Fight Like a Girl!

Yesterday, the girls and their friend, Brianna, decided to make bookmarks and lemonade to sell at the end of the driveway to walkers and cars driving by.  They had markers outside and were making all sorts of signs.  Then, Macey came in the house and told me that they decided that the money that they got from their sales they wanted to donate to help fight breast cancer.  As you can imagine, I was SO VERY touched and PROUD of them for deciding this all on their own.  They even sold Emmy's old bike with training wheels!  I was amazed at the people who would stop and give the girls a few bucks after seeing the signs with huge pink awareness ribbons.  The girls were so excited at their success, that they are planning on having a mini garage sale today, too!  I'm one proud mama...

If you would like to help us get one step closer to ending breast cancer, click HERE for my personal fund raising page.  Thank you!

My little fund raisers!

Fight Like a Girl!

Hand-made bookmarks for sale!

No More Training Wheels...

No more tricycles and no more training wheels in the Gaschler garage.  Ever.  Kind of a sad thought, huh?  Well, not for Emmy!  Grady took her training wheels off of her bike a few months ago, but she was a little scared, so we put the bike away.  Now that summer is here, I thought that it was time to give it another try.  With just a few trips up and down the street, she was taking off like a pro!  The next night we decided to go to the grade school parking lot where it is wide open and flat.  She got some more practice and can now confidently take off and go all by herself!  My baby is growing up too fast...

riding away into the sunset...

happy girl!

Someone is very proud of herself! ♥

My Sweet Blue-Eyed Blondies

I absolutely LOVE this picture of my babies.  Macey has been out of town this weekend with a friend of hers, so Emmy and Jolee have been best buds...inseparable.  Gotta adore that sisterly love!

Fun on the Farm

Over Memorial weekend, the girls and I headed west to visit my mom.  The girls LOVE going to my mom's.  They are free to explore, play with the kittens, and play with the kittens some more!  For me, going to my mom's and being out in the country is very therapeutic.  Here are a few pics...

The very first thing Jolee would do when she woke up, was go to the garage and bring kittens in the house.  Tiny little meows were my alarm every morning!

It was VERY windy when we were there...this was Macey and Jolee's artistic attempt to illustrate just how windy it was!

Silly girls!

I ♥ this picture

I now have a 2nd grader and a 5th grader? What?!

May 26th was the last day of school.  Our school has an annual tradition of "running down the hill" in front of the school on the very last day.  This seems to be very fun for the kids and a bit nostalgic for the parents.  I told Macey, "do you realize that you will only run down that hill one more time?" and to that she replied, "YES!" with a fist pump.  I can't believe that I now have a 2nd grader and a 5th grader.  Time, slow down, please!

Jolee running down the hill!

Macey and her friends

Author's Tea

Doing a little "catch up" on my blog.  Life has been so busy happening that I haven't found the time to write about it.

At the end of school, the 1st graders hosted an "Author's Tea" where parents were invited to enjoy tea and listen to their favorite author read a story that they wrote.  Can you guess what Jolee wrote about?  That's right!...a beloved cat.  I'm so proud of how far Jolee has come this year with her reading.

Pomp and Circumstance

There is just something about seeing a preschooler in a cap and gown that makes me smile.  I mean, how cute is that?!!  Her graduation ceremony was so fun to watch.  The kids sang songs and they all got to walk across the stage to receive their "diplomas".  While Emmy was walking across the stage, her teacher said, "Emmy's favorite thing about preschool was getting to go outside for recess".  Yep, that's my girl!  Emmy graduated preschool, but I've decided that since she is one of the youngest in her class, to hold her from kindergarten until she is 6.  She will attend Pre-K next year.  So bittersweet that this is the last preschool graduation I will attend.  Sniff.

Singing, "Nothing is impossible to God"  Luke 1:37

Happy Birthday to You!

Well, I'm nine days late in posting this, but I guess that's better than 10!  It's so hard to believe that Jolee is already 7 years old.  She is growing into such a sweet little social butterfly!  We decided to let her have a sleepover for her birthday.  She invited 5 friends to spend the night.  I was so amazed at how well they all got along and how EASY this sleepover was!  Jolee and her friends had a blast.  I was lucky enough to have my mom here for the weekend, too.  I love spending time with her!!  Tom and Judy visited on Sunday and Monday and were able to catch one of Emmy's soccer games and one of Macey's softball games.  Then, on Monday (Jolee's actual birthday), we all surprised Jolee at school during lunch time.  We sat at the visitor's table and Jolee invited two of her cute, little friends to join us.  I just love watching her interact with her friends.  Happy birthday to my sweet lil' blue-eyed blonde!

