End of the Year Celebrations...

Teacher Awards... Congratulations Alex for Teacher of the Year and Kathy for your countless years of dedication and service to the children in your classes... SCIS will miss you!

Team 5-2 Members: Angie, Alex, Kathy & Lauri

Mama Bear's Send Off...
We took her out for night on the Ripple and let's just ol' girl can hang with the young pups, if that is what we can even call ourselves anymore!
ESPY Award for Human Target goes to Miss Barrett...
Poor gal was literally hit with a basketball or volleyball once a week at recess. She even dodged projectile puke one day!

NRN Gala...

The Guest of Honor... Claudia!

She traveled all the way from Nicaragua to speak on behalf of NRN. She is an amazing interpreter and was able to attend school, including college because of NRN sponsorships. (And yes, I had to squat 2 feet so I didn't look like a giant next to her in the picture!)
Monica & Tammy
Monica and I traveled to Nicaragua together last summer, it was so nice catching up with her. And then there is Tammy... I can't say enough about Mz Snyder. Over the past 9 years we have coached high school cheerleading together, served on committees for school and now attend church and NRN functions together.

The event was a huge success for NRN. We bid on several auction items and actually won them, which was fun. The food was great and the company was fabulous.

Happy Birthday Dougie!!!

As tradition would have it, we ordered a DQ ice cream cake to ring in the big 3-3... wow, that feels old!!! We love you baby!

I always let Addie pick out Doug's cards. I point her towards the birthday section and she begins her shopping. Last year was Go, Diego, Go with stickers. She almost selected a My Little Pony card this year, but after much debate, she settled on the Elmo singing birthday card... very manly I know, but Doug being an awesome Daddy, played along and ate it all up!

Step By Step Spring Dance Review...

This afternoon was our final performance for our daycare dance team for the 2009-2010 season. We performed the Itsy-Bitsy Spider and Short'in Bread along with individual passes. Mommy and Daddy were most impressed with my speaking voice for introductions and the fact that I know French ballet terms... they had no idea I was bilingual!

May I Have Your Attention Please...

Act I...

Act II...

Friends and Family Challenge Update...

One week has passed and we are rejoicing in the great things that have been happening since we started this challenge just last week! Even though I will not be able to travel to Nicaragua this year, I feel that God just keeps telling me to stay involved and to serve. On Wednesday I meet with a small group of people who are dedicated to both our church and to NRN. We will be part of a committee, stateside, that helps arrange and plan mission trips, promote sponsorships of students and teachers, establish contacts for sponsors, and create opportunities for supporters of NRN to meet regularly to break bread, create care packages and generate support for mission teams.

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Needles to say, I left the meeting exhilarated and excited about this opportunity that God and the church have provided for me in my life. It's hard to believe that just 1 year ago, I looked at Doug and said, "Baby, I'm pretty sure, I'm supposed to go to Nicaragua this summer." I had no idea the impact this decision would have on my life, but I can't help but think this is the start of a beautiful and fulfilling journey.

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Updated Totals:

SCIS Fellowship of Christian Students:

$503.50

Reusser Family Sells on Craig's List:

$650

Family & Friends:

$728

Thank you to...

Mom & Dad Newton
The Bottarelli Family

Mom & Dad Reusser

Alli Maines

The King Family

Friends & Family Challenge...

Say hello to some of the greatest kids EVER! These are a handful of faithful, compassionate students at Sand Creek Intermediate. They are members of our Fellowship of Christian Students that meets every other Tuesday morning of the school year. This year's theme was "The Fruit of the Spirit" and boy did they take their lessons to heart.

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Back in February I had the opportunity to share my mission trip to Nicaragua with our FCS group. We decided as a team we would help raise money for the family that Doug and I sponsor through the Nicaragua Resource Network (NRN). The students held a fundraising walk before school and in 20 minutes, these 5th and 6th graders raised $503.50.

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As a family, Doug and I have pledged to match the amount they have raised, $503.50. We have decided that living a life of excess isn't in our family's best interest. We will be cleaning out closets, our attic and garage and posting items on Craig's List, EBay and may even hold a garage sale to raise our portion of the donation contribution.

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Our challenge to you, our friends and family, is to help us raise an additional $503.50 in the next 2 weeks. We are attending the annual NRN Fundraising Gala on Thursday May 20th. We would love nothing more than to present a total donation of $1,500 to NRN supporting our sponsor family in providing them the opportunity to complete their home, receive medical and dental care and continue their children's education.

