, about a hilarious joke we played on our roommate. (just scroll to the bottom of the post when you see me and a pretty, pregnant blond girl!)
**ps...this story is really funny and worth looking up to read it**

She was one of my Maids of Honor in my wedding. (yes, I had two...I just couldn't choose one of the other)

Then, later when Jenny and I were pregnant with our first children, she lived with us for a short time while her hubs was in Grenada. I was her labor coach for lamaze and with her when she gave birth.

She and I were really great friends...and after 20 years, we are still in touch! Well, after we met this Summer and I saw her for the first time in years.....we have been talking about old times. One of the things I told her was about Jenny. She had no idea I still had the old frying pan. I told her I did, but that she was falling apart. Her handle was about to fall off, she has stains on her that WON'T come off and she's all scraped up from old age (and being abused by teaching Logan how to cook.) She cracked up.....she had no idea! (Much to my husband's chagrin, I just can't bring myself to throw Jenny the frying pan in the trash!)

Now, if you remember, when I told you about Jenny in my last post, she was 8 months pregnant. Well, she had her baby in August. She gave birth to a beautiful baby girl named Kari. And when Kari was 5 days old, it was discovered that she had a life-threatening heart condition. It's been a hard and heartbreaking road. But, Kari is doing well for now.

So, imagine my surprise when I came home from running errands one day and found a giant box on my doorstep. I had no idea what it could be....until I saw the return address on the box. And then, I burst into laughter! Because I knew what it was......

JENNY II

------->>

What a fantastic surprise! It's true, Jenny loves me. (Jenny the girl, not the frying pan) My gosh, she has a very sick baby and she still made the time to get out and get me a frying pan!

And it's a nice pan, too! It's Calphalon! So, she spoiled me, too!!

Thanks Jenny for Jenny II. I will enjoy her!

But, I love you!

Artistic Genius....a shameless brag.....

Let me tell you about this picture....Marinne loves this sketch toy. She had a baby version when she turned 2, then last year we upgraded her to this bigger one. She draws on it nearly every single day. So much so, that it's falling apart. (see the weird black splotchies above the letters MZ.

Now, as a person who has a degree in Early Childhood Education, I was FLOORED when the Princess brought me this picture she had drawn. The only reason she brought it to me was that she asked me to draw a picture of our doggie, Barclay. (which I did...it's the 3rd figure from the left....and that was hard in such a small space!)

So, why was I surprised? Well, if you know about art and child development, there are many things about this picture that are remarkable for a child of only 3 years old to accomplish.

First, she has included a "ground line" in her picture by actually scribbling to indicate where the ground is. Then, she included a "sky line" in her picture, provided by drawing the sun and placing it in the proper location in relation to what she drew.

In addition, her people have more than just a basic circle and dots. She has provided faces, bodies, arms and hair (on the adults.)

When she brought it to me, she told me that this was our "Family" and she drew Daddy, Momma, L, J, G and herself, but she needed me to draw our dog. I was impressed to see that she actually drew the right number of people (6) and that her 3 older brothers are actually "above" her. Like she is littler than them. She "gets" that. (although, she is known for calling them her "friends" as much as she calls them her "brothers.") And that's ok with me!

And lastly, she said that the MZ was her name. She recognizes that her name begins with a "M" and she is quick to point out "that's my name" anywhere she sees the "M." Such as the Macy's sign or at McDonalds. She recognizes that her name starts with an "M." I think that's pretty smart!

So what does all this mean? Well, if you look here, you can see that some of what she is doing is in the Schematic Stage of Art Development. And the typical age for that is between 5 and 8 years old. (and she's not yet Four at the time she drew this!) I'm telling you, she a genius!!

And I'm not a big prejudiced!! (ha ha ha!)

ENOUGH BLOG NEGLECT!!!!!

I am a bad blogger.
I deserve to have my blog baby taken away.
But, I'm gonna do better. I swear it! I miss the bloggy!

Seriously....

Well, we are in Ohio. It's cold. It's sleeting and supposed to be turning into snow. The roads were already getting slick when I dropped off the boys at school. And it 2 hours, we'll be out again. Not exactly lovin' that!

Logan started school today. Look at this beautiful Middle School. I hand-picked this school system for the things it can offer our children. The High School is directly across the parking lot from the High School and the Middle School Gymnasium and Cafeteria is in between these two schools. It is really nice that all the schools are together. And when I saw these buildings, well, I was certainly impressed. Beautiful! Griffin's school is just around the bed from Logan's school. It's looks the same as the Middle School. Very nice. And quite impressive. Griffin is very excited to be back in school. He misses his friends. He was so cute getting loaded up this morning to go. I'll be posting some pics of his first day later. I need to upload them first.

Then, adjacent to that is Jensen's elementary school. But, he won't be going till tomorrow. The enrollment secretary was out yesterday, so we have to wait until today to get him fully enrolled. Believe me, he's overjoyed to score another day off! And I'm enjoying just him and Marinne this morning.

Well, I'm off to pick up the Kindergartener!
More later.....