On Friday afternoon the girls and I returned home from some errands and I immediately noticed smoke pouring out of the window of the neighbor behind us. I ran over and rang the doorbell and knocked but no one answered so I called Bryan, "There's smoke coming out of the neighbor's window, I call 911 right?" Embarrassing that I called Bryan to verify, but this is not something that routinely happens in my everyday life. He said yes so I quickly hung up and dialed 911.
It felt so crazy to be calling 911- not something I ever expected or hoped to do. But within just a few minutes the first trucks arrived and we watched the firefighters get suited up and head in. Eventually there were 7 trucks on our street, and they stayed for hours.
I didn't know the woman who lived there. I hear from neighbors that she was elderly, hardly left her home, and had some very unhealthy habits. After waiting for a while with no news, the fire chief finally came over and told us that she didn't make it. We do know the neighbors on each side- both families have little kids Jilly's age. Thankfully there was very minimal damage to both of those units. It was a sad and scary day for our neighborhood.
6.21.2014
the time I called 911
Posted by Rachel at 11:00 AM 2 comments
6.20.2014
friday five
Posted by Rachel at 8:00 AM 1 comments
6.18.2014
Beach Vacation
(all pictures, except for the obvious iphone pictures, were taken by my fabulous sis-in-law Kristen; I am the lucky benificiary of her talents.)
Posted by Rachel at 11:39 PM 1 comments
6.13.2014
five fact friday
one- Jilly had a rough week last week. On Saturday she was sitting on the kitchen counter and fell off backwards. She hit her head really hard and cried and cried and cried. I laid her on her couch and kept asking her questions and she could always answer. She also told me, "I fell just like Rapunzel's mean mom fell out of the tower" so I knew she was in pretty good shape. She eventually fell asleep but when she woke up she threw up. I was really worried so I called the pediatrician who said there was no need to worry unless she threw up again or seemed to not be herself. The rest of the day she was perfectly fine. Then, on Monday we had friends over to go swimming and while we were eating dinner Jilly and her friend were playing by the pool. I never ever ever should have let Jilly be that close to the water without her life jacket, but I did, and somehow she fell in the 5 ft deep water. I ran over (we were only a few feet away) and was able to quickly grab her out of the water. She was shaken up but fine (had no problem getting in the pool later) but it was scary scary scary. So apart from feeling like the loserest mother there ever was, I've been ultra-vigilent lately- to the point of waking up in the night to check on my girls. We're lucky everything turned out just fine.
two- Mattie is at that fun stage where she knows exactly what she wants to say but mamama and dadada just aren't cutting it. Our days are filled with lots of whining and grunting as the poor girl tries to figure out how to communicate.
Posted by Rachel at 11:11 PM 2 comments
Labels: Lisa
6.11.2014
ten years
Posted by Rachel at 10:34 AM 2 comments
Labels: looking back
6.04.2014
Good Morning Baltimore
And next is all of our dear friends.
(Bryan says to cross out snow.)
I can't even begin to count the emotions I've felt in the past few weeks,
but most of all I've felt grateful.
Grateful for the four years we've had here,
and grateful for our exciting new adventure.
Posted by Rachel at 11:50 PM 11 comments
Labels: Baltimore
6.02.2014
Books to read before you leave home
A couple weeks ago I was talking with some girls at church about the books we would encourage (force?) our kids to read before they left home for college. I've been thinking about what books I'd put on my list ever since. Disclaimer: this list is catered more toward girls since that's what I have the most experience with- being a girl myself and having two girls. I suppose if I ever had a boy I'd have to rethink some of my choices.
Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling: Naturally a priority. My family listens to the audiobooks in the car on long road trips and I hope this is a tradition we will continue. Also, my friend said she won't let her kids watch the movies til they read the books and I plan on adopting this policy.
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery: I love this book so, so much; I just want my girls to give it a try. I won't be heartbroken if they don't love it also (just like my mom forgave me for not loving Little House on the Prairie.)
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis: The best of the best.
The Giver by Lois Lowry: I just re-read this and I think it has such a powerful message. If my kids want to read any other dystopian novels (maybe they'll be out of vogue by then... call me grandma) then they better expect to read this first.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee: One of my very favorites.
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand: Just an amazing book. I really want my kids to read it before leaving home because it gives such great perspective and I love the message of forgiveness.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: Every girl must experience Mr. Darcy.
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl: My favorite of his books; I remember reading this as a kid with my dad.
What books are on your list?!?
Posted by Rachel at 10:54 PM 2 comments
Labels: Books







