The Girls

Sammie 2.9 years old

Ali 13 months

Tools

She took each one out of the package.....

.....lined them all up on the ground......

....picked one by one until she found a size that fit.....

.....and then fixed her bike!

then picked up each one and placed them back in the bag~what more could a Dad ask for?

As I have stated before that Sammie is my mini-me.

Our friend gave us this bike that her daughter is too big for, but is perfect for our kids. Unfortunately there was something with the training wheels and they were too high that the kids were riding an exercise bike. So I got out Ryan's tools to fix it and my little helper~the best helper in the world~started lining up the wrenches and started fixing her bike!

Victory is MINE

Last night about 8:30 while Ryan and I were sitting in the living room watching TV we saw a mouse run across the kitchen floor. Unfortunately this is nothing new here. As a matter of fact we have invested in the mouse thing that you plug into your outlet that sends a noise or something through your electircal current to keep them from nesting in your house. We bought this in the spring and have had a low mouse count since(granted it's summer and we usually do). Either way I was not pleased. I am not the run and scream type of girl when I see a mouse, as a matter of fact, I am the get my boot and lets kill it type of girl. So needless to say I was ticked because it went to "its" hiding place and all we were left to do was set a few traps in the well traveled mouse paths. This morning I went to check the traps and I was the first one awake. Trap #1 was MIA!!!! This is not the first we have had a mouse run away with the trap and I know how stinky the last one was. So I pulled out the drawer under the stove to see if he had hid under there....no sign of him or the trap. The only next place he could have gone was under the fridge. Well, in lue of not getting 3 children's attentions and need to be setting up for the rummage, I thought, we could look tonight for the trap and mouse.

Again, around 8:30 while Ryan and I were watching TV I heard a clinking noise in the kitchen. YUP you guessed it, the mouse still in his trap(as you can tell from above, barely in the trap) was trying to go back to the dishwasher! The noise I heard was his trap that he was dragging! Tonight, I slayed the mouse with my boot!

Experimenting

Kinda graphic~if you're not a mom.

Dash is learning to express himself in more and more ways. He is also really pushing buttons with what he can get away with. Dash has been experimenting where he can go potty at. At his friend Andrew's house that has 3 acres of land it is acceptable by Andrews mom to pee outside. Prior to this Dash was already thinking it was cool to pee outside here at home. Well, I was not a big fan of this, but Ryan said to just let it go, he's a boy. So fine. I remind him we pee in the house and so forth. The other day I knew Dash was in the bathroom and going potty and I go in and he's pulling his pants up and I see nothing in the toilet. Which was odd, so I asked him where he went potty. "In the tub" like in a total normal this is way acceptable tone of voice. I reminded him that we go potty in the toilet. Fast forward a few days and we were outside playing today. I glanced and saw Dash pulling his swimtrunks and undies up and casually said, "What are you doing?" and he told me to come here and look. So I did not knowing what was in store~he aimed quite well to pee in "tonka" truck. It was a baby toy truck with a dump truck style bed. Really, is this what boys are all about this early?!? I better get ready, cuz I think my life of "gross" things is just beginning

New Words

Ali is continuing to grow leaps and bounds! She can now say "stop". She is improving on her sign language of more and all done. She LOVES her nuks and I can forsee this being a battle when we are done with them. She knows where we keep the crackers and things such as those and when she is hungry goes to the cabinet and signs more. She loves to take her dirty diaper to the diaper genie and push it "down" into the odor holding part. She loves closing doors to whatever has doors. She has mastered the piggy bank. She loves to jump and bounce on her butt in the tub and her crib. She loves her blankie. She can climb on the couch, our bed, sammies bed, Dash's stairs to his bed(tonight she got to the top!), she can do stairs, can climb ladders to the slide and then slide down, loves to be outside. She likes to imitate whatever her brother is doing sport wise and yet still likes babies. She like animals like her sister, but mostly thinks that they all growel. She is not really a fan of books but likes to color. She is not afraid to be dirty. She likes to swing and stroll. She is pretty funny! She has a great attitude when she isnt crying for attention. She is a great gift from God!

