Top Nine Things I Learned In 2009

1. Running is excruciatingly hard, but equally fulfilling...I look forward to being further pained in 2010... Do I see a half marathon in my near future? hahahaha

2. Surgeons who know what they're doing are completely awesome and worth every penny they get paid. The Doaks have been blessed to know two fantastic surgeons in our lives and are equally blessed to have been on the receiving end of treatment from these angels!! Dr. Crouch and Dr. Roche rock!!

3. Camping is hard work, but s'mores make it all worthwhile.

4. Church doesn't have to be lame, narrow minded, uninviting and uncomfortable.

5. Marriage is hard work....laughing when the going gets tough isn't.

6. Raising a boy really IS different from raising a girl.

7. Being surrounded by the coolest, most caring, neighbors in the whole world makes my neighborhood cooler than yours....

8. Nick Jonas is really cute in person.

9. 1700 square feet is not enough space for all the love (and toys) that flows through the Doak abode...hahahaha!!

Christmas

Christmas 2009 was fantastic for the Doak kids...
the hits for the girls: American Girl dolls
Kit's Treehouse
Barbie camper
My Little Pony Spa
Easybake Oven

for Quinn:
Spiderman scooter
his very own Leapster
Matchbox racetrack (direct quote from Quinn-"This is the best toy me ever had.")
These couple of days following Christmas have found the kids playing, playing, and playing...It's such a joy to see the kids just being kids...Here are some pics taken over the past few days...enjoy!

Let It Snow!

Stella was so excited at the possibility of snow this past weekend...She ran outside Saturday night to try and catch a few flakes on her tounge....

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone:
For those who have faithfully kept up with my blog (thanks Tara and Amy)...you already know about this year in the life of the Doak Family 5...this is for everybody else : )
Our year has been kind of crazy (as usual) Here are some of the highlights (and inevitable low lights)

January---the year got off to a rough start as I was diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer right after the holidays (Happy New Year...woo hoo!!), but I wasn't allowed to wallow in pity as I went off for a girls' weekend to the OBX with all my Royal Grant girls. I had a great time forgetting my problems and getting absolutely zero work done on my scrapbooks (which was the point of the trip)....Did discover that my new neighbor Rachel and I were going to be the best of friends. Came back from my relaxing weekend just in time to celebrate my niece's ONE YEAR birthday.

February---Everyone in the Doak family gets hit hard by some sort of stomach virus. At one point we were all laid up on the couch. We had never all been sick @ the same time. It was absolutely terrible. Days later I had surgery to remove my thyroid! What a crazy and stressful time for our family. Thankfully the surgery went well...even though I could barely speak for about 2.5 months!!!!!!!!

March--Life begins to get somewhat back to normal until our piano teacher Elizabeth convinces us to raise two chicks ( as in; LIVE chickens). I start my blog to document the process, to record various homeschool capers, to leave some sort of documented history in case I die from a recurrence of cancer, and to give scathing commentary on American Idol (this was our favorite...check out prior blog entries. They are hilarious)....A very reflective month ...

April--found us celebrating Easter, venturing outdoors more to the zoo and beach and yes, more American Idol chatter...Jay talks me into signing up for the CHKD 8K...So eight weeks following my surgery, I start running...

May---still running. I celebrate my 35th birthday. American Idol crowns Kris Allen this year's winner. We finish up first grade of the Doak family homeschool and go on a camping trip to Cape Hatteras to celebrate.....

June--CRAZY month for our family...Jay turns 36 and on his birthday we run the CHKD 8K. We are so proud our little team (consisting solely of me and Jason). We raised over $1600 for the hospital!!! We were so proud and thankful to be able to give back to the hospital that has given us so much!!!!! Stella celebrated her 7th birthday (wow!! how did THAT happen??) and we started going to Real Life!

July---lazy summer days...lots of time @ the beach and tons of summer reading!!! very relaxing!

August--Stella starts second grade and Ashlyn kindergarten!! I'm finding it increasingly difficult to juggle homeschooling two kids. Everyday presents a new adventure. We also made it to Washington DC, where because of her father's incredible hookups was able to meet Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers!!! What a great trip!!!!!

September---We make it up to Shenandoah National Park for an end of the Summer camping trip and freeze our butts off in our new tent! Still a great trip...lots of hiking and smores!! We discover Ashlyn has begun to once again turn her eye in. A trip to her eye surgeon tells us another surgery may be in Ashlyn's future. Until then, she has a new prescription for glasses which are simply adorable on our little cutie! The girls participate in an end of the Summer piano recital. Ashlyn is adorable in her first performance!!! Stella is graceful and gorgeous as usual...

