Breakfast at the Koegle's

So I just had to share these pics from this morning...Grandma has shown Cole how to drink the milk from his bowl after his Cheerios are finished. The first SEVERAL times, more milk ended up on the high chair and Cole than in his belly. However, he has almost perfected this feat and is just so stinkin' cute!!! I think he's quite talented...what do you think???

T.G.I.F!!

Hello all...just thought I would jot down a few things! This week has been pretty packed! On Tuesday night, after Justin took off, Cole and I met up with Debra and Beast and we trekked down to Wana Iguana for some dinner outside on the patio. I had such an awesome time chatting with you Deb, and I feel very lucky that we are so close in proximity so we can get together often (hopefully!!). Mike started back to work on Monday after being off for his 2 week break from teaching summer school! It has been crazy and I pray that he just gets through next week as it is his last week of summer school at CSUN and going down to Northridge 3 nights a week! He is a stallion for taking on this crazy schedule!! The kids came back to school on Wednesday and he said the first day went really well. We spent some time in his classroom putting up bulletin boards, cleaning, and organizing on Sunday and Tuesday and I must say, the room looks great. He also made two new additions to the room...baby ball pythons! Cole and I went to visit and meet them last night and they are very cool! They are about 1 1/2 feet long and about 9 or 10 weeks old. I must admit that I was pretty nervous holding them, but I'll get used to it. While I was holding the boy snake, Cole came whipping around a corner of the classroom, fell and smashed his face on the not-so-padded carpet. He immediately started crying and Mike grabbed him up and blood came rushing out of his mouth! That was when Mike really freaked out and I put the snake back in the cage and ran to help. We're still not sure what exactly was bleeding in his mouth, but let's just say that Cole's shirt, Mike's shirt and some carpet has the proof. He ended up crying for about 3 or 4 minutes, while bleeding everywhere, saw the snakes in the cage and immediately started saying, "Turtles, turtles" and was fine. (Most animals these days are turtles to Cole) While he was recovering, he just kept saying, "Mama, mama, mama, nuk, mama." I tell ya, he just melts my heart when I'm the one to comfort him. He's such a trooper and a little boy. And I must say, he is quite the awesome sleeper. It's 10:22 right now and he is still asleep from last night. He'll probably get up in the next 30 minutes. He pretty much sleeps for 12 hours and we put him to bed at about 10:40 last night.. I feel so blessed to have such an easy child!! I have the day off from watching Justin, as his parents are celebrating their 5th wedding anniversary in San Diego this weekend, so I'm going to try and catch up on some stuff today and take the Colester for a walk to the park around the corner from our house. Have a fabulous weekend everyone!!!

Weekend Update...A Birthday, A Date, and A Wedding!

Well, it's been a whirlwind weekend, but an amazing one...so I'll try to be brief...well, maybe not! :) So here goes...

Friday, I had the day off for my 26th birthday! The whole day was planned out...we dropped Cole off at Lindsay's house and then went to Oats & Whey for breakfast...very much recommended...and then went next door to Illumina Spa for two whole hours of massage and facial bliss. Mike and I were treated to a couple's massage for our anniversary from my parents and we added on facials to the day so we could do the whole experience. Mike was pretty nervous about going, seeing as how he'd never been to a spa, but thoroughly enjoyed every second of it! It was SO awesome. Then we strolled, wait, floated next door to Accent Nails and had pedicures (and I had a manicure too) which was totally rad as well! It was a very relaxing day to say the least!!! We picked up Coley and headed down to Tierra Rajada Ranch for Mary and Kyle's wedding rehearsal. The day was beautiful and the rehearsal went so smoothly. For the rehearsal dinner, we drove a few miles away to "The Secret Garden," a french restaurant in Moorpark that was INCREDIBLE. They have a real "secret garden" behind the restaurant that was all set up with pretty tables and candles and so on...the Richardson's did a wonderful job. We all raved about our meals and the service was incredible! We definitely HIGHLY recommend the place if you are in that area!

