Those Moments

We often take our cameras to the kids' games or school events but miss the moments that will matter when they are adults. Nonni was reading the kids a book the other night and I actually caught in on camera.



I know that this a picture that they'll look at fondly in their adulthood!

My Birthday

I generally enjoy birthdays but I have to admit I was not all that jazzed about this one. It might be that I now have to pluck out the gray hairs, the ** pounds are harder to lose or that I am just tired.

When I got home from work last night (my birthday eve), Jeff and the kids presented me with this card.

Age has never been a huge issue for me but seeing "35" in print made me shudder. Then I opened it to see all of the wonderful plans that my family had for me.

If you can read it, it talks about 35 things that they are going to do for me today. Many of them are my favorites. The best one might be "Flush the Toilet" - that is not always an easy one around our house. :)

So in the tradition of my friend Glen Barney who sends out a yearly birthday email, I celebrate this great day with gladness!

My father-in-law has a tradition of telling us how grateful he is for us on our birthdays and why he is thankful that we are born. So in that spirit I voice my thanks to all of you. I am grateful for my wonderful husband that works hard and makes it his mission to show how much he loves me daily. I have a great job and work with people that I enjoy. I am blessed with an amazing extended family, including parents that live close and are so much fun to be around. I was awakened by five wonderful smiling faces (the fifth was Duke) that love me! I vow this year to enjoy more of life and to focus more on the smiling and less on the tantrums.

I hope that I will see more of you in my 36th year! Some days it seems that we might just be getting things in order! I love you all!

Saturday Night with Branden and Bonzo

My sister and her husband went out of town so Branden and Bonzo stayed at our house.





Bonzo is their 6-month-old Puggle. Duke had fun but we were reminded how blessed we were to receive Duke after his puppy years had passed.

The kids had a great time with Branden. They built a mini golf course in a shoe box for my sister's birthday.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Baseball is not my favorite sport. I spent most of my childhood playing soccer so it is a little slow for me. When this season started, Jared was practicing for his play and at the end of his basketball season. To be honest, I was ready for something to go!

This is Jared's fourth year playing. The past few years have been a bit like watching paint dry while trying to chase the three other kids around. Something changed this year. Jared is so much fun to watch - making diving catches and getting hits during most of his at bats. He is not used to failing so when he does strike out, he takes it really hard.

It looks like baseball is here to stay.

Our 20-Pound Cat

Jeff and I got Gehrig a month after we were married. Because we adopted him around Halloween, I had wanted to call him Pumpkin. That didn't fly with Jeff. I then came up with the name Gehrig, after Jeff's favorite baseball player. I got wife points for that one.

90% of people who meet Gehrig say, "That is a big cat!" He has been on diet food his entire life and it just doesn't seem to help.

Duke definitely acknowledges that Gehrig is in charge. He won't even look the cat in the eye. (BTW - this picture was staged. They don't ever sit next to each other.)

With the addition of the 4 kids and the dog, Gehrig spends most of his days looking annoyed.

Lucas's Spring Tea

Our little Lucas is by far the most mild-mannered of our
children. (Claire often beats up on him.) This was his first year in preschool and at first he was very shy. Thankfully we carpool with his friend Annie, and having her in class has helped a lot.

At the end of the year his school has a Spring Tea in each of the classrooms where the children make the goodies, placemats and have songs that they sing for the parents. He sang his little heart out until he was accidentally hit in the face by the boy next to him during "I'm a Little Tea Pot" - it can be a violent song!

He has grown up so much this year. On occasion he actually even stands up to his little sister!

The Best Sunday Ever!

Every once awhile a day comes along and I think that I am actually going to still be sane by the time the kids leave for college. Sundays aren't always easy because the kids tend to be extra difficult at church, especially if Jeff is out of town. It is especially great to have them act out when 200 of our closest friends are watching.

This Sunday was amazing. We had the drink bins out from Duke's birthday party. The kids decided to fill them up with water and play in the backyard together. It almost seemed like they might actually enjoy each other's company! Jared said, "This is the best Sunday ever!" Who knew that water and bins could be so great.

It lasted for one blissful hour and they ended up their usual sassy selves!