Extending the giveaway!

I've decided to throw in a little extra into the giveaway! I've added a really beautiful and soft flannel throw blanket from IKEA. It has a really cool scallopped edge! Just the right thing to wrap yourself up in as you enjoy a cup of hot chocolate and and a fun read!

I'm extending the deadline for the giveaway until January 3rd 2010 at 11:30am

Just leave a comment on one of my posts or e-mail telling me about your favorite New Year's traditions!

emilyrsps@gmail.com

:D Emily

Right Now!

This is what I'm looking at right now!

Christmas 2009

New York City

A Chilly Day and a Give-away

Taking an extra day off of work to just relax and unwind from the Christmas holiday! Feels great to do nothing. I did throw in a load or two of laundry.

It's snowing right now! In Kentucky! (Insert a happy little dance). Enjoying a cup of hot vanilla in my favorite mug. Yummy

Hot Vanilla

• 1 cup Milk
• 2 teaspoons white sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons Cool Whip
• 1 tablespoon chocolate syrup plus a little more to drizzle

1. Pour milk in mug

2. Add sugar and vanilla. Heat for 1 ½ minutes

3. In a separate small dish combine cool whip and chocolate syrup.

4. Take warmed milk out of microwave. Top with the chocolate cool whip mixture

5. Drizzle with chocolate syrup

In honor of my new blog. I have put together a little giveaway. Just leave a comment below with your name and a favorite winter tradition. On January 1st at 10:00am Eastern time I will draw a name and send out the goodies!

On my New Year's To-Do list is to add to my collection of childrens books. This is one of my favorites!

Have a lovely day!

Emily

From the Welcome Wagon!

(A little something I saw while at the library one day)

Welcome to my NEW blog!

Please come back again for

*Giveaways

*Life Happenings

* Recipes

*Projects

Thanks!

Emily

PS: I have brought over all the posts from my other blog!

Live from PA: It's Christmas!

Me in front of the Statue of Liberty

Me in Ellis Island

Michael and I are still on vacation in PA. What a lovely trip! Very relaxing!! We are enjoying good times with family and friends!

A few new changes for the new year. I am starting a new blog! Life of a preschool does not really fit anymore! More info about that later!

I am going to be hosting a little give-away on my new blog so be on the lookout for that!

Until later!

Have a lovely weekend!

Emily

Scamming a Charity at Christmas Time

About once or twice a week I read the articles in the online edition of the local newspaper from the town where I grew up. It helps me feel connected to home, and gives me some talking points to discuss with my family. I love reading the wedding announcements and birth announcements the best.

Today one of the articles really disturbed me. It was about a local program run by the local fire department. The program provides gifts and food for needy families in the area. The article talked about a Craigslist ad that told people how to get "free" gifts by applying to be part of the"Santa Fund" program. The author of this "ad" described how they have been scamming this program for years and nobody has ever asked questions. The gifts and food just show up on their doorstep.

I have been poor before in my life. It is a very humbling experience. For many poor people it is very difficult to ask for help, even when you really do need the help.In our society we are taught that if you work hard that you will always have what you need. There are many hard working people out there who still struggle to pay the rent, provide clothing and food for their families. Are they less deserving of a nice place to live, a full belly and a good education? I don't think so . It just turns my stomach to hear of people abusing the systems set up for people who are really in need.

After reading this article I just wanted to cry. How dare someone who is just greedy and lazy take handouts just because they can. Just because its easy and nobody asks any questions. They should feel downright ashamed of themselves. It is situations like this that cause many social services to be limited, because lets face it, people don't want to give to greedy people. Most people are willing to give something for someone who is really in need.

Is this going to cause me to think twice about donations to charity? No. Am I able to give millions of dollars? Not at this point. Can I give a pair of shoes, or pants, or a book to a cause I care about ? Yes I can.

While honestly, I sometimes get bogged down with horrible stories like this, I still try to remember all the good that really does happen out there.

Have a lovely evening

Emily

Tis' the Season to be Jolly!

