Straight Hair
Curly Hair

Her hair spring up so much, isn't it funny! Emma's curly hair is one of the things that drives me nuts and that I love all at the same time. It is just hard to contain and loves to do its own thing. Thought I'd post these cute photos. If anyone has any products to recommend I am all ears.

So, About Our Anniversary!

I realized I never told you guys about our anniversary! It was the most romantic thing ever...well except for the night Nick proposed. Anyway, just a recap this was our big five year anniversary, so Nick had this big secret planned. He refused to tell me anything about it. On the night of the Saturday before our anniversary he blind-folded me and had me in the car driving. When we were behind a police car driving is when he told me I could take the blind fold off. He drove for a while and ended up taking me to the beach. How romantic! He had a wine and cheese picnic planned! For those of you who do not know I love the beach: the sand, the waves, the birds. Nick on the other hand despises it. So for him to do this just brought tears to my eyes. It was a picture perfect day and it was nice to lay on the blanket and stare up at the crystal blue sky. We talked about our past, our future, and how blessed we truly are. We laughed hard. Below are pictures of Nicholas and I. I don't know why we didn't get the bright idea to take a picture together!

Afterwards Nick said we could go to one of the fancy beach side places we frequent or grab a burger at Redamaks. And did I go for the burger? You bet I did because I am an All-American kind of girl. And to be honest, holding hands while watching the Cubs and waiting for our food made me feel young again. Really young. And I love Nick for it. Because despite everything that comes our way, we are still the same young couple that fell in love all those years ago. We still make one another giggle. He still gives me butterflies. And we still are both so darn passionate that we argue over lots. But that's what makes us us. And nothing can break us apart.

Saturday Movie Madness

Last night we decided it would be fun to have a movie night. But not just any movie night. We popped popcorn and then decimated our living room to be a movie watching fort. It was so much fun. I hope it is something Emma remembers us doing. We watched some of the Jungle Book before it was time for little ones to go to bed.

Our Holiday Weekend

So we are planning on not doing anything this weekend and it is going to be fabulous! We have no plans which just sounds heavenly to me right about now. I am ready to just bum around the house and get some cleaning done. Doesn't that sound nice? I am getting ready to do the Organized Home's cleaning routing starting Sunday in an effort to get ready for the holidays. Hopefully this will be something that I can follow and stick with. What are your plans for the weekend?

Go Cubbies

We are Cubs fans, no secret there! Nick is at the Cubs game being wined and dined by companies that want his business. Isn't he a lucky duck? I am a lucky duck to have him and my family. Tonight since he is away the kids and I are hanging out with Jaime and Gram. I love living so close to everyone.

They call her Weigel...

We don't look alike at all, do we? This is my cousin Arielle, aka my little sis. This is a photo of the night we went out for a drink for her birthday! We had so much fun and I must admit that it was fun to get out of the house and act like a grown-up...although we were in a hooka bar...shh!!! We are also drinking adult beverages but were not drunk, nor on the hooka so shut your gossiping down now please! Just had to introduce you to my cousin because she's cute and single and I love her to death.

My Little Prince

I always call Calvin my little Prince so I think that the crown suits him perfectly! As you can see he is sitting! He has actually been doing this for about two months now. He has however just started scooching around on the floor...so we are getting there! I am blessed beyond measure with my two children! Our little Cal will be a boy before we know it and not just our precious little baby...so sad and yet so incredible.

Where do YOU shop?

Photo courtesy of http://outsidetheboxblog.files.wordpress.com

I am curious to see where you shop and what kind of stores you shop at? Before I used to shop everywhere to get the best deals. My usual night was Tuesday...I would hit Aldi's if I needed something I couldn't find on sale, then Kroger, Meijer, and then CVS and/or Walgreens on the way home if they had good sales. However, since the huge gas price jump I have toned it down a bit. I have been shopping at Walmart and Meijer predominantly. So where do you shop? Are you still able to swallow the prices of local stores or are you finding yourself buddying up to the box store concept? Let's find out what our callers have to say...

