We went to my parents house in Mass. for Easter. We had Pearl baptized by my Dad on Easter. Rose had a great time playing with her cousins. The girls and I stayed the rest of the week in Mass and took my Gram got to meet Pearl. (Mike took the train to New York to work with his boss for the day and then home to Philly that evening so I could keep the car for the week.) Mike painted the living room while we were away, I will post pics soon, the color is called "clam chowda". My mom rode home with me to help with the girls on the drive and then stayed a few days. The day after my parents left our friends Debra and Jeff from Nashville came for a visit this weekend. (more info. and pics on their visit next post.) To all of my friends that have called or emailed in the past two weeks I am sorry I haven't gotten back to you but as you can tell we have been a little busy. I promise I will call you back or reply to your emails in the next several days.

A few days ago after putting both girls to bed I brought the trash out the back door and went to go in the front door only to realize I had locked myself out of the house and Mike was out of town. I had my cell phone with me so I called 911 and within five minutes 3 cop cars and several nosey neighbors were here. After banging a stick on Rose's window in hopes of waking her up (she slept through it, to bad she wasn't sleeping as soundly tonight when the pizza delivery guy knocked and she woke to share my dinner) We conteplated breaking the window in one of the doors, instead we got ladder from a neighbor. The only window that was unlocked was a second story bathroom window. One of the cops offered to climb in but my house was just not clean enough for that... so that meant I would climb the ladder myself. It turned out climbing the ladder was scary but not nearly as bad diving headfirst through the bathroom window, while my postpartum bum was hanging outside with a large audience. (sorry no pics.) This was a very unconventional way to get to know my new neighbors, who will very soon be getting a spare key.

MIke took a few days off of work to catch up on the many house projects we had planned on having done sooner. With a new baby and a new job we have both been too busy to paint much. We spent most of our time removing wallpaper from one wall. On Sunday after church we went to Linvilla Orchard for a hayride to "Bunnyland". We expected it to be a little more exciting for the price but Rose seemed to enjoy it, Pearl fell asleep. Rose was a little frightened of the Easter Bunny. The Orchard http://www.linvilla.com/ is actually a really neat place. they grow just about every type of fruit that you can in this climate and you can pick them your self in season. They also have a huge general store where baked goods, a petting zoo, and a big playground. The real treat of the day (besides the hot cross buns) was getting to watch a baby duck hatch. I was amazed to witness this miracle and glad that Rose was able to experience this.

Pearl is growing and now weighs 16 1/2 lbs. She got her first tooth last week, is sitting by herself and loves grabbing anything she should not have. Rose calls her swiper (after a character on Dora) and is constantly telling her "NO SWIPING SWIPER" Anytime I am about to tell Rose to be gentle with Pearl (like when she is laying on top of her) I look at Pearl and realize she is laughing at Rose and is obviously not getting hurt. It is so great to watch them pay together. The other day Rose said "I'm so glad I have a sister."

A "warm" day at the park. (Notice the snow still on the ground in some spots ) We took a picnic to the park around the corner from our house, and dragged Mike along on his lunch break and had some fun in the sun.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! On Saturday Pearl turned five months. Her latest accomplishments include trying cereal for the first time and sucking on her big toe anytime we take her socks off. She certainly prefers her big toe over the cereal. When the toes are under wraps she will happily settle for her thumb at naptime. I was going to go to JC Penneys on Sat. to get the girl's picture taken however the five inches of sleet we got on Friday prevented us from getting out. Pearl seems ti be teething and has been a little on the crabby side, we did not really experience this with Rose as she was born with her first two teeth. She still has them by the way I guess they will fall out when she loses her baby teeth. Rose as always continues to be a great big sister. She loves to help change Pearl's diaper and enjoyed feeding her cereal. The other day we were kissing on Pearl's tummy and nibbling on her to make her laugh. Rose said she wanted to make her laugh too and then proceeded to bite Pearl's hand. She did not know that we were not using our teeth when we played this way with her. I don't know who cried worse Rose or Pearl.

Please pray for us as we are still trying to find a new church family. We are thankful that Rose is easy going and willingly goes into a new nursery with strangers each Sunday. (Pearl still stays wihth us especially since we are not familiar with the church.) She always comes out with a smile on her face and says she liked that church. As long as they have toys and goldfish crackers she is happy to be there. We would really like to quickly find a place to call home so we can plug in and make new friends and especially for Rose's sake too.

We miss you all and keep you in our thoughts and prayers.
PS We have new phone numbers if you would like them please email me.

Rub-a-Dub-Dub Two girls outta the tub! What could be cuter then a freshly cleaned baby? They actually smell as sweet as they look in these pictures. (which is not always the case).

Shania- This is a picture of my sweet little cousin Shania. She is my mom's youngest sister's (My mom is the oldest of eleven children.) little girl, so yes she is my first cousin. Many of you prayed for her when she was born as she was premature. She is now a very healthy smart three year old. Please continue to pray for her as she has not been able to live with her mom due to some poor choices made by my aunt. She has been in great hands with a few of my aunts and uncles taking care of her. Shania may be going back to live with her mother in few months so please pray that my aunt gets her life straightened out in order to take care of this sweet little miracle girl.

Just a quick note as I am again typing with Pearl on my lap. My brother, Jacob, sister-in-law, April and their two kids Brooklyn, almost 8 and Ben 6 came for a visit last week. Rose had a great time playing with her cousins and Pearl enjoyed all the attention especially since Mim (my mom) came with them and stayed a few extra days. It is great being driving distance form family. They are in Mass. about 4 hours form here. We are contemplating going up there for Easter.
Pearl turned four months old on the 17th and weighs 15lbs and is 25 inches long. She is the happiest baby and laughs much easier then Rose did, however she also cries much easeir (and LOUDER) then Rose. After she got her shots she did not stop crying for about a half an hour, I guess she wanted me to know she did not like it, I got the message loud and clear! Rose has been enjoying her new playroom we have been decorating it for the different holidays. Currently we have it decorated for St. Patrick's Day. Rose keeps calling the Shamrocks "Palm trees", our little Florida Girl... I guess there is some resemblence. Well I will post the pics and write more soon. TIme to make dinner:)