A Birthday Fit for a Princess

We celebrated Arden's birthday over several days. The first party was at my parents house in West Virginia.

My mom ordered the perfect cake for Arden a princess cake. We both thought it would be a cake with a doll in it however; it ended up being a cake with a pink Cinderella and sparkles. The two things Arden loves the most.

Arden loved this cake and keeps asking for another one. For the record the cake tasted as good as it looked.

Catching Up

Whew! What a week. We were on vacation all week in North Myrtle Beach and it was fantastic. We were able to dodge two hurricane's that stayed out at sea. We soaked up the sun and ate too much but it was worth it.

Now time to recap. I will have some post this week recapping Arden's birthday and our time at the beach. I will also have to blog about life. Arden's first day of preschool is on Wednesday. Seriously is she old enough to go to school? She's growing up way too fast.

Now to download some pictures so I can get these posts started!

Question of the Week

Where in the world have I been?

Happy Birthday Arden

Today, August 22nd is Arden's 3rd birthday. I still cannot fathom how much she has given me over the past 3 years. She is funny, sweet, determined, independent, loving, helpful and mine. She is a daddy's girl but doesn't forget about me. She is thoughtful and such a great big sister and completely obsessed with Princesses.

I love how she wakes me up almost every morning even thought I'm not ready to get up. I love how she wants me to tuck her in tight after that one last drink.

The two's were not so terrible and I can't wait to see what the 3's bring us.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ARDEN! I love you.

Camera Thief

Everytime my camera is laying around my brother picks it up and takes pictures of himself. He did this back in the day when there was film in my camera. It would never fail that I would go to pick up my pictures and there was a picture of my brother in there that he took.

Now that he's married this hasn't changed...he just added her to the picture.

Lifting Weights

There is never a dull moment with Arden around. My parents have Jackson's first dog toy downstairs in the basement and it is usually not allowed outside. It is shaped like a dumbbell.

Arden will walk over and pick it up and doing bicep curls. She will look over and yell "Look at me Mommy I'm lifting weights." She does this every day she is there. I'm not sure she's getting the results she wants but it is so funny.

The Softer Side

Now tell me she doesn't love him.

Stronger

One day he will be stronger than her. I just hope he's forgiven her for being so rough during his early years.

Disclaimer...no babies were harmed in the taking of this picture.

3 Years Ago Today

Three years ago today my water broke with Arden. Her due date was Sept. 30. For the next 5 days the doctors did everything they could to keep her in until the steroids had time to try to speed up the development of her lungs which it did.

Arden's personality is one of I'm going to do things in my own time line. While this week was crazy I wouldn't change her story for anything. It's who she is and what make her so special.

So while her birthday isn't until the 22nd the 17th holds something special in my heart.

Question of the Week

Guess who turns 3 this week?

Update on Tim

Hi everyone,Sorry this is late getting out but Tim had surgery on Thursday and they did not have to repair as much as they thought they would which is a huge answer to prayer. Here is the update we received from Laura.

Hi everyone, Writing from Swiss computer so this might be a bit broken up with lack of punctuation. Tim had surgery today..The doc thought he may need metal plates to fix some of the bone structure but he didnät need to put them in. That was great news. They repaired the cheekbone, bones around the eyes and fracture to his nose. They did not find any other damage while operating. He is doing great and staying positive although he is feeling restless having had to stay in bed for 4 days thus far. He will probably be released on Saturday or Sunday. I will wait a day or two in case he has any complications and we will either train or plane back to Prague.

Thankfully Tim is cleared to continue his basketball career this season and will probably be getting a face mask to make sure that type of physical contact does not harm his face. He will be a sight for sure on the court so we will all have to get to one of his games this year. Hope this finds all of you well. Again, we are feeling your prayers and we are very thankful for such a great community of friends and family joining us in this "crazy adventure." Praise God for his hand in this situation.

