Speaking of that sled....

I just found these when I was going through some old pictures. Michelle has been blaming it on the sled all day and not her "ability to sled", but I am beginning to think she is right. This was Caroline's 1st birthday...same sled!



Disclaimer: Caroline was not harmed in the making of these pictures :)She was picked up right away.

"The Incident"

We finally got some snow (well ice) around here. Caroline has been waiting for so long for the snow to come, everytime I promise her, it never ends up happening. Well today was the day! It sleeted all day and this afternoon, Michelle made the trip to get "snowed in" with us. We got the sleds down from the attic, these are the same metal and wood sleds that were mine as a child and I am sure would have been recalled these days. (Not to worry, I recalled them myself after "the incident") We got all bundled up to go play outside. The ground was as hard as a rock and very slippery. Michelle and Caroline made the first trip down the very small hill on our street and...

it all went well.....and then Michelle decided she wanted to go down by herself and that's when it happened....

Which led to....



I can say the pictures do not do it justice, I have never seen such a bump, nor have a seen a 30 something try to belly flop onto a sled and face plant into the concrete. :) But it was all in good fun and she is sitting with me as I type, so this is not at her expense. Love you Shell Bell!

The Greatest Man I ever knew....Col. Harry Riddle

Last night we lost my Papa, he was the greatest man I ever knew. I was so lucky to have such close grandparents, we lost myBennie a little over a year ago. They were married for 68 years. So tonight as I get upset thinking of life without his comfort and love, it makes me so happy to know of the greatest reunion ever going on up in heaven. They were soul mates and taught me so much about unconditional love and respect. Papa overcame so much and there could have easily been a movie about his life. He would have been 93 on Wednesday. He will have a full military funeral on Tuesday at 10:30 at IC. I could go on forever about my papa but I will end with this. Caroline asked me why I was so sad the other night, I told her I was sad about Papa, he would soon be joining Bennie in Heaven, with those big blue eyes she looked up at me and said "Mommy Heaven is not sad Heaven is happy!" What a wise 3 year old. Heaven IS happy and I know at this moment my Papa is happier then he has ever been. Thanks so much for all your prayers and support!

Taking a break....for now...

As many of you know I have suffered from health issues going on a year now in January. I have done my best to keep up with everything, but recent events and concerns have reminded me that the most important things in my life need to be my main priority. For the times that I do feel okay I want to be able to focus on my most precious little girl. So for now, I am taking a break from photography. I need to get my health back and hopefully one day I can pursue my hobby again. Thank you to everyone that supported me through this venture, I have had a blast and met so many wonderful people! This blog will go back to sharing Caroline's adventures, which I am so behind on! You can still reach me at laurenlea8@yahoo.com!
Happy New Year to everyone, I hope 2010 is the best year yet!

Caroline's Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning!

After a wonderful,family filled Christmas eve at Bennie and Papa's house we headed home to feed the reindeer in the pouring rain/flood, rain boots and all! We put out cookies for Santa and Caroline quickly ran to bed, she heard Santa in the chimney :)! We said goodbye to our elf Alicia (Diego's sister, quite a name for an elf!), and Caroline was asleep in record time. I think Santa may have made an appearance before midnight, I bet Santa was super excited about that! She had asked Santa for a pink guitar, so she could "rock and roll" and a new DVD player because hers was broke. (Santa thanks her for small requests this year!) Well, she must have been good this year because Santa delivered exactly what she asked for! After she opened all her presents at our house, we headed down the street to Grandies' house where Santa had also left Caroline a new toy box full of toys! She is one lucky girl, and we are more then lucky to have her!

Christmas Eve with Family!

Cookies for Santa!