Starstruck!!!

Last night we went to see our F-A-V-O-R-I-T-E group of all time. Selah ...ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, they are ahhh- mazing. They are our all time favorite-take your breath away-incredible,-send chills up your spine Christian singers. They are truly amazing. The group consists of 3 singers, Todd Smith, Amy Perry, and Allan Hall. When Brian and I were first introduced to them, in 2003, it was right after we had lost our 2nd baby, Keelan Lark, and I was desperate to find some peace in the wake of what I thought was the worst thing to ever happen to me in my life. I looked up my favorite hymn "It Is Well With My Soul" online, and found a version sung by this group I had never heard of, and when I first listened to it, I sobbed and clung to the haunting vocals of these 3, and let the grace and peace of the lyrics just wash over me. Brian and I were just taken completely with the vocals on the song, and immediately ordered every CD of theirs we could get ahold of. When they arrived we listened to each one and just fell in love with the music of this amazing and talented group of musicians. At the time, Todd's sister, Nicole was a part of the group, but has since gotten married and left Selah (how dare she! *wink*) thus paving the way for Amy to join.

We have seen Selah in concert twice now, and last night was one of those times... OH. MY. GOODNESS. We went with our great friends Tracy and Don Weiss and their daughter, Lauren, to the concert. We had a BLAST. Yes, that was us, sitting in the front row, and yes, that was me waving frantically to Todd every time he came over to our side of the stage. *insert red face icon here* What a huge huge blessing to be a part of this night. We were thrilled to listen and to be surrounded by and to let this God filled music wash over us... and you can bet we sang along! Erm, well... whatever you want to call it. ;) We had fun anyway!

OK, to be fair, that photo up top is -- ahem-- edited, and it wasn't just the two of us (although in our hearts it was, right Todd????)

Here are the rest of the photos ;) Enjoy!

From left to right : Allan Hall, Lauren (my friend Tracy's awesome daughter, whom I not so graciously pushed out of the way so I could stand next to Todd and Amy.. ahem --love you, Laur!), my fabulous friend Tracy, Amy Perry, me, and my new boyfriend Todd, errr, I mean, Todd Smith of Selah (whom is happily married to Angie, of course) ;)

Here I am, unashamedly gushing over them. Think they've alerted security quite yet?

An Amazing Skit.. Please take a moment to watch this..

http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=ee73e63418003b47d7d5

Jonathan and Katie dancing!!

Time for a fun Question Meme Again!! :)

Love these, girls!

1. What is your occupation? At the moment, I am a stay at home mommy to Katie Grace and Jonathan David. I used to be a teacher, however.

2. What color are your socks right now? No socks, but red slippers to match my red jammies.

3. What are you listening to right now? the hum of the computer.. both kids sleeping and Brian is at school tonight :)

4. What was the last thing you ate? I made an egg strada thing for dinner.


5. Can you drive a stick shift? Yes, I can! Learned in the driveway with my Dad. :)


6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? I think I'd be a glittery color like silver or gold. I like shiny things! :)


7. Last person you spoke to on the phone? my sister Becky


8. How old are you today? I am *gasp* 37


9. Favorite drink? Coffee, followed closely by iced tea and water :)

10. What is your favorite sport to watch? ice skating

11. Have you ever dyed your hair? Ahem. No! I naturally have the perfect dark blonde hair with these gorgeous highlights without any help at all! *cough*


12. Favorite reality TV show? American Idol


13. What was the last movie you watched? High School Musical 2 (so cute!)


14. Favorite day of the year? Christmas Eve

15. What do you do to vent anger? Definitely need to talk it out to a close friend, sometimes (ok, mostly) have a little cry while doing so. Always feels tons better after that and not angry anymore.

16. What was your favorite toy as a child? My purple Donny and Marie guitar!!!!!!

17. What is your favorite, fall or spring? Fall!! Christmas is coming soon that means!

18. Hugs or kisses? Absolutely hugs.


19. Cherries or blueberries? Cherries for me

20. Do you want your friends to email you back? Yes! (but i'm not always the best at emailing back... I kinda sucketh, so... ) eep.