Saturday...In the morning, we headed to Telly's for breakfast with my parents and had a great meal. The three of us went home, did a few things around the house to make up for the time out and about and then got ready for my secret birthday date. Mike had planned a special date for the two of us and kept it all a secret from me. We dropped Cole off at my parent's for the evening and then headed down the 405 freeway...and drove and drove and drove. We finally ended up in Costa Mesa, a city I've never really visited so I still had no idea where we were going. Well, we pulled up to a restaurant called Scott's Seafood Grill & Bar. Looked pretty fancy and indeed it was. We were seated immediately thanks to Mike's reservations and enjoyed some awesome food!! I had the BEST bowl of clam chowder soup I've ever tasted and we both raved over our filet mignon dinners. I did order my standard drink...a vodka gimlet...which most definitely was the strongest drink ever and I really loosened up. :) Something I don't do too often, that's for sure! Anyway, at about 7:45, I heard a bell ring in the restaurant and Mike got up out of his seat and said, "Okay...let's start walking." I followed him out of the restaurant and onto a path to the Orange County Performing Arts Center, about a 4 minute walk from Scott's. He had tickets for us to see "Celtic Woman." I'm not sure if you've ever heard of them, seeing as how they are not too popular (yet) in the States, but they are UNBELIEVABLE! It is a group of 4 women that sing and one woman on the fiddle playing Celtic music. HOLY COW, it was by far the best show I've ever seen. What a treat, it was the first time the group had been to this country to perform. I was SO excited and it turned out to be AMAZING! I highly suggest you head to Best Buy and pick up their CD...I know you'll enjoy it! Thank you Mike for a night to remember...it was SO much fun! :)

Sunday...Mary & Kyle's Wedding Day! :) Our friend Tammy did Kelsey's and my hair and it looked great...thanks Tammy again, you are awesome! :) Emilie, Kelsey and I headed to Tinna's house for makeup time and then got in the car to go to Tierra Rajada Ranch for pictures. When we arrived most everything had been done and the place looked incredible! We all got dressed and started taking pictures, then Emilie, Barrett, Tinna and I had a sound check for the song we were singing and then readied ourselves for the wedding. The day was so beautiful...we couldn't have asked for a prettier one! The days previous were some of the hottest days on record in Southern California and I was, needless to say, pretty nervous about melting in this outside wedding and reception. But it was perfect. The wedding went perfectly and Mary looked GORGEOUS! Here is a picture of her... And here's a picture of the adorable ring bearer and mama heading down the aisle... I must tell you, I was more nervous about this minute and a half, than singing or anything else. But, Cole did perfectly and sat through the whole wedding like an angel. I was a very PROUD mama! :) Here's a picture of Mary and Kyle after the wedding getting ready for pictures... What a handsome couple, huh?! And here's Mike and I and Emilie and Brice dancing the night away!!

All in all, it was amazing weekend. Lots of wonderful memories!! Congratulations Kyle and Mary on your beautiful wedding and we hope you have the best time in Hawaii!! :) Thank you to everyone that pitched in this weekend watching Cole so Mike and I enjoyed a great two days! Hope you all were not too bored reading this! Have a great rest of your week!

What's New...

Hello all...it's been a CRAZY last couple of weeks and the craziness (sp?) will continue for 3 more weeks! A few weekends ago we were able to see "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" thanks to my Grandma and G-Pop watching the Colester! We went with Jamie, Em, and Brian "Twin" Smitty. It was definitely a good time and I highly recommend the movie. It's a great one and LOTS of action scenes. Johnny Depp just plays the PERFECT pirate, does he not? :) After the movie, Em and I trekked down to David's Bridal and bought (FINALLY) her wedding dress...I can't believe she's getting married. She is going to look STUNNING in the dress she picked out. I vowed I would not tell what it looked like, but let me tell you, she is a BABE!!!

Let's see...we had Mary's bachelorette party on July 22nd and the 23rd up in Ventura and Santa Barbara! What a great time! We drove up Saturday morning and checked into the Country Inn & Suites right off of the freeway. I would recommend this hotel to anyone looking to stay in Ventura...the hotel room was very spacious and they served a full complimentary breakfast (eggs, hash browns, sausage, biscuits and gravy along with all the other "continental breakfast" items) making it worth it! :) We headed up to Santa Barbara to have dinner on the pier at Moby Dick's...and saw a breathtaking sunset from our table. And then we headed to Carpinteria for dessert at, where else, but Rainbow Ice Cream Shoppe! A favorite of Mary's and all us girlies! After that we went back to the hotel and proceeded to stay awake for hours and hours just chatting away! In the morning, we were RUDELY awakened by the alarm clock that went off at 6:30 a.m. with the volume turned to max on a radio station with static. I swear I jumped out of my pj's and then back into them. It scared the *%#& out of me! :) Well, I could not fall back asleep so got up and read and then took a shower, and got all the other girls up and headed down to breakfast. On our way home, we of course, hit up the local Starbucks, and headed to my parent's home where Mary had prepared a Bridal Tea for us! Actually, my mom and Mary's mom did most of the preparations...it was SO beautiful! And the best part of all, we got to keep our teacups as our attendant gift...very cute idea Mary! :)

Here is a picture of Mary's Bridal Party (minus Kelsey) at her Lingerie Shower that happened on the 8th of July!

