Two Worthy Causes

Hi All,

There are so many causes that are in need of support, but today I'm posting about two of them. I'm asking that you keep the following people in your thoughts and prayers, and for those who are willing and able, perhaps you may feel compelled to make a financial contribution. I know a lot of those who read my blog are women and mothers, which make both of these close to our hearts.

First, many of you know about my dear friend Corinne's daughter Chloe. You can read about her here in a blog post from October. Corinne and her family are raising money as part of the Jacob's Run, Walk, and Roll to help cure SMA. For those able to contribute even the smallest amount, here is Corinne's fundraising page. I'm also asking you all to keep Chloe in your prayers. Right now Chloe is extremely weak and experiencing severe breathing difficulty. Corinne and Matt are keeping Chloe calm and comfortable with morphine and nearly full-time oxygen. They all need your prayers.

I'm also attaching a "guest blog" from my friend Heather, who some of you may know. Heather's mom is a proud and inspiring breast cancer survivor, and Heather's family will be taking part in the Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk. The attachment is Heather's mom's story & testimony in her own words. Heather is hoping that the readers of my blog are willing to support her family through prayer, and for those who are able, through a contribution -- no matter how small. To view Heather's blog, please click here and then click Download and select Open.

Thanks, friends & family!
Laura

Another Round of Annalise-isms

Annalise has been obsessed with the movie "The Sound of Music" lately. It's on the DVR and she asks to watch it daily. While watching, she asked if Leisl was looking for "Old Man Maria." I said, "What?" and then realized that she meant Fraulein Maria!

Today she said, "Mommy, we really need to get a new TV. Ours is scratchy, and we need to get a new one with no commercials." I agree!

Annalise has been very into clothes lately. I often call her a "fashionista." The other day she put something on and said, "Look, I'm fashional."

The other day I had been watching the movie "Waitress" while Annalise napped. When she got up, I'd gone into the kitchen to make dinner and didn't turn the movie off. I realized that the childbirth scene was on, and although it's not graphic, there is a lot of yelling and screaming. I glanced in the living room and sure enough, Annalise was mesmerized, staring at the TV with huge eyes. She ran into the kitchen and said, "Mommy! I don't want to go to the hostible (hospital)! I don't want to grow a baby in my tummy! I'm scared!"

I was changing Ryan's diaper the other day and she said, "Mommy, Ryan's pee-pee parts are different from mine." I said, "Yes, boys and girls have different parts." She said, "Yes, and an octopus has TEN pee-pee parts!"

Yet Another Ryan Trick

Well, here comes another trick! Ryan started this yesterday and it cracks us up every time. Pardon my hiccups in this video clip!

Ryan's New Trick

The other day while Ryan was eating, he kept tilting his head to the side. I was saying, "Are you being cute?" He kept on doing it, and soon it turned into a game. Now, when we say, "Ryan, be cute!" he does it. So funny!

Skating with Annalise

Last weekend I took Annalise skating for the second time. It was sort of a reunion with many of my old skating teammates who were in town for Christmas (most of you know I was a figure skater for 12 years growing up). Those of us who have kids brought them along; it was their first or second time skating and it was fun to see the "next generation" on ice! Annalise did a great job and I was so proud of her! Here are a couple of pics & video clips of the event:

Such a Merry Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas in the O'Connell house. Annalise really enjoyed the season, having a couple celebrations with her groups of buddies, and her school program at school was adorable. And as usual, she loved all of the Christmas lights. Ryan was rather oblivious, and thankfully paid little attention to our Christmas tree, only swatting at the ornaments a few times.

Looking at the Christmas lights at our favorite house - this is only a tiny view of the
thousands of lights and decorations at this house. We love it!

Above: Annalise's school program.

This year we also had a visit from our Elf on the Shelf. Annalise named him Rudolph Elf, and he kept a watchful eye on Annalise's behavior. He left notes for Annalise each morning, and unfortunately he had to give her a few warnings about her behavior and poor eating. Luckily she worked on it and Santa didn't have to put her on the Naughty List, as he'd threatened.

Christmas morning, Annalise was thrilled that Santa granted her request for a new bike. She got a 16" Huffy Princess bike, and she's taken to it so well! Ryan's favorite gift was a V-Tech Move and Crawl ball. After a morning at home, we went to my parent's house for Christmas lunch with my three brothers, their wives, and my two nieces. It was a lot of fun!

My dad with Annalise and my niece Caitlin.

Ryan's First Birthday!

I'm over a month late in posting about this, how pathetic! Ryan turned one on November 26th, the day before Thanksgiving. Because we were leaving for Charlotte to visit family on his actual birthday, we kept his birthday celebrations rather low-key. The night before his "real" birthday we went to our favorite Mexican restaurant with my parents, where Ryan had his first cupcake. He ate the ENTIRE thing!

The night of his birthday, we celebrated with Ricky's family who were all in town for Thanksgiving. My sister-in-law ordered him an adorable Elmo cake and he made a nice big mess with it. It was a lot of fun!

We can't believe our little guy is already a year old. This year has FLOWN by. It is hard to imagine life before our Ryan. He is so fun, always smiling, and such a cuddle-bug. He's brought so much joy to all of us, and we love him so much. Happy Birthday, Ryan!