The Buskard Family

2010-03-13T09:42:00.000-08:00

operation christmas child shoeboxes

2009-11-13T19:43:00.000-08:00

Well, I am finally getting over being sick! It has been a pretty exhausting week but I am glad that I am on the upswing.

The other day we officially began the Christmas season with our tradition of the kids putting together shoeboxes for operation christmas child. The girls enjoyed picking out small toys from the store to add to their boxes. They both made a picture to put in their shoebox and packed them all by themselves. We love this tradition as it helps to open their eyes to the needs of others and that it is so much more rewarding to give to others than to receive.

Here they are with all their prizes laid out and ready to pack.And here they are with their packed boxes. They are looking forward to taking them to church on Sunday.

Tomorrow morning Grace will have her first soccer game of the season!!! We are so excited to see her play and Erik is thrilled to be the coach (though Grace keeps insisting that I should be the coach instead- sorry Erik, I thought you had a few more years before you became embarrassing).

This evening was one of the moments that I love being a parent. After an especially trying day we put the girls to bed. The house was quiet and then these are the precious whispered words I hear coming out of the girls' bedroom:

Grace: "Lena! Lena!"

Lena: "What?"

Grace: "I love you!"

Lena: "I love you too!"

This definitely put a smile on my face and brought joy to my heart!

Well, hopefully you all have a great weekend! I am looking forward to a soccer game in the morning!!!

Baby dedication

2009-11-10T06:15:00.000-08:00

Last week proved to be a busy but enjoyable one for us. On Thursday Erik was able to take Lena to do a diaper study in Cincinnati- the best part is that they paid him $75 to kroger!!!

Friday night we enjoyed going out to dinner at Larosa's with our friends the Wells. It was nice to get out and spend time with good friends!

I thought this picture was so funny. All the kids were playing together!

Sunday was a very exciting day for us as it was baby dedication at our church. We were so blessed to have my family there to support us as we dedicated Micah to God. It is such an amazing responsibility and privilege to raise our children to Love God and to desire to follow Him in everything we do.

Here's a picture of us on stage while Pastor Rob was offering us words of encouragement. I was SO relieved that the girls were well behaved on stage!!!

After service we all went to lunch and then came back to our house for Pinapple Upside Down Cheesecake!! It was so good! I guess there are a few perks to working where I do! :)

So, I think this picture actually turned out pretty good! The funny part is that I took this picture using the timer on my camera!

Grace absolutely loves her baby brother! We tried to get a picture with all 3 kids but Lena would have nothing to do with it!

Sunday night we went with my fam to a corn maze. The girls thought it was fun for about half an hour and then I took them to play on the playground. We enjoyed a great day spending time together with my fam and celebrating Micah being dedicated.

This morning Grace is at school and Lena is enjoying some extra attention. I am battling a bad cold, so hopefully I will be over it soon!

Fall Fun

2009-11-02T08:13:00.000-08:00

Not much has happened since the last time I posted. Erik is still looking for a job, and I am still trying to work as much as I can.

Here is a picture of the kids when we went to Young's Dairy a couple weeks ago.

My soccer season ended and now we are excited because Grace starts her indoor season this weekend! She is so excited to play soccer again, and I have to admit that it thrills me to see her play!

Micah is getting bigger everyday. He truly is a sweet natured little boy. I absolutely love that when I come to get him in the morning that he gives me the biggest smile and is so excited for me to pick him up!

Lena is becoming more and more grown up. She is talking so much now and is becoming very independent.

As always we seem to be constantly busy. Last week we had a blast at several Harvest parties and then trick-or-treating on Saturday. This year Lena was Alice in Wonderland, Grace was Jessie from toy Story2 and Micah wore a teddy bear snowsuit that my brother David wore as a baby.

Grace loved her Jessie costume, you can't tell from this pic, but she even had red hair!

Lena looked like a doll in her costume. She told everyone she was princess alice. So cute!

Here's me and the kids on Halloween. The girls had a blast walking around with daddy while Micah and I handed out candy.

Saturday night after trick-or-treat we went with my Dad and Josiah to Chipotle to score free burritos for dressing like a burrito. It was hilarious! My mom found emergency blankets that we wrapped ourselves up in. Though we did look ridiculous we had fun and it definitely made the free burritos taste that much better. :)

Mot much else is going on here. I have been blessed to find some great grocery deals lately. The other day at kroger my bill went from $90 down to $15!! The bagger kept watching the price drop as the lady scanned my coupons and he was so impressed that he said, "this is like watching the ball drop on New Years Eve!" It cracked me up!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures of my precious kids

Update

2009-10-07T12:37:00.000-07:00

If you haven't noticed, I have been a little absent in the blogging department over the last month. That said, it has been a very trying and exhausting month for us. Four weeks ago Erik lost his job. As a result, the past month has been an extremely difficult one as we seek God's guidance and provision for our family. Though it has been a time of complete helplessness we are not without hope. God has put so many fellow believers in our path. We have been blessed beyond any measure and are so thankful that though there is so much uncertainty at this time, we are constantly reassured that God is still God and that He ultimately is in control. Please pray that Erik finds a job soon. We have seen God do amazing things, and we know He will continue to provide for us. Please also pray that we will keep our eyes of Him at this time. It is so hard to see the master plan when we are in the middle of it.

Please also be in continued prayer for my dad. He is still undergoing treatment every week. So far it has been pretty hard on him. Pray that the chemo and antibody drug are effective and pray for my dad's continued healing and strength.

On a more upbeat note, the kids are doing great. Grace started preschool last month and is having a blast. We did take her for her 1st eye appointment this week and are thankful that she has perfect vision. This had been a concern of ours as I needed glasses at her age.

Here is a picture of Grace on her first day of school and a picture of all 3 kids that day.

Lena is growing up so much lately. Her speech has taken off in the last month, and she can now say just about anything. Here is a picture of her at Dsiney on Ice! We were thrilled to be able to get free tickets!

And last but not least is our little man, Micah! He is such an amazing little boy. I am definitely enjoying him. So far he is our happiest baby. He is content most of the time and brings such joy to us. At his 2 month appointment he was 14lb 6 oz and 24 1/2 in long! He has started smiling and cooing at us- which is so rewarding!

I am to the point of exhaustion. I have been trying to work as much as possible since Erik lost his job, at the same time I am coaching soccer at DC. I have really enjoyed coaching, but will be relieved when the season is over at the end of next week. That way I will be able to focus on working more and keeping up with things at home.

I had been avoiding posting until now because if I don't put it in words, then it really isn't happening- right? Well, that being said, I had better get ready for work. Hope you are all well and that you enjoyed the pics of the kiddos.

2009-08-31T09:46:00.000-07:00

I have come to the somber realization that I am the mother of a preschooler. Tomorrow I will take Grace to preschool open house. It is hard to believe that she is four years old and ready to leave her mommy. I suppose I shouldn't be that surprised as she has already informed me she can go by herself to check in to sunday school. I am amazed at the amazing young lady Grace is becoming. She is an absolute joy and though I will miss her for the short hours of preschool, I am excited that she will be learning and experiencing new things.
Lena had her cast removed on Friday. She didn't even cry when they were sawing her cast off. The doctor was pleased with how well her break healed. By saturday afternoon she was starting to walk around. She still has a slight limp, but is doing so well getting around. Hopefully this will be the only broken bone in the Buskard household!
Micah is keeping us busy, but I am truly enjoying his personality. For the most part he is a laid back little boy, but he has made it clear that he wants his mommy's undivided attention.
Also, if you could please keep my dad in your prayers. Tomorrow he will start another round of chemo. He will undergo chemo for an unknown period of time during which time he will also be taking a promising drug. Please pray for strength for my dad and also for effectiveness of the treatment.
I am incredibly blessed to be the daughter of an amazing man of God. I know I take for granted the privilege it is to have an earthly father who exemplifies my heavenly Father. Please continue to pray for continued healing and encouragement at this time.

Cute kids and Grocery Blessings!

2009-08-21T11:36:00.000-07:00

I have to start this post off with some pictures of my adorable kids I took this morning in the back yard.Grace is looking so grown up! Its hard to believe that in 2 weeks she will start preschool.
Our sweet Lena. She has just one more week in her cast!! She is just now figuring out how to walk with the cast on, so by the time she perfects it, she will have it off! Here's Micah in his awesome soccer outfit that the Orme's gave him! I absolutely love having a little boy around! Though I am severely sleep deprived at the moment- I am loving being a family of 5.All 3 of my kiddos in soccer gear! Oh how kids in soccer gear can melt my heart! I feel that we are adjusting well to being a family of 5. So far there has only been one day where the house was a mess. I feel like that is a major accomplishment!!!

In other news, if I wasn't busy enough, high school soccer is in full swing. I am coaching the JV girls team at DC again this year. It is going to be a little crazy but I love coaching.

We have been blessed with a couple very successful shopping trips this week!!! I was so thrilled I even took pictures. The first picture is of my $15 meijer trip.I was even more thrilled with my trip to kroger's. See if you can guess what everything in the picture cost me...........

.................... and the grand total of my trip to kroger was $7!!!!! Thank you God for your blessings!!

Well, I had better get some things done before heading to soccer practice. We are looking forward to a quiet weekend of family time!! Yay for Erik being home for the weekend!!!

Quick Update

2009-08-12T14:18:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update on life around here.
Today my dad went in for the results of his latest PETscan. The three spots that showed up on his last PETscan 3 months ago have continued to get larger. This is definitely not what we were hoping and praying for, but are tying to trust God's direction. From here, my dad will have a biopsy performed on one of the spots and his oncologist hopes to put him on a promising drug along with chemo. Please continue to pray! Pray for God's peace for my dad and my family, pray for continued healing, and please pray for wisdom for the Dr. as they decide what course of treatment would be best.
This week Erik returned to work. It has been a hard week for him at work and a stressful one for me at home. Lena is not handling her cast very well. She has been a wreck almost everyday- and when she gets frustrated the whole world comes to an end. She has yet to put weight on or try to walk with her cast on. We are hoping she will try to start to walk soon.
I am very thankful for our neighbors! Yesterday they took Grace to the park. She definitely needed some time away from the chaos. It was great that she was able to spend time playing with her friend Alli.
Today Grammie and Papa took the girls to a movie. I definitely enjoyed the time with Micah and the girls had a great time enjoying some special attention! Its amazing how quiet the house is with only 1 child home!
This afternoon I took Micah for his 2 week checkup. Our little man has grown quite a bit! He is now 10lb 14 oz and 23 1/4 in long! WOW! It has been such a joy to get to know him! We are all absoutely in love with this newest member of our family!
That's all for now- hopefully I will start updating more regularly now that we are settling into live as 5!

Adjusting, Crazy Trips, and Broken Bones!

2009-08-08T07:39:00.000-07:00

We have made it through almost 2 weeks as a family of 5! It has been an exciting, busy, and crazy 2 weeks- but it feels great to be able to start adjusting to our new life with Micah.

He is definitely a sweet baby. He is a pleasant baby and doesn't cry much unless he is hungry. We are emjoying watching the girls interract with him, and shower him with "love" (or slobbery kisses)!

Last week friday we packed in the car and headed to MI to visit family. I do have to say there are not many mothers out there that would pack three kids in the car- one 4 days old- and take a long trip. It wasn't that long ago that mother and baby would still be relaxing in the hospital, being waited on! We had a great time visiting with family while we were there. I will have to post more pictures when I have time but some of the highlights of our trip were spending time with the Genthers, enjoyed 2 trips to Lake Michigan in one day, driving around Grand Rapids reminiscing about old times, seeing Grandparents, spending an afternoon with Uncle Brett and Cole, and my husband was especially thrilled with Michigan Warmups for the girls from Grandpa and Grandma Buskard ( I think the girls will be wearing these out!!). We did what we could to make it everywhere- but I think we did a pretty good job! Next time we visit we hope to make it more places when Micah is older and I haven't just had a baby! :)

Our trip did end on a low note. While playing, Lena slid on a toy and fell. Right away I could tell that she truly did hurt something. We waited a couple hours and then decided that we needed to take her to an urgent care to get checked out. We saw a very nice older doctor who did x-rays and even sent them home with us. We drove into the early hours of the morning to get home and then took Lena to our pediatrician on Tuesday. They sent us to do more x-rays, but didn't see anything. After 4 days of not being able to put weight on her leg we were able to see a pediatric orthopedic who confirmed that she has a fracture in her lower leg. So, our poor girl has a very fashionable hot pink cast for three weeks. She hasn't quite figured out how to walk with it on, and is getting very frustrated with us that we can't take it off for her. I am so thankful Erik was still off from work this week! Please pray for complete recovery and also for Lena to not be so frustrated! It is definitely going to make for an interesting 3 weeks- a newborn, a preschooler, and a toddler who isn't able to walk!

Here's a couple pictures I took the other day. I know I am partial, but I think I have the cutest kids!

Welcome Micah!

2009-07-28T14:29:00.000-07:00

Well, Micah definitely made his debut yesterday, but he decided to do it in his own fashion!

I woke up Sunday morning at 12:30 am. I went to the bathroom, tried to lay back down, but wasn't feeling good. I was having some pretty intense contractions, but wasn't confident that they were the real thing. At 1:00 I woke Erik up and told him it was "time to go!" We called the Dr., my dad came to stay with the girls and we were at the hospital by 1:30.

