The Royer Fam!

2009-08-20T18:30:00.004-05:00

We knew you would eventually wander through here again. Ah, summer. warm. sunny. beach. humid. flair. fair. intense heat. travel. we've been busy. we're happy and healthy nonetheless.

3 years old!

2009-06-16T21:43:00.003-05:00

Hard to believe Joshua turned three today. He's my boy squished between two girls - i think he's going to be a great guy! As I browsed through some photos tonight, I came upon this taken from our beach vacation. Joshua wanted to be in the water, every time I requested a "break"; he cried. and cried. and cried. The water was cold, 65 degrees! didn't bother him - he was born to play in the water. Happy Birthday, Joshua!

(click photo to enlarge)

a happy mom!

2009-05-13T21:50:00.000-05:00

I think this says it all...

2009-04-20T21:00:00.001-05:00

annie playing soccer

2009-04-05T21:27:00.001-05:00

Ashley's first word!

2009-04-05T20:57:00.001-05:00

Do you hear what I hear?

2009-03-26T19:10:00.002-05:00

When I turned 30 last year, Alicia splurged on what we normally do-not-buy-expensive-gifts-for-birthdays; I am the proud owner of an i-touch. Call her my second love if you want. She arrived right around the time I was bilaterally activated. For you new readers, I wear two cochlear implants. I have accumulated a lot of music, television shows, audio books, games and sound effects. Sound effects? What?? Before I go any further let me clarify – from the age of 7 to 24 my hearing declined; as in progressively went down-hill. Gone were the everyday sounds taken for granted – water running, toilets flushing, enjoying music, and so forth. Four years ago I underwent surgery to implant my right ear, the decision wasn’t easy but it was necessary to accommodate the important aspects of my life. Four years later – I implanted my left ear. So why am I writing this?

My love, she has steals much of my daily attention, playing games, she puts rhyme and rhythm in my ears, and the television shows are just awesomely bad to watch. The computer geek guys at Apple clearly thought this device over when they allowed other geekets around the globe develop applications for said i-touch users. One rainy day I came across an application called “Fart”. If you have known me long enough, you know I am obsessed with bodily functions; typically a two year old will pass this phase, but for some undetermined reason, doctors cannot figure out why I haven’t matured.

Anyway, as a human I have to do business, sometimes at work, sometimes at home. Usually my business occurs at 1:30 pm every day. Oh – the greatness of being on a schedule. When men or where men do their business, there is not much estrogen around; consider this your warning. Men, we take pride in our business. Some do a trinkle and some do (much) more. My favorite is when John Doe is standing at the urinal, liquid coming from one end and suddenly rips a loud sound from the opposite end! Wow, amazing!! I honestly never, ever knew a human could do that – HUMANS – could do that, even in a public establishment. Enter my obsession with bodily functions. 1:30 pm on a typical day, I’m enjoying my usual stall; John Doe enters and picks his urinal. If I were an audiologist I’m sure his business is registering in the 60db range – that’s pretty damn loud folks. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, he rips one. This is where my love enters! Monopoly at task, I decide to challenge Mr. Doe and his auditory effect he just left me. As he rips one, I rip one out of my “fart” application – on this day I chose the “sloppy joe” – when I did, Mr. Doe immediately shuts the fire hydrant off and exits. Humanity has come (or gone) a long way in my years of declining silence. Wow.

Just imagine one day soon “The Farting Olympics”. I’ll “hear” you there; 1:30 pm at 1111 Constitution Ave., NW Washington, DC 4th Floor, tenth street elevator men’s room.

My Love

2009-03-25T20:17:00.000-05:00

my three favorite clowns

2009-03-20T20:52:00.002-05:00

Friends!

2009-03-10T21:57:00.000-05:00

Joshua is trying to impress Annie's friend, Sarah.

Ashley wants to know...

2009-03-10T21:54:00.000-05:00

if you like her bunny ears?

here's how we stay happy

2009-02-12T21:39:00.001-05:00

joshua entertaining ashley

2009-01-27T21:16:00.003-05:00

snow day!

2009-01-27T21:00:00.000-05:00

2009-01-23T19:16:00.000-05:00

2008 in Review – Mike style

2009-01-08T22:05:00.002-05:00

I would like to say the private company I work for was purchased and the generous severance package enabled me to travel with my family around the U.S. In fact, I'm writing you parked outside Sarah Palin's driveway inside our gigantic RV (which gets less than 5 MPG). We spent the beautiful day hunting – she is truly one incredible mom. Now, now..why did I start with more political propaganda when we have had enough to last a lifetime? I don't know. I was dreaming…

Back to reality – Mike remains gainfully employed.

