Girl Cousins--Eeewwee!

When Micah learned that both Luca and Gabriel were not coming to play because they were in school, but that his girl cousin was available, he then said, "I don't want to play with Liliana!" He rather threw a fit, actually.

But creative moms can figure out how cousins can have fun no matter their preference! It turns out that Micah loves to waterpaint, and Lily does too. When all was said and done, Micah says, "That was fun Lily!!"

CURSE TO EXPIRE SOON--A must read article

Patrick sent me this clever piece, written over six years ago about his small group. I thought it was so witty and funny. When I asked who the author was, he said, "Me!" I just had to share with you how funny and talented my husband is. This is of course funnier when you know these guys. Enjoy!

Reston, VA - A year long dating and relationship curse placed on a local Life Development Group is set to expire on December 31. The curse was cast by their former coach, Mike Maichak, during a visit to their group in January earlier this year. As of this time, his motivations for cursing them are not known, but the curse has had a tragic effect on the men in the group, preventing them from developing meaningful dating relationships with any women whatsoever.

Andy Lauer, the group's leader, and one of the biggest dating advocates in the group, summed up the effect that this has had on them. "Look. See this here? Frontline is a 'Singles Ministry'. See Singles. tch-tch-tch. Singles. We are supposed to meet WOMEN. tch-tch-tch. We are not doing that." Brad Bendeck, the group's leader apprentice was at a loss for words. "I just can't believe it. I haven't had a date all year." Another member of the group, Patrick Ring, reflected on how this has affected him over the last year. "My dating relationships have been crap. The list of my top 5 shortest dating relationships has been almost completely rewritten. I even set a new record for the shortest relationship: 1 date, 1 hour." Other members of the group, including Jeff Trexel, Steve Waicek, and Scott Knight have told of similar experiences. Clearly, this is a group in crisis.

The gravity of the curse was not immediately evident to the group at the time it was placed on them. "We didn't see it coming, and we didn't know what he planned to do", Lauer remembers. "If we had, we would have locked the door and turned out the lights." As a result, the exact details of the curse and the night it was cast remain cloudy. This much is known: Maichak made a scheduled appearance at a meeting of the then recently formed Life Development group, which as coach, he had the responsibility to do on occasion. While discussing the demographics of the new group, one member observed that everyone in the group was single and not one of them was in a dating relationship. Maichak then uttered the curse, suggesting that at least one member of the group would be engaged by the end of the year. This comment was taken as an innocent observation until repeated dating efforts by various members of the group met with failure. Then they began to realize that they had actually been cursed. Shortly after this fateful night, Maichak stepped down as coach and then disappeared. Authorities have not been able to locate him since.

Despite the group's track record over the past year, they remain hopeful that the new year will bring success to their dating lives. As of January 1, with the curse gone, they start an entirely new social calendar, which brings with it new opportunities for dating. Especially optimistic is Scott Sweat, the group's Social Coordinator. "I think this whole curse thing is just a state of mind. I think we can pull ourselves out of it. Picture this: nine guys dating nine gorgeous women going on truly amazing dates. It can't get any better than this!"

Many Faces of Micah

I went to download pictures off my camera and found over a dozen self-imposed portraits of Micah. He's hilarious.


And to grandma, I thought you'd enjoy a special one of him savoring his blueberry muffins. Anyone who asks gets the same response, "My grandma made this for me." Too sweet!

Caelan Daniel...Your First Year

If you have six minutes, you can walk through all the wonderful stages of Caelan's first year that we got to enjoy. He has been an incredible joy in our lives.

Caelan turns ONE!

The big birthday bash was yesterday. It was carnival madness with 30 kids and double the adults! Even with the chaos, it was so special to have everyone over in our new home to celebrate our second-born. This is what dreams are made of. For those of you couldn't make it, we wish you were there! But since you weren't, here's what you missed:

Grandma (Ring) baked us delicious "carnival" cupcakes.
There's not a single one left!

We had home-made carnival games. Alex is doing a "Fish Out of Water" where I put a magnet on the end of a toy fishing rod, and then taped paperclips onto fishies. Another hit!

What would a carnival be without face-painting?
Some were beautiful...

Others, not so much.

The kids were mesmerized by the "Great Seng-ini",
the amazing magician a.k.a. my little brother


The birthday boy ravishing his first cupcake.


Friends and family came to celebrate.

And there was of course a dedication video of Caelan's
first year of life. I'll attach it to my next blog!

In my effort to prepare beforehand for this crazy Cambodian carnival chaos, I forgot to take pictures DURING the event of all my home-made carnival games. It was a labor of love, and was fun to do, and maybe we'll resurrect all this stuff again for a 4th or 5th birthday party, and I'll make sure to take pictures then. Truly, it was a dream come true to have everyone over for a special day in the Ring family.