Request

I ask you all for prayers during the next week. Originally, I would have been birthing a baby any day now. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed with gratitude in the way that the Lord has carried me through this heart-ache, and given me peace and very real joy. And other times I feel overwhelmed with the heart-ache. This week has already started surprising me by the very strong emotions of grief - more than I care to feel. But I guess it is just one of those things I have to work through whether I want to or not. The "due date" will come, as much as it will hurt, and it will go. I feel impatient to already be on the other end of this week....

The Things They'll Repeat...

It has truly been an adventure in teaching our children. I mean, we have to teach them everything! They come to us with a blank slate and its up to us to write on it what we want on it. Its almost intimidating. And, sometimes its downright funny when they start repeating your own phrases.

Like Marcail said, "sure" long before she started saying, "yes." She got that from me. And Donovan is saying, "yep!" So cute....hmmmm..... I'm not really sure where he got that! I got into the habit of saying, "Oh, gosh," some time ago; which I've had to break upon Andrew's reproof in hearing Marcail repeat it. Once, I heard her say it and I had a very strange mix of thoughts: "Oh NO!" and, " That is the cutest thing she's ever said!" I think I gawked and then laughed... until I caught Andrew's look. Oops : )

Since Marcail's potty training days are not too far behind her, she will follow Andrew and me around and tell us, " Good job! I'm so PROUD of you!!!" after we finish using the bathroom. Today, in fact, Marcail was supposed to be napping, but as soon as she heard the toilet flush in the bathroom next to her, Andrew and I both heard her jump up and exclaim, "OH! I see! (that is one of her favorite phrases too) You went potty! I'm so PROUD of you!!!!"

Just a couple of days ago, I was going through the alphabet with her, and she now knows that "Marcail" starts with "M," "Donovan" starts with "D," and mommy and daddy's names start with "A." We started going through her friends' names, "Kadence," and her brother, "Keaton." She understood that Kadence's name starts with a "K" but when I said that Keaton's did too, there was a pause. She tilted her head up at me, "Keaton's name starts with 'K' ?" "Yes," I said confidently. There was another pause. "You sure?" she questioned. To which I doubled over laughing for a couple of reasons. First off, that was the first time she ever even said those words, and secondly, because of COURSE I'm sure!!! I had to call Andrew up right away and relay the story to him : )

And lastly, during their naptime (again), Marcail and Donovan heard a motorcycle rev past, to which they bounced up and down on their mattress (you can clearly hear the squeaks and thuds) and shouted, "Oh! Bye motorcycle! Bye!"--- I know they were furiously waving, because that is how they always say goodbye---- "See ya later! Bye!"

Oh, they do make me laugh!

Birthday Party for M & D

Since Marcail and Donovan's birthdays fall so closely together (3 days), it is easiest at this point to do double birthday parties.... which I figure I should enjoy while it lasts. Eventually, Marcail will probably want pink princesses and "girls only." And Donovan will want water- gun fights and arm wrestling contests,----- or something------ (what DO boys want for their parties, anyways?). Right now, Marcail is just as content with blue as Donovan is with pink, and they have the same bunch of friends from church. That makes it easy for me! And they loved it too, which was the most important thing for me.

It was nice that Grandma could be here for the party, too. Planning a party is work, no matter how how "simple" you make it, and help is always gladly accepted! We had a great time.

The only complaint I got at the party was that it is hard to stick to a diet when you come to our house. I have to admit, I take pride in that : )

Everyone hangin' out with food and sun. Perfect.

Pool time!

Having fun playing outside. It was gorgeous weather!

Donovan's cake was vanilla ice cream between oreo and brownie layers, with a chocolate sauce on top. Yummy!

Marcail's cake consisted of cherry-chocolate ice cream between oreo and a brownie layers, with a berry delicious sauce on top. Sorry, I couldn't resist the joke : )

Present opening time!

How cute is this fireman's hat?!?!

