The End of January

On my way to Rob's office

Out to lunch with my baby boy, who has his own important job

"Enough pictures, Mom!"

Brady wanted to cook dinner with Uncle Jay, as her birthday present. He and Aunt Shayne ordered this cool chef's coat personalized for Brady-so awesome!

Brady's best friend, Olivia, came along with her and had a blast cooking with her.

The girls really made the cheesecake. It was amazing!

Uncle Jay explained the timing of preparing a gourmet dinner. They made "Sunday Gravy" for us. It is pasta with chicken cutlets, braised ribs, meatballs and sausage. We also had salad and garlic bread. Everything was delicious!

Uncle Jay was so patient and was such a good teacher! It was a birthday Brady will never forget!

One night earlier we celebrated with all the kids.

Our favorite food- Mexican from Super Mex

Daddy brought pink roses to Brady, at school. A yearly birthday tradition.

Taylor & Grandma

Ashley, Brady, birthday boy Rob, & cousin Carleigh

Robbie & Mommy (my 25 year-old 1st baby)

And, now onto February.

Birth Day and Birthday

First of all, I need to update our "January Happenings." I'm so happy to say that we have a brand new baby neice to celebrate in January now, also. She was a surprise in that she arrived in January instead of February. We are so glad that Carissa Joy has joined the family. You can get a glimpse of her and her beautiful family on her mom's blog here. She joins three older sisters who are just adorable and so well-behaved. She has wonderful parents who love her dearly.

Second, back to "January Happenings", Brady's birthday party. Her actual bday is on the 29th, but we had a sleepover party on the 22nd. Can you say 4 AM? Yep, that was the time the last little girl fell asleep. We went to the movies (saw "The Spy Next Door", ate pizza and salad, decorated t-shirts, jacuzzied in the rain, play games, played pranks, talked, giggled, and pranked some more. Then, the next morning, at 8:15 AM I made chocolate chip pancakes for some very sleepy girls, 9 of them and one sleepy boy (12 yr. old brother, Jake). By 10 AM most of the girls were gone. Whew, that was fun!! Now for the clean-up!

Brady turns 11 on Friday. She is one special young lady. She has a heart for God. She is sweet and tender-hearted. She is girly and sporty. She is smart and she is silly. She is the honey that makes our family stick together. She is a lucky girl to have her family members love her so much and we are lucky to have her as our daughter/sister. What a blessing she is.

Next up, Robbie (actually he's before Brady, but next will be his celebration!)

Happy Anniversary, Baby! (& Happy B-day)

January is a busy month for us. First, my hubby's b-day is on the 9th. Then, it's our anniversary on the 13th (today!! 14 years and loving every minute of it, okay not every single minute, but almost all of them :) ). On the 26th it's my BIL's, the 28th our oldest son, the 29th our youngest, and then the 30th is our nephew's b-day. It is a fun month.

My husband is such a blessing to me. I am so thankful that the Lord has blessed our marriage. Without God as the center and rock of our marriage we would be a mess. We enjoy our love like nothing, either of us, expected. We are undeserving of such a gift, but we will live every day of our lives thanking God for what He does in us and in our relationship.

Happy Anniversary, Baby!

We went to the movies (we saw "Up in the Air"- it was very good!) and we went to dinner at Lucille's. It was a wonderful day!

On Hubby's birthday we went fishing. He is so happy on the ocean. He is, definitely, in his element when he is fishing. It's always quite exciting to fish in the deep blue sea! You never know what you'll pull up.

Jake caught an octopus and three fish.

Brady, also, caught three fish.

Brad, Brady & Robbie- the 3 birthday people in our immediate family. We went out to dinner at Super Mex- we all love Mexican food!

Brad's mom, Brad and my mom.

Wordless Wednesday-Shotgun merit badge

Wordless Wednesday-Lovin' Aunt Jo'D

Happy 2010!

I love the beginning of a new year! I love the new school year, too. The beginnings of things always hold so much promise. I love to have a reason to make a list. So, to make a list of resolutions is my idea of a good time. We had a great "last" night of 2009!

Now, onto 2010!

My list of New Year's Resolutions will come shortly!