Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Another Year Down!

I can't believe another year is almost over! It's been one of the quickest years of my life. So much has happened, yet I feel like I accomplished very little. There have been ups and there have been downs. Lives were lost. Lives were created. If I were to sit here and try to write it all out, I would be here for another year!

I am looking forward to this coming year! There are a lot of wonderful things, already on the calendar, in which I am looking forward! Here are some things already planned, for 2011:

1) I turn 28. I am actually looking forward to this. I know, I know... 28 isn't OLD... I know I am still a youngin'.... But no matter what, it's still hard to get older. To creek and crack every time I bend, and to not move as fast as my brain wants me to. But anyway- I am looking forward to 28. It's going to be a good year.

2) I graduate on May 8th. Mother's Day. The perfect Mother's Day gift to me, and to my mom! I am the first of her five children to graduate college, and I am so excited I am doing that ON Mother's Day! :)

3) Andy will have his Master's degree, the week before I graduate. What an accomplishment! I am very proud of him! :)

4) Matty will go to pre-school. Pending his health keeps improving, he will be allowed to go to school! He is very excited about it, and I am too!

5) Adam will be starting Kindergarten. I can't believe my baby boy will be in Kindergarten!

6) Chloe and I will be ALONE! How awesome will that be? We can do girl things, all day long. I am VERY excited about that.

7) I will get to continue my work, with the American Lung Association. For those of you who don't know, I am on the district O2 Society board, and I can't wait to work on fundraiser events and awareness events!

8) I look forward to seeing my babies grow and learn. They are so amazing. Everyday I am amazed by their intelligence and personalities. I've never known a love, like that for a child.

I am looking forward to 2011. It's going to be a great year! I hope you all have a wonderful coming year, as well!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Merry Christmas

From our family to yours.... Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!



“When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.” - Luke 2:16-20

Monday, December 20, 2010

Pretty, Pretty, Princess....Chloe turns ONE!



Dear Chloe-
One year ago, at this very moment, mommy was awake, in your room, rocking in the rocking chair. I was talking to you, while you were in my belly, hoping and praying that we would find out you could be born today. I slept very little that night, because I was so nervous. Mommy was very unsure of having a little girl! I was worried about how different you would be, from your brothers, and worried about having three kids.

Later in the day, we found out that your lungs were ready and we could have you. You made mommy very sick, while you were in her belly, and mommy was getting sicker as the days went on. So, we made the important decision to have you early.

Everyone was there, when you were born. They were all ready to see you, love you, cuddle you and be with you. And we were SO happy to have you with us. Finally a little girl!

Chloe, this past year has been amazing. When I thought about you, before you were born, I prayed that you would be a strong, healthy, blue eyed, beauty. God gave me everything I asked for, and SO much more. Chloe Danielle, YOU are the most amazing ray of sunshine, I have ever met in my life. You are beautiful. smart. adventurous. You love your brothers. You love your daddy. You snuggle. You cuddle. You hug. You kiss. You love mommy. You say so many words. You comprehend beyond your age. You have many people wrapped around your tiny fingers.

I thank God for you, Chloe. Everyday, I am reminded of God's love, because of the gift He gave me-- you.  

Happy First Birthday, Princess.

I love you, with all that I am-
Mommy



Monday, December 13, 2010

It's Been Awhile....

Since it's been awhile... I thought I would do a long(er) post....and of course I will add pictures to the end of the post! :) My friend Dawn did this Meme on her blog, and I decided to "borrow" it... I hope she doesn't mind! :) 

