Opryland Hotel

This post and pictures are a little backwards. If you scroll to the bottom you can read what this post is about...
On Saturday night, Belle got very sick with the stomach bug. As you see aove this as how she spent much of her vacation. We got our moneys worth out of that hotel.

Sunday night we went and saw the Rockettes. The show was awesome! They had a Nativity scene with real live animals that was real good. Even though Belle was still sick she loved the show. The above picture is the Grand Ole Opry where we saw the show

Look closely at this picture. Do you see the ladies face? She would walk on stilts around the hotel. She was a huge attraction.
Here is what was supposed to be the start of this post...

The weekend before Christmas we went to Nashville where we stayed at the Opryland hotel. Joel's parents met us there. We spent Saturday shopping and exploring the large hotel. You can see some photos of the hotel below.

Chicken Pox, Poison Ivy and Strep Oh My

This year has been full of many trips to the doctors office for both Belle and Josh. With Belle's asthma flaring up and Josh getting poison Ivy twice, and now just getting over chicken pox and strep, my car should automatically know how to get to the dr. office. Luckily Josh did not have chicken pox to bad, but he was still out a week with the "pops" as they call them and with Strep. Below is Josh's face from poison ivy. This was 2 days after he received a shot to clear it up.

Check out the next post to see what we did on his week off of school with the "pops". And if you are wondering--Josh did get the chicken pox vaccine.

Christmas Events

Can "ya'll" believe another Christmas is just around the corner? We have been busy preparing the house for the holidays. Check out the pictures below...

Joel's mom made us this beautiful stockings. Everyone that sees them raves at how beautiful they are. They are huge and look great hanging from our fireplace.

Above our fireplace we have this large cut out. Normal people put their TV, ours is strictly there for my Snow Village. Joel made shelves so that we have a place for all my pieces. If you look at the very top Graceland overlooks all of the village. The king reigns over all:) My mom bought this one for me when we first moved to the Memphis area. Each year I receive a new piece from Joel. This year I have had added some of my mom's pieces and so we had to annex the top of our entertainment center.

Josh has been home with the chicken pox all week. It has actually been nice having him home. we mad sugar cookies one day and decorated them the next day. As you see above Belle is decorating her star with a big blob of green frosting.

Today the kids decorated their gingerbread houses.

The Christmas parade--Once again Josh was in the Christmas parade. This year it was for his Cub Scout Pack 234. Joel volunteered to pull the float. So of course we had to include a picture of his truck, his love! I think he was more excited to have it in the parade then the kids. HAHA!

The kids spent the morning at Home Depot decorating the trailer. The did a great job. Josh is in the middle of the picture, right above the Christmas tree someone drew. Josh ended up walking the entire parade route handing out candy. That evening he broke out with Chicken Pox and Strep throat. We laughed that he infected all of Olive Branch in a matter of an hour!

What Have We Been Doing?

Happy Thanksgiving to all! We are up and running again on the blog. I have missed filling all of you in on our daily lives. We have been very busy with school, Cub Scouts, and work. We spent A very quiet day at home with too much food! Although this year has had its ups and downs we are very blessed with all the family and friends that we have. We are looking forward to a peaceful Holiday season and a very blessed and successful New Year.
Josh's sleep over for his birthday. Unfortunately, another boy that was invited had the chicken pox!

Josh turned 8 on Nov. 6th. Hard to believe he is 8 years old. we bought him a BB gun, which he was so surprised about.

Halloween-Josh as a Clone Trooper, along with every 8 year old in Olive Branch and Belle as a pink poodle.

The next few pictures are from our trip to Gatlinburg over Fall Break. We went with my friend Mary and her 3 girls. We had a ton of fun. The picture above was taken when we stopped along the road and let the kids play in the creek.

Josh was able to experience in door sky-diving. He was the only one that would do it and he absolutely loved it. This was taken a few minutes before going into the room.

This is very hard to see, but this is Josh sky-diving. His instructor is the other blob in the photo.

