I'm Back

I did not mean to neglect blogdom for so long, really.  And when I started getting the "are you ok, are you alive?" emails, I knew I had to get my lazy, exhausted behind on here and write something.  And there are so many things I need to write about, like:

• our Thanksgiving trip to Phoenix, where the zoo went to the zoo, we apparently brought the coldest weather in recent memory with us, goofed around in a hotel, spent 3+ hours at Cabela's (cue angels singing), and slid into a ditch 5 miles from home.
• Jerome's "business" trip to Paris (a.k.a. guys trip with his dad and brother)

• All the Christmas festivities we have been up to
• general updates on the family
• my baptism in October

But, today, you get none of those.  Instead, you get this adorable photo I took this morning:

Because they both looked fabulous in their hats, and were perfectly happy to have their photo taken together. 

And this:

 

Yes, Princess Needs A Bubble Suit got to have another visit to the ER this morning.  It's sad when they know you by name.  She landed wrong last night in gymnastics, and gave herself a high ankle fracture, right near the growth plate.  Lovely. 

Although I have learned to never underestimate the amount of sympathy shown by a herd of 2nd grade girls.  You would have thought she lost a leg or something. 

And this is my solemn promise to you, and I, to take a photo of my girls tonight.  We are having our office Christmas party, and the girls are wearing their hot pink, matching dresses.  Can anyone else say fabulous!

When The Cat Is Away...

... the mouse will stay up far too late!

One of the new addictions I have discovered is Shutterfly.  A few of my friends are regular Shutterfly users, and have always raved about the photo quality and customer service.  So, I decided to take a look.

And, oh my goodness!  What a treasure trove!  Someone *ahem* could get someone *ahem* a beautiful, custom 15 oz mug with three beautiful princesses on it.  Because every mommy coffee addict would love a beautiful mug with her beautiful children on it. 

In case someone *ahem* needs to find the aforementioned mugs, here is a handy-dandy link:

http://www.shutterfly.com/photo-gifts/photo-mugs

And their photo cards?  Gorgeous!  The designs are so unique!  I loved this little Christmas tree number:

Or maybe this beautiful green, ornamenty one.  And yes, ornamenty is a word in our house. 

But I just realized that there is only room for two kid pictures on it.  And I have three kids.  I see therapy bills in my future if I pick this one.  Moving on...

I think this may be the one.  Equal sized photos, enough photos for each of them, plus the ability to embarrass them with stories.  Love it!

Want to see more of their awesome designs?  Just go here:

http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery

And bloggers?  If you want to receive free cards for this year, just go here:

http://blog.shutterfly.com/5358/holiday2010-blog-submission-form/

Cause you know we all love us some free stuff around here!

So, what are you still doing here?  Go pick out my Christmas card on Shutterfly already!

True Story Tuesday: Our Snow Angels

Phew!  Made it just under the wire!  Since this is the last TST until the New Year *sniff*sniff*, I had to write something.  And leave it to me to create my own TST material this week!  For more True Story Tuesday fun, go visit Rachel & Mr Daddy at Once Upon A Miracle.






Sunday, we headed home from our annual trip to Phoenix.  We ran into snow in Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado.  I love our weather.  Thankfully, it didn't start sticking until we hit the CO state line.  But blowing snow in NM is fun too.


We were just a few miles from our house, following behind my dad.  They were behind a small white pickup.  For some reason known only to God, SWP decided to test the off-road capabilities of their truck on a snow-packed and iced-over highway.  They slipped off the side of the road, overcorrected, tried to flip, then fishtailed for a while before straightening out. 


My parents started to come to a stop quickly when the chaos started.  I tried.  Their ginormous 4X4 stops much better on ice than my little front-wheel drive minivan rocketship.  I started sliding. 


You know those moments of extreme clarity?  Where your mind races, but in a good way? 


I had a choice - middle of the road, or towards the ditch.  I chose a soft slide into the ditch over 360s in the middle of a highway.  In fact, we slided in so softly, the kids didn't even realize what had happened.  But we were stuck. 


A state patrol officer stopped almost immediately.  He, Jerome, and my dad tried to push the van back onto the highway, to no avail.  And, of course, this was the first time my dad did not have a tow chain in the back.  And no one we flagged down had one either.


Finally, Jerome called a buddy who lives near us.  He hopped in his car with his chain and headed our way.  Right as our friend neared our car, an entire truck full of college students pulled over to help.  They didn't have a tow chain, but they did have muscle to spare.  They literally lifted the front of my van and pushed it back onto the highway.  Then they jumped in their car and left. 