5 Years

Five years. Five years since I said I do…and what did I say I do to? To sticking by my best friend through whatever life throws at us: lies, financial hardship, infidelity, fights; To laughing with Nick every day: staying up all night talking, teasing one another about the silliest things, and doing imitations of Joey on friends eating a sub sandwich; to loving him: missing him like I am missing a limb when he is gone, being so fiercely loyal to him that no one can ever say anything bad, clinging to him when things get really tough as my comfort, and always giving him the benefit of the doubt; to falling more and more in love every day...seriously, I do. I look at him and think “how in the world was I lucky enough to get him?” And it really isn’t a lucky thing…it’s a being blessed with thing. God made us for one another, there has never been a doubt in my mind. When we started dating it was really weird because it was as though we had known one another for so long. We get one another on a very deep level. We both have our things that we have to beat out of the other: I am crazy and irrational and Nick constantly has to tell me to knock it off. Nick is quiet and pensive and I have to get my big cavewoman club out and beat him into talking to me about things. But in the end, as I look back on five years, I cannot believe that we have been married for that long. It really seems like just the other day I stood on the shore of Hawaii with my Nicholas and gave my heart and my life over to him…I gave him all of me, everything that I have. And I am so glad that I did. I would never take a second back. I relish that we have college memories, and dating memories, and being engaged memories. I am tickled that we have eloping memories, and first apartment memories. When I think of Nick things pop into my head instantly…the way he looked in the dorm waiting at the bottom of the winding staircase for me to meet him, the look in his eyes as he sat with me before I went it to surgery to have our little girl, the way he laughs at me when I rub my nose. I always worried when we were engaged that we might grow tired of one another and run out of things to talk about. And now I have no fear of that. I am looking forward to the next five years and the next fifty years. I am looking forward to growing old with my best friend: The best friend a woman could ask for.

Homemade Christmas Gifts

Its official, there is only 4 months until Christmas…put your panicked face on now. I like to make homemade Christmas gifts for everyone as a) it is cheaper than shopping, b) it doesn’t involve me trying to race around wondering if I bought enough or if Uncle Henry really needs a sock warmer for Christmas, and c) it teaches my Children that Christmas isn’t about how much stuff people buy you. And so I have been casually rifling through magazines and books, trying to find something fun and not overly complicated to make for everyone. Does anyone have any fabulous ideas they would like to share with me? Last year I made everyone a set of 10 note cards and while that sounds fun and fine, I made over 100 of those stupid cards, and everyone was just kind of half-heartedly saying “oh thanks”. I wanted gushing but for pete’ sake they were only note cards…they weren’t fashioned out of gold or anything. So now I am trying to figure out what the heck to make. Does anyone have any suggestions? Because if you want doilies I am going to have to learn that skill starting, well NOW.

Visions Dance through My Head

Its happening again. I am imagining myself in a small cozy shop. I am sensing that warm burst of air you feel as you step in from the crisp air that the outside holds. I am smelling that warm, aromatic scent of pine, cinnamon and crisp wrapping paper. I am hearing the bells in the background of music playing softly for me to enjoy. I am seeing the twinling lights, like small drops of dew reflecting the sun. That’s right: I am beginning to yearn for Christmas shopping again. This starts within me, every year without fail around August. I get bored with the pristine weather conditions and begin to yearn for snowfalls, Christmas shopping, and always being cozy with my family. Do you yearn for Christmas? Do you dream of the way the snow twinkles as it cascades gently down to the ground, while you leisurely stand in the window with a warm mug of cocoa, wasting your evening away just watching? Do you breathe in the hard, cold air and feel alive?

Going to the Chapel

Two weekends ago our good friend Matt got married and Nick was a groomsman. It was in the Chicago area so we ditched the kids with Grandma and Grandpa and off to the wedding we went. We got to our hotel that we booked through hotels.com and found that they had bumped us from a king non-smoking room to a smoking with two doubles. The morale of that story is to never, ever book with hotels.com. Apparently they can just downgrade you when you feel like it and you are stuck with it. Besides sleeping like June and Ward Cleaver we had a splendid time together at the wedding. The night before was the rehearsal and at the rehearsal they had the most ginormous desserts, seen here:

The next day it was off to get Matty married so to the church I went with my tux model of a husband (he really was ladies, now you're jealous! :))
After the wedding it was picture time, so I decided to take some of our friends...Nick's friends are pretty handsome, right?
This is all of us pals that spent time together for the wedding. We had such a good time and we laughed so hard! Sarah in the middle is one of my dearest friends. She's married to Nick's friend Greg and somehow the Lord just knew I needed her. Wow.

And here's a picture of Nick and I. We had such a good time together getting away from it all and really reconnecting. I love this man and a good wedding really makes me realize how lucky I am.

