A Visit with Friends

This past weekend our good friends, Tim and Angie Smith came to visit.  They have been married for almost 20 years and have 5 teenagers, 4 girls, and 1 boy!

Tim was Jon's best man at our wedding.  They have been friends since they were 5 yrs. old!  A long time!  :-) 

Tim had some business and a church conference in Myrtle Beach, NC earlier in the week and then had to be in Philadelphia on Sunday for some more business.  Since we live in between those two cities, they thought it would be a great opportunity to stop by and visit with us.  They had never been out to our place (they live in IN), so it was a treat to see them here at our place.  They arrived on Friday evening and left Sunday morning.  Our time with them was brief, but it was a refreshing and encouraging time for us and I hope for them as well.

On Saturday, we all, with the Munchkins, drove down to Alexandria, VA to show the Smiths where Jon's 'official' office is located.  Then, we headed on to Washington, DC to visit a few monuments/memorials.  Our first stop was the Jefferson Memorial.

Our Munchkins did great considering we walked to the different Memorials, which is quite a hike!  We, adults, all took turns holding one or both of the Munchkins for short intervals as we walked. 

After seeing the Jefferson Memorial, we headed on to the FDR Memorial.  This is a picture of the Washington Monument from the FDR Memorial...

Tim carrying our Sweetheart...

 From there, we made our way to the Lincoln Memorial.  Notice that Tim is now carrying Buddy on his shoulders... giving Jon's shoulders a break!

Once again, the Washington Monument, only this time from the Lincoln Memorial.

We had a great time walking and talking in DC with the Smiths.

Later that evening, the Junior High students with their leaders from our church were offering free childcare from 5-9 PM at the church.  (While there, the kids played games, made a few crafts, ate pizza, watched a movie and ate popcorn.  They had so much fun!)  So, we decided to drop them off there and enjoy a kid free dinner with the Smiths at the Cheesecake Factory!  YUM!!!!  They don't live close to a Cheesecake Factory so this was a special place to go, for them and for us!  We LOVE to eat there!  Definitely one of our favorites!

During our dinner, we had such great conversation.  The Smiths have a way of talking about deep, thought-provoking things in a very casual laid back way.  I don't know if that makes any sense, but I felt refreshed by their visit. I just love their insight and wisdom.  

We hope we will have another opportunity to host them again!  

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Jon!  

We love you!  You are a wonderful husband and a super Daddy!  

For his special birthday dinner, he would like me to make our seasoned mexican beef tacos with rice and beans, chips and salsa, and his request for dessert is Sugar Cream Pie... his all time favorite!  I'll get right on that Jon!  :-)

These next two photos were taken by our friend, Naomi.  This first picture is his birthday gift!

He has a picture of himself with our first munchkin on his desk for work.  That photo was taken on Jon's first Father's Day, 2006!  Can we say outdated?!?  I think this picture will be a great replacement!

I tried to keep his birthday gift a surprise for him and... it worked!  He had no idea that Naomi had taken these photos of us and absolutely LOVED them when he saw them this morning!  

Thanks for making this happen, Naomi!  We LOVE these photos and will certainly treasure them!  You are such a talented photographer!  

So, Happy Birthday to the love of my life!  I hope to celebrate many more birthdays together in the years to come!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

... at least in my opinion!

I LOVE this time of year!  The trees are absolutely amazing, the air is becoming crisp and cool, and there are so many great things to do outside  (i.e. go to the pumpkin patch and pick out a pumpkin, play at the park, go on a hayride, etc,... )

 I think of Fall as God's last display of the beauty of His creation before the winter and cold weather come upon us, and beauty is an understatement!

This year I'm really trying to take it all in.  The best way I know how to do that is to capture the Fall splendor with photos... here goes!

   This photo was taken at Lake Needwood.  You may recall that Lake Needwood was the location for our recent family photo shoot.  Aren't these colors just breathtaking?

Pumpkins... 

Buddy with the pumpkin of his choosing at the pumpkin patch...

Our sweetheart... not sure which pumpkin to choose...

A few more photos at Lake Needwood...

And here are some pictures from Redland Park.  The munchkins and I visit this park on a regular basis once the weather warms up in the Spring until the last leaf has fallen in Autumn.  It's one of their favorite places to run and play!

I hope you are able to take a few moments this season and really marvel at God's creation.  It's such a gorgeous time of year!  

8 Years Ago Today...

Jon and I got married at Grace Fellowship Church in New Haven, IN on a cold, wet, dreary Saturday,  October 26, 2002.  The dreary day did not dampen our excitement about getting married to each other, though!

God always knows what is best for us and I'm so glad He picked Jon to be my husband.  He is my perfect mate in so many ways.  I love him now more than I ever have and, Lord willing, I'm looking forward to spending many more years together with him and our family! 

I love you Jon!  

I can't wait to see what God has in store for our future together!

Smile!

Our family had a photo shoot a few weeks ago at Lake Needwood with our good friend InShil.

Here are a few of the many amazing photos she captured...

... and here's a picture of InShil.  For some reason, she always seems to be behind the camera, instead of in front of one.  :-)

We LOVE our pictures and had a great time on our photo shoot!  We are very thankful for InShil's obvious gift of taking great pictures and the gift of her friendship.  These photos will be treasured for years to come!

Time for a Haircut!

Today I took the munchkins to get their hairs cut!  With preschool just around the corner, starting next week, I thought it would be a great time to get their hair cut.

Here are a few 'before' shots of them...

It had been over a year and a half since we had our sweetheart's hair cut last!  A hair cut for her was way overdue!

When we arrived, she wanted to go first...

She did a great job sitting still for the stylist...

and smiling for the camera!

Then it was Buddy's turn...  

and he did great too!

His hair looks so much better!

Here's our sweetheart from the front...

and from the back!  

The stylist put a cute little teddy bear barrette in for her... so cute!

This is Buddy on the way home with his sucker for being so good! 

I had called it a lollipop and he informed me, "It is not a lollipop, Mommy, it's a sucker!"

Here are a couple of 'after' shots when we returned home.  

Now I think they are ready for preschool!  ;-)