They got a lot of help opening their gifts...

Marcail and "Can-Can." Gil was taking pictures at this point, so we have quite a few with Candace in them : )

The busy afternoon is winding down...

They just love these puzzles! I need to find some more with numbers....

Sharing a smile

Grandma helping us clean up afterwards. Actually, who am I kidding? She cleaned up soooooooo much after the party! What a blessing for an extra pair of hands. Especially hers : )

He better enjoy those precious seconds with Marcail's new doll, "Bella," before she catches him playing with it! I'll let your imagination tell you the end of this story; it'll be pretty close to accurate : )

Donovan is 2

Donovan was very much a surprise present to our family. Marcail was only 3 months old when he was conceived. People ask us if we wanted our children close together; yes, is the answer, but we certainly weren't planning on them being THAT close together! It was also amazing to me how many people made remarks that I would pull my hair out and go crazy with my children being so close together. I am so pleased that none of their comments came to fruition. Most of the time : ) Actually, if I could do it all over again, knowing what I know now, I would definitely have them close together again. In fact, if we ever get pregnant again, I would not be against doing the same pattern, this time on purpose.

Anyways, back to Donovan : ) He is such a delight. I don't know what it is with mothers and sons, but he certainly pulls on my heart strings like no other. Somehow I find it very easy to have patience with him; not that I don't with Marcail, but when she wants to be defiant, she gives me that "look." You know what I mean, that, "I'm-going-to-do-this-on-purpose-just-to- push-your-buttons" look (which has forced me to get rid of some of my buttons!) Donovan will give me another look. It says, "I'm too innocent and cute to understand what you are saying, and we can make a fun game out of this anyways," which I find difficult to not at least smile! So I have to watch myself carefully to make sure he doesn't get away with more than Marcail does!

He is playful, and so smiley. He loves trucks, balls, and balloons. He imitates Marcail so well, and learns very well from her example - which can be good and bad, of course! He loves being tickled and will sometimes lay down next to me just so I can tickle him and make him squeal. When I pick him up, he almost always lays his head on my shoulder and cuddles. He will come up to Andrew and me, and give us kisses at any time. And he LOVES food - he eats as much as I do, and he only just turned 2! Donovan is also such a sociable little boy; he gets along with everybody and shares willingly. But sometimes he irritates Marcail like no other; so he is a good little brother in that way : )

I often watch him, adoring all his little features, and wonder what he will be like as a man. I figure he is going to be a genuinely fun and loving person. And super handsome. All the ladies will think he likes them, when, no, he is just being his normal genuine self. Poor girls : ) I cannot put into words the security I feel, knowing that he has such a good example of a man, in his daddy. I will always pray for Donovan, but I don't worry about the man he will become, because Andrew is such an incredible husband and father.

Through the Years; Marcail is now 3

I have actually been dreading this posting. Postponing it you might say (no, that was not intended to be a pun).

My little Marcail, not so little anymore; I think its a psychological thing to try to not evaluate something closely, so I don't have to admit the reality of it, so I don't have to see it staring me fully in the face: Time moves on whether I want it to or not. I could say that no one warned me that it would fly so fast, but that would not be true. Everyone warned me, and I wanted them to be quiet about it; you know how when people give you unasked for advice, and you just want to find out for yourself before you take their word for it? Well, its true! I can hardly remember the time when she was a baby, and she's only 3!

Marcail was born a gorgeous little girl, and she has just grown to become even more beautiful through the years. She was born with a very content and happy disposition - such a smiley little baby and so trusting. I remember thinking how I would ever be able to tell her that the whole world doesn't smile all the time. Somehow she figured it out, though; these days she is sure to look you over a couple of times and you can see the wheels in her mind spinning as she eyes you over. She loves details; they fascinate her. She would rather sit down and figure out a puzzle than watch a movie ---sometimes I wish she would just chill out and watch a movie! She has a strong, independent streak. I'm not sure where she got that?! : ) She still has her happy disposition, and nothing makes her more happy than to help out with something, especially since she is and always has been go-go-go. Its when she is bored that she gets ornery so she needs to be busy! She asks tons of questions and never fails to amaze me at what she understands and what she figures out on her own.