I have to admit I was not that "thrilled" with the staff at the hospital when I first arrived. They were definitely "taking their time" until I had to stress to them that my contractions were now 2 minutes apart and I was having some extreme pressure. The nurses started to take me a little more seriously at this point and I was in a birthing room within minutes. While the nurse was "trying" to put an IV in my arm in order for my to get an epidural things were progressing quickly. Once she called for a more experienced WONDERFUL nurse to take care of my IV they checked me only to discover that I was already 9 cm dilated. In other words there would be no form of pain meds for me. I was about to cry!

I had always wanted to have a completely natural childbirth, but never thought that I would be able to do it. I guess I had to be forced into the situation! Let me tell you- God was definitely in complete control! He not only gave me the physical and mental strength to get through it, but my husband was right there with me, I had an amazing nurse encouraging me, and my dr. was there in time! God is good!

At 2:54am Micah was born. Of course of my 3 children he was the biggest, coming in at 9lb 6oz, 22 inches long! It is a good thing that it didn't take any longer, because I don't think my husband could have taken seeing me in that much pain for much longer!

Our precious baby boy is amazing! We are so blessed that he is so healthy, and are thankful to already be home. The girls are absolutely thrilled with their baby brother. Grace has let us know that Micah is her baby, and is so sweet with him. Lena is already bringing him his blankies and kisses on him.

We are looking forward to spending time together adjusting to being a family of 5!

Tomorrow is the BIG DAY!

2009-07-26T18:52:00.000-07:00

That's right, tomorrow morning at 7:45 we will be heading to the hospital to have Micah! We are SO excited that we will finally be able to meet our little boy! The last 2 weeks have been extremely hard on me both physically and emotionally, which led to the decision to be induced.

This weekend we enjoyed being a family of 4 for the last time. Yesterday we made a trip to Young's Dairy where we enjoyed amazing ice cream! I have to admit it was different tucking the girls into bed tonight knowing that the next time I get to tuck them in there will be 3 kids to get to bed.

Please pray for a quick and safe delivery! Also please be praying for my girls. I am confident Grace will adjust well, as she understands that tomorrow Micah is finally coming. However I am more concerned with how Lena will adjust. She has such a tender spirit and it is my prayer that Erik and I will be even more conscious of her at this crazy time!

Well, I had better finish getting things settled here and hopefully get a good nights sleep. I will leave you with a cute picture of Lena taken at the park the other day, and a picture of Grace wearing her Minnie Mouse Ears. Be looking for pictures and updates tomorrow!!

We DO still EXIST!

2009-07-10T09:53:00.000-07:00

Well as you can probably tell from the absence of all blogging over the last month, things have been crazy around here.
June was a fun but busy month for us. Grace was able to experience VBS for the first time. It was so much fun listening to her sing the songs she learned and tell me everything they did. This was the first time that I had ever dropped Grace of for anything before!
Grace also was able to participate in a preschool day camp for two weeks. She has a blast!
Lena is getting bigger everyday. She has been adding new words constantly, and of course is a very independent little lady!
Erik is still plugging away at his job. He has been so faithful in his work, even though this is a less than desirable time to work for his company.
Two weeks ago we moved to a cute rental home. We have so enjoyed our new place! We are only 5 blocks from my parents, which has already been such a blessing. The girls love the yard to play in. Grace has already made a good friend, who turns out is only one day younger than her!
Yesterday my sweet Grace turned 4! For whatever reason this was a harder birthday to come to terms with! She is growing up so fast and is becoming such a neat little lady. We celebrated the day with yummy Krispy Kreme's in the morning! Then we met my mom, dad, and grandma for a picnic lunch at a local park. Then, last night my fam came over for dinner and Grace opened her presents. My Grandma gave Grace a Disney Princess Bike, which she is absolutely thrilled with!
This weekend we are having a cookout with family and friends to further celebrate. It should be fun! Hopefully we will get our computer figured out so I can post some pictures!
In baby news, I have just over 2 weeks to go! Between the stress of moving, Grace's birthday, and still working, I am utterly exhausted and thoroughly reading to meet my little boy! At my checkup this week my Dr. said any day now. So, we wait, and wait, and wait! Hopefully I will have Micah in my arms soon.
I know there is so much more that has happened over the last month, but alas it is all turning into a burr! Just wanted to update while I had access to a computer, and so you all don't think we have fallen off the face of the earth! :) Hopefully I will have some pictures soon- and I will make sure Micah news will be a top priority to update you on!

Happy June!

2009-06-01T10:10:00.000-07:00

Yay! It is finally June and that means I can say we are going to have a baby next month (as long as Micah is not crazy overdue!)!!! It is going to be a very busy month for us so it should make time go by fast!
On the baby front we were able to have a 4D ultrasound done for FREE!!! It was so much fun! Grace especially enjoyed it! She is going to be such a great big sister to this little guy. Lena was also fascinated. Erik and I were thrilled that I won such a neat prize as it would have cost us $170 to do. We were given a DVD of the ultrasound and when we later viewed it, we could definitely tell that micah is going to have the same chin and nose as the girls! SO neat! Here's a picture of our precious little man!

Over Memorial Day weekend we enjoyed a cookout with my family on Saturday and then my parents took us all to see The Night at the Museum 2. Everyone thought it was hilarious- Lena and I saw the first 15 min and then walked around the mall the rest of the time! Oh well- someday I will be able to sit through a movie at the theatre! :)

Erik's mom and dad also came for a visit. We made sure we took a dip in the freezing pool on Memorial Day morning! Though the girls' teeth were chattering they loved being able to get in the pool again!

Since we are not going to be able to take any type of vacation this year (well, we haven't had one since our honeymoom, but who's counting) we decided to have a campout at my parents house on Friday night. We did everything you would do if you went camping! Erik pitched the tent. Set up the kiddie pool and played in the water. We Grilled out dinner. Made smores and hobo pies. And thoroughly enjoyed our time together as a family!

It was so much fun! It truly doesn't matter where you go or how much money spend as long as you are having fun together as a family!!

God continues to send little blessings our way! I am able to participate in another diaper survey starting this Friday! Though it is a bit of work I think it is well worth it. I will get three weeks worth of diapers and $55 to Meijer's for participating. The giftcard will definitely come in handy as I am saving all giftcards until after Micah arrives since I will not be working for awhile. YAY for free diapers and groceries!!!

Speaking of free groceries.... Saturday Erik, the kids and I ran into Meijer and Kroger. We bought..... 4 boxes of waffles, 5 boxes of frozen pretzels, 2 jars salsa, 4 cannisters Contry Time lemonade, 10 packs Kool-aid, and 3 gallons of milk....... and we only spent $7!!! All right! I'm so blessed to have a hubby to humor me with this quick money saving trip!

Also, another little blessing- since we are moving in less than 4 weeks (AAAHHH!!! we haven't found a place yet but are getting close!) we are going to be needing boxes to pack things in. Well someone in our complex just moved and put their Professional Moving Boxes out for anyone to take!! So, we have 10 boxes that we didn't have to buy or go look for!!

God truly cares about even the little things! Hope you have a good week, and I will try to keep you better updated on all that is happening here!

A week of ups and downs

2009-05-23T03:51:00.000-07:00

Well there have been some fun things going on this week and some not so fun things.
I guess I'll start on an upbeat note! Monday the kids and I went to the kids concert at the mall. Lena is really starting to get into it!
Monday I was also treat to lunch by my friend Tara. I have so enjoyed our friendship! She also blessed me with a very generous gift card to Wal-Mart! I'm definitely going to save this one for when I am taking some time off of work once Micah arrives!
Thursday we took our friends, Amy and Carson to the zoo with us. It was pretty hot but we had a really good time. Let me tell you, pushing a stroller with a toddler and two 3 year olds up hills is a little harder when you are 7 months pregnant! :) We were all exhausted by the time we left. I don't know what I was thinking, but I even worked Thursday night- as you can guess I was worn out by the time I got home from work!
It has been another great deal week for me! I purchased over $100 worth of groceries for only $30! Yay for great deals!
Today should be a fun day! About a month ago I received in the mail a letter congratulating me on winning a 4d ultrasound!! So we are going today, and I am so excited as this is the first 4d ultrasound I have done and we would never have paid the $100 to get one done! Its amazing how God blesses us with extravagances!
Then this afternoon we are having a BBQ at my parents. And tonight my mom and dad are taking us all to see Night at the Museum 2!!! Grace is thrilled! Every time she sees a preview on TV she goes nuts!
OK, so there's my upbeat portion of my post. On Wednesday my Dad went to the oncologist to find the results of his latest PETscan. His PETscan in January was completely clean, but when he went in this time, they found three new spots. They are not completely convinced that they are cancer, but the odds are not in his favor. Also, the spots are outside of his lungs, so they are not able to do a biopsy to determine if they are cancer. SO, we has to wait 3 months and have another PETscan before they decide what kind of treatment to do. All that to say, it is like another blow to the stomach! I know God is in control, but sometime it is so hard to see His direction.
Please Pray! 1. That these spots would somehow not be cancer or "disappear" (aka God's miraculous healing touch) 2. That my Dad would be able to once again take this in stride and stay encouraged 3. For my mom- she is under an incredible amount of stress as the sole provider of income. Not only does she have to worry about the everyday stress of bills, but somehow also worry about my dad 4. My dad is still looking for a job. Pray that God will open doors and provide direction.
In other words, we have been incredibly blessed this week, but at the same time are humbly sitting at the feet of Jesus asking for peace and guidance!

Funny Kids and Great Deals!

2009-05-16T05:24:00.000-07:00

I just want to say that my kids absolutely crack me up! So, Erik has to work all day today ( he has to work at the branch til noon and then go to a meeting in Columbus til 5pm, SO frustrating because that means it is yet another day where we won't see each other at all!) and I really don't feel like going anywhere until I have to leave for work. Anyway, I let Grace watch some cartoons this morning, which is a rarity in this house, I rarely ever turn the tv on for the girls and it is definitely never on in the morning. So, Grace is in the living room happily watching cartoons and all of a sudden she starts yelling, "Mom! MOM!!" I go out there to find out what she wants and she says, "Mom, I need Sketchers. They're shoes that are on tv!" What a funny kid!
Yesterday turned out to be a profitable deal finding day. I really should have taken a picture of everything I was able to get, but you will just have to imagine $131.92 worth of groceries only costing me $35.66!!! I was very pleased with that total! It did take a bit of planning, but I think it was well worth it!
Last night Erik and I watched Ben Stein's movie "Expelled." It was a great documentary on intelligent design and how "society" will not accept intelligent design as an explanation, but holds tight to the flawed theory of Darwinism. Definitely a good movie to watch!
Well, I work the next two nights, hopefully they go quickly and I have enough energy to make it through them! :) Let me tell you, this pregnant lady is getting more exhausted every day!
Hope you all have a great weekend!

We're Still Here!

2009-05-13T09:46:00.000-07:00

Well so far we have survived the craziness of May. I ended up working a ton of hours up until last weekend. That is one thing that is nice about my job, if we need extra cash I am able to pick up a shift and leave with money in my pocket.

I did take the girls to the zoo last week Tuesday. We actually went because I was able to participate in a diaper study for Pampers and since the facility where I pick up the diapers is just a few minutes from the zoo we made the most of the trip. I am definitely going to miss our zoo pass when it expires at the end of next month. We have more than gotten our money's worth out of it. Oh, and the diaper study is such a blessing! Not only do we get three weeks worth of diapers for free but when I take them back I get $60 to Kroger! God is good!!! It is amazing that He even cares about diapers!

Last Friday we all headed to Kentucky for David's college graduation. We enjoyed the trip down there and made stops at the Gap outlet and to Cumberland Falls. At the falls Grace was thrilled to see a snake on the hiking trail (no worries, it was a tiny snake!)! Friday night David took us to a pizza place that has games for the kids. The kids had a blast! We also enjoyed some swimming at the hotel- Grace may actually learn to swim this year!!

Saturday morning was David's graduation. Afterwards my parents took us all out to the bbq restaurant that David works at. It was SO good- can you tell this pregnant lady was excited about bbq ribs!!!! YuM!

Our trip home turned a little interesting as we were about half way home, and making great time, when the highway was shutdown for over an hour for an accident! It made things interesting, but Grace thought it was neat to get out of the car on the highway :)

Sunday I enjoyed a relaxing and peaceful Mother's Day. After church my hubby took us to Don Pablos for lunch. When we got home from lunch we put the girls down for naps and I even got a nap in!! Later on we went to my parents house to hang out and watch a movie. I absolutely love being a mommy! It amazes me how God has worked in my life and has given me such a passion for my children! All the sacrifices I make are nothing compared to the time that I get to spend with them, molding them into Christ followers!

Monday I was blessed by a Baby Shower given by my friend Karis while she was in town. It was so good to catch up with old friends! Micah is definitely going to be a well dressed little boy! My mom and dad gave us a Michigan Mobile for Micah's crib. Needless to say Erik is thrilled, as he has wanted to buy this mobile with each baby we have!

Today we are laying low until I have to go to work. Hope that catches you up on some of the happenings since I last posted. I'll leave you with a couple pictures from the falls and graduation.

