One year ago I was honored to meet Claire, and take her newborn pictures. It was so fun to go back and see her a year later along with her big brother. She’s just on the brink of walking, and stays very busy. Happy birthday Claire!

Laura wrote me back in November about her friend Maria and her family. She wanted to nominate her friend’s family for my annual Giving is Awesome session. I’m so glad she did. This family has been through so much in such a short period of time. Here is an exerpt from Laura’s letter to me.

“…. a typical family really, only tragedy keeps landing on this families plate. Tragedy struck only a few months after Ryan and Hailey were born. Hailey began feeling sick with a fever in which doctors passed off as the flu, October 4th 2006. She was in critical condition & was not expected to make it through the night. She was diagnosed with a rare aggressive form of Leukemia ( Infant ALL with the MLL gene) Her twin brother Ryan was not a bone marrow match and in 2007 they had to go with a not positive match to save Hailey’s life. Hailey is now 3 years old but has been on basically isolation her whole life. She is at home with her family and we are grateful everyday for that.

Maria goes through so much everyday taking care of Hailey who can be a little bit crazy due to the medications she is on and also taking care of Ryan who is just as full of energy. The twins hardly get much sleep so Maria hardly gets any sleep and work has been rough.

This family has touched my heart since knowing them in 2006 when the twins were a mere 6 months old. They have become a second family to me and my heart aches everyday when they are going through a rough time. She is a great mom she is like a second mom to me, no matter how tired she is, how stressed out she can get, she is the most strong woman I know. I don’t know how she does it. But she does it. I have never in my life met or respected someone as much as I do her and her family and I hope that if you do choose this family you get to experience the awesomeness of the family that I get to everyday.”

We were able to do our photo session this past week at the beach. It was the twins very first time there, and they were incredibly excited. It was so fun for me to see them experience the water, sea life, and everything the beach offers for the very first time. I’m honored to share this sweet family with you.

Little boys are just too cute. They say the funniest things that crack me up. They can never get enough food from the kitchen, and they never ever , no ever stop moving.

She greeted me at the door with a smile and a handshake. Have you ever met a one year old that shakes your hand? It was so sweet and unexpected. She showed me around her home and neighborhood, and I had a great time getting to know her, and her mother. Not only is she gorgeous, polite, and sweet, but also unbelievably stylish.

My kids only have one more day of school. This year has flown by faster than any other. I am now finding myself looking for fun places to visit this summer while I have 4 kids at home. It’s going to be difficult to please everyone when they range in age from 10 years to 9 months. If you have any recommendations PLEASE let me know.  As always I will be sharing our summer adventures here.

Over Memorial Day weekend we went out to enjoy the warm weather with cousins and friends. I hope our summer is filled with moments like this.

Growing up as one of 6 kids meant I was always surrounded. I didn’t have very much space to call my own. At one point I shared a room with 3 of my siblings, but most of the time I shared a room with my sister Angela. She and I are only 18 months apart in age, so of course it makes sense to pair us up.  The only problem was that we had such different personalities. I was the shy, studious, neat girl, and she was the outgoing, adventurous, and (sorry Angela) messy one.  We fought like cats and dogs, and to this day I have scars to prove it.  Luckily we outgrew our differences, and I think we are much more alike than different now. No longer at each others throats, but best of friends. Last fall she moved here with her family after living far away for many many years. I’m still pinching myself with excitement that she and my other sister get to live so close.

These are her beautiful children. I love them like my own.

I think 5 is such a magical age. Of course as a former Kindergarten teacher I’m a little biased, but I just love how sweet, kind, curious, and chatty five year olds are. They are just emerging from total dependence on mom, and yet they are still so eager to please the adults in their lives. They tell the funniest stories that make me laugh and laugh. You should have heard the things my students used to tell me about their parents. Of course I only believed half of it.

This little cutie melts my heart.  She appears shy and cautious, but really she’s wild and crazy and tons of fun.

What do we do for fun? We find remote fields of grass at sunset, and play around with light.  What… you don’t do that?

These lovely photos were taken by my Tim, and I love them.

He Loves:

• Jokes, especially the cheesy ones that make you want to roll your eyes.
• Bakugans
• Jumping off of anything high up.
• Being loud with his friends.
• Riding his bike.
• Eating… ALL the time.
• Science, especially learning about volcanoes.
• His Daddy aka his best friend.
• The Dodgers and the Dave Matthews Band.

He Can’t Stand:

• Making his bed.
• Mean kids.
• Playing by himself.
• hot dogs and juice boxes.
• Waking up early for school.
• Taking out the garbage.
• Princess Movies.

I love his freckles, and the goofy teeth stage he’s in.  I’m grateful he’s a really good kid who cares about other people, and makes me laugh each and every day.

One of the very best things about being a parent is seeing your kids love each other. My siblings are my very best friends, and I hope it is the same for my kids.