Back To Ohio

So even though we had to go back to Ohio for a sad situation, there was good that came out of it.  We got to meet our little nephew Andrew and Whitney and Ava got to play together...a lot!  Those girls just kept going and going, and even when Ava tired out, Whitney kept going and going.  It was fun to watch them play together and 2nd cousins Aubrey and Hillary got to join in on the fun as well.  Because of all the snow there, Whitney was able to go sledding for the first time.  She loved it and of course was the last kid to come inside.  That girl could go all day long!

Home Sweet Home!

Well, we've been back in Atlanta for a week now and it has been CRAZY!  Mostly fun stuff, but some stressful stuff mixed in there as well.  We got back last Thursday night and walked into a clean house with fresh goodies.  Our friends had come over and cleaned the whole house, washed our sheets and stocked up the fridge a few days prior.  Such sweet people. We kept thinking it should've been more dusty or something, but then when we went upstairs and noticed that Whitney's bed and our bed were made, I knew something was up because we never make beds.  What a huge blessing it was to walk into a clean house after being gone for so long.

We've spent a lot of our time getting things unpacked and trying to get settled in.  I think we've got the most of it done for now.  We've already spent some great time with friends, doing dinners, Super Bowl parties, church...lots of fun stuff.  And in the middle of it all we got Whitney Grace potty trained!  We used this book called "Toilet Training in Less than a Day".  Ben's mom used it to potty train all three of them, and Than and Jennifer used it on Ava.  I must say, it worked like a charm.  We've only had a few accidents since last Saturday, and have been out and about to restaurants, church, friends houses, she even started back to school this week.  She's done absolutely great.  And she's even telling us when she has to go.  It's pretty amazing.  Just another wonderful blessing...

On a sad note, Ben's grandpa Painter, his mom's dad, passed away Tuesday night at 87 years old.  His health had been failing over the last several years and even more so in the last six months or so.  Although we are saddened by the loss, it is comforting to know that he is now at peace in heaven.  We will be leaving tomorrow to go back to Ohio for the memorial service.  Than, Jennifer, Ava and Andrew will be there as well, so it will make for good medicine to see all the little ones together!

Grandpa Walter's 99th Birthday

Ben's grandpa celebrated his 99th birthday while we were visiting.  What an accomplishment!

Christmas in January

We finally got to celebrate Christmas with our family in Ohio.  Whitney isn't going to understand when we only have one Christmas.  This year we had five!  And now we definitely need to clean out some toys when we get back home tomorrow.  Our families have totally blessed us again!  Not just with gifts, but with a great visit.

Leaving the Dirty Jers...

Well, we got home late last night (130am, and no, Whitney did not sleep on the plane!).  I have been packing all day.  We are leaving here tommorrow.  Flight to Ohio at 540pm.  We'll be in Chilli for a week, then finally, finally, back to Georgia!  Yippee!  (Ben is pretty much foaming at the mouth to get on his dirt bike.)

 

Good bye Residence Inn...you served your purpose well.

Whitney's been a big help packing today...Tee Hee!

A Tough Loss

Well, Peyton Manning got the best of us.  As Ben says, "He is like a ninja!"  The guys held their own and actually led the game at halftime, but Peyton figured something out and the Colts just came alive.  Our guys did great even though it ended a wonderful season.  They have much to be proud of.  Whitney and I had a fun time together, just the two of us.  We had our first slumber party in the hotel room and breakfast in bed in the morning.  We were so happy to have dinner with some great friends, Hunter and Jen Smith and Bryan Fletcher.  Ben played with Hunter and Bryan in Indianapolis.  A lot of our family and some of our close friends were able to come to the game too.  I was so blessed to have Abby sitting with me to entertain Whitney the ENTIRE game.  I don't think she got to watch a single down of football, but I am so grateful for her being there.  It was a fun day, somewhere we didn't think we'd be this year, if ever.  So few people get this opportunity.  We are so blessed for the things God has allowed us to be a part of.  For now life moves on and we'll be anxiously waiting to see where we'll be heading next season.  Hmmmm....

Jets at San Diego...Victory!