Grandma and her grandbabies

Opening presents with her friends

My baby is 7!

Birthday morning pancakes!

Jolee and her sweet buddies at school

Peonies...my favorite flower

When I was growing up, my grandma and grandpa lived out in the country.  They had a small, white farmhouse and a separate one-car garage.  I remember all along the garage, my grandma had planted peonies.  Every spring they were SO beautiful!  When I was still little, they decided to move to town.  Once again, my grandma planted peonies, but this time they were right in front of their porch.  Ever since then, whenever I saw peonies, they reminded me of my grandma.  And, the smell...oh, the beautiful smell!  Takes me back to my childhood every time!  Well, now that I have my own house, I have peonies in my front yard AND my back yard!  I love them and they are gorgeous...it's like a little piece of grandma is here with me every day in the spring.  And, if we ever move, the peonies are coming with us! 

Mother's Day 2011

Sunday was Mother's day, and once again, it was a great one.  In the morning, Grady woke up the girls and said, "It's Mother's day!", Emmy shot out of bed and starting running downstairs.  Grady said, "Well, Emmy, aren't I gonna get a 'good morning'?", and she said, "no time to talk!" and ran off to get the present she made for me!  She is so funny sometimes!

So, after they all gathered their homemade presents, we gathered in bed so I could open them.  I opened Macey's first.  She made a sweet card for me and wrote a fun story about her and I going to watch the KU girls softball team play.  Of course I cried...I can NEVER get through Mother's day without crying!  I also received a portrait that she drew of me in art class.  She is a pretty talented little artist!  Next, was Jolee's turn.  I didn't even get through the first sentence without tearing up!...I'm such a sap!  She made the sweetest card for me (complete with adorable 1st grade spelling errors).  Sometimes I wish she'd never learn to spell!  haha!  Emmy drew a nice picture of her and I, and she also made me a cute memo holder at preschool.  Homemade gifts are the BEST!

Then, we all got dressed and went out for breakfast.  Going out for breakfast is a real treat because this is something we never do.  The girls ordered chocolate chip pancakes...oh. my. goodness....can you say, 'heaven on a plate'?  We were all so stuffed we practically rolled out of the restaurant.

The rest of the day was spent watching Emmy at the soccer fields (she scored a goal, too!) and watching Macey on the volleyball court.  It was a great day!  Oh, and I didn't have to cook at all!  Yay!

Speedy Gonzales!!

This past weekend, Grady ran in his first official 5K and Macey ran her second.  It was the Run for Mercy that's held right here in western Shawnee.  This run is held by the Oceans of Mercy, a Christian organization dedicated to helping children in South Africa who have been orphaned due to AIDS.  This run and the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure are my favorite 5Ks to be a part of.

Macey ran this race last year for the first time.  She placed 3rd in her age group with a great time of 30:03.  This year, she took a whopping 5 minutes off of her time and placed 1st in her age group with an AMAZING time of 25:02 (that's an 8:04 pace!).  Overall, she placed 65th out of 888 finishers (and, 19th out of all females)!  We are so proud of our little Speedy Gonzales!!  And, yes, for the record, she is faster than her mama!!!

Grady also did a great job.  He had a goal of breaking 30 minutes and came in at 29:17!  He placed 25th out of 71 in his age group!  I think he even surprised himself! 

I'm SO proud of my runners!  How does that saying go?...families that run together stay together?...or something like that!

Click HERE for more pictures of race day.

Easter Blessings



On the evening of Easter, I was looking through all of the pictures taken that day and the day before.  When I saw the one above, the true meaning of Easter was revealed to me.  The sacrifice that Jesus made so we could all enjoy life and all of it's blessings is truly overwhelming.  I feel so blessed when I look at this picture.  How did I come to deserve 3 healthy, beautiful girls?  Thank you, God, for all that you've given me.  I am so grateful.

