ODE to my {taller} little SIS

To the little sister who drove me insane always following me around, stealing my toys, crashing my slumber parties, and throwing tantrums at the most inopportune times... I love you! I can't tell you how incredibly thankful I am to have you in my life. Yes, you are my {free} babysitter anytime I need you... but you are also one of the kindest most accepting people I know, you have become a shoulder I can lean on, cool aunt "Tinzie", and one of my best friends. I'm so proud of the woman you have become. Good Luck Friday... we believe in you!

Techno Savvy

Dear Children,

I never thought I'd say... "When I was young..." but here I go. Believe it or not, when I was young we had phones attached to the wall! I burned through many a phone cords in attempt to stretch it to my room and shut the door for a little privacy... and yes I've used a rotary phone. In fact, I remember the first cordless phone my parents bought. It had horrible reception and took hours to charge! There were NO cell phones {gasp!} and if I needed to get a hold of someone while driving I had to stop and find a pay phone... I think there is one in the Smithsonian... maybe I'll show it to you one day. :)

My techno savvy kiddos... you are always on the phone (although Logan chews on it more than anything) pretending to talk and text, you can run our iPods better then we can, and you love to "surf" the web! I have a feeling it will not be long before you are teaching us a thing or two. And it makes me chuckle to look towards the future when you are telling your children about the "old days"... when the iPad is a thing of the past!

Love,

Mommy

Summer Splashing

Ahhh... summer... so glad you're here! We have taken advantage of a few *hot* days to get out and get wet! We finally broke out the slip 'n slide that Tom just HAD to register for as a wedding gift. Logan... not so much a fan... we spent most of the evening sidelined cheering on Lilly and Daddy! A few wipe outs, but no major injuries occurred. We had lots of laughs!

Thursday Tom surprised us by leaving work early and planning a trip to the pool! You can imagine Lilly's excitement to find out the pool was open... I (admittedly) tell her it's closed every time we drive by so I don't have to listen to her whine about wanting to go... bad parenting I know! My little water baby... we practically had to drag her out as the pool as it was closing! She even considered braving the water slide once, but chickened out when she found out she had to climb the stairs... maybe next time :) Thanks for the surprise honey!

A family of nurses...

I again found myself working on another important day... Lindsay's graduation! Luckily I had a co-worker willing to come in early... just in time for me to make it to her convocation ceremony! Such a proud day to watch my baby sister graduate... and seeing as how she's following in my footsteps (as a UWEC grad) it made it that much more special! The last of 3 nurses to graduate (although she was the only smart one... doing it without acquiring a useless degree) we now have a family full of nurses! The ceremony was long and hot... and Logan didn't make it long... but Lilly sat through the whole thing... cheering "Yay Tinzie" when she walked across the stage!

After graduation we went to BWW's with the family... and what better way to celebrate than with wings and beer... perfect college combo! So proud of you Lindsay! There are some very lucky patients in your future!

A Day to Remember

To the man of my dreams...

Call me a sap... it's been done before... but all of the wedding talk surrounding us takes me back (5 years ago) to the day we stood before our family, friends, and God to declare our love and commitment for each other. That day I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that you and I were destined for greatness... but this "great" was beyond my wildest dreams! You are the most patient man I've ever met... with the kids... and yes, me too! You are kind, generous, truthful (sometimes to a fault), motivated.. the list goes on and on. Though our life may not be a fairytale, you always make me feel like a princess... and I'm positive there will be a happy ending! I love you... more than I did that day (and I didn't think that was possible)!

Peanut

Cabin Fever

Just wanted to share a little piece of one of my favorite vacation spots! It's nothing fancy, but it elicits a state of relaxation beyond any other (could have something to do with my Mom's cooking)! It's the place Tom and I shared our first days as husband and wife... writing out 'Thank You' cards, cuddling by the fire, taking long walks through the woods, and indulging in too much candy from our favorite candy shop!

This Memorial Day at the cabin was especially sweet because it was Logan's first trip! Unfortunately, we just haven't made a lot of time for the cabin since the kids arrived. We packed up as a family... Lindsay stuffed in the back seat between car seats (what a trooper)... and headed up Friday afternoon to join Pa. (Nana made the trip after work). We enjoyed a boat ride, watching Lilly attempt to fish for the first time (thank goodness for floating poles), and even a trip into town for ice cream and a local craft fair. It's the first Memorial Day I can remember that it didn't rain... it was absolutely perfect! We were even blessed enough to stumble upon a fawn, just born and learning to walk! Such a little miracle! We headed home Sunday afternoon well rested, over fed, bruised and bug bitten... can't wait to get up there again!

Let them have cake... and 4 party hats!

Lilly turned 3 on a Friday... and even though I had requested it off to spend it with my BIG girl... the new implementation of 3 days weekends put a big wrench in our plans. (Such is the life as a nurse) To celebrate we wanted to do something special for Lilly... even if we couldn't make a trip to the underwater world. Everyday we asked what she wanted for her birthday... and the answer was always the same... "cake and 4 party hats"! Ah, the simplicity and stricking innocents of a 3 year old... love it! When Lilly awoke Friday morning we had a tea party set up just for her... complete with cupcakes and 4 party hats! Such a sweet blessing to be able to spend the day with my kids! And as an added birthday bonus, I was placed on call for work and we were able to spend the afternoon in the park as a family!

Lilly turns 3!

Where oh where did the last 3 years go? To my sweet little Lilly... you are an amazing bundle of creativity, energy, spunk, and determination. At 3 you can run faster than most adults, count to 7, identify all the colors, color for hours on end, empty your dresser quicker than I can make a trip to the bathroom, and make me smile even after the worst day at work. You love to swing, color, jump on beds, run in the rain, "water" flowers, play hopscotch, bake with Mom, go to the park, push down your brother. You are kind to animals, partially potty trained, stubborn to the core, and give the best hugs! You are the little girl I prayed so hard for... just stop growing up so fast -- deal?

Welcome to my Sweet Little Blessings...

Welcome to my Sweet Little Blessings... a place for me to document and share all the wonderful (and not so wonderful) events of our crazy little life! It recently occured to me that my children are growing at an alarming rate (This may have occured about the time Logan blurted out "Tiger"... yes, Tiger was his first word)! Being the dedicated (or not so dedicated as of lately) scrapbooker I am... I have committed myself to preserving these memories for my kids... however small they seem. That being said... I am currently an entire YEAR behind in scrapbooking and feeling a bit overwhelmed by having to scrapbook each event twice. So, as my solution to not forget all of the sweet details of these little blessings... I introduce the {blog}! It will also be a great way for friends and family to keep track of us! Enjoy!