We started 2008 on a very happy note! We were expecting our third child in August. After we put our condo for sale in February, the market quickly nosedived. Only by the grace of God were we able to sell and make a marginal profit! With no back-up plan and a quick settlement, we moved into Alicia's parents' basement and have been there for the last 15 years. Actually, we lasted there 6 months – in December we bought a beautiful townhouse in Ashburn, VA. All the while, our precious Ashley Jocelyn came into the world. At 4 months, she is truly a gem, a precious baby to hold. If this moment could be frozen in time.

Alicia is a full-time housewife, domestic goddess, chef extraordinaire, wife, best friend and the woman who never stops working. Annemarie is our oldest, she turned 4. She talks more than her mother and dresses better than anyone in the house. Speaking of dress, she wears a DRESS everyday! Her heart for her siblings astonishes me, because all I wanted to do as a young boy was steal my brothers' G. I. Joe figures and blow them up with bottle rockets. Annie's favorite things include dressing up, ballet, art, talking, laughing and entertaining her parents. She also loves to get up every morning at 6:00 am! Joshua is 2; he is a studly man, takes after his fathers' jaw-dropping good looks, arm-pit sweating, hairy chest, incredible biceps and inherits his mothers' intelligence (whew). He charms you with his smile and tender affection, yet seems very resistant to listening to concrete instruction – "Joshua, please do not touch that" means nothing to him.

The most charming, personal event in 2008 for me, yours truly, was the activation of my second implant. Now I'm hearing in stereo! Re-discovering new sound has become a daily treasure for me – there is always something new to hear or discover. All the while I thought I was content hearing out of one ear via a cochlear implant for the last 4 years – it has become an entirely new "life" hearing bilaterally.

In summary, 2008 turned out to be a very eventful year for Alicia and I. I learned that in a millisecond, you can die – Alicia nearly did soon after Ashley was born. When the real estate market nose-dived I honestly thought my place would sell for ½ less than what I purchased it for. Anxiety, anxiety anxiety. Through all the trials (I don't want to make you sleepy), I learned that our God is a sovereign God, he holds us in the palm of his hand. His truth is the same yesterday, today and forever. It does not matter what issue is or isn't on the ballot - He loves us all the same and regardless who is living at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue; HE REIGNS OVER ALL.

May God watch over and protect you and your family in 2009.

a fun story

2009-01-06T23:13:00.001-05:00

lets feed ashley!

2009-01-06T22:57:00.000-05:00

christmas post (coming)

2008-12-27T12:14:00.005-05:00

You know the best is yet to come... and that means my christmas post! Its coming friends..its coming. Slacker-in-chief promises! In the meantime, enjoy the kids jumping on their moonbounce. (did you notice my huge manly grill in the background? sweet!)

Our beautiful Ashley

2008-12-18T22:21:00.003-05:00

Hello Friend(s) far and near!

2008-12-01T17:52:00.007-05:00

Without further ado, I bring a new blog entry to you! It was a busy November for The Royer family. First and foremost, yours truly turned 30..among the many parties held is the one here with my special little friends.

And along with my 30th came a new president. Man, I just can't wait to see the change everyone's talkin' about.

The Little Royer kiddos are alive and well - Ashley sleeps through the night, in fact, so do I. Hard to believe it took 30 years, I finally broke the habit. This brings me to share with you a picture:

This one is my favorite of Joshua. Notice his right ear sticking out? that's a true royer family trait. I would show more traits, but I want custody of my child more so than CPS.

While there are photos in the land of the internet of our new house; I'm not in a hurry to find them! Settlement is this friday; pray for my pocketbook 'cause AJ had a little fender bender and closing costs are never fun! and oh, my deductible is $1,000 if you're wondering.

last but not least, pray for my buddies on December 12th.

trick or treating with our neighbor

2008-10-31T19:09:00.000-05:00

just a note

2008-10-31T18:57:00.002-05:00

A roller coaster week of emotions; Ashley's heart murmur is fine, Joshua's hearing appears to be ok although the audiologist couldn't get a probe into his ear. Apparently his primary care doctor frazzled him trying to remove the excessive ear wax. Gross. The sad news is we withdrew our offer on the townhouse in Ashburn. You would think after four months of "this and that" the seller would get it together; apparently not. We're taking our cash elsewhere.

Kids

2008-10-10T09:13:00.001-05:00

Congratulations, Matt - You made chief!!

