All 4 of these ladies were amazing! I'm kind of partial to Sabrina now that I know she's from Rick Warren's Saddleback church! But, man...Stephanie and Lakisha are AMAZING too!

LOS ANGELES (PD) — Sabrina Sloan, one of 10 girls left in this season's American Idol competition, grew up singing at Saddleback Church.
"She's incredible and we want her to win," said Rick Warren, Saddleback's pastor.
At recent worship services, he joked with his congregation: "Don't even think of coming back to Saddleback next weekend unless you've voted for Sabrina 100 times this week!"
Warren considers Sloan like a daughter; in fact, he officiated her wedding to Chip Sloan. "Of course, I'm about to pop with pride over Sabrina, who has been like another daughter since she was tiny," Warren said.
Sloan's mother, Mary Scherff, was a long-time staff member at Saddleback Church and a friend of the Warren family.
"Mary is one of my dear friends and was an indispensable long-term staff member at Saddleback for years," Warren said. "She ran all kinds of ministries and orchestrated Saddleback's huge 25th anniversary celebration in Angel's Stadium in 2005."
Stand-out performerIn last week's competition, Sloan stood out among the 12 girls. After her powerful performance of "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)," judge Randy Jackson said: "We've finally got ourselves ... a competition. That's the way to put it down!"
Sloan, who calls Studio City in Southern California home, says she's been singing since she was 3 years old, when she stood on a table at Chuck E. Cheese and sang "Tomorrow" from Annie.
Sloan – known by her maiden name of Scherff at the time – is a 1997 graduate of Mission Viejo High School in Southern California, where she starred in school musicals. In 2001, she graduated from Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., with degrees in theater and communications studies.
With faith, anything's possibleOn the American Idol Web site, Sloan says that her greatest obstacle in life came just one week after 9/11, when she moved to New York City and lived in a cockroach-infested closet apartment to pursue a singing career. There she landed a role touring the country in the Broadway musical Hairspray. After the Hairspray tour, she moved to Southern California, and then traveled to Minneapolis for the American Idol auditions.
"I'm now living my dream and am confident that anything is possible with faith and diligence," she said on the Idol site.
Sloan says that her mother is one of her heroes because she has lived her life by faith. Sloan's grandfather, Leroy Anderson, served as pastor of Prince of Peace Church of God and Christ in Buffalo, N.Y.
On the Idol site, Sloan listed her personal goals: "To provide for my family, to be able to support those in need around me and around the world, and to make music I am proud of."
Though American Idol contestants are prohibited from performing elsewhere during the show, Warren says he hopes Sloan will sing at Saddleback Church the first Sunday after the show ends – and he has faith that she'll be singing as the new American Idol.
"Of course our entire family, our entire small group, our entire staff, and entire church is TIVOing every episode and praying for her," Warren said.
Sloan will perform with the other Top 10 girls this Wednesday on American Idol at 8/7Central on Fox.
This article includes reporting from The Orange County Register and WGRZ-TV Channel 2 News.

Liv had her 4 month check up today!

She got 3 shots, and did pretty good with that.

I think the Tylenol helped!

Here are her stats:

Weight: 13 lb 6 oz, 50%

Height: 24 in, 25-50%

Head: 15 33/4 in, 25%

Here is Liv resting after her shots...

the Tylenol DEFINITELY kicked in at the right time!

Now that Liv has learned how to use her back and tummy muscles more,

she doesn't stay laying in her papasan chair anymore.

Here is what she does...

I was pleasantly surprised with the guys this evening.

Here were my favorites...

Sometimes I really think they look alike, and other times, very different.

But, all the time....I think they're priceless

This photo hangs in one of our hallways. I was bound and determined to get a good photo of Avery when she was 2. On one of my trips back to Onalaska, we went to JC Penney for a photo shoot. Avery was not very cooperative that day. This is about all she wanted to do...cuddle with blankie, and have her sucky. At the time, I was frustrated that she wouldn't sit up and pose for the gal. Now, it hangs in our hall as one of my favorites...

Before we had Olivia, Avery would play in her room a lot of the day. Since Olivia has come, I spend a lot of time in the living room now. I guess this means that Avery can no longer be alone in her room playing, so she daily brings out toys to the living room and plays out there. It makes for a HUGE mess, and since Avery is not the greatest at picking up, mommy ends up cleaning up her room, and her "living room" too...