Schedule Recap

My new schedule is going splendidly. I have not gotten the laundry started every day at 4 am as originally hoped for but even not, I still have ample time to get it done, folded and put away throughout the rest of the day. I am an avid reader of simple mom’s blog and she says to just clean it up when it happens and you won’t have such a mess. I know this is so simple and yes I knew it before; I think I just needed someone to slap me upside the head and show that to me again. So I am trying to get that into my thick skull. I am a huge piler: I’ll make piles downstairs of what needs to go in what room upstairs. Then I will take everything up and just throw it in the room it belongs in…not a good idea. I have been trying to not make any new messes and also whittle down the messes that are still there from before. I think it is working fairly well. The weekend was coming last week though and I was anxious to see how I would do. The weekend is a big time for me to feel bad about not being with the kids 24/7 so I just put everything off to be with them. Then Sunday evening comes around and I am in tears that the house looks like a tornado hit it. But this weekend went well. I'm not going to say that we are better off but we definitely didn't have the massive piles of junk to pick up come Sunday evening. I think the new schedule is actually working!

The original/semi-new me

Photo courtesy of girltalk.com

Back from the weekend I decided to have a new outlook on life, or rather Nick kind of forced me to have a new outlook. I am going to go to bed at 10, not an option anymore. I am not going to be a slave shackled to the washing machine all weekend, and I am not going to worry so much. My primary problem lately has been that I have been so tired. Going to bed at 11:30 and getting up at 4ish is not a good idea for a busy mom. So 10 I will be in bed. I did it last night and amazed at how renewed I feel. My other complaint has been the house…it is just so dirty and messy. So no more to either one of those. I have a monthly cleaning calendar in place to make sure every part of the house is covered and is adequately cleaned. My third problem has been the laundry. I have been trying to cram doing a week’ worth of laundry into Saturday. My problem with that is that it hardly ever gets done: we are either running around somewhere or I am just too busy with the kids. What then happens is that I wake up Sunday to clothes in the living room where I was folding the night before. And I am really bad at all or nothing: I either do it all in one day which is what I want to do or I do nothing and the clean laundry will sit around the house all week rather than be ironed and put away. My mom when I was a kid had a system where she washed one person’s laundry a day. I have decided to try this technique. Unlike my mother I however will not have the rule that if you don’t bring your laundry to the washing machine it won’t be done…that’s just mean, kids forget things. I started this yesterday and I think I am going to like it. I had Nick bring his basket down the night before and the next morning when I woke up I sleepily shoved the first load of laundry in the wash. When I came home from work I got that drying, put the next (and last!) load in the wash and was done! I had all of his clothes folded for him by 6:00 and I was able to play with the kids while he went and put them away. Another one of our problems is that even when the laundry does get done and folded we just get too busy with the kids to put it away. Those of you with kids can attest to how they love to pull things out of the laundry baskets…who cares if its already folded? So that’s my plan of action…how are things in your neck of the woods?

The Real Me

So it occurred to me the other day that Nick and I will be married five years come this August. I know, I know, big deal. But in relation to that I was realizing that I have had in-laws for five years and I don’t know if they really know the real me. The real me…who is the REAL me? I don’t know if I even know, it’s defined by so many things. But I know I am silly and sarcastic and have an opinion on everything and everybody. And I don’t know if they know that real me. I don’t know, maybe I should ask them but it is a funny thing to go and ask someone to their face if they know you or not when you have known that person for 8 years. That’s right…I have known these people for 8 years including Nicholas’ and my courtship. I love that we had a courtship…how romantic! And some things are there all the time and you just realize them all of a sudden as though they are new concepts. I realized just the other day that my brother in law, Marc-y and I have never been together for longer than a couple of hours at a time. And how do you get to know someone when you are never with them? I wish we lived in the same town because I think we would be really close…I could slap him upside the head and tell him to stop being crazy and he could glare at me when I am being weird. And come to think of it, the Bean and I have never lived in the same city either. If we did I imagine I would be calling her every five minutes to meet for Target runs and we would be ladies who lunch in big floppy hats. But alas we do not live together and reality sets in that we are all our own people and I cannot drag these people back to ________ (ha! You thought I was going to tell you where I live!) to live here in a little cottage next to mine…Sigh, why can’t we all just be Smurfs? But the point being that I wish I were closer to my in-laws. I wish I could call Marc-y on a weekly basis and tell him how much I love him and I am thinking of him and praying for him all of the jolly old day. I wish I could call Bean more and chat. But alas my self-conscience self sets in and I feel young and awkward. I wish I could express in words, somehow, in someway, how much my mother and father in law mean to me; That they are like parents to me, not just in laws and that I will be forever indebted to them for allowing me such a fabulous life with their son and for being the best grandparents I could have wished for for my children. I wish I could look them in the eye and say that but I can’t…I am shy and embarrassed and feel my opinion doesn’t matter…so I write. Maybe one will read it and call the next to tell them to read and then they will all have read it and it will be our little secret that they know, in a small way, the real Lindsay.

