A Deluge of Photos and Surprises!

What an amazing weekend! It started on Friday and didn't stop! My first surprise (a not so good one) was that I went to my eye doctor appointment on Friday pm and they told me I came on the wrong day. I was disappointed because I was looking forward to picking out new frames (my glasses are so old that they fall apart regularly and Bob has to screw them together again for me) So I have another appointment February 9th instead. Then, it was off to a little party for Birthright, little did I know that Samuel and I were the guests of honor! We had some delicious snacks, and drinks, and then out came a gift. Everyone from the local Birthright where I used to volunteer weekly, before they shut the doors for good (not enough counselling was making it worthwhile to be open, we became a clothing giveaway place rather than a pregnancy counselling place) was there. They got me a WillowTree Thank You sculpture (I love WillowTree and I have a few of their sculptures and would love more!) , a beautiful thank you card, and a gift certificate to the Owego Treadway Inn (a fancy place to eat) complete with money to pay a babysitter! I was in shock, and wonderfully surprized- I had no idea. I actually felt a little bit guilty that they did so much for me as a thank you for volunteering, when there were other volunteers too!
Then the surprizes continued on Saturday when we had a surprize 50th birthday party for my dad. He had no idea, and was thrilled and embarrassed all at the same time! Many people came from both near and far! It was a lot of work, but well worth it! Dad received many gift cards to help pay for supplies for his river plot. I wrote a poem I will put on here the next time (I just have too much to write about this time and not enough time) We had so much food left though that we were able to host a complete church supper the next day with the leftovers (and we still had more left to send home with a family who had just had a baby!)
Sunday morning Samantha and Wayne were taking the dogs on their walk, when they saw a coffee table and two end tables sitting outside of a house on the side of the road. Samantha called me from Bob's cellphone (she takes a cell with her in case of an emergency) and said they were really nice, and asked if I wanted them .. I said to go ahead and bring them home, not really knowing what to expect. Our coffee table and end tables were old handmade jobs that came with Bob when we got married. The kids walked in with the two end tables and Bob and my jaws dropped. They brought in beautiful dark cherry tables with curved legs, and a little drawer with brass pulls. I told them to hurry and get the coffee table, and they got it just in time. It was matching except the shape is oval without a drawer. They are BEAUTIFUL- I felt like it was my birthday early! I spent all afternoon yesterday working on my living room. I am still shocked that they put them on the side of the road- they could have easily sold them, seeing as they only have minimal scratches! Samantha asked the people who lived there if it was okay that they take them, and they said "Please do!" I was so excited I could hardly contain myself and told the kids I would give them each $5.00 spending money for such a wonderful gift!
Also Sunday, my sister passed out during church and had to be checked out in an ambulance. They think she overdid herself, but all her stats seemed to be normal. We were all very worried about her, but she went home and rested and has a dr. appt today (which I told her I wanted to drive her to) Hopefully and Prayfully all will be well!
So as you can tell, many unexpected things happened this weekend, and many wonderful surprises!

My dining room table all ready for Valentine's Day, complete with a beautiful arrangement in pinks! (These were "throw away" flowers my brother left for the party, but mom didn't want to use them because of the pinks...Aren't they beautiful???) 

Some flowers I put together for my kitchen table, leftover from the Surprise Party! 

Bob being Bob! :) 

One of my new end tables! 

The other end table complete with baby! 

The guest of honor himself! 

Mom with some guests, both grown and not so grown! 

Dad was overwhelmed, and definately shocked- he had no idea! 

Guests from an above view mingling. 

The table decorations. Believe it or not, we were able to give away most of the fish by the end of the night, unfortunately not without a lot of coercing, and most were given to the adults that felt bad, not the kids! 

What a Surprise!!! Who knew we could keep such a secret?! 

Happy Surprise 50th Birthday Dad! 

Ginny, the Owego Birthright "ringleader" showing Samuel Joan's parakeet. 

Joan, the hostess for our little party, and another birthright lady! 

My friend Fran from Birthright! 

Hey Mama, Whaz Up! :) 

~ Let it Snow ~

Well, we have a little dusting of white stuff this morning. I almost forgot what it looked liked, what with our very mild winter thus far. I am actually a bit glad for the snow, because next week I take down the Christmas lights , and it gives me a little bit of reason to turn my outside lights on and be able to actually enjoy them!
Samantha and Wayne are both having difficulties doing their work for school. They are both officially grounded until their grades , among other things, improve. Hopefully we will get this nipped in the bud soon. Bob and I both understand the importance of education, and we want to see Samantha and Wayne succeed, now and later on! We both love them and want the best for them, to have opportunities that we missed when we were younger.
I'm working on baby shower plans, and a few other secrets too! It just hasn't seemed like there has been enough time in the day lately. Samuel's sleeping is back to normal again, and yes he is cutting another tooth. That makes 5 so far that I can see. He is so close to crawling, and has been for weeks, but he is smart- He's figured out if he gets into a crawling position, and then "plops" down, usually he can reach what he's trying to get. It is pretty funny, especially since Bob and I have been watching him a lot, waiting for him to actually crawl, and he just keeps us watching, watching, watching! He is such a trip sometimes- he is a ham already, is laughing and giggling all the time, but he is also a mush. He loves to gives hugs and kisses, and still enjoys snuggling on a soft lap. I think he is a good balance of Bob and I both- and I hope it stays that way!