2008-10-08T07:46:00.001-05:00

(My brother is the last one on the right)

Send a kid to camp

2008-10-06T13:38:00.003-05:00

Abbie Cranmer is raising funds in order to attend the 20th annual Association of Late Deafened Adult (ALDA) Convention in Chicago. I can't think of anyone more deserving to go -- Abbie is truly the ears, eyes, and voice for the cochlear implant community. She is a brilliant writer, one who can captivate and substantially contribute to the well-being of others with encouragement, love and support. Going through the CI process is indeed, a process. We all need a friend -- please help send our "kid" Abbie to camp!

brett thinks he's funny, wait til I get him back

2008-10-01T19:08:00.000-05:00

CI, part two

2008-10-01T19:02:00.000-05:00

a better slideshow...?

2008-09-15T20:56:00.002-05:00

edible flower

2008-09-10T16:39:00.002-05:00

this was fun to eat... just ask Annie.

photo time

2008-09-10T16:36:00.001-05:00

Hey Grandma....

2008-09-02T23:07:00.003-05:00

Annie: Hey Grandma, do you wanna watch my ice melt?

Well, finding humor this past week has been challenging! Don't you love it when you hear children ask the most innocent questions? I wonder if I have ever tried to watch ice melt. Maybe God is trying to tell me to slow down?

We are alive, well, and not-so-rested. Ashley had a clean bill of health on her one-week checkup. Alicia is still recovering.

On the housing front we have received no response from GMAC, the owners of the place we submitted an offer on. More questions than answers at this point.

Interesting....

Here She Is

2008-08-26T21:35:00.003-05:00

Ashley Jocelyn Royer

August 26, 2008

7 pounds, 6 ounces, 21 inches long

biggest dead snake!

2008-08-10T12:53:00.001-05:00

make your screen big to see the whole thing (hey, its only 17 seconds..)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44LCBcuB4RM

fun in too much sun

2008-07-25T23:14:00.002-05:00

yo, where you been?

2008-07-14T22:01:00.006-05:00

well, between my busy presidential campaign, an expectant wife and temporary living quarters...we've been short on time. Hope these photos serve you well!

Here he places his ball on the Tee

his first swing is a hit!!

Yes, it's true

2008-07-01T14:38:00.001-05:00

more fun at chuck-e-cheese

2008-04-23T12:48:00.001-05:00

some fun over the last few days...

2008-04-23T12:44:00.002-05:00

A New Toy

2008-04-17T20:02:00.002-05:00

I got a new toy - primarely for Alicia to take decent fotos of the kids... here are a few shots I snapped today...

AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL:

easter weekend

2008-03-23T12:28:00.007-05:00

All dressed for church! He is Risen INDEED!

Annie got a HUUUUGE Bunny..!!

Joshua's first easter basket from his grandma! He neglected the lamb and went straight for the candy.

Flying a kite -- obviously Joshua has no idea what he's doing (almost like his daddy, right? :))

Hunting for eggs

We're getting ready for Easter Dinner at my mom's saturday evening (Mike's mom)

just smiling around

2008-03-09T21:49:00.003-05:00

farewell to a legend

2008-03-04T12:39:00.000-05:00

2008-02-22T15:52:00.001-05:00

In his book, Talking In The Dark, Steve Harper reminds us:

Life can change quickly…don’t wait for the change to occur…begin now to dig the well that leads to God’s living water, so that when your change happens, you can draw from resources that are already present.

Ollie!

2008-02-19T09:26:00.001-05:00

super biker gal

2008-02-04T14:04:00.002-05:00

last night I put together a superbowl party for the deaf ministry at church at a restaurant with an arcade. Annie quickly discovered the video games, as did Joshua. They both loved the motorcycle game, so with a little help from mom and dad we propped them on their sport bikes and their imagination did the rest. Well, we turned our backs to have conversations with some friends and when we looked again a few minutes later, Annie got creative on her bike!

caught in the act

2008-01-23T09:08:00.001-05:00

Well, Annie asked, so I painted!

fried chicken & various tidbits

2008-01-16T21:06:00.001-05:00

...Mike Reporting...

I have known Alicia five and a half years. In our brief history, she has always detested fried chicken. I personally don't mind the occasional heart attack, but forget alicia eating the stuff. 8 weeks into pregnancy with #3, she has eaten very little, until a commercial for fried chicken tonight at 8:40 (with temps in the 20's) what do you think she asked me to do?? Wow, Alicia Royer ate fried chicken! Grow baby, grow!

and now for various kiddie / family photos...

Little Royer #3

2008-01-07T14:01:00.000-05:00

Hello Friends! Alicia and I are proud to announce #3 on the way! We're only six weeks along; with an expected arrival sometime in September. More to come!