Happy Birthday Nicholas!

A super happy Birthday to the greatest husband ever, Nicholas! He turned 30 yesterday! He is the best thing that has ever happened to me...without him I wouldn't have these two gorgeous children and I wouldn't get to laugh every day of my life. He has filled my life with such joy. I am in awe of God for giving me him. So now Nick is in his 30's and I can't wait to see what they bring for him.

Here's Nicholas with his birthday cake...and yes there is a yoda under an umbrella.

Cute Boy Shoes

If you are like me you are finding it hard to find cute boy shoes for your son. My son does not need shoes with an inch thick sole, nor is he a cowboy, an old man, or a thug. I just need cute little boy shoes. So I FINALLY found some. They are at this website called Puddle Jumper Shoes. You can check them out and let me know what you think but I think they are just fab.

Let's get some laundry done

So I know that this is probably the stupidest thing that someone could spend weeks contemplating over, but I am thinking of switching up my laundry routine and I am just wondering how everyone else does laundry. I have always been a one day laundry type of gal. I don't want to feel enslaved to the laundry room so I always try to get it all done Saturday. It worked pretty well when it was just Nicholas and I but since the kiddos have come along, well, the process has kind of stretched out a bit. And when you have things to do on Saturdays that makes it even more difficult. I tried to get a head start and get all of my laundry done on Friday which resulted in clothing being strewn throughout the house as it never seemed to put itself away. I know some people do laundry every day and I like the idea of that in theory but I am wondering how it works...do you just do one random load a day? Do you do one person's laundry a day? And when do you fold and put it away...the same day or the next day when you are doing the other laundry? So I know I am now officially a freak but I am just dying to know how everyone else does this.

Birthday Celebrations

I love this little boy so much! He just fills my heart with joy!

This weekend was a weekend of family, fun, and love! We celebrated Nicholas' dads birthday as he is turning 60 this week. So we all went out to eat together and had a blast. Emma loves her Auntie Bean and Uncle Mark so much...and she was thrilled when she found out that they brought their Rocky dog. After dinner we went to the grotto where Uncle Mark proposed to Auntie Bean...there Emma prayed which was adorableNicholas held Calvin and for some reason always looks mad in pictures...I promise, he is the sweetest man in the world!
The next morning we got up and went to brunch...shhhh we skipped church to eat. I have never seen such a spread...stuffed mushrooms, waffles, roast beef, fried shrimp, cheesecake, biscotti. The diet was off this morning. Ha! After the world's largest meal we went to the park and took pictures of my adorable little bookie, pictured above, while Emma played. We missed Uncle Marcy so much! It was great to be with family and have the kids enjoy their family! How was your weekend!

What Are You Eating

So here is our menu for this upcoming week, I am really trying to stay on task with menu planning as it helps us to spend a lot less money than eating out all of the time. I just need to remember to get the meat out of the freezer in time! What are some yummy ideas of yours?

Monday night: taco night!

Tuesday: Nicholas' Birthday! Steak, potatoes, veggies and birthday cake!

Wednesday: leftover night

Thursday: tilapia with a salsa, rice and veggies

Friday: pizza! And I think it will be family sundae night too

Saturday: breakfast will be blueberry pancakes and for dinner, oh lets have chicken parmesan

Sunday: broccoli chicken noodle skillet

Unspeakable Blessings

It happens every time: A major tragedy; A baby’s dedication; A phone call from a friend about a hardship they are going through; A Birthday Party; A Wedding; a broken toilet; an oil leak in the car. It seems like any event now-a-days has turned into an opportunity for our family to give thanks to God. When something bad happens, Nick and I usually end up meeting in the kitchen; we cling to one another, he cups the back of my head in his hand and I can just cry if I need to. We are breathless and then one of us mutters how blessed we are. We look at our house, our cute little car, our children who are priceless beyond measure, and the love that we have between one another. We are in wonderment at our health, our careers, our “chance” meeting where we fell helplessly in love. We stand in awe of the silly facts that come with our lives: we both love capers, we live kind of near the water, we are addicted to Chicago. What are you thankful for in your life? Do you stand in awe of the massiveness of God in your life and everything he has blessed you with?

