It's been a while...
Here we are in the middle of the summer already! I can't believe how fast time flies... Quick summary- Elizabeth went to camp, Emma had cousin Cella for three weeks, Christian got his hair all cut off to go to Arizona for a few weeks (looks amazing!), Christian went to Lake Powell and had a blast, Conan and I went to the beach for a weekend, Renee' came for a week then she and Cella flew off to Europe, I finally decorated my living room, Christian and Elizabeth spent a weekend at Youth Conference, and now... we are at the "I'm bored" stage! The really terrible thing about it is that I've been too lazy to pick up my camera and take pictures of most of it! Kind of pathetic... So I'm doing it today!
In the meantime, here are a few pictures, the beach, a few summer pics, and Easter spent in North Carolina with the Raiteri's and Scott and his girls! Oh, and my great trip to NYC with my wonderful friend Brenda who came all the way from Gig Harbor, WA to see me! Magnolia Bakery gets our vote for the BEST banana pudding ever...
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
HAPPY, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!
That's for Conan and I, who just celebrated 19 years! Wow. Sounds long but doesn't feel it!
We had a great time on Saturday, spending a whole day together without interruptions! We
drove down to the D.C. temple (soooo lovely), then took the Metro downtown. We wandered
around for hours, in and out of museums, enjoying the beautiful spring-like weather and being together! (My favorite was the modern art museum!) There were tons of people on the mall hanging out with kites, bikes, and frisbees- awesome! Finishing the day, we had a yummy dinner then headed home. We really wished we were heading to a hotel instead, but it seemed too complicated this time, so we opted to come home at the end of the day and go to the beach when it's really warm and sunny (and kids are out of school!). I was telling someone of our plans the day before and she pretty much gasped that we had been married so long, with lots of enthusiastic congratulations! I'm thankful to be married to a good man who works hard and loves us so much. Truly, one of the Lord's greatest blessings in my life.
We had a great time on Saturday, spending a whole day together without interruptions! We
drove down to the D.C. temple (soooo lovely), then took the Metro downtown. We wandered
around for hours, in and out of museums, enjoying the beautiful spring-like weather and being together! (My favorite was the modern art museum!) There were tons of people on the mall hanging out with kites, bikes, and frisbees- awesome! Finishing the day, we had a yummy dinner then headed home. We really wished we were heading to a hotel instead, but it seemed too complicated this time, so we opted to come home at the end of the day and go to the beach when it's really warm and sunny (and kids are out of school!). I was telling someone of our plans the day before and she pretty much gasped that we had been married so long, with lots of enthusiastic congratulations! I'm thankful to be married to a good man who works hard and loves us so much. Truly, one of the Lord's greatest blessings in my life.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Two Fantastic Weekends!!!
A little over a week ago we had the pleasure of being a part of my niece, Cella's baptism! She was ecstatic to have her cousin Christian perform the baptism. It was an amazing experience for everyone. Emma and Elizabeth sang "When I am Baptized" with their beautiful, sweet voices. We are so blessed. It was a fabulous weekend! The stress hit on the way home, President's Day, when we left late to miss D.C. traffic, but instead drove right into a blinding snow storm! As an added shock, it was 80 degrees when we left North Carolina... eeek! We made it home, with many spoken and unspoken prayers uttered. We were still on a high from the lovely weekend spent with family and a spiritual milestone.
Then it was time to get ready for Elizabeth's 14th birthday! We decided to paint and decorate her room. It was a transformation from mauve and peach (ugh), to plum and silver walls with turquoise accents! So very pretty! Emma helped with it all. I'm not quite done, but will include a picture when finished! She was so happily surprised. She also got the Chi straightening iron (a brand new one found on craigslist for over half the price new- I love that!) she has soooo longed for, and was thrown a surprise party by her good friends! It was awesome! In the middle of it all, Christian passed his driver's test and is now an official driver!! It's all good!
Then it was time to get ready for Elizabeth's 14th birthday! We decided to paint and decorate her room. It was a transformation from mauve and peach (ugh), to plum and silver walls with turquoise accents! So very pretty! Emma helped with it all. I'm not quite done, but will include a picture when finished! She was so happily surprised. She also got the Chi straightening iron (a brand new one found on craigslist for over half the price new- I love that!) she has soooo longed for, and was thrown a surprise party by her good friends! It was awesome! In the middle of it all, Christian passed his driver's test and is now an official driver!! It's all good!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
A New Year...