21. Favorite dessert? Homemade brownies, YUMMY

22. Living arrangement? With my husband, my 2 kids, one cat, and several fish.

23. When was the last time you cried? Erm, tonight.


24. What is on the floor of your closet? oh my. shoes, pillows, dustbunnies, gift bags, more dustbunnies (they need friends!)

25. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are going to tag? Carrie Beth ;) But I'm also tagging Karianne :)

26. What did you do last night? Went to my parents for dinner, watched American Idol.

27. Favorite smells? freshly bathed baby! dinner cooking! Candles burning..freshly laundered sheets... I can go on and on.. I'm very connected to my olfactory system, LOL!

28. What inspires you? men and women who walk closely with Jesus and keep their eyes on Him no matter the cost.

29. What are you afraid of? Losing my loved ones...

30. Plain, cheese, or spicy burgers? Plain, but with other stuff on there (mushrooms, avocado, YUM)

31. Favorite breed of dog? Collie.

32. How many years at your current job? 7 years and 4 mos.

33. Favorite day of the week? At the moment I think I love Mondays.. time to regroup again and it's quiet!! :)

34. How many states have you lived in? Just one, New York :)


35. Celebrity crush? I think deep down it's Simon from American Idol. I love that bossyness a little. (i'm embarrassed for admitting that here)

36. Ever driven a motorcycle or heavy machinery? Ahh, no.

37. Who is your favorite NFL team? The Bills!


38. Do you have a house phone that is not cordless? Yes, I have one in the kitchen -- just in case.

39. 10 inches of snow or 100 degree weather? 10 inches of snow.. hands down! I'm a Buffalo gal! 10 inches? Pshhaw! That's nothin!

Jonathan and Katie stories....

These 2 are funny...well, at least I think they're funny! And I'm enjoying so much being the one God chose to be their Mom... I'm praising Him that He thought me worthy enough to be theirs!! Thank you, Jesus!! You are amazing!

This will be a bit of a brag post if you can stand it. I'm bursting with love for my babies right now, so this will be all about them. *smile*

Jonathan is 7 and is usually happy and joyful... I say usually because he caught the "complainy-Janey" bug from his little sister, but he's got such a great sense of humor, that we can usually make him laugh and his complaints go away.... USUALLY ;)

His latest adventures include settting up "battlefields" in the living room made up of Lego guys, army guys, little Star Wars action figures, and whatever else he can use that will become a "good guy" or "bad guy"... he has and always has had a very active imagination, and sometimes needs a bit of help keeping focused on the tasks at hand... ahem. But for the most part does really well... needs a bit of prompting when it's time to clean up his toys/books/crafts/or whatever needs tidying, but will eventually do it. He also loves to draw out the battle on paper before it's taken place "in real life"... he's very meticulous about his drawing. Academically, he's doing great, too.. just made high honor roll again, and we're very happy with that, although he did tell me this morning that he'd much rather school was only "5 minutes long, Mom.. That makes so much more sense to me!" haha... Still a boy, and still, very much Jonathan. We love him so much.

Now, Katie Grace. Her vocabulary is astounding to us.. not that I really have anyone to compare her with... I'm just so thrilled that I can talk to her and actually communicate!!! Umm.. Aunt Becky, can, too, and so can Nanny, but Daddy? Not so much. She asked him for her music the other night at bedtime...I could hear them talking over the monitor...it went something like this...

Katie: "Daddy, sucis?"

Brian: "Ehh, circus?"

Katie: "ehh?"

Me, from downstairs, yelling: "Music! She's asking for her music!"

Brian: "ohhh you want your music, Baby?"

Katie: "Yes! Sucis, Daddy!! YES!"

So, lol.. not really a fair example to Daddy, because most words she does say pretty clearly, but that was too funny not to put in here...

Another example of my bright and beautiful one:

As we both peer into the pantry (hey, I was having a hungry day! And Katie loves looking into the pantry, it's one of her favorite places!)

"Mommy, I eat kocklat?"

