SleepyHead

Nothing sweeter than a baby sound asleep. I love sneaking in her room before I go to bed to see her happily cuddled with her 'Gui' (Yellow Blankie). She loves her 'Gui'... it goes everywhere and she can't sleep without it. We love our little Abbers.

Breaks My Heart

Lately I have been thinking a lot about the Haitian people. It's heart breaking to see all that has happened...I hurt so much for them. I got to know quite a few Haitian people while serving my mission in the Dominican Republic and they were the sweetest, most humble people. They taught me that you can be happy with the simple joys in life of family and friends. You don't need a lot of 'things,' just those you love most. I hope things get better soon for the people there. Pray for the Haitians!
(All my mission pictures are at my parents home, but I found this one online that reminded me of a typical thing I would see there. Such great people.)
P.S. My friend Kimi has family that just returned from there. They have a blog that is safe to donate to for the cause: www.ffcin.org

Once There Was A Snowman...Abby style

Our little 'Snowgirl.' She loves doing this song for Family Home Evening. :) Please excuse the lack of attire for Miss Abby but I thought she was pretty cute doing the actions to this song. She will lead my preschool class in this song each week and it's hilarious. (She loves to sit on the plastic container, who knows why.)

Welcome 2010!!

Happy New Year! The year of 2009 has been a great year. We've made lots of memories and had some awesome experiences. We're excited to see what this new year has in store for us. It's always nice to have a new start and make goals. We hope you all have a great 2010!
It was fun to look back and see all that happened and changed. Here are some of the highlights of 2009...

*Dave and Alissa got married!!
*Abby's milestones: crawling, walking; first words...'hi', 'bye, bye'; first birthday etc. (Sheesh..kids grow up way too fast.)
*Completing our goals: 100 miles: Century Seagull Ride (Brett) and 26.2 miles: Balitmore Marathon (Emily).
*Visits to Williamsburg and Virginia Beach with the Hamilton Grandparents and later in the summer with Nana, Pops, Dave, and Laura.
*Our visit to Utah.
*Bethany Beach with good friends. (We love having the ocean close to us.)
*Visits from Shano; Sarah&Cory; Del&Don; Grandma&Grandpa; Nana; Pops&Suppy; Dave&Alissa; Matt; and Joe Sheppard.
*North Carolina 24 hour road trip to the Outer Banks.
*Finishing two semesters of finals for Brett.
*Getting a job offer with Dickstein Shapiro.
*Visit to Sleepy Hollow and Amish Country.
*Christmas with the Hamiltons.

Bring on the New Year!

Birthday Surprise

We arrived home to DC around 10pm Wednesday Night. When we entered the house, it was freezing. (I guess we brought NY with us. ) Our heat had gone out while we were gone. Brrrrr. After several attempts to fix it, we bundled up and went to bed. Our blankets kept us nice and warm. The next morning when Brett headed out to take his parents to the airport, we found we had freezing rain and this...


Our window had been completely shattered. Someone had broken into our car. We had locked it, but apparently they were clever enough to turn off our alarm.

They stole our airbag and the GPS. They smeared Abby's banana chips all over the back seat and spread my coupons around. (I guess they didn't want those.)

This makes 2 big things stolen from us in the last 2 years, our airbag and Brett's scooter. These thieves are making this an annual event. I wish they would just leave us poor students alone. When we called the police, they said they didn't have time to investigate because they were too busy with other crimes done that night. Sad. Oh well, things could always be worse. We're just grateful that we are all alive and well.
We have amazing friends and they invited us over for dinner that night and made me a yummy birthday cake! We're blessed to have such great family and friends...they are what get you through bad days like Thursday.

New York City...Christmas Style

We decided to do a quick trip to New York City with Brett's parents for Christmas. Peggy had never seen New York so we wanted to make sure she got to see what it's all about. :) We had a wonderful time, but we must admit it was FREEZING. It was 3 degrees with wind on Tuesday, so we were a bit cold. We forgot our winter hats so we had to buy the cheap ones off the streets. We definitely looked like tourists sporting our hats, but at least they kept us warm! There were a lot of crowds with the New Year's Party around the corner so we were definitely a part of the action. Good memories!

Brett took this panoramic shot from the ferry.

Waiting for the Subway


Abby watching the skaters at Rockefeller Center.

Christmas Windows. There were seven large department stores that had window displays. My favorites were Lord and Taylor and Macy's. They were amazing! Abby had fun looking into all the windows.

You could take your own picture in one of the windows.

Times Square. If you look closely you can see the sign above the Toshiba Screen that says '2010.' This is where the ball dropped on New Years Eve. We were in our warm houses that night, back in DC. :)

I had to get a picture of where it all happens every New Years Eve.

I know why the artist has her face blue...it's because it was so COLD!! Sheesh.



Central Park


Grand Central Station. We watched a cool Laser Show here for free.

Waiting to get on the ferry to Lady Liberty.


Ellis Island where many immigrants arrived.


Riding the ferry and enjoying the view.

There she stands...America the Beautiful!

Abby and me looking at the seagulls. She LOVED chasing the seagulls.




Liberty Island

A small snipit of the bird chasing.

Times Square...

Christmas in DC 2009

Merry Christmas to All...

We had a wonderful Christmas! This year we stayed home in DC for the holidays. Brett's parents flew in from Colorado on Christmas Eve and our good friends, Cory and Sarah, joined us from NY. Many great memories were made and we had a good time. It was great to reflect on our Savior and His birth. Abby had a blast ripping wrapping paper and discovering what Santa is all about. Thanks for a fabulous Christmas!

We visited the Botanical Gardens and the National/Capitol Trees on Christmas Eve.

Abby in her chair on Christmas Eve as we shared the Christmas Story in Luke 2. We also shared a tradition from each side of the family. Skip read "The Littlest Angel" and I shared the story of Nel's Apple. We finished off with some Christmas Carols and it was off to bed to wait for Santa.

My family has a tradition of putting up a wrapping paper on Christmas Eve so we can't peek at what Santa has brought. We kept that tradition and it was a lot of fun. We sang 'Jingle Bells' and broke through the paper. Abby loved it. Here she is waiting to go through. Little does she know what awaits her. :)


She couldn't be happier! Elmo slippers from Nana and Pops, a doll from Santa and a handmade blanket from Grandpa and Grandma.

Abby jumped on the rocking horse as soon as she broke through the wrapping paper.

Teaching her new baby doll to take a bottle.

Brett and Cory holding their tools.

Christmas dinner with everyone. (Abby and Mallory didn't make it in the picture.)


Santa didn't go over that well this year, though she may be changing her mind next year after finding what he brings on Christmas Day.


Elmo Lovin'