This new year sure started out with a bang! We ended up in a landlord/tenant nightmare, water-leaking, mold growing fiasco over the holidays and moved into a new home, by necessity the weekend before Christmas! It was C-R-A-Z-Y, insane! It was a mad rush to unpack (thanks to my mom for coming to help). Then Christmas decor out and around (after first locating it). Then Christmas shopping. Then Christmas and a New Year's very fun party. Then the bang... I had a whopping 12 mm. kidney stone that got STUCK and I was extremely ill, hence 2 ER visits, 2 surgeries, the installation of a ureteric stent (Ugh with a capital U), the passing of Conan's sweet Grandma Dorothy, me in bed- in pain for almost 4 weeks, removal of stent (just say NO to that), Christian breaking his thumb, and here we are with February almost over and me wondering "where did the past 5 weeks go???" Hmmmm...
Oh yeah, and how did I gain 5 pounds? Such are the questions of life.
So, here I am. The first day out of bed I went so wild with activity that I ended up with sore muscles!! Who knew that doing laundry was a workout? I have the best family and friends in the world. They were all so good to me. The other day I made a comment that I am so happy to be able to do normal THINGS and Elizabeth looked at me with that teenager look of pure exasperation and said, "ME TOO! I was YOU while you were in bed." To funny. I had to laugh.
Some adventures are really best left in the past... Like this one! Happy New Year, finally...
Oh yeah, and how did I gain 5 pounds? Such are the questions of life.
So, here I am. The first day out of bed I went so wild with activity that I ended up with sore muscles!! Who knew that doing laundry was a workout? I have the best family and friends in the world. They were all so good to me. The other day I made a comment that I am so happy to be able to do normal THINGS and Elizabeth looked at me with that teenager look of pure exasperation and said, "ME TOO! I was YOU while you were in bed." To funny. I had to laugh.
Some adventures are really best left in the past... Like this one! Happy New Year, finally...
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Fun (and not so fun) Times!
I'm attempting to get all of the recent fun (and some NOT so!) times here, just so I don't forget my blessings.
We spent a great Thanksgiving day with friends in York and had the most amazing food, along with super company! We brought the apple chestnut stuffing, Conan's yummy mashed potatoes, and our family's favorite peanut butter chocolate ganache pie!!! We learned some good games, too (like Dutch blitz!).
On black Friday, we skipped the mall and instead took Emma to her amazing piano teacher's house to decorate a magnificent gingerbread house. This wonderful woman makes nearly a thousand houses to donate to a school she began in Brooklyn, NY, and also enough to give to all of her (MANY) quite fortunate piano students. Then the kids and I hopped in the car and drove the 6 hours to North Carolina to spend a few days with Renee', our mom (who was visiting), and cute niece! They had just moved in, minus brother in-law Ashley who was working his ridiculously long commuting job to Bulgaria... (talk about jet lag!) Anyway, he's home now for a few weeks- yeah! We had a fun filled weekend- it was beautiful and mainly we just laughed a whole bunch. After we made the trek home, braving D.C. and Baltimore traffic with gritted teeth and thankfully,Christmas music blaring, we waited and waited to find out if we are moving to a new place- thanks to mold growing in ours... ugh.
Meanwhile, Emma still suffering with unidentifiable stomach pains, which began while taking a strong antibiotic last month for bronchitis, came down with another awful bronchial infection. Our poor little girl has been suffering. She has missed 24 days of school so far this year... She has now experienced blood tests, chest x-rays, the ER, inhalers, and lots of medicine. That's been the not so fun part... She is finally back to school, as of yesterday, and is in good spirits again.
As of today, we are for sure moving, (like next week) which thought kind of makes my skin crawl, but (oh joy), to a beautiful home not too far away where we will stay put for a LONG time. There is always a silver lining... As I attempt not to give in to anxiety over it all, I remember that things always work out somehow, and continue to feel immense peace. It's so amazing to know that we are being watched over and looked out for. Especially in the darkest hours... At such a wonderful time of the year, I am humbled and grateful for the trials which always seem to turn around when we think we can't handle them another minute (and usher in the blessings...).
We spent a great Thanksgiving day with friends in York and had the most amazing food, along with super company! We brought the apple chestnut stuffing, Conan's yummy mashed potatoes, and our family's favorite peanut butter chocolate ganache pie!!! We learned some good games, too (like Dutch blitz!).
On black Friday, we skipped the mall and instead took Emma to her amazing piano teacher's house to decorate a magnificent gingerbread house. This wonderful woman makes nearly a thousand houses to donate to a school she began in Brooklyn, NY, and also enough to give to all of her (MANY) quite fortunate piano students. Then the kids and I hopped in the car and drove the 6 hours to North Carolina to spend a few days with Renee', our mom (who was visiting), and cute niece! They had just moved in, minus brother in-law Ashley who was working his ridiculously long commuting job to Bulgaria... (talk about jet lag!) Anyway, he's home now for a few weeks- yeah! We had a fun filled weekend- it was beautiful and mainly we just laughed a whole bunch. After we made the trek home, braving D.C. and Baltimore traffic with gritted teeth and thankfully,Christmas music blaring, we waited and waited to find out if we are moving to a new place- thanks to mold growing in ours... ugh.