2007-12-17T14:35:00.000-05:00

The pictures below are from our trip to Asheville, NC. We visited the Biltmore which was gorgeous and enormous! We also rode horses through the estate. We had a wonderful time!!!

2007-12-17T14:30:00.000-05:00

2007-12-17T14:26:00.000-05:00

2007-12-17T13:55:00.000-05:00

In this picture Annie and Joshua are both sick, can you tell??
Also in one of the pictures below, Joshua is wearing a bandage on his hand. It is because he was so sick he had to have an IV put in his arm and they bandaged it and kept it in in case he needed more fluids.

Random and older pics

2007-12-17T13:49:00.000-05:00

a group of us had fun at the wiggles!!

A Good Christmas Card?

2007-11-15T09:40:00.000-05:00

photo credit: Cindy Dyer of Dyer Design -- www.cindydyer.wordpress.com

If we could only get Joshua to turn his head!

2007-11-12T18:25:00.000-05:00

2007-10-26T08:02:00.000-05:00

2007-10-26T08:01:00.000-05:00

Dora Shoes!

2007-10-26T07:57:00.000-05:00

This is Annie on her birthday morning after Daddy took her to breakfast and to get her haircut. I love the bow.

2007-10-26T07:55:00.000-05:00

Annie woke up. Don't know why, but this is cute.

2007-10-18T13:00:00.000-05:00

Joshua gets his haircut

2007-10-18T12:55:00.000-05:00

Right before Joshua got his haircut, another boy his age screamed as he received his. then Joshua sat down and chose to make no expression and didn't move the whole time. I even tried to get him to laugh. His demeanor was totally cracking me up. Thinking about it still makes me laugh. you can see in these pictures that his expression never changed. What a cute boy!

2007-10-18T12:52:00.000-05:00

Annie is wearing her "Joseph" coat that she made in Community Bible Study and walking around with a book and her dolly in a princess wagon.

2007-10-13T12:41:00.000-05:00

Joshua's new outfit (supplied by Meemaw) is snuggly and matches the couch!

2007-10-10T19:46:00.000-05:00

2007-10-10T19:41:00.000-05:00

2007-10-10T19:39:00.000-05:00

Poor Joshua, has to sleep on pink sheets. :(

2007-10-10T19:36:00.000-05:00

Joshua's first ride! at the Joe Gibbs Country Fair. He smiled a lot after the ride started. He is typically a very smiley dude but is also very pensive at times. I enjoy that. The other pics are on Grandma's camera so you don't get to see Annie who was on the same ride.....or other rides. sorry! our camera stinks and sometimes won't take pics. :(

2007-10-10T19:34:00.000-05:00

I love our kids.

2007-10-10T19:29:00.000-05:00

A Great Falls Birthday. :) Kristin is hiding and Annie and Sarah are in their own little girl world looking at the water.

2007-10-10T19:27:00.000-05:00

this picture is for you Brett. Missed you on our birthday. :)

2007-10-10T19:24:00.000-05:00

little girls in mini skirts (like I would wear in the 80's) and boys (or any kid) in overalls are so darn cute!!!

Our updated family photo!

2007-09-24T19:26:00.000-05:00

Joshua eating spaghetti

2007-09-20T12:52:00.000-05:00

Here he is - the messy one - eating spaghetti and apparently he was tired so he kept rubbing his eyes and that made us nervous because of the sauce possibly stinging his eyes so since it didn't seem to bother him, we decided it was a kodak moment and I don't even have kodak. enjoy!

more beach pics

2007-09-18T13:13:00.000-05:00

2007-09-18T13:12:00.000-05:00

what's wrong with this picture?

2007-09-18T13:10:00.000-05:00

I love this picture. He is soooo funny. what a goof! :)

Outside fun

2007-09-18T13:05:00.000-05:00

Here are a bunch of pictures of us outside. They are a bit blurry because the setting on my camera was wrong and didn't know it. Also, the duplicate you see below is because yesterday Mike was going to put the pictures on the blog and couldn't because the camera batteries died but he never signed out so I posted them today and then the blogger thought it was Monday and it said "error" so I posted it again and if that makes any sense, then you know why it was posted twice.

Outside fun

2007-09-18T13:03:00.001-05:00

I never knew teaching Annie to ride her bike would require so much patience; after all, she has picked up every other talent like a natural. (Mike) She seems to want to go backwards instead of forwards but going backwards is impossible because of the brakes. (A)

Outside fun

2007-09-17T21:12:00.000-05:00

Implant Anniversary

2007-08-31T11:43:00.000-05:00

Three years ago, October 24, 2004, my cochlear implant was activated. For 18 years I suffered in the realms of amplified sounds via bilateral digital hearing aids. Many moons ago, when CI technology peeked over the horizon, I resisted the audiologists recommendation for the operation.