1.  What time did you get up this morning? Which time? I got up at 5:45 the first time, then 6:30, and then 7:15. 
2. How do you like your steak? rare- very rare. If I can hear it mooing, I am happy! :)
  3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Andy and I went and saw "Due Date," when we were fortunate enough to go away for the weekend, after Thanksgiving! It was the first movie I've seen, in the theater, in over a year! 
 4. What is your favorite TV show? This is a hard one. I think it's "House" right now!
5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? Not sure. I'm not even sure we're going to stay in Ohio forever. 
 6. What did you have for breakfast? coffee
 7. What is your favorite cuisine? Chinese
 8. What foods do you dislike? Not much. I am willing to try anything. I don't care for fish. 
 9. Favorite Place to Eat? Hmm... Japanese Steak House
 10. Favorite dressing? Zesty Italian or Ranch
11.What kind of vehicle do you drive? Jeep Cherokee 
 12. What are your favorite clothes? Comfy pants and hoodie (only if I am not leaving the house!)
13. Where would you visit if you had the chance? Somewhere over the ocean
14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? 1/2 full! I try to be as optimistic as possible
15. Where would you want to retire? Anywhere where my family is
16. Favorite time of day? Kiddies' nap time! 
17. What is your favorite sport to watch? Football- OSU or Steelers of course!
21. Bird watcher? not really
22. Do you consider yourself attractive? Sometimes
 23. Pets? Franklin, the turtle; Sami, the cat
24. Any new and exciting news that you’d like to share? I get a WHOLE MONTH off of school, after this week! YAY!!!
 25. What did you want to be when you were little? a teacher or "baby" doctor
26. What is your best childhood memory? I have many. I remember having so much fun with my cousins. We played in my Uncle and Aunt's basement for hours and hours. I remember never wanting to leave their house. Many fun times!
 27. Are you a cat or dog person? cat
28. Are you married? yes
 29. Always wear your seat belt? yes
30. Been in a car accident? yes; but never while I was driving, and I pray I don't ever! 
 31. Any pet peeves? I have some. 
32. Favorite pizza toppings? mushrooms
 33. Favorite Flower? Not sure. The kind that smell good? :)
34. Favorite ice cream? I don't really like ice cream. shh.
35. Favorite fast food? Wendy's salads and baked potatoes
36. How many times did you fail your driver’s test? I didn't! I cried... seriously... and the guy felt sorry for me. So, he let me try the cones again; I did it and he passed me! haha. I probably shouldn't have passed.
37. From whom did you get your last email? ummm a classmate, about our final project!
38. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Target
39. Do anything spontaneous lately? Not at all. 
40. Like your job? yes
41. Broccoli? It is yummy! Makes me burp though
42. What was your favorite vacation? Toronto, for our 5-year anniversary. It was an amazing trip!
43. Last person you went out to dinner with? My family
44. What are you listening to right now? the television and Chloe yelling at her brothers
45. What is your favorite color? Teal and red
 46. How many tattoos do you have? none
47. Coffee drinker? OHHH yes. I drink far too much.
48. How many children do you have? 3
49What is your favorite movie? Dirty Dancing. Always has been, always will be.
50. Are you a good cook? I'd like to think I am. 
 51. What is your favorite meal to cook? Hmm... Not sure what my favorite is. I like to cook anything! 
52. What is your favorite dessert? Nothing. I know. I am weird.
53. What is your favorite snack or junk food? Tortilla chips and salsa
54. Do you exercise? Yep!
55. If you have kids, what’s your favorite thing to do with them? Everything. I love baking with them and doing little crafts!
56. What state did you grow up in? Ohio, Illinois, Ohio again
57. Did you graduate from College or University? What degree? I graduate May 8, 2011; with a BS in Public Relations
58. Favorite shoes? Flip Flops!
59. How long have you been married? 9.5 years. whew. 
 60. Where did you have your wedding? Westerville, OH; we were married by my grandfather
61. What do you hate to do the most? Laundry.... Seriously. I despise it! 
62. What do you love to do the most? Read and cook
63. What do you think is your worst character trait? Hmm... I lack patience.... I don't have good patience with my kids (sometimes), with drivers, with Andy, and get annoyed too easily. I need to work on that!
64. What is your best character trait? I love unconditionally. 
65. Do you speak another language? I don't speak German as well as I once did... But I still know some of what I learned in High School! :)

And...as promised... Here are some pictures:



Adam played Joseph in his school's Nativity play. He did an amazing job and said his lines perfectly! :) 


Here we are, after the play! :) I love my boy. 


This little beauty will be ONE in just ONE WEEK! Can you believe it? I can't! 


Here's my little Matty... Making cookies... and trying to say Cheese... Ain't he a cutie?! :)


And here are some of our Christmas/Birthday pictures... :) I know I am their mommy, but man... my babies are CUTE! :) 







Thursday, November 25, 2010

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Guess Who's FIVE?!


Happy Birthday to my Adam!!! 

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Happy Halloween!

We've been quite busy around our household! :) Here are some pics from our Fall Fun!