Our trip to Big Bear!

So, I know...I haven't posted in a LONG time...I've been SO busy. Anyway, we (Mike, Cole, me, Emilie, Brice, Mom & Dad) visited Big Bear for our summer trip. This was about a month ago, so the details might not be there. :) We left on a Saturday morning, and checked in early evening. We headed to "Magic Mountain" which is their version of Mountasia but a little run down and they have this thing called the Alpine Slide. It's this giant track from the top of the little mountain to the bottom and you ride on a plastic toboggan. It's totally fun, but a little dangerous. My husband and Brice thought it would cool to go the whole way without braking and made it down unscathed...the first time. The second trip down, both bailed and HARD. They were hurtin' for certain!! Here's a picture of the boys showing off their wounds from the slide. But we all had a GREAT time. On Sunday, we went out to breakfast at this awesome cafe called The Grizzly Manor, and then hit the lake. My parents rented 2 jet skis and the "kids" rented a pontoon boat. We had SUCH a good time. I must say, Em and I are maniacs on the jet skis. We certainly had fun! My parents even got out on the jet skis and had a blast. The rest of the time we basically relaxed, played cards, cooked a ton of great meals, hit the pool and the spa and relaxed some more. It was a great trip! Here is a picture of Cole, while waiting for all of us doing the Alpine Slide, with the proof of his first header into the cement. The night before we left, we were out to dinner at the Halfway House and my mom took him for a walk outside to keep him happy. Next thing I knew, she came running in with Coley and a bloody face. :( He was just walking a did a face plant into the cement without putting his hands down. I knew it would happen eventually, but very tramuatizing for mommy too!!! He was totally healed by the next Saturday and you can BARELY tell where it happened. What a trooper!!! :)

Brice and Emilie...the future Mr. & Mrs. Villaflor!!!

Yeah...the engagement has finally happened!!! My sister, Emilie, and her boyfriend, now fiance, of 5 1/2 years, got engaged on Saturday night. I'm so very excited for them!!! Brice took Emilie out for dinner at the Olive Garden here in Valencia, and after they finished their meal, Brice suggested that they go for a walk out by the waterfall right outside the restaurant. So they went out there, walked around for a few minutes and Brice said, " Okay, we are going to play a game. It's called sit on this bench and kiss your boyfriend." So they sat down and Em kissed him on the cheek, and then Brice said, "Okay, the next part of the game is to stare at that tree for five minutes." Emilie was pretty confused, but went along with it reluctantly. :) She just closed her eyes and started singing to herself. (I'm sure she probably looked a little special ed just sitting there with her eyes closed humming.) ha ha ha. Anyway, Brice came back and she opened her eyes and told her that five 1/2 years ago, he read her a poem and asked her a question (when they started dating) so he read her a beautiful poem that he had written. (Em was already crying) Then he whanded her a piece of paper rolled up with a big fatty fake ring around it. She opened it up and it was a birth certificate for a build-a-bear that he created for her that was all dressed up in a wedding dress. She turned around to look at it, as Brice had put it behind the bench and when she turned back around, Brice was down on his knee with the actual ring. He asked my sister to marry him, and the rest is history. Of course, she said yes, and was very emotional. She and Brice are GREAT for each other and I'm so excited to have Brice in the family...offically. He's going to make my sister a very happy bride!!! Congratulations again guys...and Brice, nice job on the ring!! It's just what she wanted and she LOVES it! When I get a picture, I'll post it for everyone to see!! So, wedding central, here we come. Next month, Mary and Kyle, November will be Em & Brice, and Katy and Beau in February!!! It's gonna be AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!

6 Random Things about Me!

Okay, I was tagged a couple of weeks ago by Kristal but have not had the chance to sit down and write anything. (Besides by previous posts!) I had to really think about it too...so here it goes...

