Nana Time with Miss Abby

Everyone has GOT to know that Abby can NOT spend any amount of time with me without getting her picture taken. Tory didn't feel well one day last week so I had Abby for a while.... I was nice I did share her with her Nana Sonya!!

Abby was such a happy little girl when I snapped all of these. I recently got a GREAT deal from eBay on a new to me, but used speed light for my camera... Oh what fun am I going to have now!! I use to hate to take pictures indoors with a flash because the flash would wash out your subject especially if you go too close... I still need to play a little more to figure the whole thing out... but so far I just love it... Abby does too because the new flash doesn't quite blind her so bad... I usually have it bounce off a wall or the ceiling so it's not right in her face!!

Her profile is just adorable.... I know I am prejudice...

Can't wait for all the giggles to come from behind all her smiles!!

Even grunged up she is adorable!!

I was trying to get a shot of her holding up her head... but just the eyes works!!

Okay I know I am a bad Nana for plugging her into the TV... But hey I got my shower and she didn't cry at all while I was gone!! So there!!

Kellie Pickler Concert

Last night Kellie Pickler was in St. Joseph.... I went down with a group of 20 or so people with disabilites... I took my gal AP.... we had such a great time.... We..... well I... hooted and hollered.... and I wasn't going to just let our group just sit there and watch the concert... If it was a good song and the crowd was up and clapping anyone from our group that wanted to get up and dance or clap well I was up with them... Ashton Sheppard opened up the show and she was great because she really got us up and going.... I am a fan of Kellie, don't get me wrong, but I was somewhat dissapointed in her performance... I thought it would be more up beat... she sang a lot of ballads... Did did sing her new single "Don't You Know You're Beautiful", I really love that song... Her last song was "Red High Heels", I wish she would have opened with that one because it is fun and up beat!!

Photoshop Challenge

I belong to a photography forum.... I have been so busy this summer I have not visited it much this month. Yesterday I dropped in and checked out what was going on. They now have a Photoshop challenge. A member posts a picture and then we as members use our creativity and photoshop talents to alter the photo...

Here is the original photo:









Here is what I came up with:

A Happy Father's Day

In preparation for Father's Day, Tory and I had a 4 hour photo shoot with Abby. I had one pose in mind just for Father's Day, while Tory has some poses in mind for her birth announcement... The results were precious. You can see for yourself! I made a collage of 3 tie pictures just for Brent, and yesterday I made the sepia "I'm a Daddy's girl, Deal with it!" For Brent too, then I worked on the Happy Father's Day picture for Grandpa Abreu and Hal (Brent's dad), I also printed out some of the tie pictures for the grandpa''s

Last night we had Grandma and Grandpan and Hal and Sonya (Brent's parents) over for dinner. Our first company in the new house. It was fun to have people over again. After dinner we had a game of "Scene it", that was fun! All in all it was a very nice day!

Ten Little Fingers and Toes

Abby has already been home for 2 weeks now. It's amazing how time flies and how much she is changing. Tory and Brent are doing such a fantastic job. My favorite time is in the morning, because, I go and get her from Tory and we have Nana time. We sit on the couch and we discuss important girl stuff. We have breakfast together and share our plans for the day. At first, Abby only wanted to eat, sleep and poop... But that is starting to change. She is starting to be more alert and to focus her eyes on things. Speaking of eyes, her eyes are still blue... We are hoping they stay that way. They are getting lighter, rather than darkening to brown. Brent and both his parents all have blue eyes, so hey it's a possibility.

Abby is Here!!

After a pretty quick labor...but a long delivery...ending up with a c-section, Abby is here!!