This was taken as we headed down the tram from UberGatlinburg. Absolutely breath-taking.

Josh going to his Cub Scout meeting. At his next Pack Meeting he will get his Wolf Badge! At Josh's last camp out he caught a nasty case of Poison Ivy or Oak. He had it all over his face

Cub Scouts

Well, unfortunately Joel's wireless card is broken so I am posting from my computer, which means no photos. So I will just have to be very vivid with my words!

Josh joined Cub Scouts this year. He absolutely loves it. He has worked hard and will receive a badge tomorrow at his pack meeting. He is currently working on his Wolf badge. He has a book and there are several items that he works on to receive his badge.

Josh and Joel went camping a couple of weeks ago for Cub Scouts. Josh had a blast, shooting a BB gun and a bow and arrow. The Boy Scouts set up a rope bridge. Both Josh and Joel were able to do that. Josh with much encouragement. Joel went on it and almost fell off (I know you are wishing you could see that picture, me too! Joel had the camera in his pocket). I knew I should have gone. Next month they will be in Tunica for Base Camp. They are estimating that 10,000 people will be there. This has been great bonding time for Josh and Joel. Now if I could just figure out how to smuggle Belle in it would be great mom alone time!

Growing Up Witucki

For all of you that don't know my maiden name is Witucki(Wa-too-key)and I was raised about a mile from Lake Michigan. Most of you hear the word lake and images of a small body of water come to mind, but this is not true of the Great Lakes. I have a lot of great memories. We used to spend hours at the beach swimming when we were little, sledding on the dunes in the winter, tanning as teenagers, camping and star gazing. Many events happened there, homecoming, post prom parties, and senior pictures. That is the one thing I miss about growing up in Michigan and it is sad to me that my children will not have these same experiences. The town I grew up in was located across the lake from Chicago. On very clear nights you could see the glow of the Chicago skyline. I do not ever remember seeing such a clear view of Chicago as the one below. If you look at the sun you will see small buildings lining the horizon. It may not seem like a big deal, but believe me this is a rare shot. If you can get a full page picture you can really see the buildings.

Mean Brothers

This is just a side note to my last post... Growing up I had a fish, that of course died. When I went to my room I noticed it was gone. So I went to my brother Chris, he came and looked and confirmed that it was no longer in the bowl. He started looking around on the floor. He told me it must have jumped out and sent me on a wild chase looking for the fish. After several minutes of looking my mom came in and told me that the fish had gone down the sink when they were cleaning the bowl. Gee, don't you love brothers. I am sure he did that to keep me busy so I would not bug him.

He's Going to be a Priest

Oh how proud I am of my son. On Friday, Belle won a fish at the fair. She was so proud of it and named it Nemo. Well, today it died. She was absolutely devastated! Josh, in his short life, has had to deal with a lot of death in his 7 years, he's lost 2 grandparents, a hamster, some fish, and of course the beloved Bobo Fett action figure from Star Wars (read on to hear this story). After I spent several minutes holding and trying to comfort her, Josh took charge of the situation. He put his arm around her and was try to comfort her. After about ten minutes of crying, Belle decided to paint. So they both were painting, Belle of course was still crying, the next thing I knew Josh was sitting on the chair with her. I ducked behind the corner to watch and listen This is how the conversation went:

Belle, I know you are sad about Nemo, it is ok because he is in RIP. Do you know what that means? (At this point she had stopped crying because he voice was so soothing he was rubbing her bac too). Sometime you see these stones that have RIP on them. That means rest in peace. Nemo is in peace now and he does not hurt. Do you know where peace is? It is heaven. Good guys go up to heaven. Nemo is with Grandpa and Ed(the hamster) and he does not hurt anymore. The bad guys go down, like the robbers. And that was it, no more crying.