Hair

The other day we were going somewhere in the van and out of the back seat I hear~"Mom, I have hair on my legs" Wow, really at age 2 we are going to start worrying about the hair on our legs. And since then, Sammie has found hair on her arms too.

If you ever wonder what I was like as a child, let me introduce you to Samantha Rose Cohan!

I was kinda obnoxious!

RIVER

Well, I would like to thank you for your prayers! We stayed fairly dry this last rain, unlike those in Milwaukee. The river is now well below 6 ft(flood stage) and almost to 5 ft deep. As an FYI to my brother Terry~90% of the park down the street that I showed you was under water last week!

We did get a bit nervous last Saturday night when the street drains were litterally full and pouring out onto our street! We here on Marshall ST. are very thankful for no rain on Saturday or Sunday!

Jesus has unique ways of providing for our needs, hey!?!

River

The Fox River outside my house is currently 7.5 ft deep. I am really hoping we dont get any rain for a few days. We have just over a foot to go before we reach the height of the Flood of June 2008. So far our basement is doing ok. There are rivers leading to the drain and a few puddles. You know the river is high when I am on my knees looking out my desk window and can see the river flowing through the shrubs and trees! I am not sure what Bethesda Park looks like all I know is it can't be pretty! Yesterday it was about 10-15 feet from touching the road and the river was only at 7 ft deep. Please continue to pray with us for a dry home.

Fadorable~Ali at 13 Months

My Favorite One!

Flood?!?

Well, as predicted, God handled things here. We had no rain on Sunday and the three days of rain that was predicted for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday is just down to Thursday now. The river is below action stage, currently at 4.83 feet deep. Thank you for your prayers.

Now for the grant update. Not many contractors I guess want to work in our area. My neighbor is having difficulties getting contractors out here and I am having an okay time getting them here. I need one more foundation contractor and then I need to get 3 general contractors out here to bid the inside projects. I didnt realize that I needed the inside bids too. Hopefully that is something my dad can at least do one bid for and maybe get that job. It sure is nice to have him working around the house here. I know I can trust the work he does. :) I guess that is all I have for now on that. I will keep you posted.

My Birthday Presents

Yesterday was my birthday and I was showered with gifts from Ryan and the kids. I was given the Toy Story bathroom I have been wanting for a few weeks now. I had it in my cart but was smart and took it right back out because we could not afford it. I am soooo excited about it! (those that know me would pry say thats an understatement)

Preparing for....

I would say that this is the first time that I am nervous of a 2nd flood. Today we are preparing incase we get water in our basement again by bringing up most of the things on ground level. Right now the river level infront of our house is at 6.25 feet deep. 6 feet is considered flood stage. Bethesda park is pretty well under water. Not as bad as when we were flooded, but still worse than a usual spring melt run off. I know that this is all in Jesus' hands and I will look to him for guidance, but I also know that I need to be proactive about this. We are suppose to get rain overnight tonight and then again Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday! I wonder if this is how Noah felt?

Cheese

This is Ali saying Cheese when I aimed the camera at her. I didnt even ask her to do that, she just did it.

phrases

Ali has been saying a few phrases consisting of 2-3 words. Today was a new one, "bye, Abby. topped off with a wave." Nick came to pick Abby up as usual on Wednesdays and Ali recognized this and said bye before Dash or Sammie. As a matter of fact, Ali went to get Dash to say good bye.

She is getting so big!

Family Pictures

***Sorry that some are not turned properly. It wouldnt do it on its own :(*****

Bethany, Terry, Matthew, Daniel, Ryan, Ali

Allyssa, Keith, Marlene,Sarah

Kiyah, Sammie, Hope, Dash

The Mikesells

The Cohans

My Favorite!

Lord Prepare Me...

With a twinkle tear in my eye do I type this.....

Dash fell asleep hard core on the couch watching a DVD and Sammie has come over and started rubbing his back gently and singing "Lord Prepare Me" as Ryan and I do every night as their last song before bed. She then gave him her special blankie and turned off the TV because Dash is sleeping.

There is that sweet little Sammie Ryan and I know is in there :)

Thank you for the glimpse of hope Jesus.

1 year can make a differance