I am really into the Christmas spirit this year! Been having a lot of fun making/putting gifts together for family and friends. I love having projects to do. I love the whole process of coming up with an idea, getting the supplies together, creating, and then seeing the finished product and then sharing it with others. It is so gratifying to start with something as simple a pretzels and M&Ms and then creating a cute little treat for my co-workers.

So I found this recipe on Becky Higgins' blog. Soooo yummy!

Am super pleased with how the whole packaging came together. I found the little bags at Walmart. Just printed out the sentiment on my home computer and punched them using a tag punch! Easy!!!

Thanksgiving

Sorry about the late update on Thanksgiving. Michael and I have been pretty much sick since Friday :( We are on the mend. Enough about that.

We went to our friends the Feldkamp's for dinner. Michael made a cherry pie and a blackberry pie. Yes, I have a husband that bakes pies. I'm lucky I know! I finally used the Trifle dish, that I just had to have from my wedding registry. Ha! Ha! So for my 1st attempt at trifle, I chose a raspberry chocolate. So very easy! I suppose you could make it with homemade stuff, but I just wanted quick and easy!

Raspberry Chocolate Trifle

2 Boxes of Instant Chocolate Pudding

1 Frozen Pound Cake

1 Tub of Cool-Whip

1 cup of Raspberry preserves

2 pints of Fresh Raspberries

1. Dethaw pound cake and cut into cubes

2. Prepare pudding according to package directions

3. Mix raspberry preserves with Cool-Whip

4. Place pound cake cubes in bottom of the trifle bowl

5. Spoon pudding on top of pound cake cubes.

6. Layer Cool-Whip/preserve combination next

7. Follow up with with a layer of fresh raspberries.

8. Repeat layers again!

The Feldcamps invited a couple of other families from church over to their house. Michael played football with the guys before and after lunch. The ladies stayed inside and looked at the blackfriday ads! Ha! Ha! The food was pretty good, I did notice that the food was all similar in color. The stuffing, turkey, potatoes, and corn bake were all in the same color category. Ha! Ha! Reminder for next year, bring a tossed salad!! We ended the evening with a guys against girls game of Pictionary. The girls beat the guys 18 to 10!

I printed out our Christmas cards last week. Yay!! Here is a sneak peek. There is going to be a surprise sent with the Christmas cards this year. I'm not going to share that part yet. :D Here is the card!

Footwear,CPR Induced Backaches, and books

Today started bright and early as I had to wake up early to go toMiddletown for a CPR class. A 6:30am wake up call on a Saturday was not my idea of bliss. How I wish I could have stayed in bed. While the early wake up was a drag, the class was entertaining and educational.

As per-usual, I got lost on the way to the class. Thankfully I didn't go too far out of the way. I get lost coming out of a store in the mall. When I finally arrived I felt like a celebrity as several people cheered when I walked in the door. I can't help that I'm a celebrity! Wink, Wink!

The instructor, Mrs. Craycraft is quite a character. Totally worth driving 50 miles. She's spunky, has great stories, and she knows her stuff. Thats important. This is the third class I've taken with her. Her husband and son were there. She introduced her son by saying that he "needs a wife" One of my co-workers raised her hand. Poor guy, he was totally blushing. Fun! Fun!

After taking the CPR class I realised that I am not as flexable as I thought. Bending over those CPR maniquins hurt my back. Its just not a natural position to be in. Hopefully if I ever have to perform CPR that adrenaline will kick in, because giving CPR is worse than yoga or pilaties.

Tips for taking a CPR class.

1. Wear Stretchy pants that cover your be-hind! I saw a lot of cracks. I know in a real situation your not going to care about your bootie hanging out of your pants. In class...just say no to "crack".
2. Wear a long shirt that buttons up or has a rather high neck.
3. Wear your hair up to keep it out of your face.
4. Do some stretches ahead of time.
5. Keep this list to remind me of these rules in 2 years when I have to take the class again.

