This One's for Nana...

GO STEELERS!!!

Strep AGAIN!!!

... and this time it's the kids that has NO TONSILS!!!! Are you kidding! We hope you feel better really soon Tanner. You sure are not yourself today... we hope you'll be back to bouncing around like usual tomorrow!

Signs of Spring!

The Willows in the backyard are blooming...
... the saucer magnolia's are starting to bud...
... the daffodils are starting to open...
.. and my new baby just arrived!!! Let's do some gardening!!!! We finally decided that we really, really needed a tiller and I have heard GREAT things about the Mantis tillers. Here goes - hey and you get your money back in the first year if you don't like it.

Star of the Week

Brock was the Star of the Week for Kindergarten! He had a great time getting to be the center of attention this week.
Showing Reese how it's done in Kindergarten - she fit right in and loved being around all the kids.
Such a good brother to share... hope he's not sick!
Today was sports day and all the kids dressed up in their uniforms or favorite sports apparel. Mark and I got to go into the classroom and tell everyone about Brock. He was a little embarrassed but took it all well.

Some Girls Have the Greatest Big Brothers!!!

Hello!!!! Nothing like some sibling bonding on the couch with a carton of Cookies and Cream!!! YUM! It seems that Brock thought Reese should have her dessert even if Mom had not approved... this is what I found when I walked in from the computer. Ahhh - Maybe Mom should quit blogging and Facebooking so much. Hmmm.

Happy 90th Birthday Grandma!!! Who would EVER know that this beautiful woman is 90.. she hides from the camera ALL the time but I was able to get this shot this past summer while we were in PA. What a great time we all had in Florida celebrating the birthdays of Grandma and Nana (my mom). Below is the picture of all the family at her birthday luncheon.

Florida Trip 2009

Reese's First Trip to the Beach!

This little girl loved everything about the beach!!! She loved the water - though it was freezing cold, the BIRDS - "Birdie comear" ( Birdie come here, and think Boston accent for the proper Birdie pronunciation!!!) - Feeding the birds got full on giggles - digging in the sand brought hours of enjoyment - and getting buckets of water from the ocean - more, more!!! She loved every minute of it and was soooo sad to leave. On the bright side - she was asleep in a matter of 2 minutes after we left. We had a bad fight with the sunscreen on her face and needless to say -she had the red mask of Zorro for a few days.

No even RAIN will stop them...

The football games still seem to go on rain or shine at our house!
These kids were soaked!!!
Thankfully - a week later no one is sick from this afternoon of FUN!
What do you mean you want me to come in??? We're having a great time!

Brennan's Last Pinewood Derby

Here's Brennan's last pinewood derby car! It's hard to believe he's almost done with cubs! He did a fabulous job and won his den's race and placed 2nd overall! It was a very close race and it happen to be against the same boy from last year. Brennan was a good sport, but rather upset that he found out the boys used other wheels than from BSA. We are very proud of him and he was very kind and showed great sportsmanship to the winner despite his disappointment.
This time of the year was extremely busy for us and poor Brennan's paint job went a little haywire... thanks to late night paint jobs and VERY COLD temperatures. Spray paint just doesn't do well when it freezing outside. In the end, OPI red nail polish came to the rescue to fix the stripes that the tape didn't hold on.
Anxiously waiting!
Watching intently during one of the races... Brennan's car went so fast that it shot off the end of the track the first two times down - after that, he was sure to be there to catch it each time!

Oh So Thankful!!!

Well life has been moving at a very fast clip these days, but I have to stop and just share a few blessings. Can I just say that I am so thankful for a Father in Heaven who is ever so mindful of each one of us and our needs and desires. As everyone has noticed, the stock markets have been horrible these past several months and financially we have taken a huge hit in the bank account. I have to say that I must share my testimony of paying tithing and knowing that the Lord will make the numbers all work out at the end. At the beginning of the month, we knew that we were going to be seriously lacking in the funds to cover the monthly budget. With the markets so bad, taking from savings would hurt horribly too... and then the blessings began to flow. We have affectionately starting calling it Bonus Monday.. or Tuesday.. or whatever day it is. Here's just a few of the many little things that have happen lately...

We received our Home Owners Association bill only to find out that somehow, over the past TWO YEARS ,we had overpaid our dues by $360.00!!! It had never shown up on our bill until now and they were happy to send us a refund! BONUS!!!

Our iron broke just 30 days before the one year warranty was up - called the company and they said to mail it to them and a NEW one would be sent to us. It arrived yesterday - BRAND NEW! BONUS!!!

Our digital thermometer broke last week while Reese was sick and it too was not that old... called the company - same story, send it back and we'll send you a new one! BONUS!!!

The Water Bill comes in the mail this week and Hmmm - over paid by $50 last month. Gotta love that bank auto-draft! BONUS!!!

Mark finds a gift card in his desk drawer for a local shoe store from long ago - I really, really needed a pair of shoes - They had a sale and with the sale and the gift card I bought two pairs and one was free! BONUS!!!

Mark had three people apply for insurance on his online site that he had NEVER talked to and they all got insurance - extra commissions - BOUNS!!!

He has had an amazing number of people call out of the phone book for Medicare Supplemental Insurance too.

The list could go on and on. I am SOOO thankful for these little miracles and blessings in our lives. At the end of the month, and only God knows how, the bank account was still in the green with just a few dollars to spare. Only through sacrifice do we grow - sometimes 10% off the top going to the Lord for tithing seems like it would be a hardship, but Oh how the Lord blesses us for doing what is right. How thankful I am that we have been SOO blessed - Mark still has clients, we have food, and a house over our head and we are healthy and happy!!!