Long Time No Post

2009-04-28T12:14:00.000-07:00

Well, since it has been almost two whole weeks since I have posted anything, I had better give you a quick update on the happenings here.
The weekend after Easter I enjoyed another birthday. I spent the morning of my birthday at a kids consignment sale, I found some good things, but it was crazy. I enjoyed the rest of the day with my girls and then later we went to Mongolian BBQ. All in all I had a good birthday without too much fuss, just enjoying my cute family!
Last week Erik took Friday off in order to spend a day with the girls and I. We made a trip to the zoo and had a blast. It is so much fun to spend time as a family. We rarely have whole days together, so this was a special treat.
The girls are doing good. We have already enjoyed the nicer weather with several trips to the park. The girls have also loved being able to play outside at Grammie and Papa's house. Grace even spent the night last week and was already outside at 9 in the morning! Papa put up a tire swing for Grace and she absolutely loves it!
On the baby front- I am glad my due date is now less than 3 months away. I am keeping up with everything pretty well, though I am finding I am getting more and more exhausted. On a brighter note I have done some good shopping at local thrift stores for clothes for all 3 kids! I am loving looking for boy clothes!
Well, I had better get the kids up from their naps and off to Papa's. I have to work tonight and for that matter every night for the next week. So, in other words we won't be doing too much other that resting during the day and then I will be working at night. Here comes a week of pure insanity! :)

Happy Easter!

2009-04-13T10:41:00.000-07:00

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter. We had a beautiful weekend and an extremely blessed Easter!

Saturday was definitely packed full of fun for the girls. In the morning we went to an egg hunt that my parent's church does every year. It was crazy because there were so many people there, but the girls had fun finding the eggs. We also met up with our friends the Well's while we were there and then took Grace's friend, Carson, with us for the afternoon.

After the first egg hunt we made it over to a second egg hunt at a church near my parent's house. The kids had an absolute blast at this one! They had blow up toys, pony rides, cotton candy, crafts, hot dogs, a petting zoo, and an egg hunt all for free! It was really nice because they had different age groups hunt for eggs at different times. Definitely less chaotic

Here's Grace and Carson at the egg hunt! It was so sweet because Carson would find pink eggs and give them to grace! They are such good friends!Grace and papa at the pony ride! Can you tell Grace adores her papa!?!Lena's 1st pony ride. She was fascinated with the horses and also with the petting zoo they had!

The rest of our Saturday we spent as a family. We enjoyed free lunch at Chick-fil-a (nothing better than a free dinner at a place we love!!!) and then we dyed Easter eggs. Grace really got into it this year!

Here's Grace getting ready to dye her eggs! Here's Lena dying an egg. She did good once she realized that the dye wasn't for eating :)Grace with her finished eggs!Lena and her eggs!

Sunday we had the priviledge of my friend Tara joining us for Easter service. I am so amazed at God's goodness to us! He has blessed me beyond anything I could have ever imagined! I love Easter and it is such a joyous occassion to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord!

After service we went to my parent's for Easter dinner. We enjoyed a wonderful relaxing afternoon with them!

My beautiful girls on Easter!The girls with Uncle David. It was nice he was able to come home for Easter as we haven't seen him since Christmas.

Our family of 4 on easter! I can't wait til there are 5 of us to take a picture of!!We had an egg hunt at my Parent's house. Lena had so much fun looking for the eggs. She is such a sweet little girl!Grace found a "sneaky" egg on my mom's car. She is growing up so fast and it such a joy!And I finally gave in and had a "pregnancy" picture taken. Here I am at 25 weeks. AAHHHH!!!! I can't guarantee that another picture will be taken- this is actually the first time I had a belly shot taken in 3 pregnancies! I hope you all had a joyous Easter as well!

Fun Filled Day

2009-04-10T10:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a very enjoyable day for the girls and I. In the morning we picked my mom up and took her to Smith Gardens, which is a beautifully landscaped garden open to the public. My mom needed pictures of spring flowers for a contest at work, so we were happy to accomany her on this project. I will have to post some pictures later, but the flowers were beautiful and the girls enjoyed looking at everything, and we fascinated with a rather large bug they found! :)
Afterwards we went to a local park and had a picnic lunch. I love being able to get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather. At the park there is a large sand area that the girls spent most of the time in. I love watching them play and explore! It was so nice just spending a relaxing day with my mom and my daughters.
Then, last night Grace had the opportunity to go to the Dragon's baseball game with her friend Carson and his parents. She has been talking about it all day today! From what I hear, they had a blast. It is neat that Grace is to the age where she gets to go on fun outings with friends, and that she has found such a good friend in Carson!
Tonight I have to work, which I have to admit, I am dreading, but I do have the whole weekend off for Easter! YAY! Tomorrow we will be heading to an Easter Egg Hunt and dying eggs at home. I'm also excitedthat my brother David is making it home for Easter and he will be spending the day with us tomorrow!
I hope you all have a blessed Easter, as we celebrate the greatest day in history- the resurrection of our Lord Jesus!! I am in awe of all that God has done and all that He is going to continue to do in our lives!

Finally feeling better!

2009-04-08T08:27:00.000-07:00

The last week was a completely exhausting one! I am finally feeling better! I was probably the sickest I have been since I had mono my freshman year in college. Definitely no fun! I am just thankful that whatever I had, complicated by pregnancy, has finally gone away!!!
Last Saturday Erik had the day off! We woke up to a beautiful sunny day, and I definitely needed to get out of the house since I hadn't been able to do much of anything the whole week. My sweet husband told us all to get in the car and he would drive somewhere. He drove us to my favorite place to get ice cream, Young's Dairy! The girls absolutely loved feeding the goats and seeing all the animals. It was funny because there were probably 10 pregnant goats there! I hope I never look that funny when I am pregnant! :) We had a great time eating lunch and ice cream. We also went for a nice hike at Clifton Gorge. The girls really enjoyed being outside and walking in the woods. I think we were all exhausted by the time we got home!
Sunday we took a friend of mine from work to church with us. This is a total God thing as I have been praying for her and encouraging her to come with us for almost a year now, and she finally took me up on the offer!!! Later when I dropped her off she asked if we could make this a regular thing! I'm excited about what God is doing through this friendship!
Yesterday the girls and I were able to meet my friend Stephanie for lunch. I was so nice to catch up!
The girls are already taking their naps. They are excited to go to Grammie and Papa's tonight while I am at work because they are going to dye Easter Eggs! The girls absolutely love spending time with them. The other day my dad watched the girls while I went to a Dr. Appt. and when I came to pick them up neither one of them wanted to leave and Papa had to carry both girls to the car! So cute!
In other news I am now 24 weeks and 2 days pregnant! Maybe one of these days I will take a picture of what I look like, but until then you'll just have to imagine a slightly beached whale toting a toddler and preschooler (I just hope I don't look like a pregnant goat) :) It is finally starting to feel like I am getting somewhere in this pregnancy! For the most part, other than last week, I have felt pretty good and am enjoying the constant nudges and kicks that Micah sends my way! 24 weeks down, 16 to go!!

Easter Portraits

2009-04-01T10:09:00.000-07:00

Today I took the girls to get their pictures taken in their Easter dresses. I always dread going because I know that one or both girls will end up in tears at some point. And today was no exception! To start off, they were already running behind. Mind you our appointment was at 9:35 and they open at 9, so I couldn't imagine they would be that far behind already, but oh well. So, when they finally get us in the first room Lena wants nothing to do with the whole process. Eventually they get her to crack a small smile, snap a few pictures, and then we are sent to wait in the next room. This is when Grace takes a tumble and busts her lip open. Poor thing! It looks better now, but at the time it was bloody and huge. Needless to say, the pictures in the next room were a No Go. In the end I was happy with what we got.

Here's my girls together!Lena with a subtle smile. She didn't want to "over do it." :)Sweet Grace with a beautiful smile, right before she was a puddle of tears.

In other news, I am still completely wiped out. I had to get rid of my shift at work for tonight, which is a little disappointing because I had the possibility of making pretty good money. Hopefully tomorrow will be the day that I wake up and feel ready to go. This whole being sick while pregnant, and running after a 3 and 1 year old is not a good combination.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures of my beautiful girls!

Playing Catch Up

2009-03-30T13:30:00.000-07:00

First off, we had a good time at the basketball game on thursday. The game was a little disappointing. Dayton Christian was the better team, but whenever you are a Christian team in the spotlight, it is almost imossible to find inparital referees. It was fun to spend some time with my dad, Josiah, Erik, and Grace.
Friday night Erik and I had the opportunity to watch the movie Fireproof at church. It is a very good movie that every couple should watch. The movie goes right along with a series on marriage that our pastor has been teaching. The series has been a great challenge and reminder on how God views marriage and our roles in marriage. If anyone would like to listen to the sermons (I think they are the best sermons I have ever heard on marriage) just go to our church's website, www.apexcommunity.net.
Saturday night my mom had some people over for a Bunco party. This was only the second time I have played bunco and we had a lot of fun. A friend my dad has worked with for over 20 years was there with his wife, and he soon found a fast friend in Grace. He was so sweet to her as he let her sit on his lap and roll the dice for him. She had a blast!
Saturday is also the day that everything caught up to me!! I developed a horrible cough and have lost my voice except for meager squeaks now and then. As a result, I couldn't work saturday or sunday. I must admit it was nice not working, but I wish I felt up to doing anything!
Today my cough and voice are not any better and I was greeted by a sick lena this morning. All Lena did was curl up in my lap or sit on the couch until 3 this afternoon. This is highly unusual for Lena, as she rarely sits still for more than a minute at a time. She seems herself now, so I am hoping she just had a quick bug.
I take the girls to get their Easter pictures done on Wednesday. I LOVE getting pictures done, expecially of my adorable kids.
Well, I had better get things cleaned up and dinner started.

The Mother of All Posts Part 3

2009-03-26T06:18:00.001-07:00

The girls were up bright and early tuesday morning. Grace was SO excited that this was the day that she would finally be able to pick out her American Girl doll! The American Girl Place is phenomenal! It is one of the most amazing stores I have ever been to!

When we walked in Grace went right for Kit! She had been saying that was the doll she wanted, but I wasn't sure if she would stick with her decision once she saw all the dolls, but there was no swaying her! Grace started jumping up and down and was SO excited!Here's Grace and Grammie picking out the doll together! Her face was absolutely priceless as she picked out her doll!Grace could hardly wait for my mom to buy her and then be able to get her out of her box. I don't know about you, but I think Grace looks just a little happy in this picture! :) My mom also purchased for Kit the cutest pink pajamas, which Kit has had to wear to bed every night since! SO cute!

My mom then took Lena and they picked out a Bitty Baby. Lena was thrilled with her baby!Here's Lena loving on her baby! She absolutely adores the baby and it is now a permanent fixture to Lena.We bought Grace the matching Kit hat. They look adorable in their matching hats!

After buying the dolls my mom took Grace to the portrait studio they have there to get her picture taken with Kit.This is probably one of the best professional pictures we have of Grace. It is such a sweet picture and Grace is smiling SO big!

After pictures we headed upstairs to the Cafe to have our amazing lunch.Here's the girls and I at lunch. Notice how the dolls have their own special seats that attach to the tables. They also brought out special china for the dolls. Amazing!My mom and the girls at lunch. The dining room was beautiful. It was decorated in black, white, and pink. Lena needed her baby to sit in front of her for awhile!Grace and Kit enjoying their first lunch together. Grace smelling the flower! They brought us each an amazing dessert plate. It had a special heart cookie, a heart shaped piece of cake, and a flower pot with amazing chocolate mousse. Our lunch was so much fun, and will be a memory that I will cherish forever!A cute picture of the girls looking into a window.Me and the girls in front of the American Girl Place. We had such an amazing time. It was so special to spend the time with my mom and my girls. I'm am so blessed to have such an incredible mom who would take us on such an incredible trip!!!!

You may have wondered what happend to Uncle Joe during all this. Well, he took this opportunity to explore Chicago, and had a great time.

Our trip was thoroughly enjoyable and will be a cherished memory.

Yesterday was also a busy day for us. I was able to participate in two marketing research studies. One I was paid $40 for answering questions for only 10 minutes. And then the other I participated in a discussion group and received a $25 gift card to Target and was able to pick out a gift. I picked out this neat portable high chair.It is going to be great for taking on trips, camping, going on picnics, or just taking on the go. I'm definitely excited about it. I also had to work late last night, but was blessed with a profitable night.

Tonight will be another late night for us. Erik, Josiah, my Dad, Grace and I are heading to Columbus to cheer on my high school basketball team. They are competing in the state semifinals. It should be a great time!

Well that is what has all happened in less than a week! Crazy! I know I will hit the wall of exhaustion soon, but until then I will enjoy every minute!

The Mother of All Posts Part 2

2009-03-26T05:32:00.000-07:00

I first wanted to start this post off with a word about my parents. My mom and dad absolutely amaze me. My mom has planned on taking us on this trip ever since Grace was born. As many of you know that past few years have been extremely hard ones for my family. My dad's cancer has led to continued time off from work and then now complete layoff. My mom and been more than faithful at her unpleasant job. She has worked countless hours trying to make ends meet, and at the same time always putting everyone else before herself. All this to say, my mom is amazing. She didn't need to spend the money she so diligently worked for and saved on this trip. It is something special that she wanted to do for me and my girls, and it AMAZES me! Special extravagences are always more meaningful and have a greater impact when they are the result of love and sacrifice!