Softball and Skinned Knees

School is just about out for the year and summer softball league has begun. Melissa's first game of the season was last night, it was a double header, so it was a very long night. We got home at 11:30 pm!! Her regular position is center field... She loves playing in "her" position. Coaches usually put her there because she can throw from center field to the pitcher and I have even seen her throw all the way to home plate. Last night she was called in to pitch. She hasn't pitched a game since 8th grade. She was a tad bit rusty at first...but as the game wore on the better she got into her groove.... the girls did really well. They won their first game, but not their second. It was fun to watch softball again. Along with softball comes skinned knees. As you can see that Melissa plays ball with her whole heart and sole!! She sacrifices her body to make a catch or just to stop a ball!! This morning she was a tad bit sore. Good thing the weather has warmed up so that she could wear shorts to school. We are looking to more games...I am not so sure she is looking forward to more pitching....

Update on Tory: Tory was once again admitted to the hospital. On Wednesday she was having a little bit of spotting. She called Dr. Feuerbacher and he wanted to see her. Tory began to pass blood clots...the doctor admitted her to the hospital. Last night they planned on doing an amniocentesis this morning and they wanted a family member to drive the sample down to St. Luke's in Kansas City. If a family member delivers the sample the hospital will process it faster and we would get the results sooner. The amnio was to be done at 9:00am and I was going to drive the sample down... This morning when Dr. Holman came in to do the amnio and they couldn't find a nice pocket of fluid without going thru the placenta. So amnio...no driving to KC...so I stayed and relaxed with Tory and Brent. At 11:00 am we all took a nap. So for now Tory will probably stay in the hospital until May 23rd, when they will induce her!!

Wow! What a Week!!

Saturday night at about midnight I received a call from Tory... she had gone to the bathroom and found some blood. Not a ton... but enough to worry. Brent, Sonya (Brent's Mom) and I, packed up Tory and headed off to the hospital in Maryville... (45 minutes away). When we got there they quickly got a sonogram done and found a small place where her placenta was pulling away from her uterus. They put on belly bands to monitor Abby. She was doing fine... she was not showing any stress at all....Tory was having some contractions, but small ones. Her Doctor kept her on bed rest in the hospital and by Sunday afternoon it looked like the bleeding had stopped. Tory remained in the hospital and had to lay on her side until Wednesday. The poor thing did get to eat but once a day for the first 2 days...just in case she had to have an emergency C-Section.

The doctors are hoping with modified bed rest, Abby will stay put until May 22nd. They want Tory to come back to the hospital and be induced then. The reason for her being induced is the fear that if she goes into labor on her own the placenta may begin to tear off 100% and that would not be good, being 45 minutes away from the OB hospital.

As of tonight I think I have caught up on all my sleep... I am getting old because I have been so tired all week long. I know that part of my exaustion is that I have been worried about Tory and Abby... Your calls and emails letting me know that you are thinking and praying for Tory has helped so thanks so much!!

Much love,

Meg

Friends & Family ~ You're Invited

To all family and friends... if you are in town on May 18th... please stop in at Tory's Graduation Reception. It is going to be a simple BBQ.... lots of food, family and friends...and YOU!!

Meg

Prom ~ 2008

This is Melissa's first time going to prom. She went dress shopping back in February and found her dress. She went with friends so I was a little apprehensive when she call me from Kansas City to tell me she found the perfect dress. When I saw the dress on the hanger.... I was still unsure. But when I saw the dress on her I had to agree... it was perfect. The color and the bling on it made it look elegant on her.... After all the foo fooing...eye brows waxed, hair, nails, make up , fake eyelashes... Melissa was wondering if she really wanted to go.... But in the end she looked just beautiful and was excited to go. Here in the back woods the our community really gets together to put on a nice prom for the kids.... The Senior Parents organize a dinner for the kids. This year the prom theme was Tahitian Nights... a local restaurant closed for regular business for 1.5 hours and the parents went in a decorated with a beachy feel. After the kids have eaten is Promenade time. Promenade is held at the high school gym... all the attendees are introduced to the crowd and we get to see all the girls in their gowns and the guys all dressed up in their tuxes. After promenade it's off to prom.... the past several years Prom has been at off school location. The Junior Class do ALL the decorating for prom. They have help from several teachers. I didn't go down and peek this year...but previous yeas I have helped or just peeked and an outstanding job is done with the decorations.... When prom is over.... then comes AFTER Prom. The Junior Class parents are in charge of putting this on.... This year they had carnival type games; ping pong ball toss, cake walks, bingo, etc... For entertainment they had a hypnotist. They are always fun to watch...and funny too! Melissa tried but she couldn't let go enough. She told me she was self conscience with the crowd. Melissa and I got home at 3:30 am. I am way to old to be up so late... I slept in the next day...but I was still grumpy. Nice to know that Melissa was too!!

