Through the Years

So, I just realized (sob) Annie is actually old enough to have a tiny little collection of pictures of herself at various ages ... Mandi, I'm with you -- it is a bit emotional ...

Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!!

So, as I was recently struck down in my prime with some sort of sinus funk, our precious Annie's second birthday has heretofore not been documented. Well, now it is ... now last year we did the whole "let's invite every single child Annie knows plus any random 10 children they might know" birthday party (which was great fun) but this year we opted for a different celebration, which involved Annie doing her favorite things (playground time, bathtime -- ok, so maybe we WISH this were one of her favorite things, playing with her new toys, LOTS of family time, and trying to put my shoes on her baby dolls) Needless to say, we're still having fun ...

Birthday Pictures

Birthday Pictures

Birthday Pictures

Birthday Pictures

Rocking Elvis

ok, so we have a child who is either on her way to an Elvis impersonator show in Vegas or becoming some version of a stripper (sorry, Anthony)... we'll still support her, of course ... But this may fast-track her daddy putting her into the convent!!

"Idol" comments: yes, Amanda needed to go soon (she was eliminated last week,) but is Kristy Lee Cook bullet-proof or something? And please, Carly in the bottom three? Oh, the injustice of it all ... tonight, as always, promises to be very, very entertaining ...

Belated Easter Pictures

Saturday Morning

Blessings

Ok, so another long absence from the world of blogging ... sorry! I have way too much to write about, so I'll just have to drag it out a bit. In the meantime, happy one-day late first birthday to precious Anna Lauren, and a much-belated happy first birthday to James ... these are my much-loved nieces and nephews ... well, technically, they're my second cousins, but I count them as nieces and nephews because their mommies and daddies are more like siblings to me. Love all you guys!

I was just downstairs with Annie playing, and I couldn't help but think how ridiculously blessed we are. With this being Good Friday, I guess I've been thinking a lot about what Jesus went through for us, and I can't help but think about how my life is so wonderful, and I don't mean that in an arrogant way. Just that we have a miracle daughter I love more each day and marvel at and who is happy and healthy and a husband who God sent to me because Anthony is without a doubt my other half. I could go on and on, but for once, I'm not. I'm just going to continue to reflect on what this day means to me and remember that in all the hoopla (at least in my case) I forget to be truly grateful for all that God has done for me ...

May you all have a wonderful Easter!

Nine Lives and Beyond

so today, after Kindermusik, allergy shots (me), etc, we came home, where Annie picked out her own "leisure clothes" ... she is such a hoot right now ... the very last picture is of her giving our precious lab, Mary, a kiss ...
we'll be out of town for the weekend to go visit our brand new nephew, Ethan, and we're so excited ... should have some good pictures upon our return ...
** can't go without mentioning "American Idol" ... that Kristy Lee Cook (God bless her) has got more lives than any cat I have ever known ...

Family and Friends

has been fun couple of days ... had dinner last night (yes, was able to get out and about) with a wonderful friend of ours (Jill) who was in town, then today we woke up to lots of snow and had so much fun with that ... even made it to an Irish festival in downtown Franklin ... so nice to have everyone healthy again ... honestly, is anything better than family?

The Way the Cookie Crumbles

Oh, Idol, how you break our hearts ... I knew Luke was out of there but Danny?? Certainly he drove people insane (Aunt Mar and Kelly) but we liked him ... he was an excellent showman ... And we figured Kady was out but Asia'h?? Come on, she had more stage presence than all of them put together ... However, I'm not nearly as sad over their departures as I was over Mandisa's shocking exit on Idol 2 years ago ... she's pictured above ... Speaking of, we're going to see her perform with the Fisk Jubilee Singers at the Symphony Hall on the 18th ... counting down the days ...

May have snow pictures soon ... we're supposed to get 2-5 inches over the weekend ...

Ann

These are after Annie got home from Moms Day Out yesterday ... we played a rousing game of peek-a-boo, then she read a bit, then of course there was the inevitable tiring out ... she still refers to herself as "Ann" from time to time and loves to tell EVERYTHING "bye" when she goes up to take a nap (or "night night" as she calls it)... such a great kid ...

Now back in the grown-up world, we can't wait for Idol tonight ... sad, I know, but oh so true ... I think Luke's a goner for sure, but the rest I don't know about ... at least Amanda's hair didn't remind me of Cruella de Vil like last week ... I'm not even sure she's safe this week, though ... so interesting ...