Tuesday Tribute!

This week my Tuesday Tribute is to my oldest niece, Alyssa. She turned 15! this past weekend. I can't even believe it. I love Alyssa for many reasons, but most of all because she is just a great kid! I can't believe that she is going to be driving soon...it just doesn't seem possible. Alyssa is a really great student, she is active in the band, and she loves to create things with her hands. I love that she likes to scrapbook, paint and decorate. Oh, and did I mention that she loves photography?!?! I don't know where she gets it from, but it tickles me to know that we share this hobby. I am really proud of the young lady that Alyssa is and I can't wait to see where life takes her! Happy Birthday Alyssa!! Love you bunches!!

OH..IO!!

Well, we had a blast this weekend at the Buckeye's Spring game. We went with some really great friends and went tailgating and then to the game. Afterwards, we had gotten hotel rooms and just enjoyed each other's company. We really enjoyed it, but I only took pictures during our tailgating. I sometimes get so focused on getting "the shot" that I don't enjoy the moments, so I shot away before the game and then I put that camera away and enjoyed my friends and my family!! It was just a fun, relaxing evening. On another note, I recently learned that a teacher I knew from some classes we had taken together was quite ill and didn't have long to live. For some reason, even though we were just acquaintances, the situation has really hit home with me. I found out today that she has passed on. I just can't get her out of my mind. Life is SO short and we just never ever know how much time we have left. It has really made me think about how I am living my life. I spend so much time worrying about what other people think of me, of my kids, of everything. In my quest to please everyone, I sometimes forget to enjoy life and live in the moment. Chuck and I spent the last few years hoping for some good friends that we could do things with and enjoy outings with and we have been lucky enough to form several close friendships over the last couple of years. I am so glad that we have so many neat people to call our friends. We are going to make more of an effort to live life and not take it so seriously all of the time. If you are reading this, please know that I appreciate you and your friendship and I feel blessed to have you in my life...friend, family, or acquaintance. Enjoy our pictures!!

It wouldn't be an outing without at least one little meltdown...

right?!?!

The Best!

Well, we are back from a very long, but very FUN weekend! We got home a little later than we wanted to, but we had such a great family weekend with Steve, Deanna and the kids. I'll post more about that soon, but I really wanted to post about what great parents I have. I know I have said it before, but I have to say it again...they are getting really good at these big surprises where they "sneak" over when we aren't home and do something really great for us. The last time they did it, Dad had finished installing our new floor. This time, we had just gotten home from our weekend trip and Chuck and I were inside unpacking and we had sent the kids outside to play. After a little while the doors burst open and they were screaming, "Our playhouse has a floor!! Our playhouse has a floor!!" Good ole Grams and Gramps had sneaked out and installed the "good" leftovers of our old flooring into the playhouse. It looks AWESOME! Two years ago we went to Tennessee and when we returned home my parents had built the kids a playhouse that looked exactly like our house...siding and all. My dad utilizes everything he can find...leftover materials from other projects, things that other people are going to pitch...he just finds a use for everything. Well, anyway, the outside of the house has been finished for a long time, but we had decided that this summer would be the time to do the inside. So, you can imagine the surprise and delight that we all felt when we discovered our newest surprise. Have I mentioned lately how much I love my parents?!?! Thanks Mom and Dad...the floor looks fantastic...you are simply...the BEST!!!

Parent's Night at Dance

Well, tonight we had our second parent's night at dance. I have to tell you how fun it is to go and see how much they have progressed from the beginning of the year. As I was downloading the pictures, I realized that right after the first parent's night this year, I did my very first ever blog post. Wow! That seems like a long time ago. I really have grown to love my blog. I look forward to the day when I can have it printed into a book to keep all of these memories! Anyway, back to dance...it was so fun to see the girls dancing. McKenzie enjoys it so very much and her teacher is absolutely fabulous with these girls. They are doing a dance about shopping and the pictures below show her scarf and glasses and shopping bag for the dance. Too cute! I sat with Amy during the the observation time and I was reminded of how much I enjoy spending time with her. We had fun chatting and laughing and I wish we did it more often! I love my friends and I feel so lucky to know so many great gals! Amy's daughter, and Kenzie's friend, Jenna was also dancing ( I wish I had snapped her picture!). Anyway, a fun time was had by all. Chuck even got to do some socializing (I know, it's hard to imagine Chuck talking, right?!?!) Recital is coming soon and Kenzie will get her five year trophy...we really are very proud of her!!