Weigh in Day!!

Today was weigh in day for the biggest looser! I went in and weighed and I was thinking that I had gained and was pleasantly surprised to find out that I had lost 2 more pounds!! After April 8th weigh in I was in 8th place of 105 people!! My total weight loss is 20.4 pounds since January 15th. We have 6 more weeks to go!! It really has not been difficult to do... slow and steady. I have cut out a lot of my junk food... like pop, chips and fried foods. No more Casey's pizza. I am trying to eat at least 3 balanced meals a day with lots of fruits and veggies. My summer clothes are going to be too big if I keep this up!!

Meg

SPROUT

Don't over look the small things. I was walking with one of my clients this week, and as I looked down I saw this tiny weed sprout fighting it's way up through the crack in the asphalt. I felt so moved by that little sprout. Sometimes I feel just like that little sprout, so small and fighting to find myself in a huge dark and scary world. I feel growth and sometimes it comes too fast and I feel overwhelmed... other times I am so impatient I want it NOW!! I know that all things come at the right time and when I am ready for them. "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:" ECCLESIASTES 3:1

This little guy also falls into my "GREEN" theme...

Meg

GREEN

I recently have been blog surfing. It's kind of interesting. At the top of most Blogger blogs there is a "next blog" link and it randomly moves you to another blog. I sat for hours one day just blog surfing. I have read about the lives, loves hopes, dreams and tragedies of people I have never met and I probably will never meet. I blogs...I have found some incredibly talented people and have bookmarked their blogs... I found crafters, artists, painters and photographers. The one blog I found that inspired me was from a photographer that had done photographic studies of colors. Each week or so he would pick a color and take pictures featuring that color. He felt that it made the photographer look and see items that they otherwise not see. I have decided to try my hand at it... I have chosen the color green to start with. I miss the color so much. I am so tired of white and gray... I am sure that in a few months when the weather is unbearable hot I will miss them... but for now I will celebrate green.

Enjoy...

Meg

My Favorite Things...Today

1. My computer... when I am feeling lonely I can get get lost in reading blogs or just surfing looking for creative ideas. Pretty soon I am feeling less lonely, because I have read about my family and I have an idea of something I can create... as long as I have the supplies.

2. My camera... I love my digital camera. I love to take pictures. I love stopping time and capturing the moments...

3. My Cricut machine... more technology and tools to express my creativity.

4. Sunshine!! This winter has been so cold and hard. I went to Melissa's track meet yesterday and got a sunburn on my face. This morning when I saw my red puffy face in the mirror... I actually smiled at myself, because I know that warmer days of sunshine are coming...but, still not fast enough for me.

5. Tomorrow. What ever happens today, I know that I have a fresh new day tomorrow to try again...

6. Music... what can I say. When I am stressed is sooths the soul. When I am CrAzy it tames the wild beast. When I am blue I turn it up loud and it picks me up and energizes me and it makes me smile .

7. Ice cream... it always tastes so yummy. Wanna make me smile, bring me ice cream!!

8. Flowers.... all types and all colors mixed together in a beautiful bouquet.

9. Summer rain showers... walking in the rain when it's a warm shower. Stomping and splashing in puddles along the way. Why? Because it makes you laugh!!

10. Blue and white china... Blue is my favorite color. It brings back memories of my youth at my Grandma Coppa's home. She had blue and white willow wear as her everyday dishes. Plus each pieces of my collection of shabby chic blue and white china has memories of how they were acquired. Some were given to me as gifts from a loved one or they were purchased on a trip I took with a close friend or family member and had a great time. Others, were purchased when I went off by myself for the day.