Monday morning my mom and Uncle Joe picked us up and we made our way to Chicago. When we got in the car there were special treat bags that my Grandma packed full of treats and snacks for the girls. They loved it!

Our first stop was to Legoland!!! It was so much fun and quite amazing. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of it, but they have an incredibly replica of the city of Chicago made of legos. Quite impressive. Grace expecially liked the exhibit they had of a jungle safari. There were full scale tigers, monkeys, snakes, and people all made of legos!Grace standing by a lego tiger!

There was also a ride that we were able to take the girls on that rides you around to show you more Lego scenes! Grace really enjoyed watching a Bob the Builder 4D movie. It was pretty cute. We spent the majority of our time playing with thousands of legos!

Lena had a great time playing with all the legos!Grace built a lego tower as tall as she is! Grace and Uncle Joe spent some time building, testing, and racing a lego car. Grace and Uncle Joe with their finished product.Lena in the lego pit. She thought this was hilarious! My girls with Uncle Joe. They absolutely adore him and are so lucky to have such an amazing uncle who will take the time to play and have fun with them!Grace and Grammie sitting next to a sleepy lego man! :) Me and my girls in front of Legoland. We had a great time! Afterwards we had a wonderful dinner at a restaurant called Sweet Tomatoes. My Grandma recommended the restaurant and even gave us the money for dinner. It was SO good and it was so sweet of my grandma to pay for our dinner.

We enjoyed relaxing at the hotel for the rest of the evening. Still to come in Part 3 of this incredibly long post....... American Girl Place Chicago!!!!!!!!

The mother of all posts Part 1

2009-03-26T05:12:00.000-07:00

There has been so much that has happened over the course of the last week that I decided to break the post up into 3 sections.

I ended up working Friday Saturday and Sunday night which would be enough to wear me out in itself! Work went pretty well and I actually had a great night on Sunday night, which was truly a gift from God. It amazes me how God meets our needs right where we are at, and He knew the amount of money that I would need to make over the weekend. Also, even though work has been more than frustrating I have been given some opportunities to share my faith lately. I can also feel God giving me the courage to be more bold in my faith.

Erik's mom and dad came into town late Friday night. Saturday we packed into the car and headed to the Newport Aquarium. We absolutely love taking the girls to museums and fun family activities. This is one of the things that I am so thankfuk that my parents made the sacrifice for and made a priority while I was growing up. I love seeing the girls learn and experience new things. It is so much more rewarding than getting new sports equipment and clothes. I would much rather wear my "not so stylish" apparel and give my girls some amazing experiences. After all these are the memories that I myself cherish from my childhood.

Anyway, we had a great time exploring and seeing all the fish, birds, and especially the sharks!

Here is a picture of all of us in the mouth of a shark. Grace thought it was pretty cool.

Grace and daddy on the frogs. So, funny story. In the "frog bog" there is a climbing and tunnel activity for the kids. Well Grace insisted that I go in with her. I was quite pleased that I did not get stuck, as I am not sure they designed the tunnels for pregnant women! :)Lena on the frog!Lena touching a starfish!Grace and Daddy feeding a larakeet. We enjoyed the aquarium. It is so nice that there is so much to do and see within an hour drive!

That concludes the weekend and I will now work on our absolutely amazing Chicago trip!!!!!

Countdown to Legoland and the American Girl Store

2009-03-20T10:22:00.000-07:00

Just three days until we head to Chicago! I am extremely excited about the trip. This week we have been reading the American Girl Kit Books, and have now watched the movie that came out last year. So far Grace is set on getting the Kit American Girl Doll, but we will see what she decides on.
I work the next three nights, so I will be happy to have something fun planned once work is over for the weekend! I feel exhausted from the week already, but I keep telling myself just one day at a time.
Erik's mom and dad are coming for a visit this weekend. The plan is to go to the Aquarium tomorrow. The kids should have a blast seeing all the fish!
Well, I had better get everything ready before heading to work tonight. Many pictures from the next several days will follow. It is a bummer that Erik can't join in on the fun, but it will be a great time for the girls and I to spend with Grammie and Uncle Joe. Have I mentioned that I can't wait to go on our trip!?!?

Family Update

2009-03-16T12:06:00.000-07:00

Well the last week flew by! I ended up working 5 nights and Erik had to stay late for meetings on a different night, so I think we feel like we we didn't see each other at all over the past week.
Last week thursday we went to the Gap outlet in Northern Kentucky and actually made out really good. I was thrilled to find maternity pants for work as well as 2 $70 pair of work pants for Erik for only $7 each. YAY!!! I also found Micah some cute Pjs. I love being able to get boy things now!
Last night I ended up going home from work early. A girl I work with (who I can hardly stand anyway) was goofing off and ran me over, knocking me in the stomach so hard that I almost fell over. It definitely freaked me out, as I was in quite a bit of pain for the night. I was thankful that Erik came and got me right away. I feel fine today, and have felt Micah kicking away all day, so I am thankful for God's protection!
Yesterday was also the day that Erik and I reclaimed our bedroom. When Lena was born we moved her into our room, so that she would not wake Grace. Well, Lena proved to be a very light sleeper, and for the past 8 months or so Erik and I have been sleeping in the living room. Not convenient or comfortable, but the only place where we could sleep! Well, yesterday we moved Lena into Grace's room. I know it will take some adjustment for them both, but so far they are happy with it. They both slept fine last night, and surprisingly enough I put them both down for naps at the same time and they are both asleep! Praise the Lord! My hubby also bought and set up a book shelf for our room yesterday. I love it!
Today the girls and I went to the monthly kids concert at the mall and then had lucnh with our firends Amy and Carson. The kids get along so good together, which is great!
I have a really cool God providing story to share with you. Erik and I have been wanting to get another carseat for Lena to keep in Erik's car, as it is hard transferring the seats all the time. Well, after pricing seats we decided that the inconvenience was better than paying for a new seat. Recently at Erik's work a gentleman rented a car and needed to buy a carseat at the local Walmart as he had already shipped his carseat to where he is moving. So, the gentlemen bought an Evenflo carseat and used it for a week while he rented a car. Upon returning the car he told Erik that he didn't need it and to see if Erik knew anyone who needed one! It still amazes me at times that God cares about such things. It would seem that He has better things to do than work about our little inconvenience! Thank you God for caring about even the insignificant things!
A week from today the girls and I head to Legoland and the American Girl store with my mom and brother. I am SO excited, and I think Grace is a little excited too as she has asked me everyday when we are leaving. :)
Well, I had better get some stuff done before the kiddos wake up.

Name That Baby!

2009-03-09T08:11:00.000-07:00

After much deliberation we have finally decided on a name for our precious baby boy, Micah Edward Buskard! This was probably the hardest for us to come up with, as we kept making sure names sounded good with Grace and Lena. We love the name Micah and we are using the middle name, Edward, in remembrance of Erik's grandpa Ed. We love being able to call our children by name even before we get to meet them!

Fun Weekend

2009-03-09T06:52:00.001-07:00

We enjoyed a wonderful date on our anniversary. We were able to go to the melting pot, thanks to our friends the Bissett's and McEllroy's (Thank you guys SO much, you are absolutely amazing!). Dinner was wonderful. We had never been, but before we went I called my brother Matt who had worked at one to give us some pointers. :) It was such a relaxing and enjoyable dinner. We were even seated in a nice private booth where we weren't bothered. It was almost like we were the only two people there. Our favorite part would have to be the chocolate at the end!! Here's a pic of me and my hubby before going to dinner. A pretty good picture considering we used the timer on the camera :)

Saturday was the day that Grace could hardly wait for. We got ready and headed to the CIRCUS!!! It truly is the best circus you could ever go to. The kids did pretty good. Grace's favorite part was the clowns (which I was happy about as Erik had made a comment a couple of weeks ago that clowns were scary, and thats all Grace could associate them with until we were at the circus). I was actually surprised with how fascinated Lena was, and I think her favorite part was the clowns and the elephants. We had so much fun, and it was so enjoyable to do something extra special as a family!

Erik and Grace were able to dress up as performers before the show started.My Three Clowns!Grace with her clown nose and hat.Lena enjoying the circus from the best seat in the house!

I think everyone was a little worn out by the time we got home.

Sunday we were a little thrown off by the time change. We woke up and realized there was no way we would be able to make it to the 9:30 service at church and the 11:30 is always out of the question, as this is prime meltdown time for Buskard children. SO we made the most of the day by going for a nice drive, picking up some lunch, and really just enjoying time together.

It is wonderful weekends, when I don't have to work, that really spoil me! The girls are getting bigger everyday, and it is so much fun to see them learn and grow. I am glad we were able to make special memories with them this weekend!

Well, I head for my 20 week appointment this afternoon. Hopefully we will be in and out quickly as I will have the girls with me!

5th Wedding Anniversary!

2009-03-06T05:20:00.000-08:00

Today Erik and I are celebrating five years of marriage! We feel incredibly blessed by all that God has done in those five years. We have definitely had our mountain tops and valleys lows but God has continually proven that He is faithful through it all.
God has blessed us with two amazing girls and a baby boy, who we can't wait to meet! Its hard to imagine life without them! We have also been blessed with amazing family and friends who have encouraged us along the way. In a world that no longer values marriage, it is so uplifting to have godly couples surround us.
I can honestly say that I love my husband more now than I did that beautiful day five years ago. It is the day to day living, when we aren't so "beautiful" that has truly formed a bond in our marriage that I now know is unbreakable.
Tonight my parents are watching the girls so that we can enjoy dinner together. Thanks to the amazing generousity of our friends the McEllroy's and Bissett's we are being treated to The Melting Pot. I am so excited as I have always wanted to go there. It will be amazing to enjoy a quiet dinner together!
Tomorrow is the day that Grace has been waiting for. She has been counting down the days to the circus, and the day is almost here!! It will be a blast not only to see the circus, but I think I will have more fun watching Grace, watch the circus! I'm sure many pictures will follow.

2009-03-04T07:40:00.000-08:00

Well, a week has passed and of course we have stayed busy. We had to take Erik's car in for work for the second time in a week. A little disappointing, as this time they couldn't really figure out what was wrong with it, so we will just wait and see, and be thankful that his car has been reliable so far.
Saturday Lena was kind enough to break my glasses in two. :) When Grace was the same age she also broke a pair of my glasses, so I figure I will only have 1 more pair that will be broken in about a year and a half by our little boy! Instead of spending a lot of money on glasses, I decided to give an online glasses supplier a try. So, I'll hopefully get my new glasses in the mail in about a week, and only spent $15. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Sunday at Church I was finally able to meet my "niece" Jane. She is absolutely amazing! Yesterday the girls and I spent the day with Jane, Karis and Aunty Deb. The day went too quickly. I had a great time loving on miss jane and catching up with Karis. There are some friends that come and go throughout your life, but then there are those friends who become "the family you choose." Karis and her family are that to us! The girls were absolutely fascinated with Jane. At dinner Grace held the baby monitor and was listening to Jane, so Grace sang twinle twinle little star to "her baby Jane." It was so sweet!

I was very pleased with how they did with Jane. Lena was so gentle with her, and even brought her a blankie.

Here are my girls with Aunt Karis!All five girls together (notice how Jane looks right at the camera and my girls could care less, lets just say my girls are not always the most "photogenic"). Oh, how I daydream of playdates and trips to the park together!So, Lena got a kick out of crawling under the couch. It was absolutely hilarious!
I am so happy we were able to spend the day with them before they have to head back home. Hopefully we will be able to make a trip to Maryland before the baby comes.
Last night Erik picked Grace and Lena up from the Bissett's and I was able to hang out with some friends from high school. We had fun eating ice cream and catching up. I love my girls from high school. It is amazing to see how we have all grown over the years.Sunday I bought the girls their Easter dresses, and they are absolutely adorable. They are Green sundresses with white flowers on the bottom. I love that we have a Carter's store nearby now. Not that I go very often, but they do have some great deals at times, and of course their clothes are absolutely adorable! I can't wait to dress them up in their adorable dresses!
Well, I work tonight and then don't work at all this weekend! YAY!!!! I can't wait for the weekend t0 celebrate our anniversary and go to the circus on Saturday!!!

Its a Boy!!

2009-02-25T12:30:00.000-08:00

That's right, we are indeed having a baby boy!! Its was so funny because at the ultrasound, as soon as the tech started the ultrasound, our little boy wanted us to know who he was! :) The whole time I have been pregnant I have felt like we were having a boy, but was hoping I was not just thinking that way, because that is what we wanted. And then today I was getting worried that I would be diappointed if it was a girl, but in the end it appears mothers instinct is always right! :) Erik is over the moon and Grace has been carrying around the picture with her since we left the hospital. The Buskard family is now complete with two girls and one boy! YAY!!!