Saturday's Date Day

Nicholas and I have both been in the need of a fashion overhaul. Nicholas is one to wear clothes that he has faithfully until he has worn them for so many years that they are frayed and beginning to show some serious wear…serious wear cannot happen when you have to be in the public eye. I have lost 25 pounds and so am finding that a lot of my clothes are no longer fitting. I had some clothes this small from pre-baby but they were immodest and inappropriate for a married woman. So shopping we must go. To make sure we actually went shopping, we had money set aside for this; We just needed a day set aside for this. So this past Saturday we chose to go shopping out of town. Nick’s mom watched the kids for us, bless her heart. Its not that we don’t like our kids around but we needed some serious alone time. We realized it has been months since we have had a couple hours to ourselves. We found clothes but more importantly we found our old college, silly selves again. We fell madly in love again. This man I married smuggled me into a dressing room which made me giggle. We sat at Swingbelly’s and talked, honest to goodness talked. We stared into one another’s eyes and we just relished every minute of it. And in case you are wondering about our clothes, we each bought a pair of pants and two shirts. Being who we are and how cute our kids are, we ended up buying more for them but it was fun. At home I’ve added a pair of sneaks and work out pants to my line up of items bought. On the way home from shopping we felt as though we couldn’t get to the kids fast enough, we missed them so, but it was so nice to have a day to ourselves to be ourselves together.

4th of July

So I know I commented earlier on how I was sick over the 4th of July but we did manage to get out and celebrate for the sake of the kids. If it were just me I probably would have been curled up like a squirrel somewhere. The 4th started on Tuesday for us because we went to the parade in Nick's hometown. It was a lot of fun for Emma (aside from being half asleep) and it is a nice tradition to have.

Here are my children waiting for candy on the curb!

I love this picture of them...do I have the cutest kids or what?

Friday we had a picnic at my Grandma Jeans house. It was nice to get together and Emma loved playing on the swing and in the sandbox with Aunts Jaime and Lacey. I think she secretly also like Uncle Doug's new dog, Cedar, even though she refused to touch it. Calvin also seemed to have a nice time too! He is such an easy going baby. 4th of July night was tricky with all of the fireworks going off and two kids tucked safely into bed...luckily we didn't have too many interuptions of sleep.

Here's Calvin at Grams house for the picnic...just having fun!

Here is Emma passing her time on the swing...wheee!

What Season of House do You Have?

photo courtesy of pbase.com

I was reading an article in a magazine the other day that mentioned that some houses tend to be at their best during certain seasons. And as I am sure that you now think I am batty, allow me to explain. Some houses look their best with the bright sun of the winter mornings streaming through the windows while the summer suns causes only a dull glow to settle upon the house; some houses thrive in the summer with the position of the windows they do get spectacular light and the views of green are unheard of; some get fantastic views of the foliage changing to its vibrant colorful self and when you decorate your doorstep with gourds, pumpkins and mums, it looks like Martha Stewart dwells at your home. Finally we have to pay homage to those spring time houses…the homes that look as though they are bright eyed and busy tailed in the early months of spring; their spring bulb flowers are a crisp color burst against the warmth of the home. So thinking through this, what type of house do you have? In thinking about this I have to say that we have a summer house. One of the huge reasons I am thinking that is the season of our house is because of all of the foliage around us. We are so close to our neighbors here in the city but when the foliage on all of our trees fills in we don’t even have to close our curtains for no one to be able to see in. Its kind of like living in a giant tree house which is just amazing. I also love how much light our home brings in…which was one of the huge selling points for me. Our yard is also somewhat of an oasis in the city. When you step inside our gate there seems to be a hush that falls over the land. The man that lived there before us (and had the forethought to do all of this planting) did a great job because I never would have thought to plant everything where he did and how he did. So anyway, leave me a comment and let me know what type of house you have…I am curious to see what season has the majority.