During the CPR class one of my fellow students was wearing shoes like this!

I have never seen anything like this before. So with a little google search I found that they are athletic shoes. While I'm sure they serve their purpose, the idea of wearing gloves on my feet just does not sound appealing. They look like ape feet to me! Oh well. They are unique and heck they are a conversation starter. I'm all for wearing or bringing strange stuff to start a conversation!

Speaking of shoes, I did manage to pick up a few pairs for myself at DSW. Michael had a good time playing the savings game. He was looking at a sign explaining that if you get purchase a gift card you would get $10 for discount coupon for each $50 you spend. Michael asked if he could use the gift cards right away. The cashier told us no, but then explained if we walked out of the store and came back in 5 minutes that we could then use the gift cards, and we would then receive our discount coupons. Ha! Ha! The cashier threw in two extra gift cards for a total of $50 worth of discount coupons! Yay!!!

After stocking up on shoes we headed over the BORDERS.Yay Books. What should I find but

Yay! I saw the ad in Creating Keepsakes a few months ago and I knew I had to have it! So cute! After seeing this book in my hand, Michael "suggested" that I get rid of som other books before I buy any more. Yet,I wanted the book. Hmmmmm.....So I promised to purge my bookcase. Michael, being the smart man that he is,did not believe me. So in order to prove him wrong, once we got home, I removed FOURTEEN unwanted books to donate to the library. So a win-win-win situation for everyone.

#1: I got the book that I wanted!

#2: I supported the scrapbooking industry by buying this book!

#3: I got rid of some unwanted books that are just sitting on my shelves(unread). Thus leaving more space on our already bursting shelves!

#4: The money that the library will receive from selling my unused books will be used to support scholarships to future librarians and contine the wonderful work of the modile library van.

I love when I am able to justify scrapbooking purchases!

Thats all for now! Have a lovely Sunday!

Emily

Big Butter Jesus, Jellybean People, and Church

Michael and I went to IKEA yesterday. He wanted to look at couches and I wanted to look at all the cute nick-knacks. I'm proud to say that the only money we spent was on food in their restaurant! Their chocolate cake is to die for! Really

After IKEA, Michael suggested we go to Dayton. I was game. I didn't really have an excuse for not going. On our journey we passed "Touchdown Jesus" or "Big Butter Jesus". My picture does not do it any justice. It is a huge statue outside of a church. Very visable on the northbound side of I75. While I think the statue is very tacky, it is a conversation piece. Maybe someone might be interested in finding out what kind of church would have a 50 foot Jesus infront of their church. If they step into the church and come to know the Lord, I'm all about it. Its still very funny. Everytime I pass by it I have to sing the "Big Butter Jesus" song.

Outside of the Dayton Art Museum was this piece. Michael was transfixed by it. He stood for over 5 minutes just looking at it.

Here was my favorite piece at the museum. The Jellybean People! Basically it was two old department store maniquins covered with jellybeans and shallaced within an itch of its life. Behind the jellybean people were thousands of hand painted paper butterflies that would take turns fluttering. I'm not sure if their was suppose to be some kind of "artistic" meaning to it. Sometimes, I think people try to put to much "arty-ness" into art. Couldn't it be that the artist just really liked jellybeans and butterflys? Does it have to have some deeper meaning?

Here was my art this morning. I made pumpkin muffins with cinnamon and brown sugar topping. I made them because I love muffins and brown sugar. There is no other motive besides the like of food that made me create these muffins! Ha!
Michael and I are going to give Small groups at church another go. We are attending a group tonight of 6 to 10 other couples who are also in their 30s. If you know me the idea of meeting twelve to twenty new people is enough to give me hives. I have a hard time knowing what to say to people. I've spent the last hour researching ways to make a good first impression on people. I've read about body language and face language. So from what I've read I'm suppose to smile, keep my arms uncrossed, lean into people and give a nice firm hand shake. Why did they not teach this stuff in school? Maybe they did and I just missed that day! I have a good feeling about this! I can do this!