I was so proud of him. Yesterday, we were reading about your attitude and how Jesus wants you to act as He would, when he was done talking to Belle I told him how proud I was of him and how Jesus would be proud that his actions were very Christ like. Josh knew Belle's pain and could relate and console her. He has always had this understanding of death and can speak about it with an eloquence that is odd for a child of his age. A few years ago he had the action figure that I discussed earlier. It had lost a leg or something and he was so upset, he wanted to bury it. The next thing we know he is conducting a funeral in the backyard, with me, Joel, my dad and a few neighbors. We all had to say some words, he made a cross and put flowers on the grave. My dad was very impressed with this makeshift funeral. By the end of the night he was calling Josh, Father Josh. Hmm...Fr. Josh, oh but what about the girls. I guess time will tell.

Following in Her Brothers Footsteps-Well, Sort Of

Belle followed in her brothers footsteps today by starting school. Unlike Josh, she loves school. I picked her up in car rider line from Pre-K and she was just glowing. She would not stop talking about her teacher Mrs. Kelly, the book about chickens that they ready and the balls they bounced at recess. What a relief! I prayed that she would enjoy it. In a very Josh like moment she looked in her book bag and did not see her folder. She freaked out and was very dramatic about having homework and needing to do it. Lets hope she will enjoy doing it better than big brother. We found the folder and she was very happy. When Josh arrived home from school he went right to Belle and asked how school was. When she said good he looked shocked. I think he was hoping she would hate it just like he claims he does!

Typical 1st day photo.

Belle's teacher Mrs. Kelly

Oh and did I tell you we had to play school the rest of the afternoon. She got to be Mrs. Kelly, except she kept having to ask what her name was. By the end of the night she had it down!

Labor Day- Give Me the Epidural!

Happy Labor Day! In honor of Labor Day, I thought I would revisit my labor with our two beautiful children.

My labor with Josh stared three weeks before my due date on Monday morning at 7:00 when my water broke. The date was Nov. 6th the day before the elections. Most of you know that Joel and I only have children in election years, 2000/2004. Technically this should be a birth year. So imagine our excitement that our son was born the day before George W. Bush would be elected into office. Of course this was the election that would go down in history. We should have named him Chad!

Joel returned from work, showered and dressed in his Bush- Cheney t-shirt and off to the doctors office we went. It was a windy, overcast fall day. The first cool day we had had in a while. We were admitted. Contractions came, epidural followed:), heart beat dropped. Our doctor was wonderful, she tried everything to get his heart beat right where it should be. Shortly after 5:00 they decided to do a C-section as they feared his umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck. Joel quickly dressed into his scrubs and off we went to have our baby. We had a fabulous nurse that was supposed to go off duty at 6:00, but she stayed through the surgery. Joshua Ethan was born at 6:26 pm weighing 7lbs 14 oz. The doctors checked out our beautiful little Josh and let Joel carry him to recovery with us. He was so perfect since he never entered the birth canal (of course I am a bit biased). Josh loves to hear the part about me getting sick to my stomach and almost vomiting on him. Luckily, Joel moved fast.

Oh my little Belle was a different story. She waited until her scheduled c-section to make her appearance. The night before her birth date we spent a nice family evening together. A family that would soon increase by one. We awoke very early on the morning of Wednesday May 26th to travel to the hospital. They prepped me and off to the OR I went. Joel waited outside while I was given a spinal. The spinal was much easier to recover from than an epidural. Joel came in and at 8:06 am, little Isabelle JoAnn(named after my mom)was born weighing 7lbs. 4oz. The first comment made by the nurse, WOW look at how long her fingers are.

Josh came to visit and was more excited about the toilet in my room, than he was about his new sister. He helped feed her, but at 3 1/2 he was just bouncing off the walls. A special moment that I'll never forget was when Joel, Josh and my brother left the room and my dad stayed behind in awe of his new granddaughter. The look of bitter sweetness gleaming in his eyes. He told me how proud he was and with a choked up voice he left the room.

No crazy labor stories here where Joel has to pull over on the highway to deliver a baby while talking to a 911 operator, but miraculous to us as God gives us the gift of life in two little souls that give us great joy.