Sorry

So I know that I haven't written for a while and it has been because I have been on death's door. Last week I just couldn't shake the feelings of "allergies"...again. However this time my eye swelled shut and drooped and it seriously looked like I had had a stroke (which by the way Nick said is not a good look for me) :) I just couldn't shake this sore throat too. So I went to the Doc Thursday and wouldn't you know it, infection has settled into these old bones of mine. They thought it was strep but the test just came back negative, which may I just say a HUGE thank you Jesus! So I am on antibiotics and am finally feeling better. Friday and Saturday I think I must have pushed myself too hard because Saturday night I seriously thought I was going to die. I have never been so sick before that I was wondering how everyone would do without me and praying for God to let me live. I thought Nick was going to have to take me to the hospital but luckily I survived, slept a lot and am now feeling better. Hopefully I will continue to be up to par and will be able to blog some more this week!

Broccoli Chicken Skillet

Last week I tried a recipe I had seen in a magazine involving Campbell’s soup. And Oh Lordy let me tell you that it was the yummiest and easiest thing…you have got to try this! It is an excellent way to use up leftovers that you may have on hand which is exactly why I used this. Here is how you make it:

½ box linguine noodles, cooked according to package directions
1 cup broccoli florets
2 tbsp butter
1 lb. chicken breast, cubed
1 can cream of mushroom soup
½ cup milk
½ c parmesan cheese
Black pepper to taste

Cook the linguine and 4 minutes prior to completion add the broccoli to the pasta water to cook. Brown chicken in butter in skillet on medium-high heat. (If you use leftover pasta like I did, I just threw the broccoli in with the chicken to cook once the chicken was cooked). Once the chicken is done, stir the soup and milk and cheese into the skillet and cook until bubbly. Toss with the noodles and Voila! Its just that simple. The thing I liked about this recipe was that the soup makes it super creamy without tasking mushroom soupy. Also, its versatile…you could add any shape of pasta and a variety of different veggies…peas, carrots, asparagus, you name it. So it is a great way to use your leftovers in a new way that is super quick and easy.

Calvin's Dedication

Today we celebrated Calvin being dedicated to God and announced our intentions of dedicating our lives to raising him to be a fine young Christian. Boy I look at everyone around us and am simply in awe of how blessed we are. It was so nice to have our moms and dads there as well as my sisters, Nick's Aunt Bev and my Grandma Jean and of course Aunt Jaime...what a solid support system we have for our children!

Here we are with our sweet little boy

And here's our sweet little boy trying to eat my face

Here we are during the dedication

Here is Pastor Chuck dedicating Calvin to God

Chicago!

Last weekend we took the kids to Chicago. I was a little skeptical going as I didn’t want to spend vast amounts of money but I decided to let my frugal guard down and just enjoy the weekend. And boy did we have fun! We went to Ikea and did some shopping as well as Trader Joe’s before heading downtown. There we parked (Which by the way cost us a whole $.75) and went to Millenium Park and the Garden of the Art Institute of Chicago. We had so much fun! There were so many neat things to see and do and there was a fountain for Emma to play in…she loved it! The thing I loved about Emma playing in the fountain was that she didn’t seem to mind the scads of other kids surrounding her, lately she has been a little intimidated by other kids. Anyway, we had such a wonderful time! We look at one another on the way home from days like this and revel at all of God's blessings and wonder if there is a family as wonderful as ours. Um, I think not.

Here is a picture of the bean in the park...it is sooo neat! This is a picture Nick took of me at the beanAnd here we are inside of the bean...this is kind of hard to explain

This is the picture of the fountain...the pictures are of people in Chicago and they change periodically. It really is amazing! Here she is at the base of the fountain

Everyone Loves a Man Who is Free AND Easy

These pictures were from Father's Day...don't you just love my husband? I think he is the funniest person in the world...anyone who comes downstairs in a tanktop like this must have a sense of humor. He really is the best Daddy in the world. For Father's Day we made him a silk tie that Emma colored and I put their handprints on the back so they would always be touching Daddy's heart. He also got a camcorder, blueberry pancakes in the morning and stuffed shells for dinner. Oh and new dress shoes. I just love him so much and I am so grateful for him. I love you baby, even if you are Free and Easy...and hilarious!

Cute Pictures

I know you all check in here for pictures of the kiddies...who cares what Linds has to say, right? I hope you enjoy. I have no idea how we were blessed with such beautiful children but were were so...ha! Enjoy!
This outfit was Nicholas' confirmation/dedication outfit! Cal is so big I couldn't get it shut in the back but doesn't he look silly?
This is my all time favorite picture! Muddy feet from making Grandpa Marc's stepping stone!
Emma going fishing...she told us this was her boat and she was out in the water going "splash splash" she kept pretending to cast and then reel the fish in...ah, I love her.