Christmas Pictures 2008

Home Sweet Home

What an adventure building a new home was. We knew we were outgrowing our town home and needed some space for the kids and future kids..(no plans yet on baby no. 3)so we started our search. We found a lovely community only about a mile from our current place. We fell in love with it immediately. This home is a blessing, and so many things happened in order for us to achieve this dream. The kids love having their own room and a big backyard to run around and play in.

I'm Back... by Popular Demand!.

I am so sorry that I have neglected my blog! I have a lot of excuses. In October, we moved into our new house. November, we went to Jamaica just the two of us(meaning no kids) We went for Chris(bro in law) and Ashley's(now sis in law) wedding. December, Christmas...do I need to say more?

My life hasn't slowed down in years. It only gets busier and I learn to juggle more.

Here are some picks of Jamaica. I will also be doing a special post for our new home.

The old neighborhood!

Grace~Jenny~Hannah





It's been 1 week since we moved to our temporary home and we have to say; We miss our old neighborhood. Hannah has so many friends there. We are trying to make sure we visit and let her play as often as possible. We took some cute pictures of Hannah with her little buddies! Now she can remember them always.


Check out the video below of Hannah riding her bike...my big girl!

No training wheels!

Look what Hannah can do!

I couldn't believe it...I had to see it with my own eyes.





Another proud Mommy moment!

Thanks Grandpa!

Grandpa e-mailed me what I thought are very cute pictures of the kids. They are probably the most recent ones we have. Moving is stressful and I got busy...no time to take pictures. So here they are.

Enjoy!

Here We Go!

Lazy Summer Days....





I know its been awhile and I promised I'd do better. But I do have an excuse. We are moving. Many posts ago I wrote about our new home. Its near completion but not quite. Also,we have decided to keep our town home and rent it out instead of selling during this terrible housing market. We were able to find a tenant however they needed to move in before our new home is completed. We are about 30 days out. I was lucky and fortunate to find an in-law Apartment that we could move into for a month (Craigslist Rocks). So we are now in the process of moving to our temporary home. It's amazing how much Josh and I have acquired in our 7 years of being married. It didn't seem like much until we started boxing it all up. Speaking of boxes another great deal from Craigslist! I know...who knew you could get boxes on that site. Thanks to cousin Nicole for the great tip. We scored on about 100 boxes(assorted sizes) for.....$20! No joke! We feel very blessed that things have been working out so well for us. My other bragging point is we decided to store half of our stuff while in our small space so I went searching online for deals. I was able to get a coupon online for a POD. I saved 20% on that. I am loving bargains!
The kids are handling the change very well. Hannah has been a great little helper occupying Marshall while we pack.

In other news; We recently returned from our annual trip up North for the Festa! We had such a good time. It certainly made a difference with our new ride. Oh yeah, we are now the proud owners of a Town and Country Mini Van. Its awesome! I was so against vans for the longest time but you have got to see what it comes with. I am not going to go down the list of awesome features it has because I will be here all night. It definitely makes long trips way more bearable. So besides the drive up we had a ton of fun re-connecting with our family. We stopped in New Haven , CT and visited Chris and Ashley. They have the cutest Apartment and they were kind enough to let us crash there for the night. Hannah was so excited to have a sleep over at their house.

The Festa was as always great! Good Food, Good Music, and Good Company.

My work is keeping me very busy. I still love what I am doing. I can see myself with this Company for many years to come. We are projecting our revenue and company size to double in the next year. It's exciting to be in an environment where there is a lot of potential and job security.

Well that's all for now. I will post some pics of our cute Apartment once we get a little settled. I will also post some pics of our new house. We have some great photo's of the progress. From a pile of dirt to our lovely house. So stay tuned for that!

We're Back!!!

So we've actually been home for weeks but you know....I am a procrastinator. We went to Sweet Home Alabma for my baby brother's big day. He and his wife Hannah tied the knot. The trip was great. I was a little tired because I had just gotten back from training in Myrtle Beach. Sorry no pictures I left the camera at home...but let me tell you the Hotel I stayed at was so nice. I had a great view of the ocean from my room on the 8th floor. Anyways needless to say I was pretty exhausted from the trip. I got home just in time to do laundry and pack for the trek to Bama! The kids were great on the drive. We made a gazillion stops just to break it up. First stop was Blacksburg,VA home of the VT Hokies. (Josh's Alma Mater) We haven't been down there since the tragedy a little over a year ago. We wanted to see the monument on campus and hit the book store for VT paraphernalia. We then continued on to Knoxville,TN for our first nights slumber. We checked into a lovely Marriott where we were given the last room in the house. It was a handicap accessible room with a roll in shower and someone else's belongings! Yeah our room was dirty. I called and had Housekeeping up to clean the room. Very disappointing. Marriott is better than that...for the most part. We slept in since we didn't close our eyes until after midnight. Again, my kids so good. Hannah loves Hotels! It is such a treat for her.

Back on the road to our final destination...Huntsville AL! But wait we have top stop and look at Fireworks! There are so many Fireworks stores you can't even count em. We didn't buy any just browsing.

We finally arrived at our hotel in Huntsville another lovely Marriott. My perks rock! we had just enough time to freshen up and get to Mom and Dad's for the rehearsal dinner. Here is where I met Hannah my new sister in law, and Jenn also my new sister in law. My brother's have found themselves true southern bells! So cute! Both of them were so warm and endearing. I have to say I love them because they are just so great. I am happy that they are apart of our family!

Alabama was a packed few days. The Wedding and Reception were fantastic. The humidity not so much! I will post pictures rather than blab about them. Isn't Hannah a beautiful Bride and my Brother is very handsome. We were happy we made the trip to share that great day!

