In the Pantry

Oops...I left the pantry door open and look who managed to get inside! I realize I'm exposing my unorganized pantry to anyone reading this, but the picture of John David was too cute not to share.

Happy 60th Dad!

Tuesday is a very special day in our family...my Dad will turn 60! Saturday night we had a surprise birthday party for him and I think he really was surprised! My dad is a very sharp man and you don't get much past him. But this time I think we had him going until he walked in to the room where 65 of his friends and family members were waiting to yell SURPRISE!!!! We held the party at his golf club and it all worked out just perfectly. The music was great, the dancing was fun, the food was delicious and we all had a ball!


My dad has always played a very special role in my life. I am grateful to God for blessing me with such a great family and for choosing my dad to be my dad. I would be a very different person today if it weren't for his love, leadership, discipline, and commitment to our family. It makes me so proud to meet so many people who have so much respect for him. I love you Dad!

Christmas 2006

Our Christmas season was so much fun! We had a few parties in early December and then our family Christmas celebration lasted the whole week of Christmas. My mom and I both have birthdays right around Christmas, so that adds to the season of celebration. John's dad, Jack, came into town on Wednesday, December 20th and Jackie (John's step-mom) came on the 21st. That night we celebrated the twins' 4th birthday. I forgot to take my camera that night, so unfortunately there are no pictures of that event. The next day, the 22nd, was my birthday. We had lunch with John's family and then dinner with my family to celebrate. After dinner everyone came to our house for cake and ice cream. In the middle of all that busyness I was able to enjoy one of my birthday gifts - an hour long massage which was wonderful.


On Saturday morning we had Christmas with Jack and Jackie. John's brother, Travis, and his family came over as well and we enjoyed "Christmas breakfast" and a time of opening gifts.


Sunday was Christmas Eve and we started the day by going to our church. After church we headed straight to my parents house for Christmas with my brother. My mom played a neat game with the kids called "What God wants for Christmas". That evening we all went to church together at my parents' church.

Christmas morning we woke up and went down stairs and low-and-behold Santa Claus had been to our house!! John David was so excited to see all of the toys Santa had left for him. About 3:00 that afternoon my parents and John's mom (Karen) and step-dad (Jim) came over to our house. We opened gifts with them and then Travis and his family came at 5:00. We had a nice Christmas dinner and then opened more presents after dinner. John David really got the hang of opening presents by the time Christmas night rolled around!



Friday, December 29th was my mom's birthday. We all got together to celebrate her birthday Friday night. Saturday morning we drove to Columbus to have Christmas with my Grandmother and aunt on my dad's side of the family and to see all of my mom's side of the family. She is one of 13 children, 11 of whom are still living. So you can imagine how much fun it is to get together with all of my cousins (36 total) and aunts and uncles. It was great to see everyone.



Jason, Karla and Jacob (our friends from church) and Travis and his family joined us at our house to ring in the New Year. The kids had a blast all being together. We count it a blessing to have so many people to celebrate the season with!