October---Quinn turns three. Ashlyn turns five. Jay and I turn nine : ) The kids celebrate Halloween as the statue of liberty (Stella), a cat (Ashlyn), and a chicken (Quinn). Our Church ceases to meet in GB High School as we move into our new building!!!!..The entire month is filled with celebration after celebration after celebration!

November---spent recovering from October...We have a wonderful (mashed potato-less) Thanksgiving.

December---We've already packed in a ton this month....Stella, Ashlyn, and Quinn all participated in their Christmas piano recital! (Quinn's first)...We have been busy getting ready for Christmas! Life is fantastic. Everyone is healthy, happy, and full of energy...This has been a year full of tears, laughter, new friendships, old friendships rekindled, struggles, triumphs, quiet moments, and joyous celebrations...We have been blessed to have God with us the entire way ...I can only imagine what next year will bring for us!!!
Merry Christmas to you and your family!!!! lots of love,

Baking Day

So the kids and I stayed in the kitchen most of the day to bake! Stella and Ashlyn are really becoming actual helpers....Quinn, not so much. Here are some pics of our day of baking enjoy...And for all of you who always complement me on my organizational skills, check out the pic of my messy kitchen

Christmas Piano Recital

Sunday was a busy day for the Doak kids (and their parents)...The kids had their piano recitals in the afternoon and later on their church Christmas program. All three kids did wonderfully at the recital! Quinn was adorable and anxious to play his one song he had been practicing. Ashlyn added a chord to Jingle Bells, which is a huge accomplishment for someone with such tiny hands! And Stella played all of her songs beautifully...It was a such a joy to watch all three excel and to see some of their friends perform as well. A great afternoon. I'm not even going to rave about our fantastic teacher, Elizabeth Kalman, because if I refer her to one more student she may just stop teaching my three : )

We headed back to church later in the evening to watch the girls perform in our church's Christmas program. Stella had a major case of stage fright, but once she got over it, she did wonderfully!!! Ashlyn was just too adorable...The highlight of the evening may have been Ashlyn praying with everyone right before the play started and asking Jesus to help her with her lines (she had one)....Stella nailed all of her lines and her solo was gorgeous!!

What a wonderful day! Here are some video clips of the piano recital Enjoy!

More Than Lumpy..i.e., I Told You Amy.......

In all the craziness of the holiday season I have forgotten to share a "funny" story about Thanksgiving. I will preface this story by saying I am a fairly decent cook...seriously. I really enjoy cooking and I'm pretty good @ most things I whip up. Some of you can vouch for me...By my "arch-nemesis" (as Jay calls this dish) is mashed potatoes. They kick my butt EVERYTIME...I think I made them really good ONCE...I don't know what it is. This is a fairly simple dish to most people. But I have screwed up mashed potatoes in every way possible. I've made mushy mashed potatoes, lumpy mashed potatoes, relatively flavorless mashed potatoes and the piece de resistance and the type that were made on Thanksgiving day: hard-as-brick-that-they almost-broke-my-Kitchen Aid-mixer-mashed-potatoes....Those of you who have prepared a Thanksgiving dinner know that things can get pretty hairy in that last hour of preparation. Everything seems to come together at once. Your attention gets diverted on pulling the turkey out, letting it rest for a bit, then the carving....throwing your casseroles into the oven, getting your rolls on the pan to immediately follow...worrying about how everything that needs to be hot will stay hot and all the cold stuff will stay cold....Hectic is an understatement when it comes to getting Thanksgiving dinner onto the table. Especially if you're working alone, as I was.....Excuses, excuses...I know....