My dear Marcail, no one explained to me what a joy it was going to be, to be your mother. No one was ever able to put into words what a mother feels when her child is placed in her arms for the first time. I never understood how my heart would swell when you said "Mommy" for the first time, or when just yesterday you exclaimed loudly with your arms open wide, "Mommy, I want to give you a hug!" You have truly made my life more beautiful, more precious. You are such a joy in my life, and I wish these days could last forever, that I will never have to kiss you goodbye. But more than that, I hope to give you such a life that you will be well equipped to be such a lady that the world desperately needs to make a beautiful mark on it, and leave it forever changed. I hope to be such a mother, along with your father, to shape you into such a lady. I want to be that lady for you, so that you know how it can be done. I love you so much, my darling little girl, growing so fast and not so little anymore! Thank you for so many sweet memories.....

The Zoo

My mom treated us to the Zoo, during her visit. Once again, we had the most perfect weather for it! I had taken the children a little over a year ago, but I think I was the only one of us at that time that was thrilled about it... a 1 1/2 year old and an infant don't really find animals as fascinating as older children do. Marcail is old enough now, that she was excited out of her mind to see all the animals that she had been reading about (seeing pictures in books, rather!). She truly loved it! Donovan was still only a little intrigued, mostly because of his age, I believe.

Marcail gave all the animals a VERY excited hello, waving furiously, and calling them by their names : "HI, GIRAFFE!!!!"

He looks a little concerned, yes?

These cute little ground squirrels were everywhere! I let Marcail out of the stroller to get a closer look, and she did, with no hesitation whatsoever. Passerbys were so impressed with how she was so fearless and so cute with this little squirrel. I was too : ) Impressed, I mean.

Here is this darling carousel! I just had to take M & D on it for a ride. Ever since I saw "Mary Poppins," I have been in love with these things, and secretly have hoped that they would dismount from the ring and my pony and I would ride off into colorful chalk paradise. So here is another instance where my vision of what I think my children would like does not match reality. Yes, Donovan screamed bloody murder as soon as I placed him on a beautiful little pony (so I held him for the entire ride -- do you think I could've gotten my money back?) And Marcail did fabulous, and was actually excited about riding a pony, until the ring started moving.... which was faster than even I had expected. I managed to talk her through staying on her pony, even though she cried and her knuckles were white the whole time. When we were exiting the carousel area, however, she told me that she had FUN!!! (?????)

Grandma insisted on pushing the stroller the entire time! You have to understand that this is a zoo on Cheyenne Mountain, which, yes, means that it is a work-out, and yes, the same Cheyenne Mountain that all you StarGate fans are familiar with. But no, sadly, we saw no StarGate crew.

Good thing Grandma had a helper!

A cute little kangaroo.

Ice Cream Daze

A day downtown would not be complete without genuine homemade ice cream at Josh and Jon's, right?! Well, that's what I was thinking, too. So after having no success at playing in the fountains, we strolled few blocks till we came to an air-conditioned (!!!!!) cute little ice cream shop. Gil was finally able to meet up with the rest of us, and we savored one of life's little joys that is ice cream : )

It seems I talk a lot about food on here...

Waiting at our little table. The board Andrew is staring at is really quite funny; people write their questions down and Josh answers them.... in a clever, and well, funny way : )

She is just loooooving this flavor: "Pikes Peak Coffee"

The Makinson family sharing ice cream the family way. Yup, out of one cup. 4 spoons. & some impatience.

I know, he's just too cute to put down!

Gil and "Can-Can" getting some squeals out of 'van.

Oh, soooo sleepy!

Marcail is trying hard to ignore the paparazzi (me)