2009-02-24T13:56:00.001-08:00

For me, when I am pregnant there are 3 big days within the long nine months. One being the day my life is changed once again by finding out I am indeed pregnant, the second finding out what the sex of the baby is, and finally the best day is when I get to hold my precious baby in my arms. Well I am extremely excited that tomorrow we go for our ultrasound to (Lord willing) find out if we are having a boy or girl. What is even better is Erik took the day off of work so that he would be able to come. So, we get to spend the WHOLE day together as a family, which rarely happens between Erik and my work schedules!
I worked a lot over the weekend, and of course feel completely drained, but I have resolved that this is just the way it is going to be for quite some time, so I had better just accept it and move on with my day! :)
The month of March is going to be a good one for us. First my best friend Karis and her beautiful new baby girl are coming for a visit this weekend. I am so excited to finally hold Jane, and of course to spend some time with Karis!
Also, in just over a week Erik and I will celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary. Oh, how life changes and we grow in 5 years! Its amazing to see how much God has done in our lives in that time! We decided that as our Anniversary present to ourselves we are going to take the girls to the Ringling Bros. Circus, which is in Cincy on our anniversary. In my opinion their circus is the best one you could ever go to, so I am looking forward to taking the girls, and also for Erik to experience it since he has never been to the ringling circus before!
And then at the end of the month my mom is taking the girls and I on a special trip; first to legoland and then to the Americal Girl Store in Chicago where Grace will get to pick out her first American Gril Doll (I have to admit, having 2 of the dolls growing up, I am pretty excited to go!). So I am ready for the end of February, and bring on the fun (and hopefully the warmth) of March!!
Well, I will update tomorrow the big news! Until then I must attend to dinner- which by the way is going to be amazing- bbq ribs, loaded baked potatoes, salad, rolls- can you tell I am hungry today! :)

2009-02-18T04:19:00.000-08:00

My husband and I finally were able to enjoy a date on Monday night. We ended up going to applebee's where we had a gift card. It was so nice to be able to just sit and enjoy each others company without trying to maintain "crowd control." :)
Monday I also took the kids to the mall for the monthly kids concert. The kids had fun. It was neat seeing Lena dance and really enjoy the music. She is defiitely getting older- at one point Grace and her friend Carson were sitting next to each other and Lena had to climb up next to them and sat there doing exactly what they were doing. She just wanted to be one of the "big kids" too.
Yesterday was storytime at the library. There are times where I really don't feel like packing the kids up and heading there, but I am always reminded how much Grace likes it and how good it is for her.
Last night we enjoyed dinner at our friends, the Wells', house. The kids had a blast playing together and making a mess, and we enjoyed good adult conversation! We have so enjoyed the friendship we have formed with them.
Today the girls and I are taking my mom to lunch on her day off. She could definitely use a little "escape" as my dad is out of work again. The project he had been working on is now complete and there is no work for him at this time. We are praying he will find something soon.
I work four of the five next nights, so it will be busy around here. Well, the kids have already been up for over an hour (yes they were both up shortly after 6am, after not getting to bed until 10pm) and are already bouncing off the walls. :)

2009-02-14T09:32:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

Yesterday turned out to be a busy day. In the morning I had the girls make Valentine's for daddy. Grace especially had fun gluing hearts on hers.We also made cutout heart cookies with pink icing. Grace like watching the icing turn from white to pink when I put the food coloring in it. It was if I was doing a special trick :)

We decided to go meet Erik for lunch. It was nice to see him as the two previous nights either he had meetings or I had to work. The girls were so excited to see daddy during the day.

I ended up working last night and will work tonight and tomorrow night, so I know I will be exhausted by Monday.

This morning the girls woke up to valentine's that daddy had for them. He gave Lena a sweet bear and Grace a rose (I swear this kid has been given more roses from her daddy than I have!). It was so sweet seeing thme with their gifts this morning!Monday night my parents are going to watch the girls so erik and I can actually go on a date! I am so excited!

Well I had better make lunch. Hope you all have a great weekend.

2009-02-12T09:20:00.000-08:00

I am enjoying a nice day with my girls. I actually even had about an hour to myself before they woke up this morning. It is amazing what you can do when the house is quiet! I folded a mountain of laundry, made breakfast for everyone, and got ready for the day. Definitely a good start to the day.
The girls both woke up in great moods so I decided we would venture to the post office and Krogers. I did pretty good at Kroger's. I spent $20 and saved $30!! Since it is such a beautiful day out, when we got home from the store we went for a nice walk. It is fun to see Lena exploring outside now that she has the freedom of walking. She thought it was great. We did have to look pretty funny though. At one point I was pushing Lena in the stroller and Grace refused to walk anymore, so I put her on my shoulders. I guess I just added a little extra strength training to our walk. :)
Erik has meetings he has to go to after work, so it is just the girls and I all day. So for dinner I think we are heading to Chick-fil-a (one of our favorites!) and then maybe to the library to get a "Gracie movie." I so enjoy the days where there is nothing we have to do, and I can just enjoy my girls!

2009-02-10T09:53:00.000-08:00

Once again the week has flown by. It was finally nice out on Saturday so we made a point to get the girls out for a little while. It was so nice to finally go for a walk outside, I think we were all getting a little stir crazy!

Saturday night I was called in to work, but they had me helping the bar. Mind you I have never poured a drink before, but I actually had a really good time, and it was a nice change of pace!

Sunday we enjoyed going to church! It seems like it has been forever since I have sat in service, between having family in town, the girls being sick, and having nursery I haven't been in service for about a month, so it was so refreshing to be able to sick and take in the message that GOd had for me!

Yesterday our friends Amy and Carson came with us for a fun shopping trip! We went to the GAP Clearance Outlet in Northern Kentucky in hopes of finding some cheap maternity clothes. You would think that by now I would have a nice amount of clothes, but in reality there is only a couple things that I would be able to wear. I was very pleased with finding maternity jeans for only $1.99!! So in the end I spent $40 and walked out with two large bags full of things for our family! On the way back we stopped at IKEA for lunch and then let the kids play. It worked out great because Grace and Carson were able to get some of their pent up energy out while we peacefully wandered through the store.

Last night after dinner Erik treated us to Dairy Queen. The girls were so excited for ice cream cones. This was the first time that we gave Lena a cone, and despite a little brain freeze, she was thrilled!

Here is a picture of the girls enjoying their ice cream together! They crack me up!

In other news, the economic hard times are affecting Erik's work. Today they announced that they are closing the administrative offices of the group that Erik is in, and as a result, the group would be divided between the Cincinnati and Columbus Groups. This is hard not only because of the uncertainty that it brings to Erik's job, but also it is hard to see people you have developed a relationship with to suddenly be out of a job. Please continue to pray for Erik's job situation. He is currently looking for a different job, but at the same time is counting on his current job to be stable. We know that God is ultimately in control and that He will open doors and lead wherever is in His plan!

2009-02-05T13:34:00.000-08:00

Lately my heart has been burdened for the unborn, not only because I am going to be a mother of three but because of a couple experiences I have had lately. A couple of weeks ago I had a friend of mine from work call me to ask my advice. She and her boyfriend had unprotected sex and she was worried that she would get pregnant. She was going to take the morning after pill and wanted to know what I thought about it. WOW! It made me feel good that I had developed a relationship with my friend in which she felt comfortable in talking to me about this, but at the same time I think she was hoping for affirmation in her decision to take the pill. Over the next hour I had the opportunity to tell her that I believe God knows us before we are born and that He knits us in our mother's womb. It upsets me that society has marketed this pill in such a way as to make my friend think that it is not a form of an abortion, but the truth is that this "harmless" pill will take the life of a precious baby. Later she let me know that she did not end up taking the pill, even though she had already spent the $50 for it. Thank you God for the opportunity to share how precious life is to You!
Also, my mom was recently at a bridal shower for a friend at her work. While at the shower they were discussing someone who wasn't able to make it because she was throwing up. When my mom asked what was wrong she was told that the girl was pregnant but it was not a big deal because she was aborting the baby on Friday. The comment was made as if she was going to the grocery store. It is so upseting that abortion is such a normal, casual subject.
Many people don't want to think about the millions of babies that have been killed. And many people do not want to put their view of abortion into their worldview. For me, my view and value for life affects everything I do. If I do not value even the tiniest baby being formed in its mother, than why should I care about the stranger down the street or care what happens in the world around me.
This is just what has been on my heart lately. Please continue to pray for the millions of babies who will not get a voice and who, as a result of society saying "its OK," will never get the chance to speak for themselves.

2009-02-03T09:33:00.000-08:00

The last week has been a busy week for us. We had our first snow storm of the year last week, and of course the roads around here were a little crazy. Its funny how living in Michigan for a few years can change your perspective on how to drive and get around in the snow. Now I find all the locals ridiculous!! Last Tuesday Grace was one of two kids at storytime because of the snow. She had fun because she was able to get all the attention she craves! :)

Thursday night I had the opportunity to meet my friend Stephanie for dinner. It was so nice to get out of the house for a relaxing dinner while catching up with an old friend. Its amazing how refreshing a night away from the kids can be!

Over the weekend Aunt Karen, Megan and Lindsay came to visit. We had such a great time with them! It was Megan's birthday and we felt honored that she would want to share her birthday with us. Saturday night we were treated to a wonderful dinner at P.F. Chang's.

Here's everyone- sorry a little blurry. Can you tell Grace liked her chopsticks!

Lindsay and Lena. Lena loved all the extra attention!

Grace and megan. Grace absolutely adores her cousins and is so excited whenever we get to see them.

Aunt Karen with the girls! We so enjoyed having them stay with us. They are always top on the list of things we miss about Michigan. Tomorrow I have an OB appointment, in which I am dreading being weighed! I already feel like I am getting huge, so I am a little anxious about seeing the scale! Over the past week I have been able to start to feel the baby move. This is always such an amazing experience, and brings a smile to my face everytime I feel our baby kick! Well, it is time to get the kiddos down for a nap. Hopefully I'll be productive during naptime and not fall asleep on the couch like I did yesterday! :)

2009-01-26T10:37:00.000-08:00

So, this morning I put together our meal plan for the week and got together some coupons for a quick shopping trip. I never expected to be able to walk out of the store with everything here for only $50. Mind you the best deal of the day was that I was able to buy 19 packages of assorted Kraft Cheeses (shredded, slices, blocks) for only $.75 each after coupons and store promotions!!! YAY for extrmemely cheap cheese! I just wish I had a freezer that wasn't stocked to the gills! Oh the dream of someday having an extra freezer. The shopping trip was so good that I had to take a picture to share it with you! Once again, God proves that He is SO good to His children!

2009-01-26T05:54:00.000-08:00

We had an enjoyable weekend. Friday night the girls played dressup and were princesses all evening. It was so much fun watching them twirl and dance in their dresses. My sweet husband danced with the girls and we all had a great time.Saturday we didn't do very much other than Erik and I both had to work at some point in the day.

Sunday Erik stayed home from church with Lena because she still has a lingering bad cough, and we couldn't take her to nursery to get the other kids sick. But, since it was my sunday to have nursery Grace and I went together. Before church we stopped and saw Uncle Joe for some fabulous hot chocolate. He is so sweet to Grace! He made Grace her own special hot chocolate with lots of whip cream in a special "gracie size" cup. She thought it was SO neat to have her own special cup!

After church we picked up Erik and Lena and we headed to the Cincinnati Children's Museum and had a great time. There is so much for the girls to do there. I was quite pleased with how well Lena did there. She played with everything and truly enjoyed herself. The last time we went there she was just a baby, so it was fun to see her interact and play. Grace especially had fun in an area called the tree house. It has ladder and tunnels and slides- she is definitely a great climber! She definitely tired me out as I too crawled through every tunnel and climbed right along with her- it had to be quite a sight :) The girls shopping at the grocery storeGrace waiting patiently in line at the grocery store.Lena had a lot of fun playing with the blocks. She actually climbed into the seat and started playing all on her own.The girls playing in the water. I think this was Lena's favorite part! Erik and the girls playing in the water! Notice Erik is spraying everyone! :)

The girls helping sick animals at the Vet Clinic

My girls having fun together!
I think we were all worn out by the time we got home, but we had a wonderful day together as a family.

2009-01-22T13:20:00.000-08:00

I thought I would try and post a few pictures that were taken in the last week.

A tradition I started with Grace was to make a half birthday cake for the girls on their half birthdays. It is just a fun day to mark their half birthdays and have another reason to celebrate as a family. Grace was pretty excited about getting a special cake!

We actually had my family over for a nice dinner and we enjoyed spending time together. Recently Erik has pulled his guitar out of the back of the closet and the girls have had fun listening to daddy play, and trying their hand at "rocking out."So, I you know me for very long, you will soon find out that I like my home orderly and clean. Well, I knew I was rubbing off on Grace, but I didn't know that Lena was already picking up on cleaning. The other day I had been wiping the counter with a dishrag and walked away. I came into the living room to find lena cleaning the walls. It absolutely cracked me upLena does not like anything in her hair, so I had to get a picture of her with her first set of pig tails! They were so cute- but they only lasted for about half an hour :)

We have had a rough week here with colds. Both girls have been battling colds all week, and are just getting over them today. Yesterday they woke up from their naps and just wanted to sit with each other and drink their chocolate milk.

That's about all that has been going on around here. Erik and I both have to work for a little on Saturday morning but are looking forward to the rest of the day together- and possibly even a date!!! :) Well, dinner preparations are calling, and there are only minutes left in the sweet peace of naptime. Hope you enjoyed the pictures of my girls!