1. I'm a bird-lover!!! I can't get enough bird-watching. I am absolutely fascinated at these awesome creatures that the Lord made. There are so many different species and colors and looks to them. One of my fav times is when I go to Mike's school, Bridgeport, and look around the little "lakes" there for birds. I have seen so many cool ones...black-crowned night herons, white egrets, red-winged blackbirds, geese with their goslings, mallards (ducks) with their ducklings, the list goes on... God was so very creative when he created animals and I'm glad that he thought to make feathery creatures that fly! :)

2. I'm married to my high-school sweetheart. I'm not sure if everyone knows that. Mike and I started dating when I was 16 and a junior at Saugus High School. We did break up a couple of times before we got engaged in October 2000, but for the most part, we were together for 4 1/2 years before we got married in April 2001. He is SO much fun and can always make me laugh. He is an amazing man and I'm so glad the Lord made a good choice for me. :) I love you, Mikey J!

3. I was a MAJOR tomboy growing up. My mom (the evil one) never let me grow my hair past my shoulders, so it ALWAYS looked really dorky and short! My 4th grade school picture is for sure the inspiration for the movie "Napoleon Dynamite." I have on a tye-dye shirt, and a perm with my short (we're talking short people) hair. SAD TIMES!!! Anyway...I loved playing with all the kids on my block, but always seemed to make friends easier with the boys. I was the only girl on my t-ball team growing up. I loved to surf with my uncle in the summers. I loved playing "war" with the boys on the hill behind the house I grew up in. I didn't mind getting dirty and rough. It was fun. I guess I'm still that way a little. My idea of a great vacation is going to Carpinteria State Beach and camping for a week!

4. My favorite movie is probably Jurassic Park...I absolutely love that movie. I know I went to see it at least 5 times in the movie theatre when it came out and I have watched it so many times, I know all the lines. It was the very first movie Mike and I watched on our surround sound system in our house. It definitely rocks with the surround sound. :) I hate scary movies...in fact, I really hate them. I'm a major weenie when it comes to horror films. I literally had nightmares for months, months people, after I watched "The Ring." Mike was pretty sick and tired of me waking up at night totally bawling and cuddling right next to him. Pathetic, I know...but they really screw with my brain!!! I do love action films, drama, chick-flicks, and suspense...but NOT horror. On the other hand, Mike's favorite category for movies would be horror...so sometimes it's a little hard choosing a movie to watch. :)

5. I have never really had a "best friend" in my life. I have had so many good friends, and friendships that I believe will last a lifetime, but no one that I have ever considered my "best friend." If I had to choose someone right now, I would say my sister, Emilie, hands down. She has always been a consistent friend to me and has always chosen to encourage me in everything, rather than picking on me. She is such an awesome Christian woman and I'm proud to consider her my friend above my sister! :)

6. I am a nerd, I ALWAYS have been and I ALWAYS will be. I have finally come to grips with that. I love reading, and learning new things. If I wasn't a mama, I would probably be in school getting a degree in something. I love the medical field. I love history. I love discovering new things. I love visiting museums. I love visiting historical landmarks. I love watching my kid "explore" and discover how to do things. And I love animals...as most of you know I have three, yes tres, cats. I'm crazy!

Nice hair, dude!!

Here's a picture of Cole and his awesome hair-do that I gave him while rocking him to sleep a few nights ago...rock on, dude!! :)

Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad!

Happy 35th, yes 35 years everyone, Anniversary to my in-laws, Bob & Michelle. Their anniversary falls on my dad's birthday, so it's very easy to remember!! Mom and Dad, praise God for getting you guys this far, what a great example for all us youngins. Mike and I pray that the Lord will richly bless the next 35 years for you guys and bring you many more wonderful memories together!! Enjoy your trip to Monterey next weekend...you deserve it!!!

Happy Birthday Dad!!

Happy Birthday to my daddy!!! My dad is so lucky to have his birthday on Memorial weekend almost every year!! To celebrate his birthday, my family...mom, dad, Mike, me, Cole, Emilie and Brice, drove up to beautiful Santa Barbara to visit the Santa Barbara Zoo. Cole's first visit to the zoo...and he really enjoyed it!! He really enjoyed being carted around and pointing out all the awesome animals to us! And there are a ton of just wild birds that fly over the park, we both were going crazy!! :) Here is a picture of the family at the Zoo. And there is a picture of Mike and Cole checking out one of the "Reptile House" exhibits. And if you are wondering about the picture of the giraffe...yes, it does have a broken neck. It's been that way since birth and is actually functions just the same as all the other giraffes, eating, playing and all that. Pretty unbelievable, that's for sure. The If you have never been to the S.B. Zoo, you need to go...not only is it a awesome zoo, but the landscaping and views are amazing!! And the weather is never too too hot because it's right next to beach. And it's not huge like the LA Zoo so you can view pretty much everything in about 3 hours or so. After the zoo, we drove down to Ventura to eat at Joe's Crab Shack, which was a pretty cool restaurant. The view was great too, the food so-so. It was a great way to spend Memorial Day with my family and my dad's 62nd birthday! Dad...I love you so very much and am so lucky to call you my dad and my friend! You are an amazing guy and are always so much fun! Here's to this next year...I pray that the Lord will richly bless it and many more to come!!! I love ya...Papua. :)

An Engagement!!