So in the craziness that is the "final hour" I neglected to look @ the clock when I turned my potatoes on to cook. I had a brief moment in my dinner preparation when the turkey was resting, the casseroles were heating up, and I had nothing to do. I glanced over @ my pot of potatoes boiling away on the stove. I panicked...they had certainly been on the stove too long. I poked a fork into one (apparently the ONLY cooked one) and it was soft. I yanked the pot off the stove, drained the potatoes and tossed them into my mixer. Added a little milk, butter, and switched that bad boy on. At that moment, my parents arrived...The kids start jumping up and down, the dog is barking...I'm not even noticing that my mixer is literally lifting itself off the counter in an attempt to mash these bricks...I mean, potatoes.....It quiets down and I glance over @ the mixer which has caught my attention because it is about to fall off my counter....I notice the potatoes are a "bit" hard. Any normal person would take those potatoes out of the mixer and toss them back into the pot to continue cooking, right? What do I do? I add more milk...that's right...I add more milk...Certainly enough milk will create a consistency that one may be able to describe as mashed....right? OK...WRONG....My poor mixer was able to scrape some cooked parts away from the mostly RAW potatoes...I had a gluey mess...Time for confession. I threw everything else on the table, but a smile on my face, walked into my living room and told my family that we would not be having mashed potatoes with our Thanksgiving meal....chirp, chirp, chirp...My Dad asked what happened and I told him they were not Thanksgiving worthy (or ANY meal-worthy)...He told me he liked lumpy mashed potatoes (was that passive aggressive???). But I knew there was no way that I was putting those things on my table...And so that's the story of our mashed potato-less Thanksgiving...I think I may have started a new family tradition.....Happy holidays, ya'll.....



before.......and after...................

So, the decorations are up, the first round of baking is complete, a couple of service projects are under our belts, and a few Christmas parties have been attended.....and it's not even halfway through December!!! It's just crazy how busy we have been in these first few days of this month!!!! This week things have slowed down a bit, but the weekend promises to be event-filled. The kids have their Christmas piano recital Sunday afternoon and the girls are in our church's Christmas play on Sunday evening....Here are some pics of our holiday events thus far enjoy!!!

Carpe Diem

Life has been moving at a very rapid pace these days and in an effort to attempt to live in the moment, I have neglected my dear blog in favor of well...life. Sometimes all you can do is get through a day. Sometimes there's not enough time to reflect on what you did the day, week, or month before. But, I have noticed something happening lately, or rather, not happening...I've NOT been living in the moment, I've NOT been reflecting, I've just been, well...surviving. Life can get crazy with a husband, three kids, pets, responsibilities. I've been so wrapped up in accomplishing goals, getting from one day to the next, that I haven't really been appreciating what I have and THUS, the blog entry, for some much needed reflection time.

I remember almost exactly one year ago going to my doctor for my annual check-up and him telling me there was a lump on my thyroid. I remember coming home and knowing instinctively that it was not good. I didn't find out until the new year that I had thyroid cancer, but I remember making a decision following my check-up...I decided to not...for lack of better term, "sweat the small stuff." Life is too fleeting, important , meaningful, and yes, brief, to stress out over things I can't control. I remember writing in my journal that my life was on "the cusp" of something. I wasn't sure if it was greatness, or something dreadful. I found out shortly after writing that journal entry that it was actually both.

A cancer diagnosis affects the way you view life, but it also affects the way you live it. Silly, trivial things don't matter. They actually, quite suddenly, cease to exist. Arguing over where to spend the holidays and with whom doesn't even make the radar when you decide to grab onto life. Issues that used to cause hours of debate, grief, stress; suddenly become non-issues...Taking pictures, getting down on the floor and playing with my kids, baking Christmas cookies, laughing these are things that are important. And in this past year, of being diagnosed with, and getting rid of cancer I have lost site of that intense feeling I had when I was on the "cusp" of finding out about my cancer. It sucks to say it, but I have fallen back into my regular routine of staying busy, staying stressed.

Everyone @ some point in their lives needs to be confronted with the "real" possibility of death. It will change you. But what no one tells you is it's not a permanent change. That change, that spark, that fighting spirit doesn't burn intensely without some work, some thought, and some effort. God may give you a glimpse of what your life NEEDS to be, but it's up to you grab onto that feeling of importance and go with it. To wake up every morning and make a decision that this time here is going to mean something. So, in the spirit of purpose I have recommitted my self to not letting the tiny things get me down. The holidays are here and I am here to enjoy them. To enjoy my crazy, dysfunctional, dramatic, and loving family. To enjoy the quiet moments @ the end of long days. To take a breath in the midst of a whirlwind of activity and to smile at the complexity and intensity of life.....Life is good...........Happy holidays everyone.....

Ashlyn's Special Day

Every year, on or near the girls' birthdays Jason takes them out on a special date to celebrate. This year for Ashlyn's 5th birthday Jason took her out to lunch @ Friendly's, to see a movie, and to roller skate...Here are some pictures of their afternoon together.

