For my dad....

Now that his legs are long enough, Rody is a hit! And he actually jumps much longer and with great excitement but I had to post the shorter version!

Thanks, dad!

Alex's Ghost...

Probably only the Grandma's will want to watch a minute & 1/2 clip of an 18mo. old walking around with a blanket over his head...so, here is one for the Grandmas!

Feeding Chessie...

If this video won't work at 1st, just hit refresh and try again!

Off to a great start!

I can't believe we are in full swing of "the holidays".  I don't even remember summer!

We spent a perfectly low-key thanksgiving this year with friends, Caroline and Patrick who just moved to Portland a couple months ago.  It wasn't fancy (oh right, decorating, I knew I was forgetting something!) but it was wonderful!

 Turkey Roulade, Butternut Squash Soup, mashed potatoes, broccoli, Pumpkin Cheesecake & Apple Pie.

Christmas tree shopping at a most beautiful (Hello Evergreen State!) u-cut christmas tree farm.  It was family run and just perfect.

Evan got himself "stuck" here and even though he was calling for help, I just had to take a picture!

Cold weather...

It got very cold here, very quickly.  I was not ready for it other than the new coats and hats I had just bought.  No matching mittens, no snow boots...oh well.  

I know its not nice to take a picture of your crying child and post it on the web but I just couldn't help it.  Matt caught him mid-whine and I just love this picture.  The crooked mouth, the two tiny chick-let teeth and the single tear.  He really, really, really wanted to go outside and he had turned.it.on.

 And then the snow came...3 inches. Most people lost power (not us) but it was really beautiful.  Really beautiful until the 100mph winds started and the town went dark.

Immediate face plant. Didn't get us off to a good start.

Notice Evan crying.  He was so angry that the snow kept sticking to his gloves.  The harder he tried to get the snow off, the worse it got.  

The closest thing we had to a shovel, like I said, we were not prepared.

My husband, the photographer!

The Husband

I sort of have a one-track blog.  I talk so much about the boys in my life, I often leave out the man.

Today, 5 years ago, many of you watched my father walk me down the isle.  The man, who watched me come into this world and who stood steady as I ran to and from him through the daddy's-little-girl phase, the teenage years and back again, was walking with me one last time in our simple, uncomplicated father/daughter relationship.  He walked me down to my soon to be husband...we were so young and blissful.  Sometimes I think, man, we hardly knew each other.  But, at that moment, I knew all I needed to know.  He knew about God, he trusted and loved me, he had a supportive family and he had all the tools he needed to be the husband, father and friend that I needed for life.  

There is no way to know, at 23 years old, who you will be 5 years later.  It has gone by in a flash yet so much has happened.

My husband has been handed a lot.  Deployments, missed holidays, 100 hour work weeks, a cross country move, twins, fatherhood.  We rejoice in every one of those things.  They have taught us to love each other in a new way, how to handle change with grace, how to steal away moments together that life isn't handing out freely, and to be gentle in our disagreements.

On November 19, 2005, I married a great guy.  This 5th year of our marriage, he has stepped it up. I made a promise to him in front of all of you that day...and now I want to thank him, in front of all of you, today. 

Matthew, you have taken our marriage to a new level this year.  You have surprised me in so many ways. I am so happy to be married to you.

Fall on the East Coast

We may have some beautiful summers out here in the Pacific Northwest...but east coast falls cannot be beat.  The colorful trees, the warm afternoons and cool breezy evenings.  We got to spend some time in Annapolis and Frederick, had some much needed time with Grandparents, Aunts & Uncles and friends.  I stayed a bit longer and attended my 10th year high school reunion (scary) while Matt flew back for work and continued to move forward with the job-hunting.  We had such a wonderful time.  These are all pictures of when we were in Annapolis (Navy football game, Washington Zoo).  Since our photographer flew home early, we don't have any pictures of the rest of our time in Frederick.  Oh well, we had fun and made some good memories :)