Oh what a weekend!!

Well, it started with a party;









The couple;





The greeting;






The gift. (a one night stay at the Grand Hotel)





And there were grandchildren;













And there was a pretty cool uncle and a pretty girl;





The oldest, with the youngest and "where's waldo" in between...can you see him?





We couldn't have done it without these two ladies;






One of the many nieces he has...and lots of them came!





Can you find the other Waldo? Good grief...try to get a serious picture...





And there were brothers;





The next day started our "other" party. Every year since I can remember, my family gets together for Memorial Day. Parade, huge cookout, homemade ice cream and just sitting around enjoying each others company. For the entire day. I've said this in posts before, but for me? Thats just alittle bit of heaven.


The "grand marshal" kicked off the parade. He was quite grand.

Our crew;

















We were very much looking forward to the bikers in the parade, as two of our very own were in it;








And a special thanks to Sophie who made sure Darby's ears were double protected;

Then it was back to my folks for some grilled burgers. Summer is finally here!

This boy, had a birthday;





This grandma was in all her glory;





And I don't think this grandpa could think of a better way to end his day. When all went home, and the house was quiet, he still had the joy of telling his youngest a story, while she lay completely still, and totally taking in all his words;






Oh I so can't wait to see what more happy days lie ahead for us this summer. Life is good.

Ain't nothing better than being a mom!

I think it's a pretty neat deal, that God has entrusted four of his precious angels to...me. I am so unworthy. To give me a husband who puts the girls and I first, and daughters who are healthy and perfect is something I will never ever take for granted.

Right now, I am living the life I always dreamed of. Being a mom and a wife. In the end, this.. what I am doing right now will be my biggest accomplishment. I am SO proud of this feat I have been taking on!

Anything I might do on the side, whether it be singing solos in church or an exercise fanatic or attempting to be crafty, no one will really care. Because all that "side stuff" I might do doesn't make any difference in anybody's life but my own. And my life really isn't that important...it's my kids lives. It's what I am doing right now to make a difference in their lives. And I'm going to be there for them, and in their lives every second.

I spend every moment I can with them, teaching them about Jesus, teaching them about the right kind of husband to marry. Teaching them about life, and love and values. That is what matters.

And did I mention I love it?

In the end, I will look back and I will have no regrets.

Thank you God, for giving me the most important job in the world. It's completely awesome.





“A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove . . . but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child.”

Happy Easter?

You be the judge.

After many clicks of the camera, and hearing "I don't want her hand on my shoulder" and "I don't want to be next to her" too many times, this was the best we could do:

Spring Break

We don't normally do "spring break" as we take our big trip in January to Florida. But this year we were lucky enough to get away for the week. Chris had some work related travels, and we tagged along.

About three years ago, over spring break, we went to the Toledo Zoo. Took our daughters into the aviary and took their picture in this cool giant egg:





This year, on our way home from a sweet little town in Ohio, we again, stopped by the Toledo Zoo, went to the same aviary, and stuck as many as we could fit into the exact same egg:

After coming home for a couple days to unpack, and repack, we left for yet another cute little town in Illinois called Woodstock. (famous for the movie "Groundhog Day")

This town was delightful. It had a sweet little town square with a giant gazebo, and quaint little shops. All I could see was flashbacks from the movie..and we all tried to picture just where Bill Murray might have stood.

We,



bought some crap...not really...we just thought this was so funny. Actually, it was all Crisilee's idea.



went to a wonderful candy shop and let the girls pick out whatever they wanted,





And of course, there is the fun "hotel life" we live when Chris is working. Swim, swim and swim some more!




On the way home, we stopped in Chicago, for one specific reason;





Long ago, when "Kaya" arrived in our home, mom gave in to Crisilee's begging of "can we please undo her braids?" Big mistake. So we surprised Crisilee and brought Kaya along to get her hair redone at the doll salon. This thrilled Crisilee.

The other two however, were NOT so thrilled;

Obviously, this was staged, and you can see the half smile on Sophie's face. They know that they too, will get a turn to do something special like this. One at a time girls!

We stopped at one of our favorites for dinner;



and were sure to bring white-out along so they could each write their names.



One of my favorite times during this trip was on our way home, where Chris bought each and every one of us Starbucks. I just thought that we looked so cool with all our drinks!



And now we are home, back to school, back to normal. But feeling really lucky that Chris has such a great job, where we are fortunate enough to go along with him. We will never take that for granted.