My sweet baby Liv turned 4 months old today. This last month has brought a lot of changes for her. She has officially grown out of the 'newborn' stage. As sad as it is, I really enjoy this stage of her life. As a baby, I often felt like she was just a 'blob' that was in our house, demanding everything out of me, and giving nothing in return. It is hard to adjust to another person, with whom you just met, that is completely reliant on you. It's very overwhelming, and takes a little while to get used to.

As she grows, I feel my love for her growing and deepening. There is nothing like the feeling you get when your child wakes up from sleep, looks around for you, makes eye contact with you, and gives you a big smile, as if to say "I'm so glad to see you. You make me so happy." Man, there's nothing like being a mommy...

Why is it, that up until today,

every time I tried to use the nose aspirator on Liv's nose,

she cried and threw a huge fit?

Today, she decided that now it is funny, and it makes her laugh...

I just don't get how it can change so quickly...

So, today I reluctantly registered Avery for preschool for the fall...I didn't have a lot of time to think much about it, because this school fills up really fast. I had to immediately sign her up as soon as the papers came in the mail. The director did tell me that so far her class has 9 kids, 8 of which are girls...YIPPIE!

**"After Jesus got done doing His miracles, God gave Him children. He didn't have a wife, 'cause she died. He has a boy named Lauren. Lauren wears a bath robe."

**"Mom...we're from the movie 'The Vengeance of the Cow Snackers'"...(I have no idea what this means)

Okay, so tonight was the gals. I was pleasantly surprised with a couple of them. It was much better tonight than I had thought. There still were ones who stunk, but there are 4 that I liked. The first one, Lakisha...oh my, is she great! She "blew it out of the park"...
Lakisha Jones
Sabrina Sloan

Melinda Doolittle

Avery has been giving birth a lot lately since mommy had baby Liv.

Here is what a typical night of "Having a baby" looks like at our house...

She rests on the hospital bed (the couch), and waits to push the baby out.

She says it's a lot of hard work...

Look at the happy mother! Man, she sure made that look easy!

Here below, is a photo of the wonderful mother, and her 8 kids. She has gone through this birth process with each one of them...Maggie, Lacy, Molly, Lucy, Samantha, Kathleen, Laura, and Sam. She stays very busy talking care of her children, and likes to cuddle with them in her bed each night. There is not a lot of room left for her, but she so nicely sacrifices for her kids...

what an example, huh?

Okay, so the boys night of American Idol was on tonight, and let me tell you...I'm not too impressed. In years past, PG and I saw real talent...guys we really liked! This year, ugh. Besides a few, they are forgettable. And, I have a feeling the girls will be even more forgettable.

It's so much fun to watch Liv look at "the other person" in the mirror. She laughs, talks, and drools to her new friend. I wonder how long it will take her to realize that it's really her...

This is one of my favorite photos of Avery. It was taken when she was 6 months old. I was a little aggravated with her at her photo shoot because she just had discovered how she loved to stick her tongue out that morning...perfect timing. I never knew how cute it could really be. I scanned this photo and this poem from Avery's scrapbook. I love to look back at these photos and remember what it was like when she was a baby. We never dreamed she'd be so beautiful...

I love everything about my beautiful baby Liv, but I would really love it if she decided to go back to sleeping all night!

Here is the desription of one of these dolls...

Elisabeth doll stands 18" tall, and is stylishly dressed in a contemporary outfit of ruffled denim skirt and lavender graphic tee with blue shrug. One of the P31 line of dolls that reflect the biblical values of Proverbs 31, Elisabeth has beautiful glass eyes that open and close, long blond rooted-hair, and a modest fashion outfit with pink jeweled cowboy boots. Movable arms and legs, soft body, and exquisitely detailed facial features add to her appeal. Elisabeth comes with cookie cutters and five jumbo activity cards that include Bible lesson opportunities for young girls, cookie recipe, encouragement from Proverbs 31, and exciting ideas and projects. Handsomely packaged in sturdy gift box with Proverbs 31 motif. For today's girl who will grow up to become the Proverbs 31 woman of tomorrow. Collect the complete set of P31 dolls!

Needless to say, Avery or Olivia will NOT be getting one of these dolls...give me a break!