Saying Good-bye

Tony left this morning for Manilla as ADP opened a call center there and he has to go over see it for 4 weeks. We knew the time was coming but when he started talking about the possibility of having to go it seemed like so far in the future...now the day has arrived--boy does time go fast.  Hopefully the 4 weeks he will be gone will go just as quickly.

Seeing the boys say their goodbyes before they left for school was really hard.  Jonah took it the hardest, he has such a soft heart.  So needless to say there were plenty of tears in this house this morning.  The boys and myself are going to miss him so much.  At least he gets to come home before the holidays, and for that we are very happy! 

I hope that he takes some time to have some fun, what a once in a lifetime opportunity to see antother part of the world!  Having him leave makes me even more appreciative for all the service men and women who risk their lives and time away from their families.

Photo op in front of the beautiful tree in our backyard.. Dad and his 2 guys..

Dodger snuggling up to daddy for some quality cuddle time.

It was almost as if he knew he were getting ready to leave!!

Hurry home to us Buddy!

We miss you more than you could ever know and love you even more!!

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful to look out my family room window to a sight as beautiful as this!!!

Sweet Child of Mine

Today is my baby's 12th birthday!  Happy Birthday Jensen Matthew!!!  We are so blessed to have you in our family, you bring us so much joy and I love you so much.  Hard to believe 12 years have passed since you were born.  You have kept us on our toes from the first moment!!  You were such a busy little baby and constantly made us laugh or frustrated us with your orneryness.  There is never a dull moment with you around and I wouldn't have it any other way!  Today I celebrate YOU and all that you are!  Here are 12 things I love about you....

1.  Your sweet smile and freckles, not sure there has ever been a sweeter face!

2. You can't wait for a good snowstorm and getting to go out at 6am and snowblow and play in the snow.

3.  you have an appreciation for nature and all things that surround us that some people take for granted.  I love how you point out a cool sunset or when we were in Colorado you enjoyed all the beauty of the Mountains.

4.  You LOVE your dog Dodger and treat him just like a little baby, I so enjoy listening to you talk to him in your "baby" voice. You and Jonah always fight over who gets to sleep with him at night!

5.  Family is very important to you and you enjoy being around your extended family.

6.  I Love how you still ask to go upstairs at night for 1 on 1 quality snuggle time.

7.  It's so cute how you are always on You Tube and finding somet video that you find funny and insist that I watch it , and then we gigggle when we watch it together. 

8.  In the mornings you ALWAYS hop right out of bed with a smile and a great attitude~ I find this ironic because as a baby you never woke up happy or smiling!!

9.  You are always willing to go on a walk with me when I ask you--company always makes a walk more fun!

10.  You really like to make brownies and hot chocolate and not just any hot chocolate~ you put on whip cram and drizzle it with caramel!  Your wife someday will love this!

11.  I think it is really cool how your cousin Dawson is 1 of your best friends--you will always have each other and that is so special!

12. I love how you have a tender heart and feel sad when you hear about someone with a hardship or another problem,  you have a way of knowing how things can affect someone and care how they would feel. 

You are such a good kid and are so loving Jensen!  I know as you grow up you won't be as open to hug your mom , but for now I will take all I can get!  Happy birthday to a boy that I am so proud to call my son~you are loved more than you could possibly know! 

Birthday Weekend!

I just turned a year older.  I used to make everyone in my house celebrate birthday week, but now as I am creeping into middle age I can only celebrate long enough to make it birthday weekend!  On Friday after a crappy start to the birthday morning and then my husby telling me he couldn't meet me for lunch I  treated myself to some shopping and purchased some clothes and new dinnerware.  It is oh so pretty, all white and much like the pieces you eat on at many restraunts.  I truly believe that it makes the food not only look much more presentable , but taste even better!!  The boys think I am crazy , but hey, I AM a year older and a little closer to forgetfulness and wacky!!

That night after dropping Jensen off at his 1st social of his Middle school career, and dropping Jonah off at the High school football game, Tony and I headed to downtown Des Moines for dinner at Dos Rios.  They make guacamole made to your specifications at your table!  Pretty tasty with a lovely Margarita!

Instead of cake I had this cute cupcake!!



Me and my brown eyed boy before he ditched me for the night!!

On Saturday This little cutie and I went to lunch at Hu-Hot!

Sunday Jensen had a football game so we all enjoyed the beautiful day at the ball fields with a victory!!

Jensen #54

Jonah had basketball practice at the park that night so Dodger and I enjoyed the gorgeous fall night and walked around the trail while J worked hard!

Monday night the celebrating ended in Pella where I met these lovely ladies for dinner!

Me and my mommy

birthday dessert!



The 1st 42 years have been pretty amazing--here's to the next 42--God willing!!





Ain't Nothin Gonna Break My Stride, Nobody's Gonna Slow Me Down

And in the words of Matthew Wilder...

Oh No~ I've got to keep on Movin'!!!!!

Jonah is doing Cross Country this year for 8th grade since he decided not to go out for football.  He didn't think he wanted to do it, but Tony told him it would be a great character builder and would get him more in shape for basketball.  He has had 2 meets and has done really well.  He ran a time of 13 minutes 11 seconds on Tuesday and got 23rd place out of 256 and yesterday he shaved a few seconds off his time and got 13 minutes 8 seconds.  I am very proud of him and the work ethic he shows for anything he tries!

Lining up....

And they're off!!

Jonah's friend Riley who as Jonah says is "Beast".  He got 5th place both meets!  Way to go Riley!!  

Here he is coming up to the finish line, I was cheering and told him to push it and he really did!!

Proud of you Jonah!

And I am even prouder of the fact that after we got home he let me take his picture!!!  Love this kid!!

Don't let anybody slow you down !!

You say it's your Birthday!!??

Tony's birthday was a few weeks ago and we celebrated by singing to him and eating homemade coconut creme pie!  It is the one time of year that he gets his favorite treat.  It always tastes so good, since it only comes around once a year! 

A few birthday decorations always makes the day feel more festive!

The birthday boy and his best buds!

Happy Birthday to Tony!!  May this be the best year yet!!  We love you!!

And they call it PUPPY LOVE!!

Dodger joined our family just over 3 years ago and we LOVE this puppy!  He is the best dog ever and we are so thankful that he is a part of us!  Tony likes to pretend that he could care less about Dodger , but I think he is just as crazy about him as the boys and myself. 

1st day home with Dodger

Exhausted after a hard day!!

Reggie and Dodger watching pathetically at the door during Thanksgiving dinner

2 of the cutest faces EVER!!!

These are just a few of my favorite photos of my sweet puppy, may he be around for many more years to bring us love and photo ops!!