I encourage my other mom friends to revisit their labor stories on their blogs!

Elmo Grows Up

Yesterday, Belle and I had a girls day out. She starts school on Wednesday so I though this would be a nice end of the summer celebration. She loved it and frankly, so did I. It was at the Desoto Civic Center at 10:30 in the morning. We had no trouble with parking, purchasing merchandise or finding our seats. I would recommend this to anyone that enjoys going to shows. Belle clapped, danced, sang and waved at the characters. Afterward she gave me a big hug and a kiss and thanked me. That made it worth it all! She was excited the entire way home and we talked about how the characters showed us what they want to be when they grow up. Belle's favorite was Abra Cadabra, she wanted to be a fairy godmother.

On Thursday, Belle had her orientation for Pre-K. She really seemed to love it. She met her teacher, Mrs. Kelly. I believe our prayers have been answered and God has placed her right where she is meant to be. Belle went right in and started playing. There were several children that were scared, so I am comforted that Belle is not the only one in this same situation. They say there is strength in numbers. I see some girl bonding going on! Belle is talking about her school, but I am not sure she understands that I will not stay with her. Thankfully, I have complete trust and confidence in her teacher that even if she does not like it, I know she is being taken care of by Mrs. Kelly. Stay tuned to Wed. for an update.

Thoughts and Prayers

How fortunate I feel today for the life I have. I have a wonderful husband who is loving and passionate about his life and his family, an involved father, hard working, sweet, and an awesome provider for us. My children, for the most part are loving, sweet, funny, healthy and intelligent (I may revise this in about 2 1/2 hours when Josh returns from school.)

It seems like everywhere I turn someone I know is suffering in some way. It started a few weeks ago when we found out our dear neighbor found out his cancer has returned, a different incurable kind. He was given months to live.

Last week my brother told me his father in law is sick. He has an aneurysm that has grown and a spot on his lung. I was fortunate to spend a day with him and his family for Renee's baby shower. I have some great memories of the time I spent with my own father on that trip. Without their hospitality I would not have this fond memory.

Yesterday, a day that started with the joy of life and wonder quickly turned to concern for a close grade school friend. My friend went for her ultrasound. On the screen in 3D, she saw her baby girl sucking her thumb and moving. Shortly after, her doctor delivered some concerning news that the baby only had 2 ventricles and has a mass in its stomach. The baby may not make it through the pregnancy and if it does there is a chance she will die shortly after delivery or live, but have complications. Obviously, they hope the baby lives and does not have any major complications, which is a possibility. The thought of delivering a still born baby or burying a baby is too much for her to grasp. I just reminded her God will only give you what he knows you can handle. I for a fact know nothing I say will comfort her. All I can do is offer her my prayers.

A secretary at church just learned her husband has cancer. He was having problems eating and went to the doctor. They admitted him and just found out the diagnoses.

Some of you now that I have had struggles since losing my father. Death looms over me and I always fear the worse. I know it is Gods will, but when I am surrounded I just begin to shut down. I grieve for those suffering the news of their loved ones illnesses. I am thankful that my own family is flourishing, but I know the pain of grieving and I hate to see others suffer. The best thing that I can do for them is offer my prayers and ask my friends and family to to the same! Please keep them in your prayers and thoughts.

Are you smarter than a second grader?

I hope so, because apparently I am not. The other day Josh came home with a comprehension test. The teacher asked us to review it with our children. It had a short story at the top. So we read the story about Mrs. Young's 2nd grade class that went on a field trip to the zoo, where they saw a bunch of monkeys playing. The first question Josh got wrong, because he did not read all the answer choices. He marked the answer as Mrs. Young's 1st grade class instead of her 2nd grade class. So I explained how he needed to read all of the choices before making his decision. We get to the last question, it ask where does Mrs. Young's class go next. So I quickly scan the story for the answer and it does not say and I say to Josh, "how do you know the answer it is not in the story?" Let me just tell you this was not one of those questions meant to get him to answer because I already know the answer. I truly had no idea. He looks at me and says with a smile on his face, "well Mom whales aren't at the zoo, dinosaurs are extinct and cavemen aren't around anymore, so it has to be the tigers." Oh of course it does. That just made Josh's day. I have to say, although I felt really stupid, I was so proud of Josh and his logical thinking!