Meet Little Miss Abby!!

She is still in the womb...but she loves to get her picture taken. When Tory got the second ultra sound done Abby was laying face up. It also looked like she waved at us... She is so precious!! It is amazing how ultra sounds have improved thru the years... At one point during the ultra sound the technician passed over her face and it was like you could just reach down and kiss her!! It brought a tear to my eye!! I am really starting to get excited about her arrival. Tory has had her baby shower where all her high school friends came... She had to have me do the invites because she had to have cute invites in Abby's baby book.... I found one she like on the internet and so we made them.... you can see it by CLICKING HERE. Tory had to help get those ones together. I cut them all out and she put them together... She did the stamping and coloring in!! Actually Brent helped her with the coloring....

When we got those done... I had to start on the invitations for the shower being given by me and Brent's family. Why do I get myself into these projects!! I thought the invite I picked looked to be more simple than the onesie... Well it wasn't.... It was just as much work and I had to make more... I made 85 invitations... You can see this one by CLICKING HERE. Oh man these were a lot of work... but they are adorable!!

On another good note...

Today was weigh in for the "Biggest Loser"... I lost another 4.7 pounds. Making my total 18.4 pounds!! I am really not dieting. Just watching how much junk I eat and trying to eat more healthy!! Whoooo Hoooo!! I hope my summer clothes fit.... I can't afford to but new clothes right now! And, of course I just went thru my clothes and got rid of everything that was too small...that would fit now!!

Melissa's Dr. heard something funny in her heart... we just went down to Children's Mercy last week and had an echo cardiogram done and her heart is perfect. The Dr. said that she could drink more water..... We are blessed!!

Week 2 COMPLETE

Tuesday afternoon I weighed in for Albany's Biggest Loser.... and yes I lost some weight. I lost 8.1 lbs!!!!.I knew I had lost at least 5 because I had gotten on the scale at the Dr.'s office and I was down at least 5 lbs. I was happy with that.... so when the official scale said 8 I was ecstatic.... my friends are probably hating me right now because you know me...I have to tell everyone.... sometimes more than once... Just ask Melissa....I told her 3 times!!

Oh well... My next goal is to make it to the gym 3 times a week and exercise for 15 minutes. I can do more, but my goal is 3 times. Now when to start this new goal!! I keep putting it off!! Life is SO busy with kids and work and paper work and busy work and TV!! Yes TV I have to watch my shows... wait the only shows I watch now are on Fridays, Ghost Whisperer and Sundays, Masterpiece Theater.

Okay I call Uncle... I will start tomorrow morning... I will get off at 7:00 am. I will take Mel to school and instead of driving home I will drive to the gym...which is right across the street. But at 17* I am not going to walk. I am so tired of being cold. Maybe I have been colder because I LOSY 8 pounds of blubber....hmmmm may be I should like being cold, because it means I am getting skinnier... I am tired and sounding pretty silly at this point. I am off to bed... Love to all who take the time to read my crazy thoughts on my blog....

Meg

Albany's Biggest Loser - Week 1

Jan 15 - Start date and weigh in of the Albany Missouri Biggest Loser - Team Challenge. I have 5 other women on my team.

REALITY REALLY STINKS!!!

Looking at that scale with a witness and facing the challenge I am in for. Oh boy that was not fun!!

Day 1 - I think I did really well today.... I ate very healthy and only fudged by eating a couple of bites of ciniamon roll!! For dinner I made home made chicken veggie pizza.... It was yummy and I only ate a small slice...not half the pizza. For lunch I ate some diet pasta food that tasted pretty good and a bunch of broccoli. I am not huge on salads especailly in the winter... so I am going to be eating a bunch of steamed broccoli. I have found that I can skip the butter if I use lemon pepper instead... really is yummy!! I need to get working on my exercise and drinking more water.... I am about up to 1/2 of what I should be drinking... I ate the having to go to the bathroom all the time!! Memories of pregnancy!! Tomorrow I will make time to work out.... 15 minutes is all I am asking myself to start out with.... I ended my day with a mug of diet hot cocoa!! I am off to bed.....