2009-01-20T12:30:00.000-08:00

Right now the air in my home is filled with the smell of pot roast and apple crisp! I love making dinner from scratch! I had planned on making this glorious meal last night, but I made the fateful mistake of sitting on the couch "for just a minute" while the girls were napping, and well lets just say I found myself drooling on the couch over an hour later! :) Oh the joys of being pregnant with our third baby!
I had a busy weekend at work. We did however make it to Bounce U (an indoor facility that was inflatable activities) on Saturday morning where we met Amy and carson so the kids could get some much needed energy out. Erik was such a good sport as he chased after the kids. They had a great time, and I haven't laughed so hard in a long time!!
After taking over a month off of couponing I jumped back in full force on Sunday. It has been such a blessing as we have been able to make use of the stockpile of groceries and toiletries that had accumulated, so we still were only having to buy the basics at the store!! I am amazed how God meets our needs right where we are at, no matter how small or "insignificant" they are. Our pantry was severely depleated of all breakfast items, and I was coming to the realization that I may have to pay "full price" (gasp!) for cereal, but to my delight I opened the paper on Sunday to find great deals on all kinds of breakfast goods. So, after a trip to Kroger and Meijer we know have enough oatmeal, cereal, and poptarts for months. It is amazing that God cares that we have food in our pantry!!
Yesterday I met a couple of moms and their kids at the mall for the monthly Momtopia concert. It is always fun to watch the kids have fun together. I even won a gift certificate to a local restaurant that serves breakfast. So, the next saturday erik and I have the morning off- we are going out for a big breakfast- that I don't have to clean up after!! Sounds great to me.
Storytime started up again today. It feels good to be getting back into the regular routine. Now it needs to get warmer so we can go to the park! OH, how I miss taking the girls for walks and going to the park!
Grace has been nursing a could for a few days, and unfortunately Lena has developed Grace's cold. (We've been wanting Grace to share, but I guess we didn't clearly explain) It is such an awful feeling watching your kids cry because they don't feel good. So, both girls have taken some tylenol and are taking naps. Hopefully they will feel better when they wake up! I know I have been extremely spoiled as this is the first time that lena has had so much as a cold, and Grace has only been sick maybe twice in her life. God has blessed us with two healthy girls!
Well, this post is turning long, and I must tend to my amazing dinner preparations :) Hey, maybe I'll even get all the dishes done and the kitchen cleaned before dinner :)

Baby Buskard #3!!!

2009-01-16T18:20:00.000-08:00

Yes, you read it right! We are happy to announce we are expecting our third child in July. We are so excited to welcome another amazing blessing into our lives.

We are 12 1/2 weeks pregnant and our due date is July 27. This pregnancy comes as a bit of a surprise, but we are at peace with knowing that God's timing is not our time, and that it is always perfect!

I was so excited to be able to get an early ultrasound today (I only had one for each of the girls, so this was an extra treat to be able to see our baby growing a little bit earlier than I have before)

Here is our sweet baby's first pictures!

A picture of the baby's profile. I can do nothing but sit in awe at how God designs us! It is amazing to think that HE knows absolutely everything about this precious life before I even knew I was pregnant. It is hard to believe that people can look at these pictures and not be struck by the awesomeness of the God we serve!!

In order to share the news with our family in Michigan I decided to make t-shirts for the whole clan to wear!

The front of our shirts! I think they turned out pretty cute, if I do say so myself!

The back of our shirts! Erik's says, "boy...boy...please be a boy!" We are kind of hoping we are having a boy, seeing we are being overrun by girls :) but in the end we are just excited to be having another baby!

It should make for an exciting summer for us! Grace is just starting to understand that we are going to have another baby. Today she informed me that she wants a "Boy, Carson baby." (carson is one of her friends.) Lena is not ready to give up her spot as the baby, and we have already informed her that she will not be the neglected "middle child" :)

We look forward to sharing our new life with you as we become a family of 5!!!

2009-01-14T16:32:00.000-08:00

We had a great trip to the snow covered land of Western Michigan! It snowed pretty much the whole time we were there. We definitely do not miss the slow, treacherous traveling, but each time we visit we are reminded again of how much we miss our family and friends there!

It was nice to be able to get a head start on our trip by leaving on Thurday night. We were exhausted by the time we arrived but happy we had left earlier when we were able to enjoy the whole day on Friday.

Friday we spent with the Genther's and had a great time hanging out with them. Uncle Matt even stopped in for a visit on his way from Detroit. We always have such a great time with them and miss them terribly! Lena loved climbing up the stairs!

Saturday we were able to spend some time with our friends the Rumley's! The kids had fun playing together and we had a great time catching up with them. It is so much fun to see our families grow!

The Rumley's

Here's a picture of all five kids together! Can you believe they all sat still that long!!

Saturday night we enjoyed spending some time with Grandma and Grandpa Meyer, Aunt Judy, Uncle Matt, and Jeff and Louise. We were finally able to celebrate Christmas with Uncle Matt. He gave Lena the cutest sun dress and sweater for the spring, I can't wait for it to get warm so she can wear it! He also gave Grace a Princess Belle dress and tiara- he definitely knows his niece well!

Aunt judy gave Grace a princess Memory Game which we have already enjoyed playing.

Sunday we went to Church with Erik's parents and Grandma and grandpa mcmullin and then spent time with them eating lunch and then opening presents from Christmas.

Sunday night we went back to the genther's to spend a little more time with them before we had to go. The kids had a great time playing with their cousins and Erik had fun playing "wrestle mania!"

Monday we enjoyed a nice dinner catching up with Brett, Kristin, Cole, Erik's dad Bryan and his wife Kristen. It was fun seeing everyone together. Grace was absolutely fascinated with her cousin Cole!

Tuesday we headed home but made a stop in Detroit to see Matt at his restaurant. We treated us to a wonderful lunch and we had fun spending a little more time with him on our way home. It was a great stop! We made it home safe last night and have enjoyed a quiet day home today! It has been so nice to have Erik around everyday! We are definitely going to miss him when he heads back to work tomorrow. We are thankful for a safe trip, for good fellowship with friends and family, and for a wonderful time we were able to spend together as a family!

2009-01-08T10:40:00.000-08:00

My dad went for his visits with the doctor's in Inianapolis yeasterday. Everything looked good. He is supposed to go back in 6 months and in a couple of weeks he will have another PETScan. So, he is doing good, but is once again in the wait and see what happens stage, hoping that this is last time he has to deal with cancer.
Well, we were going to leave for Michigan tomorrow afternoon, but Erik called and was able to get the whole day off tomorrow, so we are leaving tonight! A little crazy getting everything packed and the girls ready on such short notice, but it will be nice once we are there and can enjoy being there earlier. We are looking forward to spending some time with family and friends!
Well, I had better get the car packed while the girls are sleeping. Hope the weekend is a great one!

2009-01-05T05:39:00.000-08:00

This morning is one of the mornings that I love being a mom. Right now my girls are laughing and playing with tea sets in Grace's room. When they play so sweetly together it makes me smile and love having the time with them during the day.
We had a good new year's day together. We mostly just played with the girls and then went out for a nice dinner. I so enjoy the days we get to spend as a family!
Sweet Baby Jane was born on New Year's Eve! Mom and baby are doing great, and Miss Jane is absolutley adorable, I can't wait to hold her! We definitely are going to have to make a trip out east this spring!
I worked a little this weekend and am glad I don't have to work again until thursday! We are looking forward to heading to Michigan on Friday to visit with family and friends. It will be nice since we weren't able to make it north for Christmas.
My dad heads back to Indianapolis on Wednesday for follow up appointments with the doctor and surgeon. Hopefully he will get a good report! He will have a PETScan in a week or two, which will be a real test of whether he has any more cancer in his body. Please continue to pray for my dad's health and also for my mom. She is working many long hours, as my dad has not been able to work for almost two months.
Well, it should be a busy week but we are definitely already looking forward to the weekend!

All I want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth!

2008-12-31T04:45:00.000-08:00

Well, they didn't come on Christmas, but Lena's two front teeth made their appearance yesterday. Needless to say, she has been a little "testy" but we know she will love having four teeth. Think of all the food possibilities!!
Grace is having fun playing with all of her christmas toys. She is particularly fond of the lego set we bought her. I think Erik is quite pleased with this, as he has been waiting for her to be old enough for lego's, well since we found out we were having her! :)
Today my "niece" (my friend Karis's little girl) will make her appearance into the world. I am so excited, and can't wait to see pictures.
Hope you all have a Happy New Year. I work into the wee hours of the morning, but tomorrow Erik and I have the whole day off. We are looking forward to spending some time relaxing as a family. May God bless you abundantly as we begin another year.

2008-12-26T11:46:00.000-08:00

Well it has been a very fun and busy last week and a half.

Last Wednesday our little girl had her first birthday! We had a great day with her. Erik was able to take a half day at work, in order to spend a little extra time with us. We took my family out for dinner at Applebee's and then came home for presents and cake. Lena was absolutely thrilled with her cake! And her favorite present would probably be the gloworm that my grandma got her. Grace was so enthralled with the gloworn that we had to find hers at the bottom of the toy chest- she had apparently long forgotten that she even had one!

Last Saturday I didn't have to work!!! So, we took my brother along with us to go to the Festival of Lights at the Cincinnati Zoo. We had a good time riding the train and carousel and seeing some of the animals. It was nice to be able to spend a special night as a family, and it was great to have Uncle Jo along for the ride!

Christmas Eve we attended a service at my parents Church where we met up with some family friends. Afterwards we had a good time at my parents house visiting with friends and enjoying good food!

We had a great Christmas yesterday! The girls had fun opeing up their presents at home in the morning. Grace was very excited over the movies she got. Both girls got baby dolls, and lena was so excited that she could hardly wait for me to get them out of the box!

Later we went to my parents house for a big Christmas brunch and opened presents with my family. Grace was hilarious because she passed the presents out and would ask everyone if she could help them open their presents. Well, she gave my grandma a present and said, "I need to help grandma because she is an old lady." I cracked up! Oh, the things she says sometimes- I definitely wish we would have gotten that part on tape!

We enjoyed a very blessed Christmas! It was a hard day for my dad, as we wasn't feeling the best, but I am so thankful that God has given him to us for another Christmas. Each one is such a gift!

Well, I work the next two nights, so they will be busy and tiring. Erik's mom and dad come for a visit this weekend to celebrate Christmas. We are looking forward to heading north in a couple weeks since we weren't able to make it for Christmas. Well I had better get the kiddos ready so I can get to work! Hope you all had a blessed christmas!

2008-12-15T11:17:00.000-08:00

Well, the last week has been a little exhausting. First off, my dad is doing good. He was actually able to come home on Thursday afternoon. He was definitely happy to get home, and we are so thankful that he is making a good recovery. He is still in pain and every cough and sneeze is agonizing, but he is doing surprisingly well! Please continue to pray for his recovery. He will have follow up appointments with doctors in the coming weeks to see where he needs to go from here.

Last week Wednesday we took the girls to get their pictures taken in the Christmas dresses that my grandma bought for them. They turned out pretty good, but I wasn't that thrilled with the portrait studio. Oh well, at least I finally have a studio picture taken of my girls!

Wednesday night we went to a Christmas party for Erik's work. So, before we left I took a picture of the girls all dressed up, and of course now they decide that they are going to smile!

Grace had a great time getting to see Santa! She is absolutely thrilled to see Santa this year, and keeps asking everyday if it is Christmas yet!

Lena's favorite part of the party was a chocolate chip cookie! Somehow she managed to eat the cookie, and not get any on her dress! Way to go lena!!

Saturday morning we went with my mom to see Santa at her work. they had Christmas cookies and fun games for the kids. It was fun spending some time with my mom with the girls.

I worked most of the weekend, so I am glad I don't have to work again until Friday.

It is hard to believe that Lena is going to be 1 on Wednesday. We ordered her cake today. We decided to just have my family over for dinner and cake. It will be nice to not have the stress of a big party! I guess this is one of the downsides of having your birthday so close to Christmas! I talked to my friend Karis earlier today, and we agreed that her baby, Jane, should be born on Wednesday!!! Now Jane just needs to agree!

Well, on to cleaning- it always seems that everything is a disaster after I work all weekend. You never would have guessed that everything was spotless on Friday night! :)

2008-12-09T17:03:00.000-08:00

I'll give you a quick rundown of the past 24 hours. Well, yesterday I finally took the girls to the hotel around 8pm and my dad was still not out of surgery. My Mom and Josiah were not able to see him until 10:30, which was absolutely crazy, as he was taken back for surgery at 1:30. The surgeon said that they were able to take out the pieces of his lung that they needed to, but they were located in different areas than they thought they were, and there were more of them. Well, the problems started when they were closing him up, and apparently they nicked his pulmonary artery. When this happened he lost more than 2 liters of blood and as the doctor put it, "it was pretty touch and go for a while." So, apparently God was in complete control, as he could have easily bled out! When I saw my dad first thing this morning, he looked pretty bad. His coloring was very bad, he had a breathing tube inserted, and did not look promising. As the day went on his coloring got better and he was finally able to get the breathing tube removed. Praise the Lord. He is still in the ICU but is now sitting up and doing exercises to strengthen his lungs. Since he was doing so good, and the girls were losing it we headed home tonight. It is good to be home but part of me wishes I could have stayed longer. Hopefully if he continues to make the progress that has today, my dad will be home at the end of the week. Praise God for protecting and strengthening my dad! It has been a very long and emotionally taxing two days, but I am so thankful that my dad is now on the road to recovery once again.