I want another icecream sandwich!

Kids say the funniest things! I get to work with close to 500 kiddos each week, so I hear some real doozies! Here is a real conversation.

Scence: Scrapbooking Club for Students in Kindergarten-6th Grade

Characters: Me and Little A

Descriptions of Characters

Me: Teacher who likes to spoil kids

Little A: A tiny, spunky, and cute little Kindergartener.

Little A: Ms. Emily, I don't like this. (Handing me a a sliver of her uneaten ice cream sandwich. Her face was also covered with the ice cream sandwich)

Me: Thats fine. You can throw the rest away

Little A: But I didn't like THIS one, so I need another one.

Me: Well, Little A. you already ate almost all of the one you didn't like.

Little A: (Clearly getting frustrated with my not understanding her) But I didn't like that ONE so I need another one!

Me: Little A, everyone only gets ONE.I don't want you to spoil your dinner.

Little A: But Ms. Emily I didn't like that One. I won't tell my Mommy if you give me another one.

Me: (Speaking to the rest of the kids).Ok guys, lets grab our coats and go outside.

Little A: Ms. Emily please, Ms. Emily please, Ms. Emily please! MS. EMILY PLEASE! (full on pout now)

Me: Little A. can you show me where you jacket is?

Little A: SURE! It's in my Tinker bell back pack!

Too funny!

Tribute...Ummm.....Sunday : Favorite Teacher

Found this idea on the Mayhem and Moxie blog! A new favorite must read blog. I spend far too much time reading other people's blogs! Ha! Can you relate? So I thought I might try to play along. This week's theme was Favorite Teacher.

I love school. I have always loved school. Middle school and college were horrible, but elementary school and high school were fabulous. I loved High School! No, I wasn't the Home Coming Queen or the star soccer player. I was a pretty average teenager, maybe a little bit more boy crazy than most.

What made my experience extraordinary was the school, St. Johnsbury Academy is a day and boarding school in Vermont. Having grown up in Vermont, I had little opportunity to experience people from other cultures. I had gone to school with the same twenty-five or so kids my entire school career. I remember my middle school guidance counselor telling me that I would "blossom" once I was at the Academy. I did!

The Academy community is steeped in tradition open to creativity and innovation. Being at the Academy is like being at home and in the world at the same time. My classmates were from Japan, Germany, Indonesia, Spain, and Bermuda. What an opportunity for a girl from small town Vermont to meet others from all across the world. I soaked in any opportunity to befriend fellow students from other countries.

I had many amazing teachers in high school. One of my most memorable teachers was Mrs. Carol Zuccaro. Mrs. Zuccaro was my tenth grade English teacher. I remember her as a small woman with a warm personality and a honey sweet voice. She treated everyone warmth and respect. I remember how she encouraged me in my writing. No matter how outrageous an idea I would have, she would always be available to help flesh it out.

Many projects still stick in my mind as extraordinary, even thirteen years later. We had just finished reading Oedipus and our class was given a challenge. We were to re-write the legend and then later perform it in the school's amphitheatre. My classmates worked diligently at our task. We worked together to creatively rework the old language while still keeping the integrity of the legend intact. We worked on costumes and set pieces. Everyone did their fair share. It was team work in action! I don't remember Mrs. Zuccaro micro-managing us. She kept silent, and let us take the project in the direction we wanted. She offered assistance and provided us with references. An outstanding teachers provides tools and opportunities to help you soar!

Another project I remember was the opportunity to be pen pals with a classroom of students from New Mexico. In 1996, the Internet was just beginning to emerge in our tiny community. Communicating with students across the country on the computer was fascinating to me. The Internet is still fascinating to me! Mrs.Zuccaro helped stoke the fires of my interest in other cultures. She is the reason why I went to school for travel and hospitality.