CHICAGO......

My sister Beth and her hubby Frank moved to Chicago in September. Beth has been wanting me to come and visit since they moved. With going to Jefferson City, MO and Nicole and Karen visiting MO in October, then Tory and I going to CA in November..... I finally made my plans to go and visit Beth in December. The ice storm last week I was worried that I would not make it.... Beth and Frank would be upset with me as part of my Christmas present was to go to the Oriental Theater in downtown Chicago and see WICKED!! Beth, Frank, Me and Frank's sister Joann first went to dinner at Petterino's, a fancy Italian restaurant a block from the theater.... It was one of those restaurants that you see on TV that have character drawing of famous people... some signed by the famous person some not!! The food was awesome! My dinner started with a Cesar salad, followed by the main course of Steak Diane.... and for dessert the richest and most decadent chocolate cake I have had in a long time.... After dinner I wished that the theater was about 4 blocks away... enough to take the fullness from dinner away.... But since it was so cold out side the block away was a nice quick walk. The architecture of the Oriental Theater is just amazing. This picture I found on the Internet does not do it justice.... Very ornate theater. The musical itself was just awesome. The story line and music kept you wanting more. I never felt board or that the story line lagged. Knowing the story of the Wizard of Oz it was fun making the connections from this story to the one I grew up on.

While I have been here in Chicago I have been able to get a lead on my Christmas shopping. Living where unique shops are fare and few.... it's been fun to shop! I will have some packaging and mailing to get ready.... but I soon will be done.

Icy Ice Storm....

Wow... I have survived my first Ice Storm!! What a beautiful but eerie world the ice creates. In the wee hours of the morning (4am) I laid in my bed listening to the loud CRACKS...then the swishing and slashing as the ice covered branch makes it's way to the ground.... When the day light began to creep up I opened my blinds so I could watch the branches crashing down... at about 5 am Melissa came to lay in bed with me and together we listened to the storm at the same time we remembered the HUGE branch that covers the area where I park my car.... Eric has my van and Tory has been letting me drive her car (2002 Pontiac Grand AM GT) and didn't think about the branch as I came home at 11 pm the last night... I was much more worried about making it home. The highway was extremely icy and I all almost didn't make it to the top of South Hill.... When I made it home I parked the car and got myself safely into the house. Okay back to Melissa and I listening to the storm and talking about ALL the branches falling. At the same time we both think about the HUGE branch that I parked Tory's car under "oh crud" I exclaim as...I jump from bed throw on my jeans and grab my winter coat and some slippers and run to the front door.... When I walk out side it is still pretty dark, I look up and see that I am too late the branch has fallen... when I look at Tory's car I can see that the main part of the branch has missed her car... as I walk up closer I can see the somehow the branch has completely missed her car...you can see the picture of where her car WAS parked. I am not doing everything right in my life...but I must be doing something right. Just as day breaks so does the power. Bummer no power means NO HEAT!! Melissa got up and went exploring and took some of these pictures. When she got back I took my turn at snapping some shots of our world of ice. The power came back on for just an hour or so and then stayed off until about 3 pm. When the temperature of my house dropped to 63* I went out to the shed and pulled out the generator and looked for some gas cans... none in site...gotta love my kids. I went down to the feed/NAPA store to buy one. Their power was out and I asked if they would just send me a bill or if I could come back the next day and pay for

them. They clerk took down my name and address and I took my gas cans to the gas station that had power and filled them up!! I couldn't pull started rope the generator fast enough to get it to start so called Tory's boyfriend to come give me a hand... we weren't having much luck when the son of my friends drives by, Josh is a mechanic and all around helpful kid. I wave him down and he pulls in. He can't get the generator started either, so he loads it up and takes it down to his house. Replaces the spark plug, cleans the carburetor and brings it back....just as power is restored. But that is one of the main reasons I LOVE living in a small town... There is always someone to help you when there is a crisis. I am sure Josh or some other helpful folks will be back around to help me remove ALL the limbs from my yard!!

