IT'S DONE!!

Neal & Peg

For the last several weeks while my parents are celebrating 40 yrs in the Dominican Republic, my sister and I have been working on photos and captions, for their 40th anniversary book. I finished it this afternoon. I had a 1/2 day at work (bless the Lord) and came home. I got to take a nap with Zack, and then got to work. It's tedious and painstaking as we have snuck photos and worked on this for weeks now. I think it came out great. Big thanks to Rachel for all the captioning. She did great. (I hate that part) photos are more my thing. I am glad to say, we got it finished, and it is now to print.. Whew!!

Back Home

This weekend was crazy. I ended up finishing work on Thursday and flying early Friday to DC for the weekend. It was for a conference so, it wasn't for "fun". I met up with my girlfriends and we got to work on our upcoming conference. I guess it was a good thing we were all from the East coast, but geez, the time change did finally catch up with us. Our bed was always covered with the to do.. did we get that.. did we check that.. cross check that.. ugh. It was a long weekend, and we got to see a lot of friends from corporate headquarters. We did great and we got a lot done. The up side of the weekend is we did take a break to go shopping and I got some great pants! :) We made a lot of progress, and I was glad to get home, although EXHAUSTED.. only to head back to work the next day.. whew!

On the way home, I had to fly out next to the Pitt. Steelers plane. Like salt in a wound. It was gearing up to head to the Superbowl this weekend, and the poor Eagles plane sat alone. A tear still in its eye!

Family photos

Poor Emma she is like what are they doing???

the best one I could get...

I had tried to get some photos of the kids all looking at me but, it is impossible! Some turned out pretty well, but not sure how to get them all to look at me.. maybe when they are all 6?? errr!! :)

How many???

Emma didn't feel well tonight. She has a little bit of a sniffle, and very unlike her there was very little energy. She ate dinner, but hated to take the Motrin I knew would make her feel better. Poor thing. As I nuggled (our word for snuggle) her in the rocking chair, I couldn't help realize how much she has grown.. The baby part of her is almost gone, and that little toddler/little girl is so much bigger!! (and heavier) So, tonight, made me wonder as I sat in the comfortable rocker..

• How many lullabies do we sing?
• How many times do we rock them to sleep?
• How many times do we rub their backs and whisper softly to them?
• How many boo-boo's do we kiss?
• How many times do we check on them in the middle of the night? Pull up a blanket and blow a soft kiss?
• How many tears do we watch fall as our own hearts break?
• How many sniffles do we wipe?
• How many times do you say "Are you kidding me!!" in frustration?
• How many colds do we chase to make them feel better?
• How many times do we say, please stop, don't do that?
• How many times do we make them say sorry before they really feel sorry and say it on their own?
• How many times do we say pick up clean up!!
• How many times do we say toilet seat down! and.. please FLUSH!!
• How many times do we say no no no no.. icky...?

Honestly, I couldn't say, but I do love being a mom.

New Time

Now as a side note, I thought this was also inspiring.. a 3 yr old wanting to do letters and lines.. I have to practice he kept saying.. you go buddy.. You can be ANYTHING you want to be!!

So, today was an amazing day. Not only did I deliver 3 babies today (a set of twins) but we swore in our first African American President. I have to say in watching I was inspired, and hope that my children understand that they can do/be anything they want. Today, as the twins were born I said to the mother, what a great day to bring life into this world. She cried as they were born and could not keep her joy contained. Their possibilities are endless. Our children watched, still really to young to understand, but they could understand our excitement and our hope for their futures. A time of change is brewing. It will not be today, next month, but it is coming. As a member of the Armed Forces, my prayers are with him. I have always been so proud of this country that I have given 18 years of service. But today, I could hardly contain my pride and joy.

He had a total blast!!






I was trying all types of photo shots, but Zack loved the head set
this was what Emma kept doing to me... KIDS!!




Emma and the fountain

The bells

The train pulling into the station

The train leaving....

Today was a long day, and for me one of patience. We decided to celebrate the day off and go to San Juan Capistrano. I researched the trains and the times, and we were there nice and early. Kids were ready to go, and Zack was beside himself to get ON the train. Well, it arrived on the other side (not where the attendant had told us). Needless to say, we didn't make the first train, and had to go the Amtrack route. But, we made it there in time for lunch. We had great Mexican food and then headed to the Mission. Zack could not hang, but Emma was a trooper. It is really very interesting and the flowers out now are beautiful. I can only imagine going back when everything is in bloom. (wow). Our luck changed on the way home, and we found the first train was delayed, so we got home on time. We originally thought to get home later, but were thrilled to find it late (whew!). It was a lot of fun though, and Zack loved listening to the tape (once he woke up).

Getting Started

I use to be great at scrapbooking, but when the kids came?? Who has time?? And unlike my great sister, I am not great at keeping a journal. Many of my friends blog, and they can do it with kids. And I realized that my photo albums and thoughts are not getting recorded. So, this is my attempt to start journaling. In watching my mom and dad celebrate 40 yrs of marriage, and working on their present, I am reminded that my kids will want to look at our lives and our memories to see what we did. So, hopefully, I will keep this up. Wish me luck!!