Happy Birthday Ashlyn!!!

Ashlyn is five years old today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She has always been my fearless child. She's not afraid to try anything and she is always making all of us laugh. She is very passionate, free-spirited, funny, sweet, loving, and a fantastic big and little sister. I'm sure it's hard being in the middle of this crazy family, but Ashlyn holds her own very nicely. Happy 5th birthday to my sweet little girl. I love you soooooo much!!

Ashlyn's Favorites:

Favorite TV Show: Dora The Explorer

Favorite Toys: My Little Ponies, Littlest Pet Shops

Favorite Food: butter

Favorite Pastime: hugging

Favorite School Subject : math

Favorite Songs: Jesus Loves Me, Favorite Things

Dream vacation destinations: Texas and Paris

Guilty Pleasure: infomercials

My Sweet Boy...

So today is Quinn's 3rd birthday. I took the kids to the zoo and for a picnic lunch to celebrate. We ended up swinging by Doumars on the way home for milkshakes (for the kids) and a limeade (for me). Happy birthday, little guy!! We love you soooo much!

FAVORITES

Favorite Foods: broccoli, pancakes

Favorite Color: Yellow

Favorite TV Show: Blues Clues

Favorite Computer Games: putt putt and freddie fish

Favorite Books: Goodnight Moon, Duck In The Truck, The Snowy Day

Favorite Toys: playdoh, keyboard

Favorite Songs: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, You Are My Sunshine

Favorite Things To Sleep With: his paci, his green blanket, his teddy bear

Favorite Letter: Q

Favorite "Quinnisms"

"I look GOOOOOOD!" (said while staring in the mirror)

"Guess what Mommy?, I love you."

"NO! Mommy Do!!!"

"You hurt my fewwings." (usually said to me if I raise my voice AT ALL to him)

"Q-U-U-U-I-N-N!" he sings while spelling his name

An Update

Hey Everyone:

Life for the Doak family has been running fairly smoothly! Homeschool continues to be challenging, chaotic, messy, and wonderful! The girls are learning so quickly and it's fun to watch little Quinn absorb some of what his big sisters are learning. Our family time together has certainly been a blessing and something I will always cherish as a mom.

Stella and Ashlyn continue to take dance @ TR Dance in Norfolk and are both simply loving it!! The studio is fantastic with wonderful teachers and a very homey feel! Stella also auditioned for the Richmond Ballet's production of The Nutcracker. Competition was quite stiff though, and she did not get a part, but has told me she's excited to audition again next year. I was so proud of her for trying out and having such a fantastic attitude about not being selected.

Exciting things have been happening to us regarding our church, Real Life! We moved into our new building on October 4th! Nearly 700 people attended the church's grand opening services!! Jay played guitar with the band during both services and sounded FANTASTIC!!! It was quite an exciting day!! Both girls are in the church's Christmas play and have been attending Sunday evening rehearsals for several weeks now! We are so blessed and happy to have found such a wonderful church to attend. I'm looking forward to becoming even more involved! We have made so many wonderful friends in such a short time and I really hope that any of you out there reading this who are curious about our church, take a chance and come on out!! We are so happy there!

The girls continue to take piano lessons from our fantastic friend, Elizabeth....as if church, ballet, and homeschool weren't enough to keep our girls busy!!! Quinn has also got in on the musical action. Elizabeth has been giving him mini lessons for the past couple of weeks and I think he's really quite brilliant for being only two!! Christmas recital is right around the corner. Ashlyn is working on Jingle Bells and Stella is practicing every other Christmas song written. I'll keep everyone posted on the next recital date as soon as it is decided!!!
Keep an eye open for new blog entries...both of the little ones (Ashlyn and Quinn) are celebrating birthdays in the upcoming couple of weeks!! October is such an exciting and busy time for the Doak family!!!

I've sunk to new lows in my Twilight obsession...I'm burying this little tidbit of info deep within my blog entry in hopes of no one reading this far down, but I bought these cool? Edward and Bella dolls----for the kids to play with...I'll include some pics...oh my, that sounded very weird when I typed it into recorded history. I clearly have a major problem...
Love to all!

Happy Anniversary!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So Jason and I will celebrate our ninth wedding anniversary on Wednesday, October 14th. Anniversaries, I suppose, are a time to reflect on the time spent with your spouse...A time to evaluate what's working, what's not...time to take a step back and appreciate what you have with your significant other. So, in the spirit of appreciation, I have composed a little list of some of the reasons I love my hubby...I picked nine to honor our nine years together....