Our trip home was fun too. We stopped in Chatanooga, TN. Who knew that was such a great little city. So family friendly and really quite cute. We were able to go downtown and walk around the park right in the middle of downtown. Hannah played in a fountain and we just had a lot of fun!

On the last part of the trip home we stopped at another fireworks stand this time we bought some. Yeah!! The 4th is gonna be great!

Thats all for now here are some picks to show our trip.

New Job!

Many of my friends have been asking about my new job so I thought I would share a little about it. The name of the Company is Bridgestreet Worldwide, Its a Corporate Housing Firm. My job as a Guest Services Coordinator is to do just about anything the guest wants. When a client relocates or is on a contract we find housing for them. We arrange everything from hooking up the cable to furnishing the Apartment. Once the guest moves in I am their point of contact for everything housing related. What I've learned in my 3 weeks there is that everyday is different and every guest is high maintenance. The actual company that I work for is very prestigious and reputable, which is why I couldn't resist the opportunity. (Well that and a much bigger paycheck) Marriott (doesn't pay well) has given me skills and training which has made my transition to Bridgestreet so much easier. They didn't hold my hand much, I pretty much jumped right in and have been working hard ever since. The trip I am going on is for Guest Relations Training. A lot of the clients we are dealing with are people relocating and so we need to be sensitive to that. Moving is stressful especially with a wife and kids in tow. I am an army brat so this is all too familiar to me.
So far I love the new gig, it's a challenge and it keeps me on my toes. I still work for Marriott about once a month that way I can keep the great hotel benefits that we have come to love and cherish.
So there you have it!
Thanks for all the kinds comments. They are appreciated!

Where have I been, you ask?

I haven't been a blogging Mom lately because I started a new job a couple of weeks ago. Its a great new opportunity but it really is difficult finding time to keep this blog updated. Please bare with me through this adjustment. I promise when I get back on my toes I will do a better job. I had a wonderful Mother's Day and have enjoyed having the evening's and weekends with my hubby and kids. I have a great support network making this work for us. Stacey my friend who watches the kids Mon-Thurs and My in-laws have been helping with watching the kids on Friday. They do an amazing job.

Josh is an outstanding Dad! I already knew that but he has really stepped up lately. He is the one getting the kids up and at em, taking them to daycare. He never complains and is so supportive of his Corporate Wife!! I love that guy!

My kids are also pretty cool! I mean they are the ones we are doing all of this for. We want to give our kids the best things in life. They are the happiest, funniest, cutest kids in the world..and I have pictures to prove it....Just look for yourselves.

So now you have a very quick explanation of my lack of blogging. I promise I will get back to normal soon.

Also, I'm not bragging or anything but my new job is sending me Myrtle beach for training. I am nervous to be away from my kids and hubby for a whopping 3 nights! Maybe I can take some nice pictures while I am there. Stay Tuned!

Weebles Wobble

What a weekend?!

We had such an eventful weekend...so much to cover.
First of all, the picture of Hannah "potty training" was taken over 2 years ago. Its just a funny picture from the archives. You all give me too much credit...I wish I could say I thought of that but it wasn't me! Josh is the one who posed that pic and also photographed it. He really has the best sense of humor!

On to the events!
We have been pre-approved and have started the purchase of a new construction home! we are very excited to think we will have a yard and separate bedrooms for the kids finally! More pictures and details to come....



Hannah had a wonderful soccer game! She played so hard and really enjoyed herself. We think she is starting to figure out the whole thing. It was a very hot day and so she got very tuckered out easily. Her team won!







And the last main event of the weekend is...... drum roll please.....





Marshall is walking! He officially took 4 steps and to me that is walking. He is so proud of himself and keeps trying! I know I said I wasn't looking forward to him walking but really its so fun to watch him have a little more independence.

So folks there you have it a busy weekend and a busy week on the horizon. I start my new job tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes! I'm a little nervous. Its like the first day of school. I've picked out my clothes for the whole week....haha!

Chow!

Funny Picture Friday!

We call this one "Potty Training"!

Future Sister in law!

My soon to be sister in law has a blog. I am so excited to see her here in the blogosphere.
http://newwifey.blogspot.com
I really think its a fun unique way to keep in touch with friends and family you don't get to see everyday. Bryce and Hannah are getting married May 24th. She is such a cutie and so is my brother for that matter! They will certainly have beautiful children together whenever they are ready for that...I'm not pushing...well maybe a little. I can't wait to finally meet Hannah and see my baby Brother get married. Did I mention we're driving to Alabama for the big day? Yeah driving!! Memorial Weekend??!!

I'm a Soccer Mom!

Hannah had her first Soccer game on Saturday. This is the first time she's ever played on a sports team. We are very proud of her even though she was overcome by fear at the game. The first half of the game she was too scared and a little confused. But once she was formally introduced to her teammate Bethany she was ready to play. She mostly chased Bethany which was fine because Bethany was chasing the ball. It looked like Hannah new what she was doing! With a little more practice and experience I think she will be an awesome soccer player. As a side note, when some of our friends heard Hannah was gonna be playing soccer they teased us and said "its sliced oranges for you now"! And wouldn't you know her first snack after the game was sliced oranges! Ha ha!!

Cry Babies!

Its Friday you know what that means? Its funny picture of the week!
When Marshall was a newborn he was very cholicy he cried a lot! So this picture just shows how we felt sometimes when he cried.

Jury Duty

Jury Duty!!! Crazy I know! I'm not sure what to think? I got my summons in the mail yesterday to report for Jury Duty sometime in May.I'm having mixed feelings about this... I'm not very educated on the law or our Judicial System. I don't think I'm qualified for this. But then again I'm kinda excited because this is an opportunity to see how it all works. And there's always the cliche "its your civic duty". What do you think? Would you go or would you find a way to become exempt?