taff and sonkoi visit from africa

My dad's sister is one of my favorite people on earth. She is so wise, has amazing street smarts, always the right thing to say, and mostly I have always admired her for not being afraid to go out into the world and do whatever it is she wants to accomplish without hesitation. (We call her Taff because she loved Taffy as a kid, and it's always stuck! And my dad's brother has always been "Malt" to us because he loved malts growing up! How funny! And I don't even think of that when they're around, they just are Taff and Malt!)

Until recently, when Kenya started getting very violent due to the droughts and lack of food, Taff and her husband, Sonkoi, have been living there in a house they built by hand, giving tours to visitors, raising cows, and building a rhino sanctuary.

Sonkoi is an elder in the Masai Tribe, and we sit for hours listening to his stories of lion-hunting, rituals, and ceremonies when they visit. I SO wish I could get past my fear of traveling and being away from US medical availability (sparked from my 4-year bought with kidney problems, infections, stones, and IC), because visiting them in Africa would be the trip of an absolute lifetime. Maybe someday.... with lots of Zanax!
The Sherman family got together for a cookout to visit!


We LOVE you, Taff and Sonkoi! Thanks for stopping to visit us while staying in the US for awhile!!! :)

sammi writes her letters

Samantha has been learning to write her letters in school over the last few weeks and we are blown away by how fast she is picking them up! She can write almost any letter you tell her, and she is even starting to learn how to sound words out!

I am so thankful for her wonderful teachers!

Here is a close up of the letters from the video...

Here's a family portrait she drew of us at school. I love that she has brown hair, Natalie has blond, and mommy looks like a rocket and daddy looks like a jellyfish - what's that about?! :-)

They ask the kids at school to finish the sentence before drawing a picture. Since she has many friends at school, we thought it was sweet she said Natalie on this one!

They do so many really cool art projects at school, which both girls LOVE. Someday we'll photograph all of them and post some here. :-)

a spoon full of sugar

My mom took Sam and me to see the musical Mary Poppins this week and it was a blast. Mary Poppins was a favorite movie of mine and it was very sweet to get to go with mom and Samantha to see the musical together!

The morning of the musical I was cleaning and washing dishes, and headed upstairs with just enough time to get us all ready. As I reached the top of the stairs I heard the hair dryer running (?????). I ran to my bathroom to see Sammi, who was sooooo excited to see Mary Poppins that she got "dressed up" and had painted her toenails to look pretty for the occasion. She was trying to dry them before she did her other foot. I was simultaneously filled with laughter and panic, as she had inadvertently painted the floor, my stool, and the counter too!

Sammi innocently "getting ready" for the show!

We made the show in plenty of time and our seats were fantastic!!! Thanks, mom!!!! All of these photos are taken with my phone, which I'm not thrilled with even on a phone-photo level, but oh well... it was the best I could do in the theatre!

Patiently awaiting the show...

Mommy and Sammi:

Grandma & Sammi:

Looking through the playbill... She really wanted to wear her (huge) ring! Love it!

These are some photos from the advertisements... It was an awesome show with an unbelievable amount of talent!!!

The two children in the musical were absolutely fabulous. I could not believe their amazing voices as well as their acting and dancing!

While we were enjoying the show, my dad took Dan and Natalie out to eat lunch and then Dan worked while Natalie spent the afternoon with her grandpa. I wasn't too sure how Sammi would do in the show considering that it was exactly during her usual nap time. I got a little worried when she started asking me if I would take her home to take a nap to her own room during the first act! But, she sat on my lap, mostly watched as they sang, danced, climbed on the ceiling of the stage, and more... The poor girl was so tired, but she did a really good job and I'm really proud of her! It was great fun taking her to a real show. I can't thank my mom enough!!!

After the show (and a quick nap in the car), we met the boys and Natalie out for dinner at Houlihans, which was such a treat!!!

Thanks again, mom and dad!!!!
The day was simply, SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALADOCIOUS!

our summer 2010

We've had a busy summer! We've been through some tough times this summer but we have so much to be thankful for! Since I have gotten so far behind in blogging this summer, I just compiled photos snapped with my phone all summer to give you a taste of what we've been up to all in one post.

We've had lots of trips to the zoo, to different parks, to see friends, to play on the playground. We've had picnics. We've played in the pools and in the sprinklers. We've dressed up a lot. We've been to parties, hosted a carnival, traveled to Purdue, and ate lots of vegetables out of our parents' gardens. (Yeah, mine didn't quite make it!)

The girls have spent a lot of time with their grandparents, which I am so very thankful for on so many levels. Our parents have been the most supportive team, rooting for us - assisting us - stepping in to help whenever we need it - however we need it - as we grow our family and our business. I don't know if they know it, but we know they go waaaay above and beyond the normal scope of what parents do to help their children and grandchildren. We are so very lucky to have them all in our lives. The girls have spent lots of time with their wonderful aunts and uncles too. I could have never imagined how lucky I would be to gain amazing siblings through my marriage in addition to my husband.

This summer we've worked hard and played hard, and we've had lazy days too. We've laughed hard and cried hard. We've learned a lot. And we are so thankful for all that we have.

I'd be lying if I said I was ready for fall.... time seems to flash past me and as much as I try to slow it down it just seems to get faster each day. It's hard for me to believe I will have a four year old and two year old in just a few short months. But until then, we have lots of planning to do for pumpkin picking, halloween costume-finding, apple orchards, bon fires, and much more....

So... Cheers to wrapping up this summer and heading into fall! May you all have a wonderful season full of memories!!!

we'll be back soon

About three weeks ago I was about to update the blog with about 5 fun overdue posts, and then something happened. A very close family member of Dan's passed away unexpectedly and it just seemed to put everything (everything - seeming the entire world at first) on hold for a while.

Ed's death definitely has and will change our lives forever, and I will do an entire tribute post to Ed when I'm ready.

For now I just wanted to say that we are all here --- we are all healthy --- we are all great. We've had many wonderful memories to share from this summer and I will be back soon (after our carnival at our photography studio this weekend is over!) and will be sharing those with you soon.

Thank you so much to all of you who have given us so much support through the tragedy. The entire Brand Family has been blessed with so many wonderful friends... and of course we realize how blessed we are to have each other.

Please continue to pray for Ed's wife and three daughters & their families as well as all of the siblings, grandchildren, friends, and family who miss him dearly...

We hope to see you all this weekend at the carnival - and if you have no idea what I'm talking about, click HERE!

Much love to you all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We'll be back soon.