Living a dream

At last I have a little bit of time to blog. With Hannah's birthday and Christmas, I've found myself pleasantly and overwhelmingly busy. But it's moments like this I cherish so much and am reminded of God's goodness and grace.

Ever since I was a little girl, I've dreamed of ice skating at Rockefeller Center. I always told myself "some day". We all know how that goes. It's always been in the back of my mind to do as something to do "some day". When Hannah came along my dream became even bigger---ice skating with my daughter.

I usually bring it up every year to Mark as something I would like to do "some day". This fall Mark told me I should do it. I was seriously thinking about it and planning. Then, we suddenly had to replace our roof desperately. We had just enough in our savings to cover those expenses.

I figured my dream was on hold again. I honestly didn't mind. I knew it would happen "some day". (How sick are you of hearing that? :))

Mark brought it up again and I told him we could just wait until next year. He put his arm around me and said "Tammy, do it. This is something I really want to see before it's too late".

With tears in my eyes and knowing exactly what he was talking about, I said "Okay". I booked the tickets, hotel and ice skating reservations the next day.

Early this December I lived a childhood dream and what's more amazing is that I got to do it with my daughter and have my mom and Mark watch us. I'll never forget the huge grin on Mark's face as we were skating---priceless.

Of course I have to share some pictures of us. It was 60 degrees out, Christmas tree lit up and so beautiful. It was such a dream come true for me.

Merry Christmas!

To my dad and mom’s family and friends,

This is Doogie. I’ve decided to write the Christmas letter this year. As you may have noticed, since Hannah came along, I haven’t been mentioned in the Christmas letter. Ouch, huh? It seems Hannah has taken all the attention away from me. So, I’ve decided to change that and write the Christmas letter myself or try to. It’s hard to type with paws.

I hope you are all doing well. I’ve been keeping my mom and dad busy and in shape as I like to get out of the house and run in our neighborhood. I’m also pretty loud as I like to bark a lot which doesn’t make my mom and dad happy. Hey I’m just trying to keep them safe. If barking at the mailman is truly useless, why has my family stayed safe all this time? Think about it. For the most part, my day consists of barking, sleeping, barking, eating, barking, running away, barking and occasionally an accident or two in the house. Did I mention barking?

I better mention the rest of the family too I suppose. First, there’s Princess Hannah. She’ll be 4 by the end of this year. Mom and Dad love her so much. To be honest, I’m not the biggest fan, although I’m beginning to get more attached to her. She loves to play with me but her “playing” is wrapping a leash around me and dragging me everywhere and also dressing me up in costumes. No, you will not be seeing pictures although my mom does have some. Hannah’s always giving me hugs and kisses. That’s Hannah, though. She’s very compassionate. She also loves to clog, sing and dance all the time and she’s pretty loud on my poor ears. She’ll be starting competitive clogging next year which doesn’t make me too happy as I know she’ll be practicing even more—ouch. Luckily, she goes to Cubbies for church once a week and clogging practice twice a week so I get a little break then.

Then there’s my mom. She’s pretty cool. She’s the one who lets me out most of the time and takes me for walks. She works from home so she’s home a lot. Occasionally I leave surprises for her which she doesn’t like but it’s just because I want her attention. She is pretty busy with working, running with Hannah to her events and church activities.

And then there’s my dad. He’s so awesome. I like to sit by him during meal time as he gives me a lot of scraps. He’s also my snuggle buddy. He often is resting during the day as he has a lot of nerve pain at night and doesn’t sleep too well then. He is a trooper. He never feels good but puts on a good front for all of us. He did manage to stay out of the hospital all year which is pretty amazing for him. I hope he can continue that streak. I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have my dad to snuggle with. I’m afraid Hannah would try to snuggle with me and I’m just not sure if I could take that.

I suppose I should mention that they did go on a few trips this year, although that’s kind of a bitter subject with me. They decide to go on trips without me! Can you believe it? I can’t either. They went to the North Shore, South Dakota, Breezy Point and New York City this year—and left me home. They are also going to Hawaii next year in celebration of my grandma and grandpa’s 40th wedding anniversary. They bring me to a nice place where the people are really nice and I’m pretty spoiled but still—it’s the principle.

Well that’s about it as far as news from this home. I’d better get back to my barking now. I’ve been too quiet for the last 5 minutes that my mom is going to wonder what’s going on.

I hope you have a Merry Christmas and a wonderful 2016!

Love,
Doogie

Hannah's birthday

Hannah's been looking forward to her birthday party for weeks, probably months. She knew who she was going to invite and had it all planned out.

We did an "Under the Sea" theme with Ariel. She loves Ariel and I thought an Under the Sea them would be fun. :)

Here are some of the food we had. Thank goodness for Pinterest. :) It comes in very handy sometimes!





Her Happy Birthday banner and decorations:


Hannah's grandma and cousin made a fish out of cupcakes. I think they did an amazing job!




The 3 of us on Hannah's birthday:


The Birthday Girl! She's officially a 4-year-old!


Here are a couple of games we played. The kids played "Stick the Seashell in Ariel's Hand" and the adults were given a word search of some of Hannah's favorite things as a 3-year-old.


Hannah had a great day and keeps asking if she can have another party. :) It'll be a long year of waiting for her!

We are so grateful to the family and friends who came to her party. Thank you so much for making her feel so special.

Hannah's 4 today!

My sweet Princess Hannah,

As I'm writing this, you're officially turning 4 years old. Our tiny, 6 pound baby girl from 4 years ago is growing up.

Hannah, this past year has definitely had its trials but I've also been honored to see you grow so much.

This past year you officially became completely and totally potty trained, even at night. You know more about working my phone than I do and you certainly can sing any song and dance much better than me.

You're always thinking of others, making sure no one is left out and always sharing with others. I can't tell you how many times I've had to keep a half eaten cookie in my pocket so you could give it to Daddy. If I even tried to throw it away, you'd scream. I'll never forget the fries you've had me save to give to Grandma and Papa, the gummy you saved for Claire and wanting to save the rest of your Popsicle for a friend as it slowly melted all over the counter (if we even thought about getting rid of it, you'd let us know your disapproval).

You never forget anything. No matter how hard we try to distract you or make you think about something else, it just doesn't work. We can never make you forget about that partially eaten orange from 3 days ago that you had to save for later. You never want to waste anything. It can always be eaten later. And of course you have eyes better than anyone I know. How many times have you told me you see Dora or Despicable Me in the store and it takes me forever to finally see that tiny poster clear on the other side of the store. When you tell me it's there, I believe you.

Your personality makes me so proud sweetheart. You are such an amazing, compassionate girl who's always thinking of others. You're always giving hugs and kisses, saying thank you and smiling that heart-melting smile of yours all the time.

But my favorite times are the random times when you'll say "Mommy?". I say "Yes, Hannah?" and you respond with "I love you Mommy" or "You're my best friend, Mommy". My heart swells with so much love and pride. Just to hear you say you love me is amazing but to hear you say it so randomly and out of the blue means more to me than you could ever know.

I'm so proud of you sweetheart. So very proud of you.

I'm excited as your mommy to see you continue to grow, to continue to learn so much. You've amazed me and so many other people with how smart you are, how compassionate you are and how you can challenge anyone to a wrestling match at any time with a clear desire to win.

I'm so much in awe of you and so honored to be your mommy. Your smile lights up a room and your caring, compassionate personality is what makes you the special girl you are to so many people.

Keep your love for life, your family and friends and most of all, Jesus. He loves you even more than I do.

Happy birthday sweetheart. Enjoy your day and eat lots of sugar in your princess dress.

I love you with all my heart and soul,

Mommy