Memorial Day Fun !!!!

Lauren, Katie, Hannah, Zach, and Jonathan




Katie Grace enjoying time on the trampoline :)





Zach and Katie on the horsey ("Gunka Don")



Me and Tracy -- ahhh not sure why we look wasted because we WEREn't! (Grandma Donna and Papa Jack, along with Nanny and Papa were there, so we really weren't!!!)


No party is ever complete of course without Aunt Becky!!!!!!!


And the fun daddies... and yes, Gunka Don was playing with Katie's bitty baby. I didn't ask questions.. just grabbed my camera!! ;)






God bless the USA!!!!!!!

Unspeakable...

Several posts ago I asked you to pray for Todd and Angie Smith... her updates were on Angie's blog at http://audreycaroline.blogspot.com/

Todd is the lead singer for Selah. For those following their story, you know that Baby Audrey was born and lived for 2 hours, 7 weeks ago before she went to be with our Father in Heaven. To say it's been a hard road for Todd and Angie, their 3 girls, and all of those that love them is an incredible understatement.

Last night i was reading on her blog and found out that Todd's sister Nicol, who was an original singer on Selah (and the reason we fell in love with them in the first place), lost her baby boy Luke to SIDS. We are just overwhelmed and so saddened to hear this news, right on the heels of the Steven Curtis Chapman family tragedy... we can only cry out to God and remind ourselves that our ways are not His ways, and that He is the author and finisher of life, and that we are comforted in knowing His hand is on each one of us, especially our children whom we hold so dear.

I am reminded of the wise words of my dear pastor Paul Hazlett whom has since gone on to be with the Lord, after we had Jonathan dedicated to Jesus as a baby. As he passed him back to our arms, he said gently to us,

"Hold him lightly now, for he belongs to Jesus."

Our prayers are with the Sponbergs tonight as they make arrangement for their littlest one, and they give him back to God.

Find updates on Angie's blog: http://audreycaroline.blogspot.com/

Happy Anniversary to us! :)

12 years and counting! Loving my man more today then ever. He has stuck by me through what could have been the hardest year yet... whew... He is truly one of the good ones..I am so blessed.

Looking forward to renewing our vows one year soon... I definitely don't deserve this man God gave to me. He is a gift.

Love you, Baby.

xoxoxo

Oh Happy Day!!

2 things...


1) Brian is painting the kitchen!! I can't wait to show photos! We're doing a coffee theme and the walls will look like coffee with cream in it. (yay!)

2) Grey's Anatomy comes back tonight!! Whoohoo!!


that's all.

A Praise! (and a little toddler rant)

Firstly... I am so excited... I got a job!!!! I am just... wow.. so happy about this, and about the way God provided this, I have to share. God is amazing!

OK.. this is how it happened...

Finances around here.. welllllllll, they've been tight. Squeaky tight. We've been on a strict budget for what seems like forever, but lately with only Brian working and having Jonathan in Christian school and with life expenses (barest of them)... it was becoming increasingly clearer for us that I needed to do something. However, there were a few things I was committed to. I am committed to being a mom, first. We are committed to keeping Jonathan in Christian school. And I am committed to staying with MOPS (I am on the committee. Soooo with all that in mind.. I set out on a quest to find the job that would fulfill those (very strict) requirements. It would, of course, also have to be worth it at all.. meaning, it would need to pay me well, so that I could help make a difference at all in our lives.

My friend Tracy and I are in the same boat, financially, except they are looking to put their house on the market so that they can move to a bigger house to accomodate their family.. and she has been a SAHM since the birth of her last child, Zach, who is the same age as Katie.

Tracy and I are now working girls for a friend of ours from church, Frank, who owns a very well established landscaping and drainage business... He is paying us great, letting us work from home or his office, and basically we are making telephone calls, helping Frank drum up business for the plumbing/drainage end of his business. The fun part is that we are doing this toGETHER.. (we are both opting to do it from his office.. we are going to go a couple of hours in the evening, hello?? get out of the house AND make money??) and on Saturday mornings. We have potential of making 30/hour (very easily I might add)... it's going to be fabulous.. and when our babies go to school, I see us both still working for him in a greater capacity!! Thank you, Lord! He is good all the time!!!

My little toddler rant (and I'll keep this short)... Katie said "I hate you!" to me this morning.... what???????????????????????????? No one says that to each other in this house. She says "Shut up!!!" when she's mad too. We don't talk to each other like that here... so unless Jonathan is saying these things to her when they're alone... I have no idea where she's getting this stuff from. But omgosh!!!
:( Very sad! What in the world??????? This mother/daughter thing is scaring me a bit.

Google Images Meme

Type your answers in Google Images and pick an image off the first page:

The age you will be on your next birthday:

A place to which you’d like to travel:

(Australia)

One of your favorite places:

(it's where my heart is, always)

One of your favorite objects:

One of your favorite foods:

(this has to count. it's one of the food groups!)

Your favorite animal:

Your favorite color:

The first name of a past love:

(think American Idol a couple of years ago. Yes, I did love him. Despite the teeth)

The first name of your current love:

Your best friend’s nickname/screen name:

and, of course, my seester:

Your First Name:

(wish I looked like her)

Your Middle Name:

Your Last Name:

And TAG to whomever wants to do it! It took me forever though.. there has to be a better way, lol.. have fun!!!