My girl and her gourd!

Fairy Princess Chloe

Avatar, Adam and Rockstar Matty

Adam and his Pumpkin

Snooki (Amy) and Kitty (Me)

Hope you've all had a great October! :)

In just three short days my baby boy turns FIVE! :) I can hardly believe it!

Monday, September 27, 2010

One Year


It's been one year. One year since Matthew started down the spiral path of Asthma. This week we are celebrating all week with cakes, parties, and homemade "survival" T-shirts for my dear Matty! 


Asthma is serious. A serious disease that can kill. We are so blessed to have wonderful doctors, working medicine, and a wonderful God, all working to keep Matty alive and healthy. It's been a battle, this past year, to fight for Matty's life. He's had his ups and downs, and we aren't done yet--- BUT--- he is alive and he is breathing. I am thankful to everyone who have helped us this past year, who have guided us, and who have loved us! We appreciate everything. 


Looking at the picture above is so hard. It was so hard. So hard to see him suffer and struggle. Tears fill my eyes, as I type this, realizing how close we came...how close. I am thankful to have more time with my boy, and I can't wait to see what he does with his life. I can't wait to see what God has in store for this mighty fighter. 


We love you Matty! Keep fighting buddy; we are all fighting with you!


Breathe WELL. Breathe STRONG. Breathe FREE! 

Monday, September 20, 2010

9 Month Chloe


What can I say? She truly is our little princess. I couldn't have imagined, in a million years, the impact my daughter would make in my life, in just 9 short months.

Nine! nine. NINE!

Actually, I can't believe it's been nine months. Where have these months gone? How is it possible that her little life is THREE short months away from being...being....ugh...I can't even say it. You know what I mean.

But really. Nine months ago, Chloe Danielle entered our lives and changed us....our whole family.... for the better. I am so blessed to be her Mama. So honored that God trusted ME to be her Mom. Mommy. Mama.

I can't wait to see Chloe grow, learn, and become a girl and a woman. She already has quite the personality, and it is only getting stronger and stronger as days go on.

Chloe is feisty, but laid back.

She is excitable, but tame.

She is giggly, but quiet.

She is curious, but content.

She is wide eyed.

She is huggable.

Loveable.

Adorable.

And she is the best thing to happen to us, in the past nine months.

Chloe D, Chlo, Princess Girl, Miss C, Missy, Sissy, Sister, Sister Bear.... you make our family complete. We all love you!

Happy NINE Months, Princess!

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Summer's End

It's that time of year again: APPLE picking time! For the 5th year in a row, we've picked apples with Blueberry and her family! And over the years we've kept adding kiddos to the trip... We started with two little babes, 5 years ago, and this year we had FIVE kids between the two of us. It was a good time, making fun memories, and spending time with GREAT friends! :) Here are some of our fun photos:



And just to show how far we've come..... (2007)

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

A Camping We Will Go

For labor day weekend we went trekking through the woods and camped with our kiddies. It was quite the adventure. We saw many (creepy) bugs--I even showered with a wasp (seriously)-- and many cool bugs, too!  We hiked. We made fires. We sat (and relaxed!). We climbed. We biked. We visited an abandoned town and a haunted rail tunnel (separate post to come, on that) We enjoyed being a family! It was the first time, in a long time, that we were able to relax as a family (of FIVE!), without distractions, with little technology, and just US. It was amazing!


Here are some of my favorite photos, from the trip (I took over 200!):


This is "Sherman" the giant caterpillar


My girl smiled the WHOLE time! She loved being outside!

I love this photo! :)

(This is our second ever family of 5 picture!)

Matty and Daddy! Matty loved climbing the rocks-- alllll of them!

Adam and the sign. He had to sit with the sign! 


I can't believe how big my babies are getting! These pictures are just proof that they really are growing up!

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Dooby-Dooby-Doo an Update or Two.

Since I've been MIA for so long, I figured I should catch ya'll up on what's been going on in our house. Is that ok? Ok, good. And I am going to do it in a list-kinda-sorta-way. Why? Because it's my blog, and I wanna. :) 


Here we go: 


1) The house is off the market. It just wasn't selling. My nerves couldn't handle it. And I needed to know where Adam was going to go to school this year. So, it will be back on the market at the end of winter. yay-hoo!