"Mommy doesn't have any chocolate, sweetie" (with a big sigh, because secretly, that's what i was hoping for)

"Yes, Mommy, ight der! a-hind the ceree-o"

She could see a chocolate chip on the granola bar box, and it was peeking right behind the Cheerios! so guess what she got as a snack? Mmhmm... I couldn't help it, after finding that little bit of kocklat in the pantry, we both sat down and shared a chocolate chip granola bar!! :)

Also, she has informed me that her favorite color at the moment is "purpo"... and her favorite, favorite person in the whole wide world is still "Guy" aka Jonathan David Prell, her big bruvvo. She loves him more then anyone or anything else in her whole life (including me I think) and is overjoyed when she sees the school bus come and drop him off in the afternoons. Her first questions in the morning... "Is Guy donsteers? Is Guy a'skoo?"

The biggest news for Katie Grace is that I have registered her for 3 year old preschool in the fall... That doesn't mean she's going, by the way. I just had to reserve a spot, so I had to put down a deposit. I am not sure she will benefit anymore from going to the preschool then she will benefit from spending those 2 mornings with her Nanny and her Papa which she does right now, and I'm telling you what, she learns a whole bunch of stuff from the time she spends with them, not to mention that time is priceless she gets with my parents. But, because Brian and I were undecided, and we needed to save a spot, we put down the $50 and have registered her for Tuesday and Thursday mornings for September... Like I said, I'm not sure I'm ready for my last baby to be in school just yet. We shall see. :)

I think that's about it for updates from us.. I don't really have many photos to share, I might have one or two of them ... they love each other and are precious an amazing to us.. we are blessed more then we could ever ask or imagine with these two!!! God is amazing!

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year from the Prells :)

Some of these are from my mom's 70th birthday party brunch on the 23rd, and some are from Christmas day...

Brian, Great Grandma, Brian's mom, Katie, Me, and Jonathan

Betsy (my beautiful niece, at my mom's b-day party)

Brian and Jeff (my brother in law)

Betsy and Jonathan

Katie (nice face LOL)

Christmas morning!

More Christmas Day-- my mom and dad

My Dad, Katie and Nick's mom

The 4 of us:

My sister Susan, my Aunt Carolee, and my cousin Kristin

Aunt Becky and her boy

Happy 70th Birthday Mom!!!!!!

Mom and her 3 girls!!!!

A Jonathan Funny

A conversation Jonathan and I just had....

Me, upon coming home after the cleaning girl had just been here: "Sweetie, could you please try to keep your area neat and remember to put your things away?"

J: "Sure Momma, I'm just going to do some craps"


Uhhm... he meant crafts, but we both got a giggle out of it, LOL!

Popcorn/Movie Contest

I just entered to win popcorn and movies for a year over at www.5minutesformom.com .. great contests over there, I can't wait to get back into the blogging thing! I love it! The popcorn they're giving away is www.orville.com ... and it's a line of natural popcorn with nothing artificial going on in it. Sounds good!

Christmas Meme! (stolen from my girl Karianne)

OK it's time I get myself back to myself and do my memes again.. I love those things!! And I love Christmas! So what better, my dears, then a Christmas meme????? YAY!!!!!!!!!


1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Mostly wrapping paper, but a few gift bags.



2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial. I have never had the experience of having a live tree, because my dad was allergic... now I'm used to my pre-lit tree... so... it's never been a big deal to me. (But after reading Kariannes thing about them catching on fire, now I'm afraid of them too and I won't ever have one either!)



3. When do you put up the tree? We usually put it up Thanksgiving weekend or thereabouts.


4. When do you take the tree down? Usually by the end of the holidays... new years day or somewhere around there. Sometimes we wait a week more. I hate putting it away. :(

5. Do you like eggnog? I don't mind to taste it, but usually only one glass of it per season. That is enough for me till next year. :)

6. Favorite gift received as a child? My purple Donny and Marie guitar!!!!! It was a-ma-zing and I could play that thang!!!


7. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes I do.. my nativity scene is the ceramic one that my mom made the year I was born... big figures and a huge life-like stable that is just so amazing.. I will have to post a photo. I remember as a child my mom letting me unwrap each piece and place them in the stable, and I loved it so much. When I got married 11 years ago, my mom let me know that I could have her Nativity and I cried. I have always loved it so much, it is a huge part of my memories as a child and now I let Jonathan (not Katie yet!) put it up with me.


