Busy Week

Well, we are off to Hilton Head tomorrow. Please pray for safety as we are travelling through the night. We have a family wedding all day so we will leave after the reception. Dan and I are going to take turns driving and I bought lots of snacks to keep us wide awake. I will be very happy when we get to the beach. Dan and I have always had a love for the beach. We are excited to share this with the kids.

This week has been extremely busy and overwhelming. We feel like we have lived separate lives because we have had so much to do. I have been busy working on MOPS stuff and Dan has been busy with wedding stuff. At the beginning of the week we had a couple birthday parties for Dan. Last night he was at a bachelor party, tonight is the rehearsal dinner, and tomorrow all day is the wedding festivities. Also, Dan's grandma (on his Dad's side) fell and broke her hip so she is in the hospital. Dan's grandpa (on his mom's side) is in the hospice facility. He has dimentia and pneumonia. It is stressful to have sick family members. The girls and I have been visiting them. I am so glad that they know their great grandparents. And of course we found out that we are pregnant on Monday so that started the week with a little bit of stress. We are extremely excited about the baby, but I have to admit that I have anxiety over the health of the baby. I spent Tuesday and Wednesday on the phone with my hematologist and OB trying to coordinate all of my medications. I started the injections this week and had to get blood drawn twice. I also had to cancel my mammogram due to the pregnancy, so we are left to wonder about the lump on my breast. But they are going to keep a close eye on it at my OB appointments. And on top of that...I organized and packed for two kids and myself for vacation. It is a lot of work to prepare for a week away. I have to admit that I am grateful that we don't have a dog at this stage in our life. I think when the kids are a little older we will be more ready for a dog.

So, needless to say, we are quite busy. But, I as I am writing this, I am waiting for Dan to pick me up and take me to the rehearsal dinner. Finally, I get to spend some time with him and eat a nice meal that I don't have to cook. I am eagerly waiting his arrival.

When we get home from vacation I will post all of our fun pictures. We would appreciate your prayers while we are gone.

Baby

Baby Donatini #3 will be on his/her way sometime in the spring. We are pregnant again!!!

Donatini Updates

• Sara discovered her nostril hole during dinner today. She stuck her finger up there as far as it would go. She thought that was pretty neat.
• Mya has learned that one way to avoid going to sleep at night is to take all of her clothes off and join her daddy in the shower. He was very surprised when he was washing his hair, heard a noise, and turned around to see a naked Mya in the shower with him. Boy is she clever!
• Mya learned how to swim today, by herself, with her new life jacket on. At first she was crying very loudly and somehow that cry turned into a wonderful giggle very quickly. Suddenly she was so proud of herself.
• Sara has learned how to ask for milk using sign language. The funny thing is that she knows how to do it, but only does it if it is her idea instead of her parent's idea. She has quite a will already.
• Dan bought a 47 inch flat screen television for our teeny tiny living room in our teeny tiny house. It appears to be the focal point in our living room, but he is a happy man. That is what is important to me!
• Our mattress is extremely uncomfortable! I just had to share that.
• We leave for vacation this Saturday. We are heading for the beach!

Both girls are asleep for the night. Time to do devotions and spend time with Dan (after he plays some video games on his brand new television, of course!).

Learning to Ride a Bike

First you go forward on the bike, and that is pretty cool.

Then you try sitting backwards and that is much more fun!

Then you take a picture of sissy because she is jealous of all the pictures that mommy is taking of me.

Not To Worry

Philipians 4: 6-7
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

I went to the woman doctor today for a yearly visit and she was a little concerned about a lump on my breast. However, the lump has been there for years and hasn't changed much so she thinks it is just a calcification. I do have to have a mammogram and ultra sound done next week. I think I am more concerned about the pain of the mammogram. If anyone has good advice out there, feel free to share it with me. Does the pain last long? How bad does it really hurt? Will I cry?

I will do my best to be anxious for nothing, but I know that my strength to do that can only come from Christ!

