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Monday, June 30, 2008
The Beauty Of Nature & Family
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Keeping It "All American"
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One of the best times to renew this feeling inside is around our country's birthday. Even though the 4th of July isn't here yet, it seems that many areas around us celebrate with fireworks earlier than the actual 4th. We happen to live next to a city park that has hosted the annual fireworks display for our township for the last 3 years. We were able to recently enjoy this annual celebration with our daughter. We invited a good couple (and their son) over and we watched it from our backyard. We are very blessed to be able to see this show every year from our own deck! The display is just close enough for us to hear AND feel the explosions from the sky.
God Bless America!
Cultivating Relationships (& Landscaping Gifts!)
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In some cases we've received housewarming or holiday or "whatever" presents that have required watering and/or planting. Other times, we've left our parents' houses with boxes or bags of beautiful grasses, flowers, hastas, you-name-its, etc. Sometimes, mutual favors have been exchanged - their gardens get thinned out a bit and we reap the benefit of a much needed lawn addition.
Now, I feel it's worth mentioning these items haven't always survived - what can I say, we don't have the greatest track record for having green thumbs! But sometimes they have thrived. We seem to have a healthy mix of sunny to shady areas around our spread and have always tried to match there areas up to the plants in order for success.
That being said, I wanted to capture this red flower, as seen above. Although I don't know the name of it, I do know that it was a gift from S's mother. Lou Ann and her husband, Doug, came over for a brief visit, the day after we got home from the hospital with Ellena, to quickly plant and water 3 of these, and of course see their granddaughter. They are located in our backyard, just to the right of the steps that curve around the back of the garage. They are a captivating shade of red and the flowers are tiny red stars. Red is S's favorite color and Lou Ann says that the star blooms reminder her of Sheri, who was her little star. We have been receiving lots of rain this season, especially in the last week, and so far these special gifts are doing great!
We have a few more gifts in the dirt right now and as soon as they "pop up", we will be sure to capture them in photographs for posting. Stay tuned...
The Doctor Will See You Now
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Saturday, June 28, 2008
Goodbye Gigi
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We took Grandma Castro, or "Gigi" as she'd like to be referred to by her new grandaughter, back to the aiport Thursday morning. A call later on in the day confirmed she'd survived not only the initial security screening, but also a layover in Dallas and, worst of all - airline food!
It was great having her around to help out with meals and house chores. But more importantly, it was great having her around to spend time with. During her visit, she was able to go to the zoo, take a trip to Canada to visit a friend, cruise around the area, and spend plenty of time with her new grandbaby. Though we know she will miss Ellena so much now that she is home, we have a sneaking suspicion that we will see her more often now... =)
Monday, June 23, 2008
Meat & Potatoes
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Stopped by the Dr. Office today for Ellena's 2 week appointment. The purpose was a simple weigh in as well as a check of the eyes, ears and heartbeat via one of those heartbeat things doctors always seem to have with them!
The results are in, at 18 days old, little Ellie weighs 8 lbs 8 oz, up 1.5 lbs from just 2 weeks ago! Yea, Ellie! I guess you really do like mama's milk!
Sunday, June 22, 2008
A Day Of Firsts
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Saturday, June 21, 2008
Say Cheese!
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The ultimate goal was to end up with some rough shots that could either be edited or used as is on a future birth announcement order! Now, I know what you're thinking and NO, we won't quit our day jobs! But we had a good time goofing around and at a minimum, it taught us a few things about taking pictures of a baby (how does Anne Geddies do it?!) as well as how to explore a few features of our camera we had never used!
What WON'T He Eat?!
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He was an orphan and taken in approximately 3 years ago. He has always been believed to have been at least 1/2 Maine coon and proudly displaying tufts of fur around his ears, paws and neck. Our "Gentle Giant" is often referred to as, and will respond to, any of the following nicknames:
- Stein
- Beer Stein (haven't tried this one yet, but almost certain he'll like it!)
- Fuzzy
- Fuzz
- Mr. Fuzzy Pants
Oh, and he LOVES people food. He will eat almost anything! More to come on you Fuzz...
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Is That Perfume You're Wearing?
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We are getting along nicely, or what I hear is "nicely". Ellena and I are learning eachothers schedules (speaking of that, I am 15 minutes late for my nap). She smiled for the first time fully awake yesterday. And she makes the cutest little sighing noise. If you haven't yet met her, we can't wait until you do, as we think you will find her just as wonderful as we do!!
Sunday, June 15, 2008
The Perfect Reason
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Gob blessed us with Ellena Hope Hickok on 6/5/08 at 12:21 AM at Huron Valley Sinai Grace Hospital in Commerce, MI. She weighed 7 lbs. 4 oz. when she was delivered and measured just over 20 in. long.
This blog has been established with the intention of serving as a convenient forum to share updates and information about our lives and, of course, Ellena, with our family and friends. Our intent is to focus on this publication at least once per day. As we settle in and get our feet wet with this form of communication, we invite you to enjoy these posts and share our feedback.
Thanks for sharing these truly great times with us!
God Bless