Congratulations to my sister-in-law Katy (Mike's sister) and her now fiance, Beau, on their recent engagement! We are so very excited for you both and are praying that the Lord will be in the center of your relationship! Both Mike and I will be in the wedding which is scheduled to happen February 10th, 2007. I'm pretty sure they booked the same church that Mike and I got married in, the Haven House Chapel...so cute and quaint! Katy and Beau actually dated in high school for a while and broke-up. They recently reconnected, actually at my birthday party last July, and have been inseperable since. Now here's the weird part...Katy is Mike's sister, Beau is the brother of Brice who is dating my sister Emilie. It's all one big love circle in these three families!! Pretty crazy how it is all working out! Katy and Beau, we love you so much and are again, so excited to be a part of this special day with you and all the festivities to come!!

Happy Mother's Day!!

Happy Mother's Day to my mama! (I don't have a great picture of my mom and I on the computer...since our other one crashed a few months ago.) Mom, you are such a wonderful, godly woman and I am so blessed to have you as my mother. You are amazing and thank you for always showing me so much love and devotion. I have so many awesome memories growing up and recently and I love you so very much. Also, Happy Mother's Day to my mother-in-law, Michelle. Thank you for always showing me love and accepting me into your family with open arms. It has been wonderful getting to know and love you for the past 10 years and I truly feel blessed to call you "mom."

And a Happy Mother's Day goes out to all my friends who are mothers. Lindsay, my sis-in-law, keep up the good work raising my nieces. Bev, Lindsay's mom, thanks for being another "mom" to me. Kristal, happy 1st Mom's day, and I'm so sorry that I can't give you a great big hug!!! I miss you already. Debra, happy Mommy-to-be Day...it won't be long before you are holding your little one in your arms and staring at the wonder God created. Julie...thanks for being such a great friend and continuing to be an encouragement to me and a role model for a mommy. You are a great one!! Sarah...happy Mommy-to-be Day to you too! We can't wait to see your little one! Becky, Happy Mom's Day to you, and soon to be doubled! Jody, Happy Mother's Day...thanks for always being such a godly example for me, both for a wife and a mother! Lori...Happy Mother's Day to you too! You are amazing and are loved so much. Thanks to you too for always being such a godly encouragement to me! Kori, happy 1st Mother's Day to you. Thanks for staying a friend all these years and letting me meet your beautiful daughter last week. And Morna, my cousin, happy 1st Mother's Day to you! Zachary is such a handsome boy, and I'm so proud of you and Steve! You are a great mommy already! Motherhood is so amazing and I feel truly blessed to call myself a mommy along with all of you!! I love you all dearly!

Teacher Tribute Dinner Night!

On Thursday, May 11th, Mike was the KEYNOTE SPEAKER, yes ladies and gents...keynote speaker at the most prestigious event of the year for all the Santa Clarita school districts. He was nominated by his principal, and then chosen out of over 130 first year teachers, to speak at this dinner in front of over 500 people. He was pretty nervous, but he did SO amazing. He had them laughing, sighing, crying, and laughing some more. After he finished, he received a standing ovation from over half of the attendees. Two other speakers that followed him said, "Wow, how am I to follow that?" and "I can't hold a candle to the rookie!" It was a great success and a high point of this pretty turbulent first year of teaching. He had so many, I'm talking at least 50 or 60, people come up to him after the event was over, and congratulate him, thank him, and hug him. It was a really fun night and so wonderful to see Mike in his element and do so well. I was definitely one proud wife and felt very lucky to be standing next to him. Here is a picture of him doing his thing!
And here's a picture of the program and our table's placecards...note the "Keynote Speaker" on Mike's! :)

5 Bumps on a Log!

Isn't this just so cute! This is Maddy, holding Natalie, Cole, Davis, and Collin! I still can't believe we got these children to pose for the 10 seconds it took to take the picture. This was taken at Josh & Jenny Blanken's house during the Sawyer Goodbye party. After church on Sunday, a bunch of friends got together to say goodbye-for-now to them and we had a blast watching all the kids play together. Such a hustle-bustle when there are so many kids together in one house. A great time for a not-so-great reason to get together. But, we will see Shaun, Kristal and their beautiful daughter, Natalie, soon. They are moving to Arizona this Friday as Shaun just got a great worship leader position with the youth ministry department of an awesome church in Mesa. Shaun, we are so excited for you and we'll be praying that the Lord does great things through your talents. We'll miss you guys like crazy, as we really feel that the Lord has blessed us with your friendship and encouragement. However, we know that the Lord has big plans for your family! God bless and good luck! We love you guys!