Top Nine Things I Love About Jason Doak

1. He smells good...Really... This counts for a lot in a marriage...

2. He comes home every day after work....This might not seem like a biggy, but believe me, with as crazy as things can get around here, I don't know if I would do the same if our roles were reversed and I worked outside the house...

3. He is a fantastic father...He's there for every milestone! He doesn't sit and observe our kids..He gets in there and helps with them, plays with them, takes them to the doctor, takes them to get haircuts, goes shopping for their birthday presents, listens to them, helps them with school work, teaches them, reads to them, tucks them into bed.. He KNOWS our kids: their likes, dislikes, hopes, fears, dreams, quirks...everything about them...to say he is a "hands-on" dad is a grave understatement...This guys was BORN to be a dad and I love him deeply for that!!

4. He can answer any and all of my computer questions..speaks for itself ya'll...Jay is THE MAN when is comes to computers...

5. He humors me constantly--he doesn't laugh @ my ideas..he lets me implement crazy plans and he just sits back and lets thing unfold in a very natural way...even if he's thinking I have lost my mind...and he NEVER says I told you so....

6. He's an awesome guitar player with a fantastic taste in music.

7. He is extremely funny--there is not a single day that goes by that Jason ceases to crack me up. This is probably THE thing we love to do as a couple the most: LAUGH...at people, with people, at ourselves, with ourselves...Life is waaay to short to not laugh @ least once every single day and even in the midst of our CRAZY lives we always find something to laugh at.....

8. He makes coffee for me every single day of my life!....'nuff said

9. He's not a complainer...He doesn't whine...ever...it's weird; cause I complain ALL the time...it's just what I do...it's like a little hobby of mine...BUT Jason, no, never...gotta love that..

So, those are nine things that I love about Jay...Here are some pics from our special day nine years ago!! Enjoy...

Piano Recital

Hey Everyone:

Another successful piano recital is under our belts. This was Stella's third recital with Ms. Elizabeth and Ashlyn's first!!! Ashlyn did fantastic. We were so excited for her!! Stella played beautifully also!!! We are already preparing for the upcoming holiday recital, but I thought you all might like to see some of the highlights of the girls' performances!!! Take care!!!!

Ashlyn

Sometimes I wish I could just crawl inside one of my blog posts where everyone is happy, and life is full of new surprises, happy occurrences, and beautiful discoveries....

We just got word from Ashlyn's eye doctor that her right eye is once again turning in and causing her vision to decrease. For those of you who don't know, Ashlyn has had two surgeries to correct this. Her alignment and vision seemed to improve tremendously following the last surgery in November and we were hopeful all this was behind us. I was scared when I thought I saw her crossing her right eye again this summer. And when she started rubbing her eyes and complaining that she was having a hard time seeing things..Well, I knew we were back in sadly familiar territory. I took her to her doctor yesterday and he confirmed what I feared...

We have the same plan of attack as before when she was first diagnosed with this problem. Ashlyn will wear a patch for six hours of the day along with a new prescription for bifocal glasses...We will go back to her doctor in eight weeks to determine if that therapy is working. She may need another surgery...I'm trying to remain hopeful, but it's hard because I feel like we are starting back @ square one...So please keep us in your thoughts and prayers...

Today was especially hard for me when we went to pick out Ashlyn's new glasses....Last year when Ashlyn got glasses for the first time she seemed excited. I think she liked having something that her brother and sister didn't have. The glasses set her apart. But this year things are a little different. Ashlyn is insecure about wearing her patch. She's worried about how people will perceive her and she's very self conscious about her glasses. She asked me earlier this afternoon why all of this was happening to her and I didn't have a good answer. The truth is, I have no idea. I'm so sorry and sad for her. I try to put things into perspective. There are families with children who have life threatening illnesses...In the grand scheme of things Ashlyn's vision problems hardly seems significant, but when your four year old asks you in so many words, "Mommy, what's wrong with me?" and you have no answer--well, it sucks. And I'm writing this now to help me get through the sadness that I feel for my little girl and to let you all know that life for me (just like you) isn't always a happy,smiley blog entry...I don't know what the lesson to be learned here is. I told Ashlyn that God only gives challenges to people He thinks can handle them and that God must think she's a really brave girl...I'm hoping that's true for both Ashlyn and me. Peace, ya'll....