Love;Laura

Tim

Yesterday Dave's youngest brother Tim and his wife Laura were hiking in Switzerland and Tim took a terrible fall. We spent most of the day praying and gathering information. Below is an email that Laura sent us this morning to update us on what the doctors said this morning. Please join us and pray for Tim's as he has surgery and recovers.



Thank you for all of your prayers and support. If you have not heard, Tim and I were hiking an advanced trail yesterday when he lost his footing and took a big fall. By the time I got to him, he was conscious but in pretty bad shape. Praise God for some Swiss hikers we encountered shortly after and they were able to call for the helicopter. So Tim was medivac'd to Interlaken West hospital. Of course he had a lot of tests and x-rays done which showed that his right orbital bone is fractured. This means that his eye socket is fractured in all directions and this extends to his cheekbone. We are waiting for his specialist doctor to decide if the surgery is to be done at the Interlaken hospital or if he will need to go to the university hospital in Bern. He had to have stitches on various parts of his face.

Please pray for these things:

*Tim's pain and overall well being.
*Wisdom for the doctor to decide where the surgery should be done and the details.
*The actual surgery.
*Details for us to get back to Prague (we are supposed to fly back on friday night but flying might create too much pressure for Tim's injuries)
*We are in Switzerland traveling with Tim's family. Please pray for Tim's mom and I to make the right decisions and for patience. We are doing a lot of "waiting around" to find out information.
*Recovery time. Tim is expected to start his contract for basketball soon and we are not sure how long he will need to "sit out."
*Healing for Tim's face. That he does not need further surgery and he will heal back up into the handsome man that he is :)

Praise God for these things:

*Tim is not injured anywhere else on his body and this accident could have been A LOT worse.
* Meeting the other hikers right after the accident who helped us get medical attention.
* The quick attention he received from the medical team here. It was incredible to watch this team fly into a very tricky area and then get Tim out via helicopter.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support. We hope to be in touch again soon once we know more.

Blessings,
Laura & Tim

100% Boy

Thomas cannot sit up yet on his own. His back is getting stronger every day and he is able to hold himself in a tri-point for few minutes before he gets frustrated.

However, that all changed this afternoon when Dave put him on Arden's push truck. A few weeks ago he rolled over and scooted over to the push truck. He was intrigued. So it shouldn't haven't been a surprise today when he held himself up on the truck. He was ready to drive.

"Ok, Dad how does this thing work because I have no idea. what I'm doing here."

"This is pretty easy."

"How you doing?"

"Hop on sis. I'll drive."

He Really Likes Her

Arden adores Thomas. He's pretty fond of her too. He can be crying and she will start talking to him and he'll stop. He also laughs at her when she play with him and even sometimes when I think she's too rough for him I'll look over and he's laughing. I was able to catch one of these moments on camera.

Princess

For anyone who has been around Arden for the past 6 months knows she's obsessed with anything princess. The other day as I was cleaning the kitchen floors Arden came downstairs wearing her red slippers and brought me her favorite pair of my shoes for me to wear.

She explained to me that we have to dress like princesses when we clean just like Cinderella. She also wanted me to take a picture of us in our princess slippers.

We continued to clean the house wearing our princess slippers. Have a girl is so much fun. I get clean the house with her in slippers...I have a feeling Thomas will never ask me to clean house dressed up in slippers.

Her First Set of Wheels

Please show her this post when she turns 16 that she does have her very own truck. In case she forgets and asks for a car for her birthday.

She does a pretty go job driving so far. If you tell her to drive towards something she will. She just doesn't like to stop. So if you she her on the roads you might want to watch out.

Quote of the Week

After an accident tonight I am cleaning it up and Arden looks at me and says"

"Mom, I am impossible."

I'm trying not to laugh at her and I ask:

"Did you just say you are impossible?"

"Yes Mommy, I am impossible but I love you."

Question of the Week

Why do I have a hard time starting a book but when I finally do I don't want to put it down?