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After 25+ years of smoking my mom has finally quit! I am so proud of her! She looks better, feels better, and is really proud of herself. Last year she bought a brand new car and wanted to keep it nice and smoke free so she stopped smoking while driving, then instead of taking a smoke break at work she would go walk around the building. Eventually she stopped smoking at home too and now she is done! She had a bit of help with a medication (not sure what it is called) that works like an appetite suppresant, but she says she feels great and is never going back! Now she is trying to get the smoke smell out of the house and is buying new clothes that don’t stink! She was buying a new purse and the cashier commented that it was a cute purse. My mom told her that she needed a new one because she stopped smoking and her old one smelled like smoke. The cashier came around and gave my mom a hug and told her congratulations. She proceeded to tell her that her own mother died from lung cancer as a result of being a smoker her whole life. My mom is really touched and suprised that so many people are so happy for her. I for one think it is the most wonderful thing that has happened in the whole world! Yea Mom! I love you!

Jonathan grew out of his bike, so he chose a BEN 10 colored bike and Marissa got his red and black one.  She was very proud to be on a bike.  She only fell once and was pretty brave. Brendan watched for part of the time from the trunk of Percy, our car.

Not much to say…just felt like taking pictures of Brendan.  You can’t help but smile when you see him.

I know, I know, all this blog is about is my kids. I love them so much and what else compares in importance, really? They are both so cute and strange and wonderful, I guess that’s what you get when you mix James and I! Savanna is growing up so fast I can’t believe it! I really can’t remember her as a baby anymore, I look at this little girl and think, is that child really mine? Am I actually raising a child instead of taking care of a baby? She is so creative and funny that there is never a dull moment when she is around. Just tonight, while I was feeding Miles before bed she asked if we wanted to hear all the new songs that she made up today. Of course! She continued to sing about ten songs with actions and dancing to go along, my favorite, “when your heart is happy you eat cupcakes together!” I love it! It is also strange to think that Miles has been here for 7 months already! He is a sweetheart and very much like James! It doesn’t take much to make him laugh, sometimes just a silly look from me and he is cracking up. To say that he is a good eater is an understatement! We call him our chub-a-lub! You should see his thighs! Anyway, I just wanted to post some pictures and memories of the kids to remind me how lucky I am!

Awww…young love…

This picture was taken exactly 8 years ago on our honeymoon somewhere in Nevada. We spent much of our getaway just driving (well off-roading) and exploring since we had no money, no plans and no worries. Besides, we wanted to spare the unassuming public our undying love for eachother in the form of PDA. : ) I love this snapshot because it captures exactly how I feel about our marriage. At that moment we had NO CLUE what our life together would bring (and we still don’t). The long stretch of road is basically our story untold and we were so excited to discover and travel it together.
We often tried to imagine life after school, various careers, our future children, moving around, but you can’t fully grasp the immense challenges and joys without experiencing it. Looking back 8 years later at our expressions in this picture I think, “Yeah, you should be excited! That road you’re getting on together is going to be great! Just wait till you meet the two little travel companions that will join you” 🙂 (I’ll spare you the endless metaphors about the twists, turns and road blocks in life)
I will always smile at this picture because although we may have been young and dare I say a little clueless, we were 100% right about eachother. Samuel and Benjamin only further confirm that to us. We still have a lot to learn, but at least we got the biggest decision out of the way; staying together no matter what! Since we’re sealed for time and all eternity, we’ve got time on our side for making our marriage perfect.

We haven’t taken pictures of anything for awhile except yearbook stuff.  I am in charge of the yearbook at Jonathan and Marissa’s school, and it takes a lot of my time.  Anyway, here’s our cute family.