Tuesday Tribute

The Tuesday Tribute this week is to Grandma Cindy! Chuck's mom is a great mother-in-law and grandma and this week is dedicated to her. She made this adorable hat for Kenzie and is making one for all of the kids (even Brock and Kenzie's friends!). I think it is too stinkin' cute for words! I am not usually into hats, but I love the way it looks and I love that it is made with love from Grandma! Another thing that I appreciate about Cindy is her beautiful singing voice. She does a lot of singing at church and even at our wedding...it is a gift I wish I had! Cindy has always been a great shoulder to lean on whenever I need someone to listen and I really appreciate that. This year she invited my parents to her house for Easter and I really appreciated that. One thing that Cindy loves is Myrtle Beach! I mean she is absolutely obsessed and in love with going to the beach! They go just about every year and she always looks forward to being there. Every three years or so we go as a huge group and Chuck's family and the in-laws all go...and Cindy usually organizes the whole thing. We honestly have as much fun planning the trip as we do going on the trip! Cindy, thanks for being a great mother-in-law and friend...we love you!!!

Tuesday Tribute

I decided that I would dedicate my Tuesday Tribute this week to my entire family and to the Easter holiday. Easter is one of the most meaningful celebrations for me personally. I didn't really take a ton of photos this year, but I really enjoyed the time spent with our families. That is what is most important! Please do enjoy the slideshow of the few pictures that I did take!

Easter Cantata (Especially for Steve and Rich!)

Well, as many of you know, our church recently put on their annual Easter Cantata and Chuck took on the role of Roman Soldier. As you can imagine, once our friends found out that this required Chuck to wear a skirt they were excited! I have been having requests for weeks that these pictures be posted on my blog sooooo...without further ado I present to you "Chuck the Roman Soldier." Please enjoy (oh, and there are some pictures of the rest of our family who we are also very proud of!). :0)

Chuck with an "adoring fan." It's going to be tough to go anywhere now with people constantly stopping us for autographs.











Chuck's mom (on the far right hand side).













Our brother-in-law, Brad.













Chuck's dad (he had a red light shining right on his face).

Baby Daniel

Today, I had the opportunity to take pictures for Josh and Amber of their new baby boy, Daniel and their older son, Brendan. Brendan was such a cutie and he couldn't wait to get pictures with his baby brother. He was super cute and really photogenic, so it was really easy to take his pictures!!! Baby Daniel was an absolute angel. If I wasn't so sure that I didn't want any more babies, he would most definitely make me want another one! He was the tiniest little thing and he was very cooperative with all of our fussing. I really enjoyed taking these pictures and I was so pleased to get some cute ones! I had a hard time deciding which ones to put on the blog...so I just put on a bunch!!! Anyway, thanks Josh and Amber for letting me take the boys' pictures. I had fun!

Sleep Over!!

There is nothing better than hearing the giggles of girls having a sleepover ...and my evening has been filled with those! Kenzie has had her friend, Grace over tonight and they have just been the perfect partners. I honestly wouldn't even know they were here. Chuck had practice for the Easter Cantata and Brock is at Kain's house, so I have actually had the evening pretty much to myself. We went to McDonald's for supper and when we got home the girls took advantage of the nice weather and played outside. Then they came in and colored and then went to play in Kenzie's room. The only time they came out was to ask for the dress up clothes and then to model. Oh, these girls are good friends and I just love it!! They were having a ball. After the dress up session they came up and said they were ready for bed (it was only 10:00) and they are both out already (it's now 10:21)! It doesn't get any easier than that! What a pleasure these girls have been!

Tuesday Tribute - Happy Birthday Kain!

I am so excited to wish Brock's friend Kain (one of our two "adopted" sons) a happy eleventh birthday! Brock has gone to school with Kain since kindergarten, but they have become really good friends over the past two years, this year especially. Kain is such a great kid, and lucky for us, he has a great family and we love them as much as we love Kain. I am so thankful that Brock has Kain for a friend. Not only do they get along great, but Kain is really kind to McKenzie. He looks out for her at school just as much as Brock does. When he is at our house he is always respectful and he listens to what we say. Most of the time we wouldn't even know he was here. He is just like a part of the family and that is how I like it! Brock was lucky enough to have been invited to spend Kain's birthday with his family this weekend and they had a great time touring the new Parkview Field...Home of the Tincaps, go-karting, and eating at Buffalo Wild Wings. It sounded like such a great time!! Kain, thanks for being the great kid that you are! We are looking forward to many more years of having you as part of our family!!!

Spring Fever!

I have had spring fever for weeks now and I haven't been able to wait and get outside and take some pictures. It was just nice enough today to go out for a few minutes and take a few shots. Brock was at his friend, Kain's house for the day and then spent the night, so we had some good bonding time with Kenzie. After she danced at the fairgrounds we came home and got ready to go to Ft. Wayne. Since she looked so snazzy I decided to shoot a few pictures before we left. We had so much fun in about 15 minutes time! We finished the evening with supper in Ft. Wayne and then we went to the movies to see Monsters vs. Aliens. It was pretty cute. We enjoyed having some special time with her.