"Don't mind me daddy, I love you and your kisses, but mamas camera strap sure tastes good!" 

Daddy hangin' with his baby boy! 

Wayne with his little construction city 

Sleepless in Owego, Copy 2!

Hi All! I wrote this long post yesterday am, but by the time I was finished my computer had pretty muched locked up on me so that I had to reboot, and couldn't finish posting. After all the work, I was at least able to print it, since I couldn't even save it on our regular computer, so here goes:
Well, it's been another long "morning". Every morning for the past 4-5 days, Samuel has woken up around 3 am ready to be up for the day. He is bright eyed and bushy tailed like a little squirrel. The most difficult part is that he REFUSES to sleep if he is even the slightest bit awake, and if I let him "cry it out" he makes himself sick and throws up. Even if I nurse him to sleep, but he isn't totally out of it, he wakes up crying the instant I lay him down. Yesterday, after almost 2 hrs and laying him down 4 times I gave up and let him cry, which he actually fell asleep after about 20 minutes. This morning he pulled the same stunt, and after an hr and laying him down a couple of times, I tried to let him cry it out again. This time it didn't work. He cried himself into hysterics and threw up in his bed. It took over a half hour to settle him down, even after I went in to get him, to calm him down by holding him, rocking him and nursing him. He is now sleeping in our bed with pillows propped all around him so that he won't fall out. It's really hard for me, because not only is he getting up early, but he has been getting up thru the night lately, and I have to be up by 5:15 am for work (I let Bob sleep, because he is our "breadwinner" and what can he do anyhow since I nurse Samuel to sleep) I think he's teething again because he was sleeping completely thru for a while, then after he's up at night, he usually gets a tooth or two. So, needless to say, I have been getting very little sleep and broken up sleep at that (which is worse than getting a long stretch of little sleep) I don't mean to dwell, I guess I'm just tired so I'm rambling *YAWN* :)

This weekend Samantha and Wayne finished making their gingerbread houses that they got for Christmas from their Uncle Matt and Aunt Rebecca. They both had fun, but Samantha especially got into it. We decided next year our whole family is going to have a gingerbread house decorating competition. Bob is confident he will win, but he doesn't know what kind of competitor he will be facing against me (with Samuel's help) :)

I handed out baby shower invitations at church and now I'm finishing up the ones I have to mail (Abbie, one is coming for you! :)) I am excited about Rebecca's shower! I wasn't able to be at her first one, so this one is sort of extra special to me. Especially since Rebecca and Matt gave permission to the doctor to write down the gender of the baby, so that it can be a gender specific surprize shower. So, I was the first person who was privy to that information, which will stay a secret and not be revealed to them until they arrive at the shower- Sorry Rebecca and Matt,, no clues for you! :)

I got some school shopping done for Samantha and Wayne. Every year since Bob and I've been married, we have done our school shopping at the end of year clearance sales. It saves us a boatload of money and gives the kids a nice variety of new clothes for school. Wayne is completely done other than pants, socks, and underwear (the s & u we wait to get) Samantha is almost done, but could use another shirt and another pair of jeans besides the s and u. Even Samuel is set when it comes to shirts for next Fall. Most of Samuel's shirts I got at JCPenney's for 1.66 a piece- their clearance sales beat all others!

My goal this week is to get Samuel's 6-9 month clothes into a bin, marked and put into the garage. Right now, they are piled underneath of his crib. He will most likely fit into 12 month clothing for the remainder of winter, I'm pretty sure, but I have a few 18 month winter outfits I may bring in and put in his closet for a little variety, because otherwise I doubt he'll be able to fit into them by next fall/winter. I also need to clean my nasty birdcage :P I promised Bob I would get it done, so I have to do it this week!!!

Today I'm going to try and call and set up Bob and my dance lessons. Rebecca said she would babysit for us, so I don't want to wait until the baby comes, or until right before the baby comes, so hopefully we can start our lessons very soon! I really hope that Bob enjoys dancing as much as I do- it would be awesome to find a fun thing like this in common that we can do together- you can't get much more "couple" than this :)

Samantha picked up her glasses yesterday. She has officially joined the realms of us nonseeing people that need help with their vision! She is a lucky one though- she only needs hers for reading so far! She looks very cute with them on- check it out on my blog :}

Samantha with her new "specs" 

Miss Samantha is ready to teach preschool now :) JUST KIDDING SAMANTHA- you look BEAUTIFUL with your glasses and without them!!! 

Samuel, cars are for driving, not for eating! 

Taking his baby and stuffed animals for a wagon ride (even though he isn't walking yet, Samuel "pulls and pushes" his little wagon around. 

Samuel enjoying a little early reading (one of his Christmas presents) 

Samuel with his little bear. He loves it, hugs and kisses it, talks to it, and is "petting" it in this photo.