After we got home, the girls started calling those kids our snow angels.  I think the name fits.

A Day of Thanks

I am sitting at my grandma's table. The girls are running around stealing chips and candy, and getting away with it because we are at Grandma's. And because it's Thanksgiving.

My family is gathered around the kitchen counter, munching chips and salsa and talking about nothing and everything. But we are together.

Today my heart is full. It is a good day to give thanks.
Tiffany

True Story Tuesday: Saint Pukeicus???

In case you were wondering about yesterday's post, the photos are in chronological order!  So, yes, my sis-in-love Kristin got it right!

And Rachel cracked me up because she had it, then she second-guessed herself!

Anyways, are you ready for another ridiculous, yet true Bleger story?

***CAUTION***

***BODILY FUNCTIONS IN DISCUSSION***

***DO NOT BLAME ME IF YOU HURL***

I still can't figure this one out...


Last Thursday, Madi had a rough evening.  Whiny, grumpy, complaining of a stomach ache.  We just figured she was overly tired and sent her to bed. 


Fast forward almost 4 hours.


I awake just before midnight to Katrina's yells from their shared bedroom.  I stumble in to find Madison mid-puke on her bed.  She was surrounded by undigested spaghetti, and still going strong.  I went back to our room to enlist Daddy's help. 


We got her pj's off and Daddy took her to the bathroom to clean up while I cleaned the mess.  Once she smelled halfway decent, Daddy built her a nest on our bedroom floor near the puke bucket (a necessity to family life, I might add), and snuggled with her while I stripped the sheets and got everything in the washer.  And then we settled back in ourselves.


Daddy woke up at 5 AM to torture himself go running with his friend.  He got up, got dressed, and left the house. 


He got back at 6:30 AM so that we could all get ready for the day.


He sat down beside me on the bed and asked, "Why is Madi on the floor?"


I thought, perhaps, she had rolled off the nest during the night, so I told him as much.


He responded, "No.  Why is she sleeping in our room?"





Really?





He didn't, did he?





Oh yes, he did.




My man has the ability to bathe, prepare a bed, properly align a puke bucket, and snuggle a child, all while sound asleep.


Sometimes, I wish I could make this stuff up.


You know you have family legends!  Go link up with Rachel & Mr. Daddy for more TST fun!

Monday Mugs: Paper Fun

Mondays are hard! Blogging on Mondays shouldn't be!

 

 

Can you guess which Bleger girl is which?

Because, at the same age,

you could probably mistake them for triplets.

Chrismas Shopping With Purpose

I have found my Christmas mojo.  Last week, when Jerome asked me what we were getting everyone for Christmas, I said, "Nothing.  I don't even want to go there.  Don't talk to me about it.  Shush."


Yes, I know.  Bah Humbug!


Every year I would obsess about finding just the right present, what they would like, what I have given them in the past few years.  And it stressed me out.  But, wow, have I had a realization this week!  I love to receive presents that have a story, or a purpose, behind them.  A reason.  And I am sure our family and friends feel the same. 


And there are so many people who, especially in this economy, still feel God's pull to bring home a precious orphan.  My heart has done a 180 on adoption since our pastors arrived at our church.  I have met precious children who have come home to their forever families.  I have held them.  I have snuggled them.  They have stolen my heart. 


And I thought, perhaps, my bloggy friends were looking for a little more purpose and meaning behind their gifts this year as well. 


So, here are a couple of ways and families you can help:


Our nanny Sara and her husband are working towards adopting their first from Africa.  She makes stocking caps and beautiful jewelry.  You can find her Etsy site here.  She is adding new pieces daily, so keep checking back.  But I would suggest doing it quickly, as I plan on raiding her stock this Sunday for my presents.  BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!


Also, our pastor's wife has a post on her blog completely dedicated to families trying to adopt.  Each link in the post is a family raising money for adoption through creative endeavors.  There is literally something for everyone!  You can go here for her Shopping With a Purpose post. 


UPDATE:  My new bloggy friend Laura pointed me towards a friend of hers.  Chris and Lindsey adopted a sweet little girl from Guatemala.  Lindsey was recently diagnosed with Lyme Disease after a 3 year battle to find a diagnosis.  They are selling anything and everything they can think of, and accepting donations to help with their medical expenses as well.


If you know of someone selling their wares for a purpose, be it adoption, medical costs, etc, please send me a link.  I would love to include it in this post.


The knowledge that a present I purchased to bless someone else is working towards bringing home a sweet babe is well worth the time, in my eyes.