10 Years! WOW!

Today marks 10 years of marriage for my husband Mike and I. I remember the day he proposed... 2 years of dating (I was impatiently waiting for this moment) and then 6 months later we were married.

Mike and I actually grew up in the same town and even went to the same youth group for a while but him being 5 years older than me we never really got to know each other very well. We reconnected after I graduated high school and we were inseparable from the first date. We found out through our dating that my older sisters had actually given him rides home from school when he was in high school and that we grew up in the same subdivision. SMALL WORLD. :-)

 I remember him walking in with a walmart bag (I found it later it was to disguise the Shane Co ring I was bout to receive) and going past me as I was sitting on the couch at his house. He came back after a few minutes and told me to close my eyes. I stood up and when he told me to open them he was on one knee with my ring box open and he asked me simply "Will you marry me" and I of course said yes!!! Then I proceeded to call my family and tell them the good news :-)

Aug 2001 a few months after we began dating

Our dating years brought lots of changes into my life. For starters with him being previously married I got to welcome a wonderful young man into my life. Michael Craig III. He was 3 and 1/2 when I started dating Mike and I had always loved children and it was a joy getting to know him and spend time with him.

I was sure I wanted to marry mike from the very beginning but he was patient and took his time... :-) I'm thankful for that now. Those 2 years of dating gave us a lot of time to get to know each other  and for Michael to get to know me.

One of my favorite pictures of mike and I

Our wedding day was PERFECT. Oct 4, 2003. It was a sunny gorgeous day outside and the ceremony went off without a hitch. Our reception was so much fun and it was so nice getting to spend such a wonderful day with all of our friends and family.

Through our 10 years of marriage we have had a lot of ups and downs but we are making it through! God has blessed us in that commitment and we both have grown and changed and I can honestly say I look forward to the next 10 years with him.

My 2nd favorite picture of Mike and I

We have been blessed with 4 additional children since our wedding day. With children come challenges and it definitely reconnects you as husband and wife when you are co-parenting if you allow it too.

Mike has grown as a man of God in the 10 years we have been married and he aims to lead our household to serve God and make God our #1 priority and for that I am so thankful. He is an incredible father to our children and sacrifices for them all. He loves to play with them, wrestle with the boys and he also makes time to sit with Anna and play with princesses as well :-) He makes sure I have "girls night out" when needed, and he helps me with the stuff around the house even after he has worked a 10 hour day. I'm so blessed that God brought us together and am thankful for every day I have with him.

Mike... I love you very much. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY sweetie!!!

 

Mike and I Oct 2013

 

Watching my little girl grow.... and Jonathan's first day of Pre-school

I wish I had blogged from the very beginning of my experience as a mom but I guess the good thing is I am doing it now. Even if no one else ever reads these, I have a great memory book for me and my kiddos someday.

Anna is bringing us so much joy. She is almost always smiling and giggling and even though she is 18 months old when she walks in the room all 3 of her brothers stop whatever they are doing to come over and hug and kiss her and talk to her. Here are some pictures of her over the past few months :-)

On September 3rd Jonathan started pre-school. He goes 5 days a week for 2 hours. I can't believe how big he is getting! His speech is still behind but he also goes to speech twice a week and I have high hopes that he will keep improving and hopefully will be able to start Kindergarten next year.

 We are also enjoying the cooler temperatures :-)

 

 

 

 

 

I'm so looking forward to the trees changing and all the fall activities that will be going on soon! :-)

First Day of School :-)

Well yesterday my boys had their first day of school. Joseph in 3rd grade and Samuel in 1st. I love hearing about their day and what they are most excited about. Joseph LOVES science and he was so excited that they will be having science textbooks this year :-) Samuel was excited to no longer be a kindergartner and to be able to do more "big kid" stuff at school.

They grow up so fast. As I'm looking at pictures of all my friends children on their first days I see and read how their "babies" are starting high school or college and it makes me really stop and savor these moments with my little ones.

Pre-school

 

Kindergarten

 

 

1st Grade

2nd Grade and Kindergarten

 

 

3rd Grade and 1st Grade

 

 

Going to start with this year taking a pic of all 4 of them first day of school to see change in growth :-)
Anna wasn't so thrilled! :-)

 

                                   Praying that all the kiddos have a great school year!!!

Highlights of Summer 2013

I have been wanting to write this post for a while but I knew once I wrote it, it would really feel like the summer is ending and I wasn't quite ready for that yet, but if I don't do it now it will be time to be posting back to school pictures.. so here it goes :-)

These are pictures of my highlights of this summer. It was a really great summer and we got to do a lot of stuff with the kids and had a great visit with my stepson as well.



Joseph and Samuel before their first baseball game :-)



Jonathan's first firework experience

While visiting grandparents Anna had her first gator ride



A shot of all 5 kids :-) Love this picture!

Got to stay at a hotel one night in Ft. Wayne

Went to Science Central in Ft. Wayne, IN and had a blast!

We went to the Children's zoo in Ft. wayne as well, the picture on the far left was a skyride that took you above the zoo.

 



The boys all went on a camping trip :-)



Sammy pushing anna around the neighberhood

Perfect summer day

 

We also went to some movies and Mike took all the boys each out seperately for a special day with dad. He took them all to an air force museum and they all had alot of fun. We went swimming and just enjoyed the cooler weather this summer by playing outside. I am sad to see that school is about to start again, but thankful for the memories we created this summer and looking forward to a new school year and all the wonderful things that come with that as well. I hope everyone else has had a blessed summer like we have had!

Samuel is 7 and Joseph is 9!

The summer is speeding along and I realized I didn't post for samuels birthday so I will do a joint post. :-)

On June 22nd samuel turned 7! He will be starting the 1st grade and I just can't believe how fast he is growing up. He is so kind hearted and sensitive, loves to rough house with his dad and brothers and absolutely adores his little sister. His personality always has us smiling. He has my sensitivity, love of being silly to make others laugh, and mikes rambuctioness, energy and love of sports. He blesses our life every day. He loves to be outside and wants to try every sport available to him. He is the one more likely to try something scary or challenging. We had an outdoor party for him and he loved it. We were blessed with great weather and had an awesome time.

On July 26th Joseph turned 9! He will be starting 3rd grade. He is the most like me when it comes to behavior. He loves to be inside when its hot, hates to run, loves the challenge of a good video game, and is sensitive. He is like mike in his love for comic book stories, superheros and zelda :-). He is such a blessing and its hard for me to see my first baby growing up so much. He loves science and learning about animals, stars and nature.  We had an outdoor party for him as well and once again we were blessed with awesome weather and just a great night!

 

 

 

It's still hard for me to see these 2 guys getting so big. I still remember when they were my little guys.

 

 

But that's the life of a mother! I am so blessed! :-)

 

Father's Day recap

Another Father's day has come and gone. We had a great weekend. We took mike out to dinner on Saturday night and then on Sunday after church the boys gave him their gifts and I always love seeing how excited they are to give him something they have picked out and also a card that they have made for him.

 

 

 

 

I'm so blessed to be married to a man who strives to be a man of integrity and character. A man who wants to live for God and teach his children to do the same. The smiles on my children's faces when he walks through the door says it all! :-)

 

 



Another post I did a few years ago on Father's Day talks about the passing of my dad when I was a child and all the men that helped fill that Father role in my life. If you'd like to read it click HERE

I hope everyone out there had a blessed Father's day!!