8. Hardest person to buy for? At this point, it's my son, Jonathan, believe it or not.. he's kind of in between babyish and bigger boy things, so we're a little stuck.

9. Easiest person to buy for? Katie, Brian, or yes, sadly, myself. I know what I want!! ;)

10. Mail or E-Mail Christmas Cards? Mail

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? A hideous.. i mean hideous.. purse.. can't say whom it was from, just in case she ever reads here (she doesn't at the moment, so no worries ;) )


12. Favorite Christmas Movie? White Christmas.. Gotta love Bing!!!


13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? I start in October usually.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Absolutely!! And wedding gifts (think they're all gone, now..), and shower gifts, baby gifts.... you get the idea.


15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Oh my. Sponge candy? Clam dip with chips?

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? white lights


17. Favorite Christmas song? Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas


18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Home girl here.

19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeers? of course! Can't you? ;)

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? ehhh... right now it's a globey type thing.. Brian and I can't decide ... I want an angel, he wants a star, so at the moment we have neither. It's pretty, but.. ehh... no comment.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning for us.


22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? me trying to stay even keeled, not get ahead of myself, yet still get the 837465067 things done on my list.


23. Favorite ornament theme or Color? No themed trees for this girl.. it's all a collection of ornaments I've gotten over the years as gifts (from teaching, directing the Christmas play at church, from friends), some my mom gave me when I got married, and ones the kids have made. A little bit of everything! :)


24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Roast Beef and yorkshire pudding.. a traditional Welsh meal

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? A bluetooth!!! :) Well, I want a laptop, but I know that's not happening. lol

A little bit of Christmas at our house...

Some silly shots.. and the photo shoot that didn't work out quite as (ahem) well as we'd hoped.. but sure made for some fun photos!

Merry Christmas to all!

Some Random Photos ~

Here is my new 'do, and I think I'm looking especially like my big sister Susan in this picture....

Two little cute Prells hanging out on the couch having a snack (note the shoes Katie insists on wearing even with her pajamas, hehe)

A Birthday Boy!

Meet Piglet of The Hundred Acre Woods, and King Peter of Narnia...

Am I cahh--uuute?

A Rock-Climbing Adventure!

With the cooler weather comes the cutest hats!!!!

And here is another birthday boy....

Ugh! Sadness! Frustration!

Last night I spent hours and hours (ok, maybe in all truth an hour or 2) posting birthday and halloween pictures on my blog, complete with captions. I was so happy and proud of myself!

When all was said and done I realized I had posted them on the wrong blog. Arghhhhhhhhh!!! So I deleted them all. :( I didn't know if there was a way to transfer them all, so I will start work on posting today .. I'm sorry it's been so long to get b-day pics up here.. I know, it's inexcusable. :(

I'm on the case, I promise!!

~ Cath

Oh I Need To Mention This...

If you click on this picture of me and my friend Jen, you will notice there is something green in my teeth... Just to clarify.. (this was brought to my attention in my Orlando post, thank you my friend, lol).. that is GUM, nothing else... nothing icky.. lol! Bleck.. I had to clarify that.. Note to self: Please remove the gum before snapping photos! Eeeketh! :-0

I Found It!!!

OK, some of you know that I've been on the quest for The Perfect Mascara for quite some time. I am pleased to say that I *think* that I have found it. I think. I'm not quite positive, but I have given it a few days, and I am quite happy with it, so I'm going to go ahead and take the plunge and say it outloud, err, type it outloud, oh, you get my meaning!

OK, this has been going on along time. In fact some of you were with me on a certain midnight run to WalGreens to find a mascara that one said sister promised us that we would looooove, but NO. That one was sadly, not meant for these lashes.

The one that I have discovered to be a very good product for me is... drumroll please??????

Maybelline NY Intense Volume XXL .. it's kinda fun, it comes with two wands, one on each side, a white wand and a black wand, Step 1 and Step 2. Sounds like a whole lot of work for putting on mascara eh? Well, trust me, when you've been on the lookout for something to fatten up your lashes as long as I have, you'll go the extra mile. ;) One is for volume and one is for length. I bought mine in "Very Black" and I will post a picture of my eyes as soon as I get them done up today for the day. You tell me if my eyes don't look fabulous!! ;) lol

Hugs and there is my find of the day.. Let me know what mascara you use!
~Cath

Fun at the Pumpkin Farm!

