I have a niece....

Today 'Haley' was born. Mahala Elizabeth Long came into this world, 8 lbs. 9.5 oz., 20.5 in. long. She has a full head of dark hair and is sooooo cute. Lisa is doing very well also. Mark looked more tired and worn out than she did! lol During the time we visited at the hospital Haley didn't even cry, she grunted from time to time but that was all. Lisa said that she was nursing really well too. She looks very similar to Mark's baby picture, poor little girl. lol She is adorable and sweet. WE FINALLY HAVE A GIRL IN THE FAMILY!!!!!!! All of my boys were swooning over her. When we went to leave Asher asked if we could take her home with us!! He asked very politely!! I told Saige when Haley turns his age he will be graduated from highschool and starting college. Talk about an eye opener, even Mark was shocked at that reality. When Asher is 18 I'll be 44, when Haley is 18 Mark will be 53. Lisa tried to comfort Mark and told him that Haley will be quiet and calm like she was when she grew up and not take after Mark and the boys, so he should age well!! lol Christmas shopping will be fun this year, I get to buy girl clothes, dolls, care bears, my little ponies, barbies, make up, princess stuff, purses, .... well maybe just the clothes this year but for the next decade I finally get to buy something other than blue, action figures, and cars. Mark & Lisa said that the kids did well with her. Mason was interested for a few minutes then he wanted to leave but Rilee was so upset to leave his little sister that he cried. How sweet!!! Two big brothers and three big boy cousins.... need I say more. She will be the most protected little girl especially knowing that Mark is soooo old and might need some back up. He might throw out a hip, he'll need the young ones to help out. lol Check out the pics at Wigge pics or click above on Haley!!!

Truly amazing....

I recieved an e-mail from a friend and though I appreciate her compliment Bryan and I are not nearly as incredible as this man is. It's an incredible story of a father's love.


When I see stuff like this it makes me think of you and Bryan because you have done such a great job with Will and you've never let him miss out on anything.
Love you guys!
B
P.S. You might need some tissue for the video, I know I did.

Strongest Dad in the World [From Sports Illustrated, By Rick Reilly]
I try to be a good father. Give my kids mulligans. Work nights to pay for their text messaging. Take them to swimsuit shoots. But compared with Dick Hoyt, I suck. Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a>wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars--all in the same day. Dick's also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. on a bike. Makes taking your son bowling look a little lame, right? And what has Rick done for his father? Not much--except save his life. This love story began in Winchester, Mass., 43 years ago, when Rick was strangled by the umbilical cord during birth, leaving him brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs. "He'll be a vegetable the rest of his life;'' Dick says doctors told him and his wife, Judy, when Rick was nine months old. "Put him in an institution.'' But the Hoyts weren't buying it. They noticed the way Rick's eyes followed them around the room. When Rick was 11 they took him to the engineering department at Tufts University and asked if there was anything to help the boy communicate. "No way,'' Dick says he was told. "There's nothing going on in his brain.'' "Tell him a joke,'' Dick countered. They did. Rick laughed. Turns out a lot was going on in his brain. Rigged up with a computer that allowed him to control the cursor by touching a switch with the side of his head, Rick was finally able to communicate. First words? "Go Bruins!'' And after a high school classmate was paralyzed in an accident and the school organized a charity run for him, Rick pecked out, "Dad, I want to do that.'' Yeah, right. How was Dick, a self-described "porker'' who never ran more than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he tried. "Then it was me who was handicapped,'' Dick says. "I was sore for two weeks.'' That day changed Rick's life. "Dad,'' he typed, "when we were running, it felt like I wasn't disabled anymore!'' And that sentence changed Dick's life. He became obsessed with giving Rick that feeling as often as he could. He got into such hard-belly shape that he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon. "No way,'' Dick was told by a race official. The Hoyts weren't quite a single runner, and they weren't quite a wheelchair competitor. For a few years Dick and Rick just joined the massive field and ran anyway, then they found a way to get into the race officially: In 1983 they ran another marathon so fast they made the qualifying time for Boston the following year. Then somebody said, "Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon?'' How's a guy who never learned to swim and hadn't ridden a bike since he was six going to haul his 110-pound kid through a triathlon? Still, Dick tried. Now they've done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hour Ironmans in Hawaii. It must be a buzzkill to be a 25-year-old stud getting passed by an old guy towing a grown man in a dinghy, don't you think? Hey, Dick, why not see how you'd do on your own? "No way,'' he>says. Dick does it purely for "the awesome feeling'' he gets seeing Rick with a cantaloupe smile as they run, swim and ride together. This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best time'? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992--only 35 minutes off the world record, which, in case you don't keep track of these things, happens to be held by a guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the time. "No question about it,'' Rick types. "My dad is the Father of the Century.'' And Dick got something else out of all this too. Two years ago he had a mild heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his arteries was 95% clogged. "If you hadn't been in such great shape,'' one doctor told him, "you probably would've died 15 years ago.'' So, in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other's life. Rick, who has his own apartment (he gets home care) and works in Boston, and Dick, retired from the military and living in Holland, Mass., always find ways to be together. They give speeches around the country and compete in some backbreaking race every weekend, including this Father's Day. That night, Rick will buy his dad dinner, but the thing he really wants to give him is a gift he can never buy. "The thing I'd most like,'' Rick types, "is that my dad sit in the chair and I push him once.''