The picture of the pine tree is one that is across the street at the community center. That is how powerful a little bit of ice can be. It just snapped this tree right off!!

Tory has been accepted to....

Tory has been accepted as a Freshman for the Fall 2008 year at Northwest Missouri University. She received her acceptance letter Thursday, Dec. 6th. She ran into the house and threw the package from NW at me and said open it I think I've been accepted, then she left the room. It took me a minute to find the page that had the acceptance information on it... Not only has she been accepted to NW but she has also already recieved a $1500 scholarship!! Yippee... She really wants to major in graphic arts, but she has such a talent with elementary age children, the pre-school teacher she cadet teaches for keeps reminder her of her talent. NW has several art degrees: BA Art; Art-B.S.Ed.Elementary-SecondaryArt; BFA - Graphic Design Specialization; BFA -Studio Specialization; Art-CSIS-Mass Comm- BS IDM Art Concentration. So she has a lot to choose from.

Winter Weather

Winter weather has come to the mid-west. BRRRRR Saturday morning we woke up to an ice storm. There was a thin layer of ice all over everything.... I took the opportunity to stay home during the morning and I started baking some Christmas goodies... I made some granola, some Candy Bar Bars, and I made a layered brownies gift bag... When Karen and Nicole were here we found some tiny mini marshmallows at an amish coountry store. I want to make some Christmas Cocoa with the mini marshmallows and then add some little peppermint cooking pieces. Sounds yummy!! With then oven on most of the morning the house was nice and toasty and smelled yummy too...

Saturday night Melissa had a basketball game...the championship game to the Annual Albany Basketball Tournament. She is playing varsity this year and I love to go and watch her play.... Each game she is playing more and more. The weather warmed up and melted the ice so going to the game was not a big deal. The girls lost the game so they came away with 2nd place.... This picture is of Melissa taking a free throw shot.

Today I took my neighbors Christmas pictures.... their daughter has a fear of characters in costumes....so sitting on Santa's lap is NOT happening.... well see what we did today..... we took pictures of Kenlyn with Santa.... After Christmas last year I purchased a Santa suit on clearance. I have been waiting a year to do this!! I know my lighting isn't great..... but I love the shots!!

A Very Busy Fall!

It just seemed like last week was the first day of fall! And, now the holiday season is just around the corner! Whew! Time sure flies... Fall began with my birthday!! It took a friend to remind me how old I was turning... I thought for sure I was turning 45, alas I was only turning 44. So for my birthday present I gained a whole YEAR!!

In October I got to meet my great nephew Weston!! and see is awesome Mom, Nicole and his grandma Karen!! Weston was so fun to see and play with, his signing has got to be the coolest way I have seen a baby communicate!!

While Karen, Nicole and Weston where here in MO we went to Amish Country and the Amish stores, we visited most of the Church historical sites; Adam-on-di-Amon, the Liberty Jail and the Independence Visitors Center, the final place we went to was to take Weston to Weston, MO. Weston is a historic little town with quaint little shops. We found lots of signs to pose Weston next to. This one is my favorite!

In early November, Tory and I hopped on a plane and headed to CA to take some Senior Portraits. I took her and Mckennon portrits down at La Jolla Cove. And Kimberly's up in Oceanside. We were only in CA for a few days so I didn't even try to see too many people. The only thing I didn't get to see that I wanted to was the destruction from the So. CA fires up in Valley Center. I did get to go to the Carlsbad Street fair where I had fun taking pictures of "California Characters". Those unique individuals that just don't fit in the Mid West.

Here are a few pictures of my Seniors!! First my beautiful daughter Tory.

My handsome nephew Mckennon....

My beautiful niece Kimberly...

Happy Fall to All....

Meg in MO