Still in Surgery

2008-12-08T16:05:00.000-08:00

It is now 7pm and my dad is still in surgery. We haven't heard anything for a while so we are getting a little worried! Hopefully we hear something soon as he has been in surgery for more than five hours now. I think we are all getting a little over exhausted and the girls are losing it! I'll update when we know anything.

Update

2008-12-08T12:05:00.000-08:00

My dad's surgery was delayed a few hours as a result of earlier surgeries taking longer. It is definitely hard to be patient!!! They took him back about 1:30 and Started surgery at 2:20 so hopefully we will get an update from the nurse soon. Thanks for the continued prayers! OH, the girls have been good and are both sleeping right now! Praise the Lord!!! We pushed chairs together to make them both beds, I have to admit it is a little cute! I'll update when we know more.

Today's the Day

2008-12-08T03:25:00.001-08:00

The girls and I are about to get on the road to Indianapolis to be there for my dad's surgery. His surgery is around noon and we don't know how long it will take, as they have two directions the surgery could go once they get in there. Please pray for my dad- he has a great attitude and is very positive, but I think with each time it is more discouraging. Pray for his quick healing. Pray for the doctor's wisdom. Also, I know this is completely selfish but please pray that the girls are well behaved over the next couple days. We are going to spend all day today and tomorrow at the hospital, which could be stressful with two little girls! Well, I am sure my brother will take his laptop with him, so I will try to keep you posted on what is going on.

No Cavities!

2008-12-04T12:25:00.000-08:00

Grace had her first trip to the dentist today! At first I didn't know if we were going to have to leave the office without a tooth even seen :) She eventually warmed up and did a great job. I took her to a pediatric dentist and she was absolutely great with Grace. It was pretty impressive. The office had video games, movies, and aquarium in the waiting room; and while she was getting her teeth worked on she was able to watch one of her favorite movies, The Polar Express. So, her teeth are healthy and she had no cavities!!!! So hopefully she will follow after me and not her dad when it comes to healthy teeth! :)

2008-12-03T08:58:00.001-08:00

The last week has been a bit of a blur. Last Wednesday my mom took Grace out to lunch and shopping for the day to give me time to get everything ready for thanksgiving. My little girl cam home with two adorable dresses, two pair of shoes we could never be able to buy her, a necklace, and a princess crown. Grace definitely enjoyed her time with Grammie and I definitely enjoyed the time I was able to spend with the quiet that comes with only having one child to wrangle! :)

The Genthers, Uncle Matt, Jeff and Louise all came into town on Wednesday night. We were treated by the Genthers to a wonderful dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. The funny thing is, that in the more than two years that I have worked there, this was the first time I had been a patron in the restaurant. Grace was thrilled to spend the night in the hotel with her beloved cousins.

Thanksgiving went off without a hitch. Seventeen people in my small apartment! I had to be crazy to undertake such a feat, but it all went great and we had a great time with both of our families together. My brother even made the trip from Kentucky for Thanksgiving dinner. Unfortunately I was too busy to take many pictures but here are two from the day.

Grace decorating her gingerbread house. Later Erik finished the house by designing a maize and blue M out of m&m's on one side of the house. I have to admit, it was the perfect touch. :)

A picture of my girls and their cousins in front of our Christmas tree. If you can tell, I finally "spaced out" the ornaments!

Friday Erik was the only one to hit Black Friday sales. He was able to get some good gifts for the girls. We hid the gifts in our closet, which has a child lock and is usually shut. Well, the other day Grace comes running out to the living room and says, "Mommy can I have my prizes?!?!" I was laughing to the point of tears. Growing up I always found my Christmas presents well before the holidays, so I guess this is my pay back! So, Grace received her Tinkerbell sleeping bag, and was thrilled!

My Grandma took the girls and I out shopping to find Christmas dresses for the girls. We went to Carter's and found the most adorable Red dresses and sweaters for them. They are going to look sooooo cute. I already made an appointment for them to get their pictures taken next week, which is something that I have wanted to do for almost a year now. Oh well, better late than never.

Yesterday was my hubby's 28th birthday. He had a pretty crummy day at work, and got out late so instead of going out for dinner we ordered pizza, which I think made him happier anyway since this is his all time favorite thing to eat. Grace was so proud of the cake she made for her daddy. She put all the ingredients in the bowl, mixed the cake batter, and put the batter in the pan! She did a great job. We also watch the new Narnia movie, which we got him for his birthday. It wasn't a very eventful birthday but it was a nice quiet evening at home with family!

Two quick cute pictures of my adorable girls!

Now for an update on my dad. Yesterday my mom and dad traveled to the cancer research center in Indianapolis for an appointment. They really liked the doctor and he had them come back this morning for a consultation with the surgeon. Well, my mom just called and they scheduled surgery for Monday. Everything is moving pretty fast, which is good, but at the same time I think my dad is a little shell-shocked at how soon this major surgery is. Hopefully they will be able to extract the cancerous mass in his lungs orthoscopically, if not they will have to remove another major portion of his lung. Please continue to pray for my dad, my mom, and for the doctors wisdom!

2008-11-21T03:53:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we decided to take it easy. We made a quick trip to the grocery first thing in the morning, and then enjoyed being home. I decided that since Christmas in now just a little over a month away, we would begin getting ready for Christmas! So, I read Grace Eloise at Christmas Time, and then watched the movie. We absolutely love Eloise! I think Grace enjoys that Eloise is more mischievous than she is.

The rest of the day we listened to Christmas music, cleaned, and cooked. For dinner I made the best homemade chicken pot pie I had ever had, along with mashed potatoes, my first attempt at making homemade gravy was a success, and a chocolate cream pie. I absolutely love cooking from scratch! It was nice because my mom came over for dinner. So, we enjoyed eating a great meal while listening to Christmas music.

Afterwards we decorated the Christmas tree. Grace could hardly contain herself, she was that excited.

I don't have a picture of the finished project, but she did not move from that spot on the tree. So, we are either going to have to buy a ton more ornaments or I am going to have to fix it during nap time today :)

This is the "time out chair." Lena has begun to hit when she gets angry, and when Grace hits she sits in the timeout chair. Well, last night Lena hit Erik because he told her no, so Grace said Lena should go in the timeout chair. This only makes sense to a 3 year old. Lena thought it was hilarious that she was sitting in the chair all by herself. I don't think she got the idea :)

Here is Lena putting on Minnie Mouse Ears. She was so proud of herself when she finally got them on.

Well, the girls are about to wake up, and we have a busy day ahead of us. Grace has her animal class and I have to work tonight. Here we go into another crazy busy weekend of work, kids, and church nursery!!

Quick Update

2008-11-19T10:55:00.000-08:00

My mom just called and said that the results of the fluid that was removed from my dad's lung came back negative. This is an answer to prayer, in that if it came back positive there would be nothing that could be done for my dad. From here things are a little blurry. The oncologist is apprehensive of starting chemo right away, or in doing another major lung surgery right away since he has so much fluid on his lungs as it is. As a result, he is going to see a specialist at Indiana University. He will hopefully have an appointment soon, and we will go from there. Thank you for your continued prayers!

Fun Times with the Buskard Household

2008-11-19T04:36:00.000-08:00

It seems like we have done a lot over the past couple of days. Saturday we met my parents to go see Madagascar 2. Grace loved watching the movie on the big screen. I enjoyed the first ten and the last ten minutes of the movie :) I was glad that we went to go see the movie at The Greene, because I took Lena and we walked around the shops to spy out some Christmas dresses.

The rest of Saturday before I went to work was chilly and rainy so we spent the afternoon inside, and this is the result of trying to find something fun for Grace to do.....

She had a blast painting the windows. I think I have learned over time that sometimes a little mess (or even a big mess) is worth it for a little fun!

Yesterday we went to the library for story time, and we were able to check out the movie WALL.E. Grace was so excited! Afterwards I took the girls to get their flu shots. Grace hasn't had a shot since she turned 1, so she didn't realize that they hurt. She was actually excited to go to the doctor to get a shot (I think her 3 year old mind thought it would be some sort of prize). Lena whimpered for a minute, but poor Grace was inconsolable. I had to reward her for doing so good, so we had her favorite for lunch- McDonald's.

The fun thing that we did yesteday was shop for and pack Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes. I explained to Grace earlier in the morning that there are some kids who don't get Christmas presents, and that we were going to get some for two little girls. It was little hard at first for her to understand that she was picking out toys for someone other than herself, but i think she got the idea.

Here's everything that we were able to get, luckily I had thought ahead and saved back art supplies from back to school sales! I have to admit, the only part I dislike about putting the boxes together, is actually wrapping the boxes. :) I have decided that wrapping shoe boxes is not in my skill set.

Grace putting one of the boxes together. She thought this part was great!

Lena had been eyeing the little white bears that we were going to pack, and when we weren't looking, she snagged one. SHe was definitely proud of herself.

The finished boxes! On Sunday Grace will get to take them to church and put them under the Christmas tree. It is so good for her, and for me as well, to take the time and give to someone other than ourselves. It is so easy to think that we don't have much, but in reality, the little that we have is so much more than the girls that will receive the boxes have. Now that Grace is old enough to understand, I think that we will make this a Christmas tradition.

Here's Lena with her bear. She has recently become attached to stuffed animals, and it is so cute!

Well, later today my dad will find out the results of his tests. Please continue to pray and I will keep you updated.

2008-11-14T11:51:00.000-08:00

I have been attempting (and I will have to admit I have been not been doing a good job at it) to do my quiet time during naptime or before the girls get up in the morning. It always amazes me when God has already put into words what I need to hear at the exact time. How is it that words that were written thousands of years ago can bring everything into perspective for me, sitting in my living room today? Well, today I read Psalm 30:5 which says, "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning." God does not promise us an easy road, but He does give us the hope that the morning will be filled with joy. This was such and encouragement to me today!

Today has been a good day. I took Grace to her art class, where she got to paint. Afterwards we played at the park and went to the libray to check out some movies. It is such a gorgeous day that I think I am going to have to take the girls for a walk later this afternoon!

LEna is officially walking!!! She made it all the way down the hall and is now standing up on her own without holding on to anything. She is still being selective about when she shows off her new skills, but it is so much fun to watch. Now for some pictures.

A picture of Grace and the medal she received at her last soccer game!! She is wearing the goalie jersey- definitely made her day!

Erik and Lena at the game. It was definitely cold for 3 year olds to be playing!

Sweet Grace! She is so funny- she is actually sitting in the bouncy seat in this picture.

Lena making her funny face!

My last picture for the day is my deal finding picture of the week. I went to Kroger, Walgreens, and CVS. Guess how much I spent on everything here..........

............. $20. God has definitely been good to us! He even provided us with enough pepperoni for at least a dozen pizzas, which makes my husband happy. Thank you God for your unending blessings!

Quick Update

2008-11-12T06:27:00.000-08:00

We have had another busy week, but I wanted to update on my dad. Yesterday he went to the oncologist to find out the results of the PETscan he had last week. They determinied he has a large lump in his lung, but another area of concern is an excessive amount of fluid on his lungs. They have to now determine if the fluid is post operative or if it is cancerous fluid around his lungs. This morning he went in to get some of the fluid removed in order for it to be tested. He will find out the results next Wednesday. If the fluid is non-cancerous he will have to go in for another major lung surgery, but if the fluid does have cancer cells it is inoperable and there is nothing the dpctprs are able to do. Please pray that, though it is one of the most painful surgeries a person can have, that my dad will be able to have it. We are trying to remain prayerful and hopeful as we wait and see what is in store. Please continue to pray!
On a little more encouraging note, Lena has started taking her first steps. Last night she took 10 steps, and was incredibly proud of herself.
Grace had her last soccer games this past weekend. They didn't go that great, as it was cold, and she didn't want to play.
Hopefully we will be heading to Kroger to get some great deals on groceries before heading to work tonight.

2008-11-05T09:08:00.000-08:00

There are a few things on my mind this morning. Last night Erik and I watched a couple of movies instead of watching the news, as we knew that we would only get frustrated and upset if we tuned in to the election results. I have always followed politics and if you know my husband, it is in his blood, but this is the first time that I have absolutely dreaded an election or its outcome. As a Christian I must view politics through my biblical worldview (oh yeah, Cornerstoners, that one is for you) and I am severely disheartened at the direction in which Americans are heading. I have a feeling that as a Christian I am going to have to take a more delibrate and outspoken stand for what I believe, in the years to come. There's my soap box for the day!
My dad goes in for his PETScan tomorrow and will find out the results next tuesday. Please continue to pray for him, my mom, and for the doctor's wisdom and guidance.
So, I have decided that I hate daylight savings time. The girls are still waking up at 6am, as opposed to 7am, and are completely out of sorts. It is amazing how children thrive on some semblance of a schedule. Well this morning, since we were already showered, dressed, and fed by 8am we did some bargain shopping. We made it to CVS, Walgreens, and Kroger, and were home within an hour. Here's a picture of all that I was able to buy for only $14.

God is definitely good to us!