Looking back at what three years has taught me, and what the future may or may not promise. I have learned there is beauty in silence and in hearing; each person has a unique voice of distinctive harmony. NO longer do I have to stretch my neck or my eyes to investigate sound. There are many factors to successful speech discrimination, and within speech is clarity, tone and inflection. I have learned that facial expression is one small component of self-expression - tone and volume are other important factors too. I never realized a person could keep a straight-face yet have the most stern, serious voice with an angry tone. I have learned that young children can cry out of hunger, fatigue, urgency or loneliness. I have become a better, more understanding parent.

I'm wearing the most technological advanced Cochlear Implant on the market; the promise of better technology is all part of Advanced Bionics' mission to ensure the internal device can be upgraded via the external processor (i.e., I will not undergo additional surgery).

I have traveled throughout the United States sharing my story, my journey to hearing, from a world of silence-filled with depression and confusion. Many have been touched, and even made the personal decision to pursue a Cochlear Implant, including my oldest brother, Fred.

I love hearing, I love the freedom I have gained with my Cochlear Implant, and I look forward to additional self-discovery. I look forward to acoustically challenging environments, such as concert halls and banquet facilities. I look forward to my ever-expanding horizon of hearing, because within sound I have discovered is the beauty of life.

more flashback to the 80's

2007-08-31T09:43:00.001-05:00

Beautiful!

2007-08-29T12:09:00.000-05:00

I love these little outfits!

2007-08-29T11:45:00.000-05:00

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit from Annie and Joshua's Uncle Brett and Aunt Krista!

2007-08-29T11:40:00.000-05:00

Welcome Home Mercy!

2007-08-29T11:24:00.000-05:00

This is our good friends beautiful new daughter from China. She is so precious. I long for our time to adopt.

Jockey's Ridge

2007-08-29T11:19:00.000-05:00

Here is one of the many views of Jockey's Ridge - An amazingly huge (14 story) sand dune in the Outer Banks of NC. It's gorgeous at sunset an even though I've been many many times it never ceases to amaze me. God is so interesting in His creation. :) I wonder what could be under all that sand? More sand or a ship wreck or dinosaurs?

what's wrong with my printer?

2007-08-28T12:52:00.001-05:00

oh, this explains!

Back from the beach!

2007-08-19T18:18:00.000-05:00

A big hello to my faithful one or two readers. We are back from the beach, a lively time had by all; nonetheless I'm glad to be home in an environment of less chatter. No post is a good post without pictures - enjoy!

flashback to the 80's

2007-08-09T15:05:00.001-05:00

You know you listened to this song a million times when no one was around :)

Smokey the Bear

2007-08-06T08:09:00.000-05:00

Annie stood there for ten minutes after it said "hi there Annie, how are you?"

2007-08-05T20:36:00.000-05:00

The Ohio State Fair

2007-08-05T20:32:00.000-05:00

Annie and I took a quick weekend road trip to see my dad (annie's pa-pa Jim). On Saturday we went to the Ohio State Fair - the largest in the US. If you've never been - one highlight is the buttered cow sculpture - i thought it would be so neat for Annie to see and experience the thrill and frills of Ohio-culture. We had a great time.

where in the world are the Royer's?

2007-08-01T11:10:00.000-05:00

You may be wondering where we've been..?? Well, being the super-smart mom and dad we are, we left our camera at my mom's new house an hour south of us! So, we can't post any pictures until the piece-of-clunk arrives in the mail. However, I was able to steal this from my mom. Beautiful casa - 5,000 sq feet, three car garage (one spot is for the lawnmower). 3.85 acres. Lovely.

2007-07-24T12:07:00.000-05:00

Anyone want to play in our creative "sandbox in a boat on a balcony"?

2007-07-24T12:05:00.000-05:00

2007-07-24T12:04:00.000-05:00

Anybody want a ride?

2007-07-24T12:02:00.000-05:00

Anybody want a push on the swing?

a book you must read

2007-07-18T10:16:00.000-05:00

Josh Swiller took his deafness and his wit to a hut in Africa. He's a friend of a friend, so I've been following him closely. You must PRE ORDER now. you won't regret reading this. Here's the link

2007-07-17T18:44:00.000-05:00

Annie: Always cheerful; even with bedhead :)