goodbye blogger... hello wordpress!

we've started a new "family" blog and are abandoning this one.

check it out...

here!

http://tomandcrit.wordpress.com/

can't wait to try these!

www.fuzzibunz.com

happy birthday!

no, it's not lily's birthday... not til january anyway.

however, she is o b s e s s e d with them lately!  enjoy the video!

cincinnati

well, we made it!  we are finally back at our tiny house on penrose place.  lily is definitely a little bit confused, at times asking to "go home", but she is adjusting well.  she is at her happiest with the grandparents and little friends here, though she often asks for our friends back in orlando.  nana and papa's backyard and grandma's "farm" are major draws for her and have already provided hours of entertainment (which means a break for the parents!!).   

as for me and tom, we are also getting settled back into life here in cincinnati... hitting all of our favorite eateries almost daily!  tom keeps commenting on the beautiful landscaping in the neighborhood, and i have to admit, there are some beautiful old homes and gardens to envy.  i am sure that over time ours will be improved too ... though that will be not be any time soon!

unfortunately, we have been struck with a ton of bad luck lately.  a lightning strike at our house in orlando (the week before we left) knocked out several major appliances, tom's computer, our alarm system, and various other things.  we are still trying to recover from that, as well as deal with all of the new problems at our penrose house... busted pipe, ants, an unwelcome bat living on our back porch, electricity failures, and a variety of other problems!

however, despite everything that has happened, God is faithful and is continuing to provide for us.  we are anxious to finally get settled... me with a new job, and tom with his current work... and to get on with life!

here are a few new pics of lily enjoying this new phase of her life!

ready, set, go!

so we are all preparing for our big move back to cincinnati this weekend.  thinking proactively, i flew up with sweet lil a week ahead of time.  i wanted at least one of us to be spared the tedious sixteen hour drive up north.  

unfortunately, i had very limited time with lily this past week.  i was busy painting the new (old) house for us, including lily's new big girl room!  (see pic below)  i don't know how much i was missed though as the grandparents and various doggies and kitties were entertaining enough!  when i left lily at the airport curbside with her papa, she was covered in bruises and scratches... true signs of playing hard and having the time of her little life!  

now, as i write this from orlando, in the place where i brought a sweet little bundle home from the hospital just a little over two years ago, the house is remarkably quiet and empty feeling.  i miss that little girl something fierce.  forget the excitement of moving to a new place... freshly painted and begging to be decorated (something i am remarkably proud of doing in just a week's time)... i can't wait to see the best thing that God has given me here on earth...lily.

first flight in her own seat!

sitting on the porch with papa

bonding with uncle paul

jumping!

lily and her grandma

(gosh, i love this picture!)

lily's tree

Old MacDonald had a chicken...

baking cookies!

today, i decided that it would be fun to make cookies with sweet lils.  it turned out better than i could have hoped.  there was only one small meltdown... when i wouldn't let her eat the cookie dough that we had already placed on the tray.  but other than that, we had a great time!

not bad for trying to bake with a two year old!

easter lily

Happy Easter!