We all know that Easter is a celebration of Christ's rising.  But sometimes, it's hard to explain the true meaning of Easter to children when they are bombarded with Easter egg hunts, the Easter bunny and tons of chocolate.  One of the greatest things I've found with having kids, is that you never stop learning yourself.  I had to do a little researching of my own to figure out why colored eggs and a bunny were part of the celebration.  What I found out was, the egg is a symbol of new life or rebirth and the bunny symbolizes fertility.  Where am I going with this you ask?  Well, Macey climbed up a tree in our front yard on Easter day and took the picture above.  How fitting that there were 3 colored eggs in that nest!  Three little symbols of new life, 3 little blessings from God.  I guess that Robin and I have a lot in common. :)

Now THAT's a GREAT Smile!

Macey wanted to enter into a Great Smiles Contest through her orthodontist's office.  So, I got out my camera and we were deciding where to take her picture.  We decided that in front of the fireplace would be best.  So, I turned on my camera and had it ready.  Macey sat down and gave this CHEESY smile, not knowing that I was ready to snap a picture...well, SNAP!  She said, "hey, I wasn't ready yet!", but, after we looked at the picture, we immediately knew that this was the one we were going to enter.  She cracks me up!  The winners of this contest get some pretty cool prizes.  So, if you haven't already voted, you can do so HERE.  Thank you for your vote!  Hope her smile made YOU smile!

11 Years Later...

April 6, 2011 marked the 11th wedding anniversary for Grady and I.  So much has happened in 11 years!  I feel so blessed to have Grady and our girls.  We decided to have a family celebration, so we took the girls to a Japanese steakhouse for some hibachi for dinner...this is one of their favorite places to go...ours, too!  And as a bonus, Macey, Jolee, Grady and I all caught the flying shrimp in our mouths.  So delish!  Then, we went out for ice cream...perfect ending!

Little Miracle

My friend (and neighbor's) baby was due March 24th.  That day came and went and the whole neighborhood was forced to wait patiently for this little girl's arrival.  Finally, on March 28th, my friend went into labor and was checked in at the hospital.  I wanted to go to the hospital, but you never know how many people will be there, and you never want to intrude on family time.  However, it was about 7pm and I got a text from another friend who was there that told me to "come and join the party".  So I did!  I wouldn't have missed this experience for the world!

My friend was hoping that the baby would come before midnight so she'd have two daughters with birthdays on the 28th of the month.  And, we thought that might happen because from 9:00 to 10:00, she dilated from a 5 to an 8.  We thought, "Great, she's moving right along!  We're going to see a baby before midnight!".  But, the dilation stalled and midnight came and went.  Myself and the other friend who was there decided we'd stay a little longer and wait for the doctor to check our friend's progression one more time.  It was about 1:00am and the doctor thought that it would be OK to start pushing.  Now we're talking!!

I had never seen a vaginal delivery before, and I was in complete and total awe.  When the baby started crowning, the doctor called my friend and I over to see.  How amazing!  Then, with a couple more pushes, the head came out and we saw her little face....THAT was when it all became real for me.  WHAT A MIRACLE!  With the next couple pushes, Quinn Elise was born.

Watching a baby being born is watching the ultimate miracle unfold before your eyes.  I was humbled, in awe, so excited, and so happy for my friend and her husband.  That little girl will always hold a special place in my heart.  Aunt Janie ♥'s you.

Quinn and her mama

Look Ma, NO GLASSES!...Part 3

I had my Lasik surgery yesterday.  I was quite nervous for about a week...not about the procedure itself, but about the outcome.  I can handle pain, I can't handle being blind.  Thank God, I came through with flying colors!  The procedure itself was a cake walk.  So easy!  So quick!  I didn't feel any pain until the numbing drops wore off about half an hour after the procedure.  When I got home, my eyes were burning pretty bad and watering like crazy.  I laid in bed and finally took some medicine to help me sleep.  Around 4 1/2 hours later, I woke up a brand new person.  I could still feel some irritation, but I was amazed at how well I could see! 

Today when I woke up, my eyes felt great!  I'm still getting used to the fact that I'm not wearing glasses or contacts and can actually SEE.  I found myself this morning looking for my glasses when I first woke up, and then realized, oh yeah, I don't need them. 