After college, I returned to the Academy to work. I once again got the opportunity to experience her sincerity and her genuine thirst for life and knowledge. I deeply wanted the opportunity to thank Mrs. Zuccaro for being such an inspiration. One day during a break, I headed down to the local flower shop to pick up some roses and a card. I don't remember what I wrote in the card. I do know that I didn't sign my name. I left the flowers outside of her classroom door. A few of the students in her class saw me leaving l the flowers. Through the grapevine I heard that she thought her husband or her priest must have left the flowers for her. It tickles me to have that little secret.

Each week, as I share books with hundreds of students I strive to be a warm, caring, and encouraging influence. I hope to inspire my students to greatness in the way that Mrs. Zuccaro has inspired me!

This year for our staff Christmas party we are having a gift basket raffle. I was asked to do one to represent the afternoon clubs! I had so much fun shopping for cute things to go in my cupcake themed basket! Way cute! I have a few more things to add in. Love making gift baskets!

Just Thinking

I'm sitting here at the computer just contimplating my life. This is something that is quite normal for me. As an internal processor, much of my life is lived inside my head. What does that even mean? Well, it means very little of what I am actually thinking comes out of my mouth. Why? Fear? Yes! Many people mistake my lack of talking for being stuck up or cold. That is not my intention. I long to have friends and be able to share who I really am. Yet, that is just difficult. Often times, I just don't know what to say.

So I am thinking about life. To be honest its pretty dull right now. Drive, Work, Drive, Home, Drive, Work, Drive, Home. I go to work and I come home. So dull. I spend between 8 and 11 hours in the car each week. 85% of the dreams I have at night are about work. So it feels like all I do is work. You may be thinking that I'm complaining about work. I'm not. I like work a lot! Its just that I have let it become my life and I'm not really doing anything outside of work. Last night, which was Friday night I spent 4 hours making a book review video for my work blog. Am I required to make these videos? Nope. Does anybody actually watch these video? I doubt it. Then why the heck am I spending a perfectly good Friday night making a video? I think its because work has become my life and I am just mindlessly continuing that "life". I don't have anything else interesting going on so I just latch onto "work" because it is at least somewhat entertaining. That is just so unhealthy.

So, I've pretty much stalled on "life". I haven't been to church in a month, maybe more. I can't remember. I never followed up with opportunities to volunteer in children's ministry and women's ministry. I'm just scared of people actually getting to know the real me, and not liking that person, so I just continue with the "fake me". If people don't like the "fake me", that is OK, because that is not really who I am. When I get scared I clam up. Doing nothing is better and safer than being "known". I'm pretty fed up with that whole proecess. It works for a while, but its just not healthy.

I know that I have a purpose in life. There are a few places where I just feel so comfortable, where I feel I can just soar. Do you ever get that feeling that you are doing something that you were just ment to do? Here are a couple of those places for me.

#1: Random Acts of Kindness: While I was working at St. Johnsbury Academy, I just felt an overwhelming sense of love and pride of being part of that community. So the joy just kinda spilled over. I loved handing out donuts by the front door. I loved handing out candy before chapel. I loved surprising people with flowers or other gifts. I loved the opportunities that I had to get to know the students and to see them change. I love making people smile. People don't expect other people to be kind. I didn't do those things to be honored or recognized for those acts. I just did them to make people smile. To give other people out of the ordinary experiences that might just make their day a little bit brighter. A small break for the mundane.

#2: Children's Ministry: Being part of a church can get messy. I've worked on staff at three churches. I would say that two of the three have severley mangled my faith. While the "business side" of the church bogged me down, the miracles and work that God was doing there was amazing. Sometimes I forget all the wonderful that did happen.

I think children are capable of having truly authentic faith. At their young age they don't have all that messy stuff to cloud things. They don't have a lot of that baggage that adults have that can be a barrier to relationship with Christ. While working and volunteering with children at churches ,I have learned so much from them. I learned church doesn't have to be boring. I've learned that scripture doesn't just have to be read quietly. Joy can be external and internal.

Ok, so what does this all mean? Well, I have to get off my duff and start doing. Things are not going to fall in my lap until I start taking some steps. If you are the "praying type", please pray for guidance as I begin to step out and begin to be who I am truly ment to be.