Off to Second Grade

Off to 2nd grade he goes...Josh woke up with no trouble this morning, but was a little nervous that he forgot everything from 1st grade. I reassured him he would be fine and that they would not be doing any heavy work the first day. Of course he decided he wanted me to walk him in, which was a bit hectic as it was pouring down rain. Luckily, as we got out of the car it had stopped long enough for me to walk him to his class and back to the car. I think that was God's sign to me that this was going to be a good year. Below is our normal back to school photo in front of the door and him at his desk. This is the first year that they have desk of their own. In past years they have been at tables. Scroll down past the photos to see how his day went...


So I made it to school and was the 11th person in line. Which for other car rider parents you know I was there very early. Well, I had the car rider time mixed up so Belle and I sat forever. I was a bit worried when the first ten cars left and Josh was no where in site. So I ask where my son is and if I am supposed to pull up. They do not know the answer to either one. They called Josh's name and he finally came, with a big smile I might add. He is excited because he saw a bunch of friends and apparently another Joshua from his Kindergarten class was transferred into his classroom. His teacher was great and a lot of fun. Thank you Lord! We have been so blessed with this school system. Let's just hope the remainder of the year goes this smoothly!

End of Summer Fun

Driving our way back to school!

Well, today was the unofficial end of summer. Josh goes to school tomorrow. Poor guy is just so sad to be going back. So today we had a day full of fun. We picked up our friend Natalie and went to lunch at McDonald's. Then we went to Chuck E. Cheese, stopped and had shakes, got a car wash and back to the house to play. Although I am excited to have some free time and no bickering, it is sad that he is another year older.

Meet the Teacher

No photo tonight-Mom forgot to take a picture while we were at school.

Well, Josh met his teacher today, Mrs. Janes. Josh was happy that there were 3 kids in his class that he knew. Two from last year and one from church. His teacher said peanut butter is ok! That is a huge bonus as Josh has been in the peanut free class the last two years. I am waiting for the note to come home saying it is not allowed. As I walking out of his class I noticed a peanut allergy kid in his class. Urgh so close!

He met his teacher. He could care less. I really think this is not meant for kids. After Kindergarten, really what is the point. It is for the controlling parents to check out who is going to be taking care of their children for the next 181 days. Yes, I admit I fall into this controlling parent category. I was more excited to check her out, than Josh was. He wanted to stay home and play with Joel. I was very ncouraged when 2 friends with 3rd graders said she is very good and fun. Maybe that will get Josh excited about school.

He is at a new school this year. So drop off and pick up will be a new routine. As we are walking to the car I ask Josh if he wants me to walk him in the first day. His response, "No." I guess 2nd grade is not such a big deal. Wait while I wipe away my tears:) So he is growing up. Sad-yes. I do have to admit I am a little glad that I do not have to look for parking on the first day of school!

Only one month left until Belle starts school. She was mad today that she did not get her school supplies together. This is very encouraging!

There's a Sniper in the House

Check out Josh's new pet. A green iguana, named Sniper. He has been helping mow our yard and my dad's yard so as a special thanks Joel bought this for him. Belle of course talks to it like it is a dog and sits at its cage saying, "Sniper no sniping." (Dora the Explorer sings something similar to this on her show. FYI for the non-Dora watching public) Of course that just aggravates Josh. How many more days until school starts?

Lights Out

Last night a storm came through and just sat on top of Olive Branch. The kids were both exhausted and in bed early. Joel was in Josh's room and I was in Belle's when the lights went out. Belle looked at me and said, "That's not nice." So after about 5minutes with no electricity, we scrounged around for candles and flashlights and started doing shadow puppets. Then Josh decided he would scare Belle. This brought back great memories growing up.

