Love me, know me, show me : Hearts out to Joplin.

I am still trying to sink it all in..... a tornado that created damage 3/4 of a mile wide and 4 miles long... nearly wiping out 1/3-2/3's of Joplin, MO..... Already, the tornado in Joplin has been labeled as the deadliest single tornado in more than half a century..... I can't believe the photos and video footage that I am seeing on the internet- I have never seen a tornado that huge stay on the ground so long..... Unbelievable and devastating....

We only lived there 3 years (12-15 years old) and I went to a small school with 12 kids in my grade, so I really didn't know too many people in the town that well. And the people that I did know don't live there anymore, with the exception of their parents. I have lost touch with all my Joplin friends except for "stalking" them on Facebook and thanks to Facebook, I have been made more aware of which friends families were effected- and every single one of them was in some way..... 

I found out that my old neighborhood was fortunate to only suffer a loss of power. My school was in the northern part of town which did not suffer any damage. And what I have found out through Facebook, all of my friends and their parents who live in Joplin are okay (as for the shape their homes are in, it varies house to house).  But with much sympathy, my best friend in middle school, Kacie Oster, lost her grandfather to the tornado. I can only wish and pray for peace for her family in this horribly difficult time. Kacie's future sister in law (she gets married in 2 months in Joplin) created this website below in case anyone is looking for a way to donate to the city and I thought I would share it with my blog readers.

http://pepperandpoppy.blogspot.com/2011/05/love-me-know-me-show-me-hearts-out-to.html

My sister is also collecting items and transporting them to Joplin via a friend this Friday. If you have anything you would like to donate, let me know and I can get it to her.

It is a sad time for many in Joplin and I can not imagine the devastation they are experiencing. When things hit close to home and effect people that have touched your life, it always opens my eyes a little wider and it really shakes me up a bit.... It also makes me appreciate all my loved ones and encourages me to think about what really matters....

Much Love,
Jenny

20 months old

 Here's what I"ve been up to the last month.... Mommy thinks that I am starting to look more and more like a kid and not a toddler- she says she thinks I sure am looking older but will always be her baby girl!!

*I am still sleeping good. Around 12 hours at night and one 1 1/2 hour nap or longer.
*New food that I like- almonds! Mommy hovers over me when I eat them and reminds me to chew chew chew! I am a very healthy eater- when we were eating fried green beans this past weekend I pealed off the fried part and just ate the green bean- mommy and daddy thought I was crazy!!!!
*I am such a monkey.... I love climbing in, on and around anything. Mommy and Grandma couldn't believe it when I climbed into Grandma and Papa's tree swing all by myself.
*I am a wild dare devil. Mommy thinks I will always have a bruise or a scrape on me (I call boo boos "daddys" since I got my first one on both knees with daddy).
*I love taking care of my baby and any animal. I burp them, feed them, sush them, wipes and changes their diapers and give them baths. I also dance with them.
*I am talking so much! People are only understanding about half of what i say... but at least i know what I am saying!!!! Mommy loves how I say "I luv _____" and "I yike ______" to just about everything.
*I love to dance, spin, twirl, hop (obsessed with hopping) and walk sideways.
*If given the opportunity to climb up and down stairs, I would do it everyday
*My hair is getting curly. In Austin it was humid and I had several spiral curls by my neck- it looked like mommy's curls
*I still love books and watching Barney and Mickey
*Every time I put on a skirt or dress, I think I am a princess and hum the "ah ah ahhhh, ah ah ah ahhh" princess Aerial song and do twirls with my hands in the air
*I have attempted to climb out of the crib and now have to sleep in a sleep sack every time I am in it
*I like to clean up and say "keen" every time I do it. Mommy has to remind me thought because I get too excited to do the next thing. I even clean up after mommy and daddy sometimes!
*I still give the best kisses (since I was like 7 months)! Aunt Anne says I give the wettest kisses too!
*I have said my name a couple of times, but mostly call myself "A."
*I love to dress myself and try to put on skirts, pants and even shirts on my legs! I can get them on and almost pulled up but my bottom gets in the way :)
*Whenever I see letters, I say "A" and "E."
Life is going pretty good! I am a goofy and happy little girl who certainly loves life!

Love,
Anna

Lovin the Paci

I love my paci so much! I also love to hold onto it. A couple of times I have managed to take it out of my mouth and then put it back in! Sometimes the strap that is attached to it gets in my way (or gets caught in my fingers) and this makes me mad! I usually take it out right before falling asleep for a nap and sometimes it just falls out of my mouth when napping. Mommy and Daddy don't let me sleep at night with it- it's just for during the day- I wish I was with it all the time!

Love,
Ashley

I Love you

"Da-da, I yoveyous!"

That is what I told Daddy today on the phone, not once but twice!

I love you Daddy!

Love,
Anna


PS Mommy was just a tad bit jealous!

Serious.....

This is totally serious..... and how we find him pretty much every night waiting for us before bed on one of Rob's t-shirts......

He REALLY hates hardwood floors!!!!!

Pathetic much?!?!?

Much Love,
Jenny

Family Pic

Every year for Mother's Day we are going to get family pictures taken. We are not going to spend a bunch of money on them; we just want a "professional" picture taken each year of our family to look back on!

So, this past week we headed to Portrait Innovations and had some family pics taken. Here's the scanned image of the one we chose for the $9.99 package special- turned out pretty good I thought!!

And does anyone want a wallet of our beautiful family?!?!?! We only have 32- the downside of the $9.99 package! :)

Much Love,
Jenny

Naked sisters, hand holding and some pretty funny faces!!!

Love,
Anna and Ashley