When things go wrong...

I noticed it had been a while since I last wrote. I guess I have been lacking inspiration lately. Life suddenly got stressful and busy. We were cruising through life, la-de-da, and BAM!!! Things blow up in our face. Now to reassure you all, we are all healthy (for now, at this point I expect anything to happen) and we have a roof over our head (and it doesn't leak, though I wouldn't be surprised if that started either). I know things could be worse, I really do...and I know challenges in life are an opportunity to grow and learn. But in the moment, it really bites.

Here is a question for the cosmos - why is it that right when you can't afford for something to go wrong - it inevitably does? It reminds me of when I lived at home and every time my mom washed her giant van that took several people to wash, it would rain the next day, without fail. It was a joke that if we needed rain, we should just wash mom's car.

Or like the day some one's health insurance lapses between jobs or whatever, they have a major accident. As my dad always said, "When one thing breaks, everything breaks". I can't remember a time growing up when only one major appliance broke at a time, it was always the car and the AC, or the washer and the refrigerator.

Now that's all fine and dandy when you have the cash to spare. "Sure honey! We have the $1200 to fix the car and the $400 to buy a new washer! Let's hop in our unbroken, nice car and head down to Lowe's and get ourselves a new washer. And while we're at it, lets buy a new matching dryer. Hey, maybe we could look at getting our deck replaced too!"

So if anyone has as answer or theory to my original question: "Why is it that right when you can't afford for something to go wrong - it inevitably does?" I would be happy to hear it. I guess the best thing for me to do would be to stop whining, say a prayer (and maybe cry a little) and get to work...

Goodbye old friend...

Our desk-top computer of three years died the other day. Luckily, we have my lap-top, so we're not totally out of commission. The most unfortunate part of all of this, is that all of our photos are on that computer. The computer person in Ryan's lab is going to try to pull all of our stuff off of the hard drive (they did it for us when our first computer died three years ago), so hopefully the photos can be saved. We have been backing the pictures up, but haven't for several months. So let this be a warning to all of you - BACK UP YOUR PHOTOS OFTEN!! This computer was not supposed to die yet, it should have lasted another two years - but you never know. So, seeing as how I have no photos on this computer, I don't have any to share just yet.

Now we get to add a new computer to our list of: a new car, new carpet and many home improvement projects that our yet-to-be-received tax return is magically going to buy. Let's hear it for broke student families all over the world! Hooray!!!

Little Bo-Peep

Last night, Claire's school put on a play with the kids in Kindergarten and 1st grade. It was called "E-I-E-I-oops!" It turned out very cute and was only about 30 minutes long - the perfect length. Claire was chosen for a speaking part; she was cast as Litttle Bo-Peep. Her teacher had a dress that was one of her girl's that they used for dress-up and didn't need that was perfect. So I borrowed a cane from a good friend and made a hat to match the dress. It all turned out very cute - she by far had the cutest little costume (it also helped that she wasn't dressed as a farmer or farm animal like everyone else). After the play, a lot of the sheep (the Kindergarteners) wanted a picture with Claire and introduced her to their parents. It was all very cute. Claire was very pleased with herself and really did a great job with her song and lines. Afterwards we celebrated by getting donuts. It was a fun evening. Here are some pictures of our two cuties.

Happy Birthday Claire!

Claire had her 6th birthday last week. I still can't believe I'm a mother of a 6-year-old! Claire has been an absolute joy to have in our family. She had a rough entry into the world, but she came perfect and beautiful. Here are just a few of my favorite pictures of Claire in her first two years of life. She was always so busy and happy as a toddler - she made me laugh a lot!








What a sweet girl! Hopefully the next 6 years will go a little slower!