I think having this surgery was a great decision for Grady and I.  I know that we are going to love it!  No more glasses in the Gaschler house!

Mama's Spring Break

I wasn't one of those lucky college kids who got to go to Padre or Cabo or any other beachy place for Spring Break.  Nope, instead, I was excited that I got to stay on campus and get a whole 40 hours of work that week.  Now that's pathetic...ahh, the life of a poor college kid. 

However, now that I'm 39, I finally got to go away for Spring Break!  No, I didn't party on the beach half naked with my friends.  I spent most of my time with my butt planted in a lounge chair by the pool reading a book, soaking up the sun, and having other people bring me food and drinks.  The perfect "old lady spring break"! 

Grady had a business trip to Palm Springs, so I tagged along.  I had never been to PS, and when I looked at where it was on a map, I was a little disappointed that it was in-land and not on the coast.  However, it is SO BEAUTIFUL there!  I experienced my first "outdoor" airport.  The hallways between the terminals were all outside!  Must be nice to have year-round weather so nice that your airport doesn't have to be covered!  There were beautiful mountains surrounding the whole area as well as lakes and golf courses.  The whole city seemed to be very manicured.  Our resort was gorgeous, too.  It was surrounded by two golf courses and had flowers and lakes all over the place.

Grady had to work each morning, so I had the luxury of going on morning runs that were amazing.  It's so much easier huffing and puffing through miles when you have gorgeous scenery to take your mind off of it!  I also treated myself to a manicure one day and a massage.  It's nice to spoil yourself now and then!  Grady had to "work" on the golf course a couple afternoons, so on those days I was perfectly content sitting by the pool in the 85 degree sunshine being a lazy California girl.

On our last full day there, we found a mountain with a hiking trail and decided to venture up it.  The views were so pretty.  How I wish we had mountains to hike in KS!

By the end of the trip, I was tanned, relaxed, and really missing my girls.  Thank you, honey for taking me on this trip!  And, thank you to Tom & Judy for keeping the girls!

Here are some pictures of our trip:  Palm Springs

Look Ma, NO GLASSES!...Part 2

We have one more family member who has kicked glasses to the curb!  Macey got contacts today.  Holy moly, she is growing up too fast.  She has wanted contacts for the past year and we finally decided it would be OK for her to get them.  She was so excited for her appointment this morning.  It is going to take her a few days to get the hang of putting them in and taking them out, but knowing her, she will have it mastered in no time.  I think the whole concept of touching her eyeballs was a little intimidating!

I know getting contacts is not an emotional event, but I can't help thinking how fast she is growing up.  Today contacts, tomorrow driver's license...  {sniff}.

Look Ma, NO GLASSES!

Grady has been contemplating having LASIK surgery for the past few years.  Well, on Friday, he took the plunge!  The surgery itself took about 5 minutes per eye.  I think that is amazing.  The girls and I watched the whole thing, too!  I'm one of those weird people who likes things like that...yep, I'm that person who, when flipping through the channels and stumbles upon a knee surgery, will stop and watch in awe.

It was pretty amazing.  We got to watch the surgery up close and see everything that was happening to his eyes.  First, he laid down and a laser cut part of the cornea, right above the iris, creating a flap that the doctor peeled back with what looked like a tiny spatula (this part was REALLY FREAKY to watch!).  Then, his eye was held open by a device so he wouldn't blink.  The doctor then used lasers to reshape the cornea to correct Grady's vision.  When the lasers were finished, the doctor replaced the flap on his eye and smoothed it out with a tiny tool that reminded me of a squeegie.  He put some medicated drops in the eye, repeated the whole process with the other eye and WALA!  Done!

He was in some discomfort for the first few hours post-op, but after a 3-4 hour nap, he was feeling much better.  He had a follow-up appointment the very next day and was seeing 20/15...which is better than 20/20!  He is beyond thrilled with his results.

I wanted to watch the procedure, and on one hand, I'm glad I did.  However, it probably wasn't the smartest thing for me to do since I'm getting the same surgery in 2 weeks!  Eeeek!

Getting ready to start the surgery

After surgery and the doctor is replacing the corneal flap and smoothing it out...ewww!

Jolee was holding Emmy on her lap the whole time!