Amazing!  We seriously beat the Chargers.  What an awesome game.  What an awesome experience for my hubby.  He's been fortunate to be in the playoffs 5 of his 6 years in the league.  This was only his second time to be part of a divisional game.  This weekend will be his first time to be in a championship game.  Wow.  I know in the big scheme of life, this is just football and it doesn't compare to the "real" things of life, like relationships, tragities, etc., but this is part of our life, not our complete life, but part of it and wow, for him to get to be part of this is just amazing.  He/we have been so blessed by this journey.  He has shown great perserverance through injuries, coaching changes, team changes, the list is endless.  I am so proud of him and his diligence.  What a wonderful example for our family!  God's hand is truely on this team and the journey they are on, whether it ends this weekend or not.  They have overcome the odds and silenced the nay-sayers.  I am just so proud of all of them!

Thanks to my parents that rock, I was able to go out to the game. They came to New Jersey to stay with the girls while I enjoyed a few days of down time.  I was so grateful to be there.  The game was so exciting.  The first half was scary, but they came out fired up the second half and just consumed the Chargers!  After the game was pure excitement, it was a silent excitement though, like people were just in amazement.  Not that we didn't believe it could happen, because we all know they have it in them, but people were still in awe.  Onto Indianapolis this weekend.  Oh, and after the game as we were heading down the ramp to meet Ben, there was a beautiful rainbow in the sky.  Can you say "sign from God'?  I love how He works!

Big Stuff

Today we tried the sippy cup and eating some puffs.  Neither were entirely successful, but it's a start.  I mean, it was only her first day!  But while I was watching her all I could keep thinking was, "she's never going to get this."  But then I remembered I thought the same thing with Whitney, so I guess I'll just have to be patient.

9 Months Old!

Lindsey turned 9 months old yesterday.  So hard to believe.  I've been thinking alot about how its weird that she is growing up.  For some reason I just feel like Lindsey is always going to be a baby and that Whitney is the only one that is going to keep growing.  I guess maybe its because Whitney is so busy that I'm just not realizing that Lindsey is growing too.  At any rate, I'm not a big fan of it, but I guess she'll always be my baby, no matter what size she is...At the doctor yesterday she weighed 19 lbs 11 oz and was 28 inches.  That puts her in the 75 percentile for both.  She's now walking holding onto our fingers or anything else that's around.  She still only has her two bottom teeth, but she is chewing on everything, so the others shouldn't be too far behind.  Last night she tried some banana for the first time. She didn't seem to be a big fan, she kept spitting it out, which Whitney thought was hysterical for some reason.  It's getting more and more fun to watch them interact.

Thinking it over...

Got it!

Playoffs BABY!

We did it!  Well, they did it!  The Jets made it to the playoffs!  They beat the Bengals on Sunday Night Football in the bitter cold.  I had four or five layers on and toe and hand warmers, so I was pretty set.  Now off to Cincinnati on Saturday to take them on again.  Go Jets!!!

Me and Christa bundled up

Welcome 2010!

We are old...we did nothing for New Year's.  We never usually do anything crazy, but would at least get together with friends or something...this year I had to work to even get Ben to stay up to watch the ball drop.  We laughed at ourselves when, the night before New Year's Eve we realized we hadn't even discussed that we weren't doing anything for New Year's Eve.  It was just like, a given that we weren't, so there was no need to even discuss it.  Guess it's good we were on the same page.  Tee Hee!

We did however spend New Year's Day/Night with our friends from Georgia, Barry and Christa.  We picked them up at their hotel in the city and then Ben drove us around some of the sites before landing at our dinner reservations at the much hyped-up, Peter Lugar's Steakhouse in Brooklyn.  Unfortunately, even after pretty much everyone in the NY Jet organization highly recommended it, it was in all of our opinions, a BUST!  To start things off, we caught the girl behind the front desk digging for gold a couple times, with full examination.  The waiter seemed less than pleased to be our server, and we were told to get the bacon and out comes a 1/4 inch thick slab of fat with a couple bites of pork...the weirdest thing we have ever seen.  The steak was sub-par, along with the sides.  Dessert was the best part, but still nothing to write home about.  However, we all still had a great time!  Great company + good laughs = great time!