Art 101

Welcome to a wedding. I can't tell you who is getting married although I'm pretty positive it is Emily and her future man. You'll notice that both the bride and groom are dressed appropriately for the occasion, the groom even has a top hat. I love the heart above their heads signifying that they are in love and the big smiles on their faces. It's an outdoor wedding so the wedding guests consist of a bird and a squirrel. Now the archway I know is from Emily's recollection of Lisa and Jason's wedding this past September (the wedding both she and Matt were attendants in). Their archway was draped in flowers and Emily drew individual flowers attached to tulle (I don't think she knew what the fabric was but she remembered to draw it). What totally took me off guard was that on a very high table in the archway are the 3 candles that were used for the unity ceremony. I was surprised that she remembered that detail as it is not something that is portrayed in the wedding ceremonies she see on TV or her movie DVDs - really she has only see it at cousin Lisa's wedding and one other wedding she has attended. Once again her attention to detail takes me by surprise. It is a beautiful wedding - I'll have to save the picture and show it to her when she is getting married for real - which is not going to be for a long time.

Revisiting the Past

This picture was taken on New Year's Eve of 2005. Matt was only 6 1/2 months old and Emily 3 1/2 years old (how old Matt is today). This seems like a lifetime ago. The picture was taken in the morning so that is why I think they are so happy - also why it is still light outside. Today we got some snow - not a great amount - but the wind here is crazy so it is swirling around like blizzard snow. I know for a fact that Emily and Matt did not stay up until the ball dropped to ring in 2006 - then again I'm sure Matt probably had an early feeding in the new year. Tonight we are headed to a friends house to just relax and enjoy the night. We will see if we make it until midnight or not. Happy New Year to all our family and friends. May you be truly blessed and be a blessing in 2009!

Who Said Hives are Where Bees Live

Well, for two weeks now, I have been suffering from intermittent itchy skin (this picture was taken 5 days into my plight). First, the itching would be on my hands, stop then head to my leg, stop then travel to my arms, then maybe to my back and stop for several hours only to start all over again in new areas and patterns. At first, it was minimal but a little annoying. Then, the last few days - while away on a family getaway to PA- the itching went into hyper drive. I wanted to get out of my skin. The attacks were coming more frequently, were becoming absolutely painful and welting was occuring. I finally called my doctor's office first thing Monday morning only to find out he is out of town but thankfully another doctor was covering for him. So, Tuesday afternoon, just after we got back from PA, I went to the doctor. Of course, I wasn't having an attack at the time - typical when you finally go to the doctor about a problem. But I was smart, when I was having one of my worst attacks, I took pictures. Well, I have hives.....a result of an allergen, stress, cold, heat, infection, who knows. The doctor mainly wanted to take care of the itching/hives and deal with the cause later if it doesn't subside or disappear after being medicated. So, I'm now taking both Zyrtec and Pepcid every day to let the antihistamine get rid of the hives. Today has been pretty much an attack free day so I'm pretty happy and glad to be starting the new year not scratching myself like crazy. Oh, by the way, Monday night at dinner when I told Emily mommy's skin is very itchy so I was going to the doctor, her first concern was whether I would get a shot and then she said "maybe you have fleas". Yes, I still love her and, of course, set her straight that I don't have fleas. Leave it to a child to make a funny out of your misery.

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