We took the kids to the pumpkin farm yesterday! They had fun playing on the playground and wandering around playing on the hay bales.. it was a fun time for all of us to be outside enjoying a beautiful autumn day, actually. Here are a few pictures from our day together:

~Music~

I love music.. it speaks to me in so many ways.. To those of you that know me this comes as no big surprise. If you have your sound on when you visit this blog, you always hear my playlist. I recently changed up the order of the songs on my list, so right now you will hear Matt Redmond singing Blessed Be Your Name first singing.. followed by two songs that I have on my list specifically for my friend Dennise.. she loves these songs, but I have to be honest and say that since I have heard them (I had heard the Mercy Me song but hadn't really known the other).. I have fallen in love with them as well. I had to give that little disclaimer, though. Those songs are specifically hers, I just had to move them up the list so other people are hearing them as well.. they are too beautiful to not be heard!

Oh, and FYI.. this is the weekend we're traveling to meet each other at a huge outlet mall .. and to stay overnight.. I can't wait. (this weekend is sans kids as well!) I'm so excited! :)

Next post I'll have pictures of our get together!

Brian and Jonathan went camping last weekend too and Brian got some beautiful pictures of the beach. I'll get those up as well soon.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful beginning of October.. God bless!

Hugs all around,
Cath

PS: To those of you who read here but never leave me a comment (you know you who are ;)... leave me a little lovin'!! hehee)

Home From Orlando!!!!!!!!!

What a blast we had... Matt Redmond led the worship.. it was incredible.. I can't put into words what the worship experience was like. It was awe-inspiring, moving, amazing! Also Sara Groves was there, she was great too, and the group Salvador (ehh), and the kids group Go Fish.. who are amazing. I bought 2 CD's for Jonathan and he's been rocking out (well, truthfully, so have we) to them ever since.



How do I describe this event? Well, for one thing, any last doubt that I'm doing what God wants for me is completely gone. I am serving in a capacity with amazing women.. godly, loving, encouraging ladies with whom I'm building friendships that will last a lifetime I am sure. The convention itself was full of speaker after speaker that just spoke volumes to us, as moms, as women, that met us individually right where we are. They spoke of ways we can minister to other moms, yes.. that was the whole point of why we went, learning how to improve our own MOPS groups.. but also they spoke of ways for us personally to be refreshed within our own spirits, as moms, wives, friends.. as women.



There were testimonies of other MOPS women who have been involved in groups, and have had different struggles.. one struggled with a drug/alcohol addiction, one was gripped by severe depression, one dealt with the pressures of trying to parent her children alone... all of them had one thing in common.. they were hurting and felt alone, and their MOPS groups were the hands and feet of JESUS to them. Many of the speakers focused on contentment... of unpacking your suitcase right where you are in life.. whether you're struggling with infertility (one of the girls in my group that went is), or facing a scary job change and the possibility of relocating (another girl in our group), or just facing a tough time with whatever situation you're in everyday.. at work, at home, with your child, your husband, any of it... just unpacking your bag right here, stop carrying it around, just unpack, be content and live now with God's provisions and love surrounding you. Contentment was a word we heard a lot of this weekend.



It definitely wasn't all seminars and sessions... we had a blast doing other things too.. like shopping, eating at some fun places, laying by the pool in the hot Florida sun (hello sunburn!), and laughing and talking about... well, I won't say here, but you can imagine 5 girls together.... our conversations were crazy at times, hahaha! We also went to Downtown Disney one night and walked around.. and guess what??? Shopped some more.. (shocker I know!)



Here are a few pictures of us from our fun weekend... (it was 4 whole days away from our families... we all missed them so much! It was great to get home and get loved on by them!)

L-R Jen, Brandy, Tami, Janice, and Me :)

Back Row: Me, Tami,

Front: Jen, Brandy, Janice

Me and Jen! Love her!

These alligators were actually in our hotel.. yeahh, we thought so too.. crazy Florida people! ;)

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