Amish Country

We took a fun trip to Amish country! It was fun to see these street signs and see all of the beautiful farms and buggies. My friend is a quilter and I think she enjoyed seeing all of the quilts and fabrics. We had a yummy lunch and did lots of shopping! My friend and I could hade kept shopping, the kids could have done with less shopping! We came back home and went swimming.

The Beach!

Can you say, "Personalities!"

I loved seeing Tiana being so happy with her buddy!

We had a late start getting to the beach and it actually started to rain and we were wondering what we were doing going to the beach, but it was a perfect day!!! The beach wasn't very crowded and the water was warm and the waves were perfect! We had sooo much fun and went back later that week!

Catch up on Summer! Friends Visit!

They're Here!
Happy Day!

We were so excited to have our dear friends come and visit! The girls were so happy to be with their best friends again! It didn't take long for them to get right back into their groove. We were counting down days and so happy for them to come. I was happy to have my sweet friend come also and her precious baby who was an absolute angel! We had a blast!

I've been tagged

Well those of you that want to scroll down and look at pictures - I don't blame you. I don't enjoy writing about myself - but I love to read what other people write so I will give is a shot!

The rules of the tag are as follows:
1.Post the rules on your blog.
2.Write six random things about yourself.
3.Tag six people at the end of your post.
4. If you are tagged, JUST DO IT, and pass the tag along.



1. I am actually a very shy person. I've been told in the past that I come across sad, mad or mean - I am really just shy! I use to hide under the kitchen table when I was little and it was time to go to school. I would wrap my legs and arms around the center leg of the table and make my mother pry me off. I've often said that I would rather speak in front of a large group instead of introducing myself to someone new - I guess fear of rejection. What has helped me to overcome this a little is to move across the country and know that if I remain shy it will be my children who will suffer. It still isn't always easy for me, but I'm trying.

2. I'm fairly easily entertained! I love to sit and look out my window at the birds, squirrels, bunnies and the chipmunks are crazy!!! I feel like I am pretty happy doing most things, as long as I am with people that I love!

3. I love to bake far too much!!! I think I should own stock in Sam's Club butter and Choc. Chips! It is so fun to have my house smell yummy and make my kids smile when they walk in from school. I love making rolls for company and watching them enjoy them. I don't love that the rolls some how seem to stick to my middle section, creating rolls of their own!

4. I love music! I have many happy memories of singing with my family in the car and singing with my sisters around the piano. I love to annoy people by singing songs about what ever they just said. I wish I had a beautiful voice, but maybe in the next life! I don't love to play the piano in front of others, but I play all the time at home. It is such a great way to express myself. You can usually tell my mood by what I am playing. I have a lot of CD's and listen to a variety of music. Christmas is my favorite and I start listening really early.

5. I try really hard to focus on the gifts I have and spend little time on wishing I had other gifts.(Sometimes I fail- Sometimes I do okay!) Don't get me wrong - I would love to have 6 kids and be strikingly beautiful - I just try not to think about it a lot. I feel grateful for my family, my husband, my kids, the gospel in my life, the knowledge that I am loved by my Heavenly Father and for the amazing beauty of the Earth. I'll never forget walking down the streets of Chicago and seeing a man in poor circumstances laying on the sidewalk with a sign that said, "God is Good." It taught me a lot!

6. I love to work on my home. I enjoy having it be clean and organized, but find it hard to ever keep it that way! I love it even more when it is filled with family and friends. I love decorating for the holidays! My fall leaves are up and it just make me happy! I enjoy working in the yard, except when there are more weeds than flowers.

Well, I don't know if I really enjoyed doing that, but it's done! I will look forward to reading your post soon and learning more about you!

Marissa B
Jennie J
Melanie L
Jessica W
Melanie W

Larisa's 12 year pictures

Her Serious Look
Growing up fast! She is now 5'3"

and almost as tall his her mom! I don't

know if I like that!

Little Beauty!

Larisa was excited for her birthday and to be able to go to Young Womans. I can not believe that she is 12! I keep begging her to stop getting older and it's just not working! She is still sweet, kind and loving, - as long as she is rested! She is babysitting now and loves playing with the kids she is tending and making some extra money. She loves school and is doing very well. She decided to take a break from dance(makes me a little sad) - and is playing soccer. We feel so blessed to be her parents and so pleased with the amazing young woman she is!

1st day of seventh grade

Larisa was really happy to go back to school and learn and see her friends. She loves her teachers and is enjoying being able to learn Spanish and be part of the Show Choir.

First day of 3rd Grade!

Waiting for the bus - She missed it!

Tiana with her teacher Mr. English

Tiana was excited to go back to school and see all of her friends. She was happy that she had the teacher she wanted and a special friend in her class. It is fun to go and see her at school and see how many people are excited to see her. She is so much fun!

Geranimo

At school they had charcter day! They were suppose to dress up as there favorite charcter from a book. Tiana wanted to dress up as a little mouse called Benjamin from the Geranimo book series. She made a darling mouse!

Way Cool!

We're FREEZING!

Too Cool!

Tiana is always carrying a friend

The girls went swimming and had a great time, but it was a little cold. They decided they were getting cold and asked to go in and get warmed up. They put on plenty of warm clothes as you can see! Hats, gloves, scarves and sweats! Tiana is always doing something to crack me up! Of course, they then had to have some hot chocolate!

11 inches of Rain!!!

We were finally blessed with rain - but the blessings just wouldn't stop. We had about 11 inches of rain over the weekend. Sadly, they didn't cancel the soccer games. Tia didn't love playing with puddles in her shoes, but Larisa loved it! Tiana's game was first and she was so wet that she took off her shoes, socks and shirt and wore my jacket. What a wonderful mom to go out in the rain without a towel or an extra pair of shoes! Chris also ran a 5K at the same time! He said that there were some places that had about 4 inches of rain on the ground. Chris has really loved running and is doing awesome at it - he as lost over 15lbs. doing it.

I'll give it a go!!

So I was going to start this awhile back, but I wanted to learn all that I could to try and make it as safe as possible. So I know that the first few entries will not be in chronological order, but my goal will be to try and keep up!