Happy Father's Day!

I realize that I'm a few days behind in posting this, but I wanted to acknowledge the men in my life, especially Greg. I could not have picked a better dad/husband. He is patient, kind, hard working, easy going and a million other things. Happy Father's Day honey! We love you!


To all of the other men in my life ... my dad, my father-in-law, my brothers, Jim and lots of awesome friends ... thanks for the important part that each of you play in my life.

I really missed my Grandpa Wally on Father's Day. I kept wanting to pick up the phone and call him. He was a very special person in my life and it's hard not being able to talk to him. But I'm thankful to know that we'll see him again someday. I love you Grandpa!

An afternoon with the Morbys

We REALLY miss having these guys next door, but thankfully they live just a few minutes away. We decided that the splash pad was the perfect place to meet up - entertainment for the kids and a some mommy time for Amy and me. Thanks for a fun time! See you again soon!

Lemonade Stand

What would summer be without a lemonade stand? We decided to "open for business" a few weeks ago. We made cookies, a sign and set up shop. Thankfully a few of our friends showed up and helped drum up some business. When all was said and done, the kids had a good thing going. After lots of nice neighbors and friends paid us a visit, the kids had earned a nice chunk of change. (Thanks to everyone who stopped by. You made their day!)


Thanks Kenna, Jaden, Bailia and Cooper for being such good business partners! And Marcia ... I appreciated the company! Let's do it again soon!

Fathers and Sons 2010

The weekend FINALLY arrived that Josh has been looking forward to for a whole year ... Fathers and Sons! I'm not sure, but I think this might even rival Christmas for him. He was particularly excited that his dad let him wear his own pocket knife on his belt loop. Apparently this is a rather poignant moment in a little boys life, or at least it was in his.


Katelyn was just about as excited as Josh because this meant we could have a girls weekend. We don't have any pictures to prove it, but we had a great time! We went to Pizza Factory and stuffed our faces and went shopping. (What else do girls do, right?) Then when we got home we decided to go for a walk. In Katelyn's words, that way we could "walk off a few of those calories." Good point sis! We put Eme to bed and watched movies and ate some more. I thoroughly enjoyed spending time chatting with Kate ... just the two of us. I've decided I need to make more of a point to spend that one on one time with her. She's quite funny and LOVES to talk! All in all, everyone had a good weekend!

My baby girl turns 1!

My once tiny, little 5 lb. 5 oz. baby girl is now a healthy 20 lb. 15 oz. munchkin with the cutest smile you've ever seen! In some ways it makes me sad that we're out of that infant stage, and yet, to watch her walk around the room, playing with the kids makes me happy and excited for the stages ahead!

On her actual birthday we celebrated as a family by going out to dinner and having cake at home. After her big birthday party with the family, she seemed to catch the vision of opening presents.


And of course, a birthday is always a great excuse for a photo shoot, right? Especially when it's your first birthday! Thankfully I know a GREAT photographer who was VERY patient and spent a ton of time snapping pics. Thanks again Am! You're awesome!


There aren't even words to say how much we love you, Emersyn Grace! You are truly a miracle and an answer to MANY, MANY prayers! And to think of how close I came to giving up. The Lord had a plan all along. I just had to be patient.

Happy 1st birthday Eme! Lots and lots of love ... FOREVER!

Mommy

New Family Pictures

We finally did it ... we had new family pictures taken. Here's a peek at a few of the MANY pictures my little sister took. Thanks Am! You're the best!

Eme's Cookies & Milk Party

For Eme's 1st birthday party I wanted to come up with something fun and different. With a little help from my mom we found the idea online of having a milk and cookies party. I had SO much fun planning and preparing for this! You may or may not know it but I LOVE planning kids parties and this was one of my favorites!



I made six different types of cookies: double chocolate, chocolate chip, lemon sugar snaps, peanut butter, oatmeal raisin and the popular new favorite ... rootbeer cookies! Of course the real hit of the party were the DARLING cakes that my friend Heidi made. Thanks Heid! You're the BEST!


It was such a fun night! The weather was perfect for having it in my mom's backyard, our families were all together and most importantly, Eme seemed to have a great time! Happy 1st birthday Eme Grace! We love you!

SCHOOL'S OUT for the summer!

It's that wonderful time of year again ... the beginning of summer! All I have to say is teachers ... heaven bless you! My kids were SO hyper that last week I can only imagine what a room full of 25 of them is like! Thanks for a great year Mrs. Pentico and Miss Webster!



To get things started off right I decided to surprise the kids with a "Welcome to Summer" party with a few of our friends. We had SO much fun - hot dogs, watermelon, slip n' slide, kiddie pool, bubbles, water guns and my favorite ... friends! Thanks for coming guys! You're the best and we look forward to lots more parties this summer!

Kate makes Student Council

This year Kate and a bunch of her friends have been on the Service Committee at school and they've LOVED it! So when it came time to apply for Student Council she was thrilled. During the last assembly of the year the new Student Council was announced and yes ... Kate made it! She was SUPER excited, but felt bad that a few of her friends didn't make it. I reminded Kate that this is a time to learn one of life's many lessons ... how to be a gracious winner and a supportive friend to those who didn't.

CONGRATULATIONS sweetie! We're excited for you and know that you'll work hard, be a good example and have a great time! We love you!