Five Years and Stronger Than Ever

Dan and I celebrated our five year anniversary this weekend. Our real anniversary isn't until August 7, but we will be vacationing during that time. We went to Easton for the weekend and stayed at the Hilton. This is where we went for our first and third anniversary too. We love to go there and just relax and shop. That means that Dan naps while I shop. It is the perfect situation! We arrived on Saturday around noon, had lunch, and then I shopped for the afternoon. We met up for a wonderful dinner at the Melting Pot. We had lobster, shrimp, pork, steak, and chicken as well as cheese fondue and chocolate fondue for dessert. We got a gift certificate to this restaurant for christmas and finally were able to use it yesterday. The meal was fabulous. Then Dan shopped at his favorite store in the evening. We slept in on Sunday morning and ate lunch at P.F. Changs. This is one of our favorite restaurants. Then we headed home to see the girls. It was awesome to see their reaction when we walked in the door.

So what have we learned after five years of marriage? I brush my teeth in the shower and Dan doesn't brush his teeth at all (just kidding). We have learned that we make a great team as parents and as partners. I wouldn't want to share my life with anyone else. Dan is an amazing man. Do we have disagreements here and there? Sure, who doesn't! But I have never doubted for one day of our life together that Dan doesn't love me. He has told me that he loves me every day since we fell in love. Even if we are upset with each other he still tells me he loves me. Isn't that amazing?

Rolling Ridge Ranch

Many of you are asking where Rolling Ridge Ranch is. It is in Amish Country near Walnut Creek. Here is the website: http://www.visitrollingridge.com. I will warn you that it costs $14 for an adult and $9 for kids 3 and older. It is not cheap, but well worth the trip if you go once a year.

Hold You Mommy

Can you guess what this is? I'll give you three guesses. Give up? It is the nose and mouth of a large wild animal (I think it is a water buffalo) licking up food from the wagon that we were in. He had a VERY large tongue.

Today I took the girls to Rolling Ridge Ranch with my sister and mom. This is the coolest place ever! There are hundreds of wild animals on this farm and you ride on a wagon through the property. You are given buckets of food to feed the animals. Zebra, deer, alpaca, pigs, ostrich and many other animals come right up to the wagon to eat from your bucket. The wagon ride is an hour long and all the kids loved it. But Mya could be heard many many times saying, "Hold you Mommy!" She wasn't so sure of the animals so she stayed clung to my lap the entire time. I can't say that I minded that too much. We all had a great day together feeding animals, petting baby animals, and eating a good lunch.

Happy Independence Day!

Ho Ho and a Pooping Elephant

Wednesday night my dear friend from college (and my roommate for four years) called me and asked if the girls and I would meet her family at the Columbus Zoo on Thursday. We try to get together every year even though we are three hours apart, but we had a great friendship during college and still remain strong. We try to jump on any opportunity to get together. Anyway, we met them at the zoo this morning, grateful that the weather was cool and cloudy. It was perfect for a day at the zoo with little kids. The best part was that we got in free because her family has a season pass. Thanks Kim and Larry!

We got to the zoo before Kim's family arrived so the girls and I waited in front of the zoo entrance. Sara loved this because she was able to walk all over the place and explore. We were enjoying this time together when all of a sudden Mya was clinging to my leg. She was grabbing on so tight that I was stunned. All I heard her saying was, "Mommy, it's Ho Ho! Ho Ho is here!" She was terrified. Ho Ho means Santa Clause. Mya spotted a man with a long white beard and was convinced that Santa was at the zoo. It was pretty funny. I managed to snap a photo of Santa Clause.

When we got into the zoo with Kim's family we had an early lunch and then got in line to see the baby elephant. We waited and waited in line for about a half hour to see one baby elephant. The kids were so excited. We did get to see the baby elephant and he was adorable, but we also saw something else. As we were watching the baby play with a big ball, we looked over at the mommy elephant and watched her pee and poop. Have you ever seen an elephant do this? Not only is the poop rather large, but the elephant pees A LOT and for a really long time. That was worth the wait for us and for the kids!

The rest of the day was full of lions, kangeroos, fish, merry go round rides, and cotton candy. It was a wonderful day.