Classic Katie

Apparently Katie has decided she is no longer my little girl. Amid her curly ponytail and her pink t-strap Keds and her all of her "pretties" [that would be all of her shiny, sparkly jewels]... she has come to a conclusion that she voices with clear determination on a daily (well, an hourly) basis to us all.

"I'm a BOY!"

That says it all.

Unconscious Mutterings

Free association--a psychoanalytic procedure in which a person is encouraged to give free rein to his or her thoughts and feelings, verbalizing whatever comes into the mind without monitoring its content--is what this post is all about...

1. You've got a friend :: for life!

2. Immigration :: Statue of Liberty

3. Waitress :: Tips

4. Snickers :: Candy Bar

5. Recognize :: Familiar

6. Concept :: New

7. Birthday :: Party!!

8. Told you so :: Rude

9. Unlikely :: Rare

10. Extension :: Hair

Tag: I tag whomever wants to do this... I love memes and whoever else likes them too, can do this with me! :) Cath

My little girl.

She is an angel. I mean it! At least she looks like an angel. She has huge, black fringed gray eyes. She has a cute, pert little nose, and rosebud lips. She has dark ringlets, Shirley Temple style. She has the sweetest voice I've ever heard a baby have. It must be those curls, because I swear that poem has some truth to it...

There Was a Little Girl

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

There was a little girl

Who had a little curl

Right in the middle of her forehead.

When she was good

She was very good indeed,

But when she was bad she was horrid.

5 years!

5 years ago this weekend I said hello and goodbye to Keelan Lark Prell, our miracle baby...the shortened story goes like this:

I was at my birthday party, having just turned 33, and all my girlfriends were over helping me celebrate with drinks and appetizers. I was 10 weeks pregnant with my 2nd, although I didn't know that I was still pregnant. You see, a few weeks earlier, I had found out I was pregnant, by some miracle, without any drugs or doctors help. Sadly, we quickly found out the baby wasn't implanted inside the womb, so the doctor had to give me a shot of Methotrexate, which would in essence attack any rapidly growing cells, i.e. my baby. :( and basically terminate the pregnancy. Knowing there was no other option, because medical science has no way of transporting this little tiny baby from the fallopian tube to the uterus at this point in medical history, we tearfully agreed to the shot. Brian held me as the nurse gave me the shot that would end the life that had against all odds begun and made us wonder and shake our heads at the whys and the hows of the ways of life.

Fast forward to my birthday party, 5 weeks later. We are all sipping wine, having a wonderful time, I'm actually relaxing and enjoying my friends and my birthday despite the heartbreak of "losing" my little one a few weeks earlier. All is well. I'm convincing myself it's ok to enjoy life a little bit, friends make things a bit better.

The next thing I know, I don't feel well. I mean, I really don't feel well. I look at my sister, who quickly takes my glass of wine and says.. Okkayy, maybe that's not a good idea. Then she says.."Cath, maybe just go upstairs and change into something a bit more comfy.. a pair of sweats or leggings or something..it's just us girls"... So I stand up to do that...and promptly pass out... The next thing I remember is sitting on the bottom of my stairs while all the girls are huddled around me .. someone is cleaning up.. someone has called my husband.. someone has called the ambulance... I can't stand up without passing out.. internal bleeding...

Long story short... The shot they gave me 5 weeks earlier didn't work. They checked my HCG levels every other day for 2 weeks after the shots and I even bled a normal-(ish) cycle after the shot.. but, all it did was bleed out my lining and all my levels went down. My little Keelan was still in there, growing at a normal rate .... talk about a strong baby!!! That was one strong boy for you!!! Little honey! They rushed me to the hospital and by then I was passing out on the table, couldn't keep conscious for anything by then, the bleeding had gotten so bad. Emergency surgery. My OB/GYNs were stunned to say the least, but for whatever reason, Keelan stayed with us longer then we all planned. He just wasn't ready to go to Heaven just yet, and he almost took me with him.

Why talk about him here? Because each year on my birthday I remember him. I will of course, never forget my baby. Each year I'm the only one who remembers, even my girlfriends who were here with me that night 5 years ago have forgotten. But I will never, ever forget. Even though his name isn't written anywhere here on earth, an official "Keelan was here, he existed, he was, and is, in Heaven"... His name is indelibly printed on my heart. And I, his Momma, will never, ever, EVER forget my baby. I will hold him someday in Heaven. And my heart still aches when I think about in my minds eye about a little 4 year old boy who should be running around with Jonathan and Katie now. But I am at peace. And I know he is with Jesus. And I am ok with that for now. Until we meet, my little one...Mommy loves you. Hugs and Kisses, xoxoxox

Keelan Lark means ~ Little slender bird that sang a beautiful song and then flew away

Speaking of Selah....

Todd Smith of Selah and his wife Angie are parents of 3 beautiful little girls and expecting their 4th little girl, Audrey Caroline. Angie is having a difficult pregnancy to say the least. Little Audrey has a number of problems that make it medically impossible for her to survive, barring a miracle of God. You can read about their amazing faith journey http://www.audreycaroline.blogspot.com and join the thousands of people who are praying for Audrey and for Angie and Todd as they walk this road.

Selah's music has helped so many people through so many dark times.. my prayer is that the prayers of others will hold them up during this difficult time for them.

We're praying for you, Todd and Angie, and little Audrey Caroline.

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!