2) I am entering my last TWO semesters of school. E V E R. I can't wait to be done! Sadly, these are going to be two very rough semesters. 


3) Adam starts Pre-Kindergarten in just a few days. I can't wait. Am I terrible or what? I can't wait to have a little downtime... a little time with just TWO kids... quiet. nice. and. quiet. 


4) Matty is NOT starting pre-school this year, as he could. His asthma has just been too bad lately. We are on all new meds. Besides them turning him into a steroid-raging maniac, he's doing GREAT! ;) (Seriously... roid-rage is a real thing, people! And in a THREE year old, it's like watching the Exorcism, in real life)


5) We're going on vacation at the end of this week! I cannot wait. Camping here we come! :)


6) The husband and I are addicted to Rock Band, for the Wii. I am not a game person. Not at all. And well...this...this is stellar! I kinda get into it, too... dancing and all. It's awesome. 


there has to be more.... hmmm.... 


7) Oh. yes. Chloe has two nice bottom teeth, now! :) She's been cutting them both (at once) all week. It's been a drooly, snotty, and fevery week! Not fun. And she's kinda dramatic about it. The boys were never this dramatic. GIRLS are dramatic. but not me


8) I just realized that I really can't stand it when two people put their hands into a bag of chips/pretzels (whatever) at the same exact time. It's uncomfortable. 


9) So, I have to get a job once I graduate. You know, those student loans don't pay themselves. I think they should. But alas, they don't... so I have to... boo. Anyone need PR? Anyone? Anyone at all? A communicator? Marketer? Anything? :) 


10) Little sister Ashley went back to college. Junior- in college. Is that possible? She turns 20 in less than a week. Is that possible? Little sister Emily is 17. She is a Junior in High School. And the youngest...Trevor... a Sophomore in High School. How does this happen? Who said they could grow?! :(


Well, I think that's all. I have no new photos. Shame on me. I will get on that, for this week. I promise! :)

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Just Some Photos :)

It's feeling like fall around here.... I kinda want summer to stick around. I am not a fan of cold weather...or the dreaded "S" word... snnoo..... I can't even say it. And I won't. Maybe it will miss us this year? Maybe? :)


We are gearing up for Adam to return to school next week! A new school! :) We can't wait, and we feel very blessed that we were able to find him such a wonderful school. 


Want to see some pictures, like I promised? Of course you do! :)


Here are my babes (if you're my FB friend...you've seen these...so... just pretend you haven't!): 

Friday, August 20, 2010

8 Months

As you can see, having three kiddies has made it impossible for me to keep up with blogging. I am hoping once Adam starts school, things will calm down a little and I will have more time to blog. 


But...


It's a big day!


Chloe is EIGHT months OLD! :) 


Can you believe it? 


Me neither. 


She does so much:


* Crawls


* Cruises (will she be walking by 9 months, like Adam? Maybe?!)


* Talks


* Eats everything in sight!


* Signs "more" when she's hungry


* Loves her brothers


* Loves her "mama" and "dada" 


* Plays with toys


* Likes watching the boys rough house


* and has PERFECTED being CUTE! :)


I love my girl! :)

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

7 Month Chloe

So much has changed in the last month! So many milestones met! My girl is amazing. She is beautiful. She is sweet. I love her more than I could EVER imagine. I DO love having a girl. 


Here are some of the new things Chloe is doing:


* Eats real food! (She loves carrots and peas) She won't eat pured food (as I found AFTER I made a ton of "baby" food). She has to have food just slightly mashed. Let me tell you, this is a pain in the tooshy, but I do it for my princess anyway! :)


* She is crawling faster and faster (it's an odd little hopping crawl, but it's a crawl nonetheless)


* She pulls herself up


* She cruises two or three steps


* She says "boo!" 


* She puts things over her face, pulls them away fast, and waits for you to say "boo!" or react


* She says "MA!" but only when she's mad


* She loves her brothers SO much. They just have to look at her, and she smiles.


* She gets very excited to see her daddy, too! :) She is a daddy's girl. 


Chloe is a blessing and such an amazing addition to our family. God knew what He was doing when he gave her to us, after the two boys. We are smitten. :) 










I love you, Princess Girl, Sister Bear, Miss C :) Happy 7 Months!