Easter Eggs Gone Bad!!!

Can you believe my husband? His cheeks are UNBELIEVABLE!!! Cole was laughing so hard looking at his daddy!!! This house is always a riot, I tell ya!!!

Finally, a picture of Justin!

I finally remembered to get a couple of pictures of Justin, the little guy that I'm watching during the week. It's going pretty well, and again, I'm so glad to have some money coming in. Here's a couple of pictures of Justin and Cole playing together.

A Great Anniversary Date!

So this is a little late, but just wanted to let everyone know about our fun date on our anniversary. I planned a whole evening for Mike and I to go on an adventure. We started out at our house and he opened up his card, which had a clue in it to start off his anniversary scavenger hunt. That took us to the Santa Clarita pool where we played as kids, but never actually met. His present there was two pairs of awesome boardshorts. Then his next clue took him to Saugus High School where we met when I was in 9th grade, he was in the 10th. We walked around the campus for a few minutes and then he opened up his next present and clue, which was a little book about teachers and a gift certificate for Barnes and Noble. The clue led him to my house that I grew up at, on Cabrera Avenue. His gift there was a book on guitars and how to play. His next clue took him to Olive Garden, where we shared our first date about 9 years ago. It was at the Northridge Olive Garden, but I cheated and had him go to our new one here. Instead of eating dinner here, I had on order two pieces of tiramisu, our favorite dessert! His next clue led him to Grace Baptist's ampitheatre where Mike proposed to me on October 14, 2000. Here we took a picture with our timer on our camera and it turned out pretty cute!

Then we headed over to Kisho, our favorite restaurant, and where we announced our engagement to both of our families. After an incredible dinner, Mike's last clue led him to the Haven House chapel where we were married April 28, 2001! I packed up our wine bag and had Mike's last present in there, which were a pair of shamrock cuff links and a nice poem. All in all, the night was so much fun, a great time to walk down memory lane and remember all the special places in our relationship. And a thanks goes out to my mom for watching Cole and letting us have a few hours to ourselves!

A New Baby Boy!!

Congratulations to my cousin Steve and his beautiful wife, Morna, on the arrival of their first baby!!! Their son, Zachary Roderick Nish was born this morning around 6:30 a.m. after Morna's water broke in the middle of the night. Her due date wasn't until the 1st week of June, so when I got the call this evening, I was very surprised and excited!! We haven't even had her shower yet. :) Zachary weighed in at 5 lbs. 5 ozs. and I believe 18 1/2 inches long. Morna had to have a C-section as Zachary was in the breech position, so my sympathies go out to ya Morna! Just wanted to share the great news with everyone. Steve and Morna...you guys are going to make EXCELLENT parents. Thanks for letting us come and meet your little man! Praise God for a healthy baby boy and mama! I love you guys!

Happy 5th Anniversary!!!

Happy Anniversary to my wonderful husband!! I can't believe we've been married for five years already. In most ways, it seems as though just the other day we were driving around in my Escort talking about school and the latest gossip about our friends. And now we are here...married with a beautiful child, in a beautiful home, with tons of love for each other. I'm so grateful the Lord has had a hand in our marriage...I think that's what's kept us together for so long. I certainly feel blessed that God picked you for my soulmate and to be with be forever. Thank you to all our friends and family that have been so encouraging in the last 5 years and for helping us get through tough times and wonderful times. Your thoughts and prayers have been SO appreciated! Mike, my Mikey, my donkey, my butt-heeeaaaddd, my honey, thank you for making me the happiest woman in the world 5 years ago and continuing on this incredible journey with me. I will love you for a lifetime!

Cole's Cheesy Smile Finally Caught on Camera!

Here is Cole's famous "cheesy smile." This is the first one I have been able to catch on my camera. Everytime I get the camera out, he shies away and won't show me those two pearly whites! However, we finally convinced him that we needed it for posterity's sake! Doesn't he look chubby in this picture? I think so!





He's just such a ham...hmmmm...wonder where that came from??? :)