Since we had no power we went out side to enjoy the pleasant temperatures. (Yes it was actually a cool 73 degrees)Josh found this cute little frog.

Natures beauty at its best. I love when the rays of sun shine from the sky like this. It is hard not to think at moments like this that loved ones are not just shining down on you!

Let Them Eat Cake

Happy Birthday Ella!

My brother's little girl Ella turned 3 on Saturday while they were in town visiting and working on dad's house. The kids were so excited to see their cousins. Dylan, soon to be 16, was a great help and played with the kids. They keep asking when they are coming back to play.

MMMM...Yum!

How does Uncle Rich eat cake. Well, he mixes ice cream and cake together to form a paste like substance. He has always done this and it looks disgusting. I believe he was the first to create birthday cake ice cream.

Friends of Summer

Yesterday, we invited some friends over to play. They had fun outside on the waterslide and inside playing hide-n-seek.
Eating lunch at the Y with the all the girls. Poor Josh! Pam (holding Belle), Sarah in front and Emily hiding behind Sarah helped with the kids.
Natalie playing with the Goop.
Recipe for Goop

Equal parts cornstarch and water

mix together

add food coloring (optional)

The many faces of Belle

Belle at the Y.

Yesterday, the kids played with Goop. Belle once again blessed me with a beautiful smile. She can do this thing with her eye that is so weird and creepy. As you can see above she crosses her left eye while her right eye stays straight. Usually, her left eye crosses so far over all you can see is white. One day I will capture this in a picture!

Gone Fishin'

Joel and Josh spent Saturday and part of Sunday at Joe and Robin's house on Pickwick Lake. They spent the day swimming and fishing. Joel said the water as too warm to catch fish. As you can see they were able to catch a few. Josh actually caught the big fish, but Joel had to reel it in for him.

What's Not to Love about Concrete?!?

Here is the property Joel bought a few months back for his business. He is hoping to start building in the next few months. Joel and Josh worked clearing the land a few weeks ago and both ended up with poison ivy. Joel's hope for the property is to build his building and then eventually build several buildings on the front of the property to rent. Once we start construction, I will post pictures as progress is made. Joel once made the comment to my dad,"What's not to love about concrete?" Dad always loved this comment and it became a motto around here. Joel loves his work and takes great pride in it.

Who are those masked children?

Yesterday was Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-Fil-A. To all you northerners, Chick-Fil-A is a staple to every southern stay at home mom. It is the cleanest fast food restaurant in Olive Branch and at any given day is full of kids in the play area. So the kids made cow mask and -shirts so they could receive a free entree. The place was packed, but we were very lucky to make it right before one of 5 YMCA buses arrived. As the cows say, "Eat More Chicken"

Little Mother

Belle just cracks me up lately. When the kids are in trouble I call them Joshua Stirek or Isabelle Stirek. When they do not listen when I call their name I then say, "Belle Stirek come here." Well, Belle has started to use my methods. When she is talking to Josh and he does not listen to her, she will call him Josh Stirek. It is funny how they pick up on our methods and use them. She also calls me Mom Stirek when I do not respond right away. I guess she thinks she needs to be more specific when calling me so I don't get confused with the other moms in our house!

The Children's Museum...Finally

Fasten your seat belts were coming in for a landing!

We finally made it to the Children's Museum. Josh has been asking to go back for over a year. We were supposed to go over spring break, but Belle ended up with an eye infection. Yesterday, when Josh asked if we could do something fun I had the perfect idea. The weather forecast was supposed to be in the mid 90's so I thought I would surprise them a special day at the museum. When they woke up i told them we going somewhere, but it was a surprise. So I did not tell them where we were going until we were on our way.

Belle goes grocery shopping after going to the bank and getting cash.

Josh's favorite part was the police cars.

Both kids had a great time dressing up as cops and firemen. It is funny how they get along so well when there is no other kids to play with. Josh has decided to be a cop for Halloween and I am going to dress up as a prisoner.