I hate blog posts without pictures. So here is a picture

Things I Love and Hate Right Now

Things I'm Loving and Hating Right Now!

The Mentalist

A guilty pleasure kinda show!

Caramel Apple Cider

A favorite cool weather favorite

Blogs

Here are a few of my favorites. I read tons of blogs, but here are just a few!

Mayhem and Moxie

Ali Edwards

Elsie's Blog : What a creative little artist. I would love to visit her store.

Steve Fuller: Church Experiment: I forgive him for stealing my idea, because his insight is very entertaining. He is visitng 52 churches in 52 weeks. Wow! I wanted to have a similar blog called Cin Church ( Where I would go to churches in the Cincinnati area and talk about my experiences there to help newcomers to this area find a home church)

Made In Brooklyn: This is an awesome blog. The author is a stay-at-home Mom, baker, a devine crafter, sweet, former resident of Vermont, and former teacher. She also just happens to be married to the brother of one of my best friends from high school.

Lisa Bearnson : A super creative scrappin' mom. She is the founder of Creating Keepsakes Magazine.

Cakies : Creative Eye Candy

Beth and Susan Opel: Two super duper spunky crafters

This Man!

He is such a wonderful guy. A bit crazy and odd, but he is so caring and loving. He has done such a good job taking care of me while I'm sick. Yay! He even made me homemade mac and cheese for lunch. My first real solid meal since Friday! He cooks, he cleans, he is great with children. He gives great hugs. Back away ladies, he is all mine!

Things I Hate

The Inability to Move Pictures Around On My Blog.

I've had to do this entire blog backwards. Why can't I move my pictures around like I used to?

My Hair

It's stringy, limp, and out of control. I wish I knew how to style it.

Doctors pushing shots on you.

I am not the biggest fans of Drs. right now. Ok...I like Drs. I like that I am feeling so much better. I am glad that my strep infection is on the mend. What I don't like is being pushed to have a steroid shot. Excuse me, I am not an athlete. I've had more prescriptions for steroids in the past year than many pro-atheletes have. I'm sorry steroids do not work in helping me get better. The doctor (whom is not my regular doctor) pushed me to get a steroid injection. She told me I'd feel so much better. I refused. The doctor seemed insulted that I objected. Excuse me, its my body. If I don't want a shot, I'm not getting one. Thanks! Plus after taking one dose of antibiotics and an hour long nap, I felt soooooooo much better. So phooey on you!

Bad Customer Service/ Not Getting What I order.

I went to college for Hospitality/Tourism, so I have very little tolerance for unexceptable service. Food establishments seem to be the biggest offenders. The one bright spot in the fast food industry has to be Chick-Fil-A. I have had nothing but amazing experiences with that compnay. The workers are clean-cut, they have a smile on their face, my food order is always correct, the resturants are clean, and the staff actually cares! Well done Chick-Fil-A.

I will spare you with my extensive list of unexceptable service...cough..cough...cough AOL.

Have a lovely evening!

:D

Emily

Playing Along with Mayhem and Moxie

Playing along with Mayhem and Moxie's Tribute Tuesday!

Here is a picture of my Fall Induldence: Yummy Caramel Apples. I made them a couple of weekends ago! Yummy! I want more!

New with Me

I'm pretty sure I have the flu. Doubt that its H1N1 though.On Thursday I didn't feel well at all so I didn't go to work. On Friday morning I felt Ok. On the way home from work I felt like a Mac truck hit me and went directly to bed. On Saturday I spent most of the day sleeping and watching movies. I did drag myself out of the house to go to Walmart. Today I feel a lot better than yesterday. The fevor is gone. Now Michael is sick. Enough with being sick.

Here is a project that I am working on.

I just have to print it out and put it together. Last Christmas I made these for Michael's brothers' and sisters' kids. I'm also working on another Christmas project but its pretty much on a standstill until our trip up north at the end of this month.