Picture Post

2008-11-04T12:00:00.001-08:00

We had a good time on our trip to Michigan. We were able to get in a ton of visiting and catching up with family and friends. Our trips back are always bittersweet because they remind us of what we miss about living in Michigan. We drove to Uncle Matt's restaurant in Livonia on Thursday night and had the best time eating out since we had kids! It was so nice to be able to relax and to catch up with him.

Friday we headed to the rumley's house where we had so much fun catching up and watching the kids play.

Here's a picture of us at the park.

The Rumley's and the Buskards. We had such a good time catching up with them. It is so much fun to see our kids grow up together!

Minnie mOuse, Daisy Duck, a Mad Scientist, and a Beauty Queen. The girls went trick or treating at the Genther's and we had fun spending the night with them.

Here is a picture of my adorable daisy duck!Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck- unfortunately this is the best picture we have of the two of them together.
Before we headed to our next stop we took some pictures with the Genthers. Here's a pic of the girls with their cousins. My girls absolutely adore them!

Here is a picture of both of our families. We used the timer on my camera- it turned out pretty good! We miss them SO much!

A picture of Erik and I!

Saturday we stopped at Brett's house and visited with family. Here is a picture of the girls, cousin Cole, and Grandma Buskard. It was nice to get to know some of the Buskard's better.

Our Family and Erik's Parents

Lena Playing in the leaves!

It was a busy but good long weekend.

Please pray!

2008-11-04T09:53:00.000-08:00

We had a good trip to michigan and I will post pictures and details later, but for now more pressing concerns have confronted my family once again. My dad went to the oncologist today to find out the results of a recent catscan. The scan found several spots on his right lung and one on his left lung. From here he has to go for a petscan to figure out a course of action. Please keep him and my mom in your prayers. My dad has already battled and beat cancer twice, but each time it takes a little more out of him, and disheartens my mom and the rest of us. I will keep you updated as we find out more in the coming weeks. It is times like these that it is hard to trust that God is truly in control, but it is times like these that your faith has to triumph over the fairness.

2008-10-29T07:20:00.000-07:00

I want to share my really cool, God Provides story. Well, I rarely ever spend any money on myself. If I have the option of getting something for me or the girls, I willl always buy what the girls need. Lately there hasn't been the finances to get anything extra, and I was in desperate need of a pair of jeans, my only pair tore beyond repair Saturday morning. Well, Saturday morning I packed the girls in the car and we headed to the mall to get a $15 gift card from Macy's for being one of the first 150 people there. We got our $15 and head straight to the kids section and found an adorable Disney Princess Shirt for Grace which she loved, and I loved because it was free! Then we proceeded to head to Bath and Body Works where I had a coupon to get something for free. On our way down there we passed Old Navy and a lady was handing out treat bags to the kids with candy and a coupon for the adults. I opened up my coupon and won $50!!! I was so floored and utterly amazed by God's continued blessing! So, for once I got myself something (and a little something for the girls)! I am always reminded that God provides for His children.

The weekend was a bit of a blur. I worked late Saturday night and Sunday night, and I had church nursery on Sunday morning. I had two great money nights at work, which really helped with some unexpected expenses- once again God is always in control!

Monday Grace had a soccer game, and this time instead of somersaults, she would run and then fall on the ground and just lay there. I don't know what I am going to do with this kid!

After her game we had dinner with my fam and my Aunt Emily who I haven't seen for probably 10 years. It was nice to get a chance to catch up and to show off my family.

Yesterday was a fun day. It was storytime at the library and Grace was able to wear her costume. She was absolutely adorable!

Here is miss Minnie Mouse herself! Aren't the shoes amazing?!!

Minnie mouse and Woody, or as we know them, Grace and Carson! They have a blast together!
Lena at the library! She is getting so big!

I absolutely love this picture! Grace was so tired that she fell asleep in the cart at Meijer. There are times that she seems so old, but times like this remind me that she is still my baby!

I worked last night and I work again tonight. Today I am trying to get things done around here before we head out of town tomorrow. tomorrow night we are staying with Matt in Detroit before heading to Grand Rapids for therest of the weekend. It will be great to see everyone and to catch up with family and friends. Until we go though, there is so much to do. I hate packing but once we are on the road it will all be worth the stress!

2008-10-23T11:25:00.000-07:00

It has been a little more low key of a week for us, which has been nice.

Monday night Grace did good at her game. She actually dribbled the ball from one end of the field to the other! She also made her first attempt at goalie. She has been wanting to play so bad, I think it has something to do with the cool red shirt that the goalie gets to wear, but nonetheless she was pumped!

Tuesday I took Grace to storytime at the library. Next week she gets to wear her costume to storytime, so we definitely have something to look forward to.

Yesterday I did some bargain shopping at Meijer and Kroger. I was able to get $90 worth of merchandise for $25. Not bad! There are times when it seems to take so much of my time to cut coupons and find deals, but then I have shopping trips where I get things for free, or even better yet, am paid to buy something, and it makes it all worth it!

I didn't have to work last night, so it was nice to have a quiet evening at home.

Today has been nice and quiet. We have read a lot of books, Learned all about apples. Drew pictures. And now both girls are sleeping peacefully. I love days like today!

This evening I think I am going to take the girls to the DC Varsity Tournament game. I keep going back and forth as to whether to go or not. It is supposed to get chilly, but not until later. As of right now, I think I will do it, but I think I will wait and see how the girls are when they wake up!

This is definitely the weather that I wish I was playing soccer! Crisp fall air, blues skies, it doesn't get any better than that!

2008-10-20T09:36:00.000-07:00

It was a beautiful weekend here. Erik had the whole weekend off, so we went to the park on Saturday morning. It is so refreshing to be able to spend time as a family. We spent the rest of the day relaxing until I went to work.

Sunday we went to church and then I had to go to work. While I was at work Erik took Grace to get a new pair of cleats. They are absolutley adorable! They are white adidas cleats with pink stripes. She has a game tonight, so hopefully they will motivate her to kick the ball!!

Today we made it the the mall for the monthly kids concert. Grace had fun dancing with the kids and getting little trinkets from the vendors that were there. She even won a Tigger spin toothbrush! And I won a large picture frame!! i guess you could say it was a productive morning!

Here are a couple pictures that were taken this weekend.

Grace decided she needed to wear my glasses. Can you tell that she is my kid? No resemblance, huh?

This is how I was able to make dinner on Friday night! Lena was having a fit because I couldn't hold her, so I took her clothes off of her, strapped her in the high chair, and gave her pudding. What I do for some peace!

Here is our latest family picture! Yesterday we dressed the girls in the adorable outfits that Aunt Karis gave them while she was in town. They were SO cute! We used the timer on our camera to try and get a picture of all of us, and it actually turned out to be the best picture we have taken together yet! Go figure!

Well, I had better start cleaning since everything is a mess from my having to work all weekend!

10 Months Old

2008-10-17T12:53:00.000-07:00

Lena is now 10 months old. It's hard to believe that her birthday is just around the corner. She is such a joy and brings so much to our family. At times she seems to be about to walk, but for now she is more satisfied with crawling, as she is able to move around a lot faster that way. Lena has fast become an avid climber. (The other day I caught her climbing on top of our bed!) We are so blessed to have two amazing little girls!

We have had a full but fun week. Monday night Grace had a soccer game. She did better this time, as she did not do her first somersault until the second half! She did get a hold of the ball a few times during the game, so I was pleased to see that. The funniest part of the game had nothing to do with soccer. Over the past couple of months Grace has been around the DCsoccer team and has picked up on a few things, one of which is stretching. So, during the game, Grace ran over to the edge of the field (but mind you she is still on the field), tells me that her leg hurts and I nedd to stretch it. She lays on her back and lifts one of her legs in the air for me to stretch it. She absolutely cracks me up!

Tuesday we made it to story time at the library. Grace had a good time because her friend Carson was there. Later tuesday we went to a friends house to let the kids play and to watch iron man. It was nice to get out of the house and to hang out with other adults!

Wednesday we actually went to another story time. I am attempting to get Grace more used to taking direction from people other than mommy and daddy. She had fun and was good for the teacher, so I was thrilled. Later that afternoon we painted pumpkins. There are times I know I have to be crazy, but they both had fun and were absolutely filthy!

Grace with her finished product!

Here is my centerpiece!

Yesterday we got in the mail the girls' holloween costumes. They are going to look absolutely adorable. Grace is going to be Minnie Mouse and Lena is gong to be Daisy Duck. It should be fun! Pictures to come as soon as I get the finishing accessories (tights, turtlenecks, etc). Grace can hardly wait, as she is asking several times a day if it is halloween yet!

It is finally starting to feel like fall! Today was the first day that I had to dress the girls in long sleeves and pants. We have had a good day of deal shopping and playing ( I definitely have got over $100 worth of groceries for only $30 this week, OH YEAH!)

Grace riding her bike!

A sweet picture of Grace. She is starting to look so old!

Well, we are going to enjoy a nice evening at home tonight. It should be a pretty low key weekend for us, other than the fact that I have to work Saturday and Sunday night :)

2008-10-13T13:02:00.001-07:00

The weekend was full and tiring and I am glad I have a couple days before I work again!

So, this morning I was helping Grace find a toy, and apparently Lena thought this was a great time to raid the pantry. I came into the kitchen to find this:

I absolutely cracked up! She was having the time of her life, and chowing down like her fun would be over any minute. Lena definitely has a nose to find food, and now I will have to make sure the pantry door is always closed!

Tonight Grace has a soccer game and she is excited that we are bringing the snacks! After her first game she went to get her snack, which was an orange and juice. Grace took a bite of the orange and said, "I don't like those lemons, they have peanuts in them." Since my husband doesn't eat oranges, I rarely buy them and when I do they don't have seeds. Definitely another great "gracism."

2008-10-11T07:10:00.000-07:00

Thursday we made a trip to the zoo with Grace's friend Carson and his mom Amy. It turned out to be a beautiful day, and the kids had a great time. There is nothing cuter than three years olds holding hands, running through the zoo. This was our third trip to the zoo in just over a week. Crazy huh?

Yesterday was a day to run a few errands and do some cleaning. I did some deep organization/cleaning out of our front closet, pantry, and entertainment stand. I always feel so much better when things are are cleaned out and organized!

Today Grace has a soccer game. The game is not til this afternoon and she is already dressed and ready to go. Hopefully we can make it through this game without somersaults! :)
Well, I work late tonight and tomorrow night so I will be exhausted by monday morning!

I Now Believe in Ghosts!

2008-10-09T04:11:00.000-07:00

A couple of years ago, while we were still living in Michigan, my mom called me one day to tell me that a childhood friend had passed away. My mom even went to the viewing, and had commented later that she had really changed from when she was a girl.

Fast forward to last night at work. I walked up to greet a table and there is this girl that looks EXACTLY like my friend that had passed away. I know I probably weirded this guest out with the way that I looked at her, because I had to convince myself that this was not my friend, she had died years ago. It definitely weirded ME out!

Well, it was right before the table was about to leave and the girl says to me, " I think we used to play soccer together. My maiden name is Heather Chin." The name of my friend! I about choked, and then composed myself enough to have a quick conversation with her.
So, one of three things must have happened: 1. My mom didn't stay at the viewing long enough for Heather to rise up out of her coffin 2. Heather's ghost is now haunting me, or 3. My mom paid her respects to a complete stanger! Regardless, I will probably be laughing about it for years to come!

2008-10-07T12:18:00.000-07:00

Last night was Grace's second soccer game. It was absolutely hilarious. She really couldn't care less about what was going on, and was more interested in hanging on the goal and doing somersaults. Go figure! You could tell she was still out of it from being sick, so hopefully she will be more "with it" at the season goes on. She had a good time though, and was thoroughly thrilled with the snacks after the game.

After the game we returned some movies and then went to Chick-fil-A for dinner. So we definitely used four different coupons, got two value meals, a kids meal, a brownie, and an ice cream cone for 6 dollars. It was a nice treat, and it was even nicer that it was so cheap! Yay for coupons!!!

We have been doing really good at spending money on only the things that we need, and I have been trying my hardest to cut costs through coupons and bargain shopping, but today, I have to admit, I caved. So, as you have probably already figured out, I have a princess in my house and today it the day that the Disney movie Sleeping Beauty came out on DVD. Well, while at Meijer getting some good deals I saw the display for the movie. I called Erik and got his opinion, and even though Grace did not necessarily need Sleeping Beauty, I knew it would thrill her. Granted it was a great deal, I got the movie and the Aurora doll for only 16.99, but the bottom line is I couldn't resist. It is so funny that as you get older and have children, how your focus changes. I never think of what pair of shoes I should get ( I haven't had a new pair in who knows how long) but rather what can I get for my kids. Don't get me wrong, I still have completely selfish moments (as in right now when both girls are sleeping and I am sitting on the couch, enjoying a few minutes of peace and quiet) but in the end, being a parent causes you to look outside of yourself. So, in other words this is my justification for splurging on a special surprise for my precious three year old (and yes we have already watched the movie and enjoyed every minute of it!)

2008-10-07T12:11:00.000-07:00

I have decide to try a new blog to keep everyone updated on what is happening in the crazy lives of the Buskards. Now anyone can leave a comment, instead of only Xanga subscribers. Hopefully the new layout will motivate me to keep you more up to date!