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Please pray about this and decide as a family if you want to become part of a group of individuals committed to making the world a better place one family at a time. This is a wonderful opportunity to get your children involved in helping other children globally. If you live locally, cash is accepted. Checks can be made payable to NRN and sent to our home address. If you do not have our home address, you can email us at reusserfamily@sbcglobal.net

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Thank you in advance for taking the time to read this post, for believing in God's plan, and for being obedient when called to serve.

Answered Prayers...

We are so excited to announce that we are pregnant! I am turning the corner on 14 weeks and feeling like I'm on the top of the world. We are beyond thrilled and Addie keeps referring to herself as "the big sister." We have had countless ultrasounds and bi-weekly doctor appointments. Each one has confirmed that we have a healthy, steadily growing peanut! It has been a long time coming and we are so happy to share this moment with all of you who have kept us in your prayers and been such a support system this past year and half. We love you all and praise God for having a master plan that only he can orchestrate.


Mama Side Note: When asked, Addie thinks the baby just has to be a little sister. Her name... Celery. (That is NOT a typo!)

The Adventures of Skippyjon Jones...

Skippyjon Jones was nuts about...

the Children's Museum! Well Hello Pretty Lady
Lunch Anyone!?!

Next stop the Dinosphere

I found the biggest litter box in the world... everyone was digging in it! I was asked to join the team of experts!

A bandit on a train!

A cultured kitten... this artist makes some great cat toys!

Skippyjon Jones was Addie's distinguished guest for our Saturday morning adventure. Since I got stuck holding the darn cat the majority of the morning, I decided to have a little fun with Skippy! In case you are unfamiliar with the Skippyjon Jones series by Judy Schachner, Skippy is a confused Siamese kitty boy who thinks he is a Chihuahua. Check it out on audio, your kids will get the giggles listening to each story!

A Fun Saturday Morning...

Saturday morning we met up with some of my favorite people at the Children's Museum and boy did we have a blast! It was an action packed morning!

Nana's Meadow Lark...

My Nana is principal of Meadows Elementary School... like my new "night gown?"

Family Photo Shoot... Minus 1 Mother and 1 Father

I can sum my kid up in one word... HAM! She so knows how to play a camera right now. Nothing is natural, but instead super cheesy and posed. Amber volunteered to take some pics on the beach since she has a super cool camera and is taking classes (Side Note: This would be a very thoughtful and precious gift to give a wife and mother for her birthday... that's August 3rd for anyone who's paying attention!) I tried to sneak in a few shots myself, but these are the best I came up with. You will notice that the family photo shoot went quickly from 3 to 1. The night prior Doug took me to the ER for food poisoning. We had been up until about 3am and I was on my death bed... blah! Now on the mend, we are hoping to get some family photos this summer, it will just have to be minus the white sandy beaches!

A Day with the Bakers...

We spent one day with our good friends, the Bakers. Jon played golf with the boys and 3 mommy's and 5 kids packed up and headed out to spend the day with Betsy, Nathan and Brynn. The kids had a blast entertaining each other and we were actually able to have some much needed woman to woman conversations. The guys met up with us after golf, because being the big kids that they are, didn't want to miss out on all of the fun!

The waterfall was a BIG hit with my two fishies!

Easy Company, Easy Evenings...

Most evenings we opted to stay in, cook dinner together and then head back out to the beach for a family group walk. We kicked off each evening walk with a Popsicle to wet the whistle! Our nights were filled with movies, games, good conversations and lots of laughs.

Beach Babies...

It's a given that we will be finding sand for the next 6 months... on towels, in the clothes dryer, in bags! We love the beach, I'm just not so fond of the aftermath that usually comes with spending a day in the sand. The beaches in Gulf Shores are B-eautiful powdery, white beaches. We all had a blast playing each day in the waves, the tide pools and in the sand.

Thanks Uncle Scott for being a good sport... sucka!

Easter Day...

Easter morning each of the kids received a basket full of goodies and sweet treats. That afternoon, after naps, we had an Easter egg hunt. As you can see in the below video... Addie was content with celebrating her first find, and just like her mother, couldn't wait to open the chocolate right away. She eventually caught on to the tricks of the trade and in true to character Addie Leigh form, hammed it up!