Meanwhile, Emma still suffering with unidentifiable stomach pains, which began while taking a strong antibiotic last month for bronchitis, came down with another awful bronchial infection. Our poor little girl has been suffering. She has missed 24 days of school so far this year... She has now experienced blood tests, chest x-rays, the ER, inhalers, and lots of medicine. That's been the not so fun part... She is finally back to school, as of yesterday, and is in good spirits again.
As of today, we are for sure moving, (like next week) which thought kind of makes my skin crawl, but (oh joy), to a beautiful home not too far away where we will stay put for a LONG time. There is always a silver lining... As I attempt not to give in to anxiety over it all, I remember that things always work out somehow, and continue to feel immense peace. It's so amazing to know that we are being watched over and looked out for. Especially in the darkest hours... At such a wonderful time of the year, I am humbled and grateful for the trials which always seem to turn around when we think we can't handle them another minute (and usher in the blessings...).
Monday, November 22, 2010
Christmas Music Already???
This morning I climbed into the minivan to take Emma to school, and on to Monday morning stuff, when I hit the stereo power button... I was pretty much shocked by what I heard! No, it wasn't the usual profanity or annoying lyrics of today's music, but the sound of Bing Crosby singing "White Christmas" that completely threw me off! Whatever happened to Thanksgiving??? Are we just skipping it altogether this year? Wow... What a disappointment. I LOVE Christmas music! That's not the problem... But when I consider what my ancestor, William Brewster sacrificed to come to this land on the Mayflower, all that was lost in the pursuit of religious freedom, all of the peril and trial he and his fellow shipmates endured (for years); I feel a little loss at the prospect of a forgotten holiday that celebrates gratitude for the gifts God so lovingly bestows on us.
So, that's it for today. As thrilled as I always feel when Christmas time approaches, I truly cherish Thanksgiving. For the bounty, the blessings, the time with family and friends, and the pause to thank Heavenly Father for all of his love and mercy; for the many things we take for granted. I am focusing this week on living in gratitude daily (as we were so gently reminded recently by a living prophet in General Conference) and for living in the present, not dwelling on the past or waiting for the future. That's all... Gratitude!
So, that's it for today. As thrilled as I always feel when Christmas time approaches, I truly cherish Thanksgiving. For the bounty, the blessings, the time with family and friends, and the pause to thank Heavenly Father for all of his love and mercy; for the many things we take for granted. I am focusing this week on living in gratitude daily (as we were so gently reminded recently by a living prophet in General Conference) and for living in the present, not dwelling on the past or waiting for the future. That's all... Gratitude!
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Halloween!
(Since I always forget to blog, I'm in the mood and am attempting to catch up a little!)
We were happily surprised that here in Pennsylvania, when this lovely holiday falls on the Sabbath, many of the townships schedule trick-or-treating and festivities for the preceding Saturday night! Our very own township did just that, so we were able to dress up our girls for friends' parties and send them out to collect many pounds of sugary treats. Conan spent two hours going back and forth from the front door to Christian's room down the hall where they were video gaming, while I spent a good hour devouring a favorite mystery book, then visiting with our good friends who stopped by with their adorable little 2 year old "elephant" (daughter)! Elizabeth, being a teenager, wouldn't finish her cat makeup until she arrived at the party, so I never got the completed picture, and Emma was extremely comfy in some newly acquired footy pajamas! Christian and his friends put on masks and raised their deep voices an octave or so in an attempt to collect some candy bars (by sounding 13)! This was after they lined up on the back deck with air soft guns, shooting into the back yard... such boys! It was too fun!!! Pumpkin carving was slimy as always and we roasted some of the seeds coated with butter and the amazing Mediterranean sea salt I brought back from Mallorca this summer! Yuuuuuumy!
We were happily surprised that here in Pennsylvania, when this lovely holiday falls on the Sabbath, many of the townships schedule trick-or-treating and festivities for the preceding Saturday night! Our very own township did just that, so we were able to dress up our girls for friends' parties and send them out to collect many pounds of sugary treats. Conan spent two hours going back and forth from the front door to Christian's room down the hall where they were video gaming, while I spent a good hour devouring a favorite mystery book, then visiting with our good friends who stopped by with their adorable little 2 year old "elephant" (daughter)! Elizabeth, being a teenager, wouldn't finish her cat makeup until she arrived at the party, so I never got the completed picture, and Emma was extremely comfy in some newly acquired footy pajamas! Christian and his friends put on masks and raised their deep voices an octave or so in an attempt to collect some candy bars (by sounding 13)! This was after they lined up on the back deck with air soft guns, shooting into the back yard... such boys! It was too fun!!! Pumpkin carving was slimy as always and we roasted some of the seeds coated with butter and the amazing Mediterranean sea salt I brought back from Mallorca this summer! Yuuuuuumy!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