Here's the video..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryCTIigaloQ

Here's another video..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D52rJd9GX10

We're back . . .

We arrived back into Fort Wayne Monday morning around 1:30, and we still made our kids go to school!!! Hey ~ they were able to sleep in the car. Our trip was wonderful! We had a lot of fun visiting Scott & Tara. Eli ( our little nephew) is adorable. He reminds me of Saige when he was around four months, his disoposition is great and he loves to coo and smile. We enjoyed meeting Tara's family too! Great people!
During the week while everyone was at work and school we took the kids to Atlanta twice, once to go to the Atlanta Zoo and another day to the Georgia Aquarium. The zoo was ok, ours is better, but the aquarium rocked. It's the largest aquarium in the world. It's only been opened since November of 2005. We had so much fun there. The kids loved to pet the sharks and the sting rays. They had beluga whales and four whale sharks. They also had a 4-D theatre, it was soooo awesome, of course the cartoon was 3-D the cool part was the 4-D part, when water splashed in the movie, we ( the audience) actually got splashed, a bubble machine poured out bubbles, when we got caught up in jelly fish ( in the movie) something went across and touched the back of our heads, air shot out of our seats in eerie moments and at the end confetti came down! Bryan and I loved it just as much as the kids did.
Another highlight of our trip was going to the Wildlife Safari. It was so awesome!! We drove a windowless van for about an hour through an amazing wildlife area. We had animal food and we hand fed zebras, giraffes, bison, texas longhorn, cattle, emus, pigs, deer, and goats. It was the coolest thing I think I've ever done. To get that close to these magnificent animals was amazing. They are soooooo huge. You must check out my picture blog and my sara on bebo and see all the neat pics.
We had a great time and except for wanting to sleep in our bed we had no desire to come home. We wish we lived closer to Scott and Tara, we all get along soooo well. Bryan and I hate missing out on Eli growing up! He's at such an awesome stage in his little life. The first year there are so many changes and we're going to miss most them. We'll cherish what we can.

A little bit of Italy.....

Friday night Bryan and I went to our friends house, Gary & Lisa, for dinner. Lisa did a remarkable job. In the kitchen dining area the table was set for the kids. Bright with color, a red cloth covered the table, wine glasses for their water, yellow napkins for the bread baskets, wooden noise makers, and even name cards for their place settings. The centerpiece was amazing. A plant surrounded with picture holders holding the pictures of each one of the kids. It was fun, colorfu,l and the kids loved it. Off to the side was a white board donned with red, green, & white. It had the menu listed along with the guest names and even a picture of the Italian flag.

When we walked in the formal dining room, italian music greeted us along with a beautifully set candle lit table. The table was set with fine china, wine glasses, candles, glass coasters with our names in them, and a splash of color was added with the red napkin holders. It looked very romantic. Dinner was delicious, Lisa made salad, lasagna, and garlic bread. We brought strawberry cheesecake for dessert and Lisa & I both had a bottle of wine to share! It was such a fun evening. We ( Bryan, I, Lisa, & Gary) are planning to go to Italy the summer of 2008. We've been looking into the 'Anniversary Trip' for a few months. Lisa thought that it would be fun to honor that trip with a little bit of Italy in her home. It was a great night, she did an excellent job.

make ya laugh....'fishing in florida'.....

While sports fishing off the Florida coast, a tourist capsized his boat. He could swim, but his fear of alligators kept him clinging to the overturned craft.
Spotting and old beachcomber standing on the shore, the tourist shouted, "Are there any gators around here?!"
"Naw," the man hollered back, "they ain't been around for years!"
"Feeling safe, the tourist started swimming leisurely toward the shore.
About halfway there he asked the guy, "How'd you get rid of the gators?"
"We didn't do nothin'," the beachcomber said. "The sharks got 'em."