The Smids came to visit us this week! Ben is one of Michael's best friends. They were roommates in college! What a wonderful family. They just had an adorable little girl named Anna! She is such a doll! I totally got my baby fix!

Michael was very excited to have Ben here. The two of them played computer games pretty much non-stop. We did go out to eat a bit! On Friday, Michael took them to the zoo. We had some free tickets! I can't believe it but we will be up to see them in New Jersey in about three weeks! Exciting! We've seen them a lot this year!! I'm sure not complaining.

Back to what I talked about last week. I still would like to leave Kentucky and move closer to family. Michael and I talked about it and I understand a little bit more about his reasoning, it sucks, but I understand. We are both blessed to have good jobs! We are blessed to live in an area that has a pretty cheap price of living. So maybe in 2 to 3 years we might make the jump up North. If we win the lottery, maybe less time. Ha! Ha! Ha! Till then, I really need to make an effort to get more involved here. In about a month I will have been in this area for 5 years. Wow. That seems like a lot. I have not made any effort at all to connect here. Now is the time to do that. Why is it so hard for me?

Off to make some breakfast!

:D

Emily

Home

A week ago Michael and I were visiting family and friends "up-north". While it was a very quick trip, I so needed it. Just needed a change from my looooooong commutes from Kentucky to the northern 'burbs of Cincinnati. To be honest all that driving has made me a bit "crazy". I know I talk about it a lot, but its a huge part of my life that I really dislike. So much wasted time.

Anyway, back to our trip, it was WONDERFUL! For once, I actually wasn't sick. I had a bit of a cough, but I actually felt really good. It is a joke with Michael and myself that I always get sick when we visit his family. I love his family! I got to take loads of pictures of the nieces and nephews. One of the best questions I've ever heard came from my 4 year old nephew. He asked me what I love like he loves trains. What a great question! That kid is a thinker! I told him that I love scrapbooking and taking pictures. Then I asked him if I could take his picture. He said that he would have to take a picture of me first. So he went and got his toy camera and took a picture of me. Then he let me take a picture of him! Look you can see the toy camera in his hand!On our trip we also went to New Jersey for the baptism of a friend's baby. Michael was asked to be the Godfather. Which Michael is really tickled about. He randomly says, "I'm the Godfather!" Then he laughs! My husband is too cute! The baby is also adorable. Little Anna is such a good baby. She has her Dad's layedback personality. Ben and Sara are really good parents and you can just tell they adore their little lady! They are coming to see us on Tuesday! Yay! Michael will get to play tons of video games and Sara and I will go to Babies R Us!

I am really struggling with the fact that I would love to move closer to our families. Michael's family is an eleven hour drive. My family is a seventeen hour drive. That is just too much. I feel like we miss out on a lot with our families. I'm not saying that we have to move to the same town that my family or his family live in. I just want to live closer. Michael's best friends live about an hour away from Michael's siblings and parents. Michael would love to be able to spend more time with them. I just don't understand why Michael does not want to move closer. I understand that he likes his job here. I LOVE my job here, but would not give it a second thought if we would move someplace like Carlise, PA. or Bennington, Vermont. Another plus is that we could get away from the horrible humid weather here in Kentucky. Its September, it is time for lovely sweaters, apples, and colored leaves. We should not have to use our AC at night. Blah! Can you tell I'm frustrated about this?

I love this photo of Michael and Nat. Look how happy Michael is! Case Photo #1 for moving closer to family. Nat is almost 1 and a half. She is never still. So this picture was really a miracle!

Here are all the kiddos! They are sooooooooo adorable. The little guy in the yellow shirt was yelling "CHEESE" at the top of his lungs. It was cute!

Michael's Mom has us get a family photo for her Christmas cards each year. This one was pretty good!

Here is Michael with his Mom!

Celebrating Marvin's birthday! Ha! It looks like he's on fire!

Michael and I will be heading back north at the end of October. My high school has a home coming weekend. We had a good time last year so we are going again! Plus I get to see more of this face!