Life

This past week has been one that really caused me to think about life. My friend's husband suddenly passed away, leaving behind his wife and two little girls. On that exact same day, my other friend had her cute baby. I am heartsick for my friend that now faces this earth-life without her sweet husband, I can't imagine going through that. At the same time, I am happy for my friend who now has a new member of her little family. All of this made me think about how precious life really is to us. We need to savor every moment we have with those we love.

Pure Insanity

The title of this post describes our house with a 2 yr. old.

Miss Abby wanted to work-out with Daddy while he did his 'Insanity Workout'. She managed to do this for around 25 min. I think my favorite part of this video is Abby grunting like the man on the video at the end. The extra exercise was nice because it wore her out for bed. This kid never stops.

Handy Man

We have had a lot of things break in the last little while, and it could have cost us a whole lot of money, but thanks to YouTube "Fix It" Videos and my smart little husband, everything is better and money saved.

1-Vacuum stopped working.... it could have been around $200 to get a new one, he found the part needed and fixed it for $5.

2-Car died...not good and not cheap. We found out it was the alternator that was broken which can be around $600 to fix. He found an awesome YouTube Video and fixed the alternator himself.

3-Brett's work phone, an Iphone to be exact, crashed and cracked. He found another YouTube Video and fixed it for $10, instead of having to buy a whole new one or have it fixed for $200. Sweet.

To sum it up, I LOVE my husband and YouTube 'Fix It' Videos.

Race to the Finish Line

This has been the year of races for Brett. He made a goal with some of our friends to do 100 mile bike ride, a relay and conclude with a half marathon all within about a month. They did it and had a great time, though they are a bit sore at the moment.

Congrats on the big races guys!

Above is the Richmond Half Marathon

Baltimore Relay

He's Official!

He's official! Yesterday we went to Richmond so he could stand in front of the court and be sworn in as a lawyer. Congrats Brett! (Let the lawyer jokes begin. ) :)

He worked hard and we are so proud of him. We LOVE you!

The chapter of law school is now closed and we are beginning a new chapter of full time work. Crazy. Where did the time go? Brett is enjoying his job so far, which I'm glad. We feel very blessed to be able to have a job. Law school was a good experience. We learned so many things and made some wonderful friends in the process. Each chapter in life is great, with both the good times and the hard times. We had moments that were difficult, whether it was late nights with school, gruesome finals, finding a job, or money worries, but we learned so much through it all and we are grateful for those experiences. We have also had amazing experiences as we have seen LOTS little miracles happen as we went forward. It was neat to see how heaven always helped us and we are so thankful for that. It's been a great journey and we're excited to start another one. There is a magnet on our fridge that I like to read...

"For a long time it seemed to me that life was about to begin-real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life. This perspective has helped me to see there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way. So treasure every moment you have and remember

that time waits for no one.

Happiness is a Journey! "

-Souza

While we were in Richmond, we spent some time with Dave and Alissa. They were way too nice to us and spoiled us with dinner and a tour of the town. Alissa makes yummy food...Mmmm. Richmond was beautiful with all the leaves, we loved it. Abby was on 'cloud 9' to be able to play with her 'Uncle Dude and Aunt Lissa.' She was all smiles the whole time and only wanted to be with them. We fed fish, walked through one of my favorite parks and got to see an awesome cemetery. Thanks Dave and Alissa for a great time!! We love you guys.

In front of Alissa's school where she teaches 2nd Grade. It is one sweet lookin' school.

Look how happy Miss Abby is with them.

Riding shoulders

Strollin' the streets with Dude

Feeding the fish

Halloween 2010

Happy Halloween 2010! It wasn't any surprise when I asked Abby what she wanted to be for Halloween and she quickly said: "A 'Pricess' Momma!" She was in sheer heaven prancing around in her princess costume and loved the attention she was getting. Our October was filled with lots of fun activities and parties, definitely a year to remember. I think Abby is going to be disappointed to realize that she has to wait an entire year until Halloween returns. She likes the idea of getting candy, dressing up in sparkles and playing with friends. This was the first year that she really understood what was going on, it was fun to watch.

Something we have heard frequently around our house this year is the 'Halloween Song'. I sing it with the preschool class I teach on Mondays. Since Abby is at preschool with me, she has learned the song very well and it has become her favorite. We will hear her playing around the house, singing the song and saying a loud "BOO" at the end with all the enthusiasm she can muster.

Halloween, Halloween

Lots of Fun on Halloween

Black Cats and Ghosts

Skeletons too,

Clowns and Witches

All Say...

'BOO!'

A princess dress is not complete without sparkle shoes from Nani and Sippy. (She went to bed with these on.)

Here is Abby at the Trunk or Treat held by our church on Friday. These two have quite the 'crush' going on...it's pretty cute. Abby looks forward to nursery with Jonah every Sunday.

Trunk or Treat

Abby wanted to dig in her dress-ups and be 'Snow White' for her Preschool Party. (This kid is nuts about princesses and glitter.) She loved playing with her friends.

Steph made an AMAZING dinner for the kids earlier in the week. She is so talented! Thanks guys!! Abby keeps talking about the fun time.

Dave and Alissa came up from Richmond this weekend. It was so fun to have them for Halloween. We love you guys! Here are the pumpkins we carved together. 'Dude' and 'Lissa' have some serious carving talent with their cyclopse pumpkin. Check out the back....

Sweet pumpkins and mad carving skills. Thanks for such a good time guys.

Uncle 'Dude' found a fuzzy caterpillar for Abby on our porch. They put it in a jar to look at for a day and then let it go. Abby has been talking about her 'Patta-Pillar' ever since. Abby keeps telling me the "Patta-pillar' go home Mommy."

Monday Night after fhe, Abby wanted to sing the Halloween Song...

Happy Birthday Daddy!

We celebrated Brett's birthday this past week, October 26th. He has only one year more to be 'young' since the next birthday is the big 3-0! We love Daddy! We couldn't ask for a better man to have in our lives. Abby always loves it when he comes home from work. She will make a dash down the hall to give him a big hug and kiss. Happy Birthday Brett! We love you so much! xoxo