Dana's 4th Birthday

Okay, I knew this would happen. Start a blog, get excited about it, then ignore it for a while. I do have a pretty good excuse though. Here is a quick description of what has been going on with the Cowleys the last month or so.

Kimmy - Sweetest, funniest little baby ever. BIG DRAMA QUEEN. Up till now, all of our kids have been pretty healthy, regular kids. Not Kim, she needs attention! In March she started having feveral seizures (seizures resulting from a rapid spike in her fever), and to date has had a total of 3, resulting in 3 trips to the ER, 2 rides in the ambulance, and 1 very flashy, loud, and dramatic exit from church. If you thought the seizures would be enough to keep me on high alert, she has also in the past 2 weeks developed an intense lactose intolerance coupled with a double ear infection. Needless to say, Mom and Dad aren't getting too much sleep!

Here she is getting some help from Grandpa Noble on the pinata! Grandpa Noble was SMITTEN with her during this trip. If anyone thought I had him wrapped around my finger, you have got to see what Kimmy can get him to do!

We brought her exersaucer to the party so that we wouldn't have to be holding her the whole time. It actually worked pretty well.

Dana - Not wanting to be left out, has taken to being VERY sensitive! The silliest thing can send her running up the stairs to the solitude of her room for a loud crying session. But I will blame it on her just having her birthday and turning 4, she never went through any type of terrible twos, so maybe this is how I am paying for it. We had an outdoor BBQ for her big birthday bash. Both sets of Grandparents were able to make it, and we had about 35 guests! It was great! Dana was so excited. After we ate and had cake, all the kids got a chance to smash the pinata! It was hilarious. All the kids got so worked up over it. All in all, it turned out great, and I have another 4 years before I have to worry about doing it again!

Here she is showing everyone that she is now 4 with her birthday candle!

I totally ripped off Tiana's Barbie cake idea. I don't think I did it as well, but Dana thought it was amazing, and that's all I could ask for, especially since it was my first foray into fancy cake making!

The pinata was a hit! (pun intended)

We also had a backup cake, in case the Barbie cake didn't make it through the cutting...Here are some of the kids chowing down



Nate - Is getting ready to finish up the last 4 days of kindergarten this week and next week. He is an AMAZING reader, he is currently reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban all by himself after finishing the first 2 books in the series. He reads so fast, that we were worrying if he was actually retaining anything. So Dad set a new rule, before Nate can start a new chapter, he has to take a multiple choice quiz, written by dad, on the previous chapter and get at least 4 out of 5 right. And guess what, it's no sweat for him. He hasn't missed a question yet!

I had to add this picture. I wanted to put more pictures of Nate in this post, but I couldn't find many close-ups of his face. However, I love this picture, because if you look closely, you will be able to see Kimmy through curtain of my hair. So funny!

Jared and I are currently existing on Red Bull and Diet Coke. Sleep deprivation has become a way of life. Maybe when we are 50 we will get a good night's sleep...Work is great for Jared and I am happily trying to figure out what color I want to paint the living room, and what kind of plants to line the front walkway with. We have been incredibly blessed! We may not have much money, but our family is rich in love! We are looking forward to this weekend, when Kimberly will turn 1, and Dad has 5 days off for us to have a mini-vacation! I'll post pictures of that later!

Oh, one last note: My awesome older brother Nathan has become a father! His daughter Emilina Sofia Noble was born on May 18, 2008. I think she was about 7 pounds 11 ounces, and 20 inches long. She has tons of hair, and is just beautiful! Here is a picture of her.
If you know my brother, congratulate him. He is on cloud nine! I love you Nate, and welcome to the family Lina!

Trying to live more Charitably

I have been told that if you want more happiness and love in your life, you should spend more time serving others. I have been trying to do that lately. I am working towards being a better visiting teacher, a better friend, and a better mother. Since my hair has been annoying me lately, I decided to be more charitable with it and donate it to Locks of Love, a non-profit organization that uses the hair donations to manufacture wigs/hair pieces for underprivledged kids who have lost their hair due to any type of medical illness/diagnosis. It's pretty cool what they do if you think about it. You can visit their website at http://www.locksoflove.org, to get information on what they do or how to donate your own hair. I forgot to take the camera with me, but here is a picture of me before I cut my hair from a couple of days ago:

And then here is a picture of me today, after the haircut, with the new glasses.What do you think? (I just took these pictures with the web cam because it is easier than trying to hold a camera in the right place.) I have never had my hair this short before in my life. The hair on the back of my neck is actually shaved in places. I think it might take me a couple of days to get used to it, but I kind of like it. It should also keep me cool for the summer, and even though it's not much, I am glad that I could help out some less fortunate children. Well, I better go, it's movie night and we have friends coming over!