FIVE YEARS AGO!!!

Five years ago today, Jason and I were married! The time has gone by so fast, I honestly can't believe it has gone this quickly. We had a beautiful day (of course, not as warm and sunny as it is today!). Things couldn't have gone better for us - everything went so smoothly and our time in Jamaica was great!

Our whole bridal party!!

(Check out how Cody, Kali, Nicole, Mitchell, & Madison have changed!!!)

Thanks to everyone who was part of our day and for the wonderful family and friends we have today!!! We love you all!!!!

A visit with the quads...

This morning I was priviledged to be able to help Jon and Tiffany with one of the feedings for the babies! Tiffany's sister got married today so I knew they might need some help. So, when I called and she asked me to help this morning I was pretty excited! These babies are just so precious!! When I was talking to Tiffany, I even forgot to ask about little Lauren to see if she was home, but I found out when I arrived that she was! YEAH!

Gavin

Lauren

Maggie

Reese

Terri's Wedding!!

It has been a busy few days. I left town on Thursday night to spend the day with Terri on Friday before the wedding. We ran errands and did the typical stuff before a wedding. I forgot my camera so I didn't have it until Jason came to the wedding on Saturday. Here's a few pictures from the reception.

It's so nice to have today off. We'll be going to the neighbors for a cookout later this afternoon so I'm trying to get some cleaning done this morning. The pool isn't quite ready so we weren't able to have people over yet...maybe next weekend.

Whew...Busy weekend!

I worked late on Friday and all day Saturday for the IL Young Authors conference. It went quite well. When I got home Saturday, I decided to go down to the Michaels household to give them a copy of the article that was in the Pantagraph last weekend. They didn't have any guests so I was able to stay for a while. It was so much fun to see Tiffany, Jon, and the babies! I even got to hold all three of them! They let me stick around long enough that I was actually there for the next feeding and got to feed Maggie! They are all getting so big. What a change in Reese from the first time I saw her (when she was the only one home and weighed 4 pounds)! Tiffany and Jon are so patient with these three babies, I can see how their days just fly by. We're all praying for the day that Lauren comes home and joins her brother & sisters!! After that visit, Jason and I went out to Karen's for a quick trip. Everytime we see Caden, he is moving around more and more! He's not into crawling yet, but he will roll wherever he needs to go. He'll walk with you if you are in front of him and hold his hands. He has such strong legs!

We went to church this morning and now I'm getting ready to start running a bunch of errands...tanning, tumbling meet for the little sister, graduation party, dropping off a baby shower gift, etc... Hopefully I'll get everything done!

7 Random Things!

Tonya tagged me for "7 random things about myself" almost a month ago, and I am finally getting around to putting this together! I had no idea what to put, so hope you'll find it enjoying! For those of you who know me, you probably won't be suprised by these!

1. I am obsessed about saving money!! Every time Jason and I get a raise, I automatically put it in our savings account. Even with the economic stimulus package, I want to put it in savings. Now, it's not because I don't like to spend money to get new things or travel, but I like to feel secure if something were to ever happen to one of us or our jobs.

2. I LOVE to travel! My goal before my time is up on earth is to travel to all 50 states! I'm doing pretty good...there are only 16 left. And, I plan to visit two of them next year - Nebraska (We have friends moving there.) and Massachusetts (I have a conference in Boston.)! Life wouldn't be the same if we couldn't go on a vacation every year! I'm especially getting used to being away from work for 2 weeks! Those are the best trips!

3. I LOVE babies!!! They are so innocent and cuddly when they are little. I like to hold all babies, doesn't matter if I know them well or not! Just ask my husband - he found me holding my sister's husband's cousin's baby (if you can follow that!) at their rehearsal. Now, I had met him once before (the cousin), but I didn't know the wife. Guess this is also why I volunteer in the nursery at church (even though I don't get to hold babies (I'm with the 2 year olds - they like to be held sometimes, too!)...maybe one day I will!).

4. I can scrapbook for a whole weekend and not think anything of it! My mom got me into this (along with my sister and sister-in-law). We take lots of pictures - always have a camera in my hand (my husband loves this!) - so we've got to do something with the pictures.

5. I'm a big "sister". Yes, those of you who know me personally know that I have a younger biological sister, but I also volunteer with Big Brothers/Big Sisters. My little sister is 10 years old and is on the tumbling team (what a great fit!). We have been matched since June last year. I always knew I wanted to do this. My mom's friend, Dovie, and her husband were matched with two boys when I was younger, and I thought it was the neatest thing. What a great way to give back to the community. They just love spending time with you!

6. My 5-year wedding anniversary is coming up in just over two weeks!! The time has gone so quickly! I can't believe it's been that long already.

7. We have GREAT neighbors!! I can't say enough about the neighborhood we live in and the people that surround us. They are great friends for life! (Can you tell I had no clue what to put? The last two are pretty short.)

Now, I am supposed to tag 7 people...so, I tag Melissa, Heather, Jackie, Nicole, Jill, Katie, and Tiffany (if you have time). Have fun ladies!!

Girls Night Out!

This weekend, we celebrated my friend, Terri's, upcoming wedding! We had a great time during our spa day (Terri's first massage!!), dinner, drinks, and dancing!Laura, Terri, me, Dorrie, Amy, Ginelle, & Jennifer

Our guest of honor...her favorite color is PINK!

Terri & I

Bridal Party minus one ... Brandy couldn't join us :-(

Needless to say, after this night out, I spent all day Sunday on the couch sleeping!! I can't remember the last time I was up until 3:30am! Good thing we didn't have anything planned on Sunday.

10 months old!

Today, Caden is 10 months old!! I just love this kid so much and take advantage of every opportunity I have to be around him. He is such a good baby...I won't be able to say that for long!

This one's kind of blurry, but it's still cute!

Caden with Uncle Jason

Caden with Mommy!

Caden with Aunt Amber

Garage Sale & Happy 60th Birthday, Ernie!

It's been pretty busy this past week! I had a couple after-hours work functions last week, had a garage sale with my friend, Melissa, did some scrapbooking, and celebrated Jason's dad's 60th birthday!

The garage sale went great even though the weather wasn't so nice. It stormed off and on Friday morning then got pretty nice in the afternoon, and I guess Saturday was fairly nice, but pretty cold. We had a few big things to get rid of so we ended up making almost $300! What a nice weekend! I left Friday night to go to Springfield with my mom for a 24-hour scrapbooking event. We got quite a bit done there so that was nice, but I felt bad leaving my friend to man the sale. Guess I'll just have to repay the favor next time! :-) My dad, brother-in-law, his friend, and Jason went to the Cubs/Cards game on Saturday in St. Louis. What a beautiful day for baseball!! It made it even better that the Cubbies won!! So, we had a houseful on Saturday night!

On Sunday, Jason and I spent the whole morning at church working the nursery/security and then went to the service. In the afternoon, we celebrated Jason's dad's 60th birthday! Here are a few pictures from the afternoon. Ernie hanging out with some of his friends.

Caden with Grandpa

Grandpa, Karen, Caden, & Jason

Happy 60th Birthday, Ernie!!!

P.S. I just found out that my friend, Patty, welcomed her baby boy into this world last Thursday!! Congratulations Patty & Kurt!! Welcome Zavier!! I can't wait to meet you!