We've Got Talent

A couple weeks ago the kids' elementary school had their annual 5th grade talent show. At first Brennan was "too cool" to participate but about a week before the show his friends needed him to fill a small role in their McDonald's rap , so he was in. During the show I was impressed with how talented these kids really were. There were some really funny kids, great singers, great dancers, and great musicians. It honestly was more entertaining and well put together than I thought a elementary talent show could be. The show was long but below is a clip of the finale, which was great. Brennan is in the far back, left. I shot the video with my Flip camera about 8 rows back in not the best lighting so it is not professional but I think you'll get the idea!

Happy Anniversary To Me!

Despite being SO sick and not getting to spend the day with my hubby on my anniversary, he still managed to surprise me with a cute gift. Luckily this weekend we get to celebrate our anniversary by going to see Chicago the musical and go to dinner on Sunday.

A giant fortune cookie!

Covered in frosting and sprinkles

And what is a giant fortune cookie without a personal message: "You're so cool, you're so hot, you're the girl I love a lot!!! I would marry you all over again Michelle. Thanks for being the best wife ever."

Yes, he's definitely a keeper! The message made me smile. The rhyme at the beginning, that came from our daughter Wynter's 3rd grade secret admirer (said "like" not "love"). Nate joked that a 3rd grade boy had more game than him. No matter how sick I was and despite not being able to be together, any anniversary I have with Nate is a great one. 3 years down, a lifetime to go!

Happy 3rd Anniversary To The Love Of My Life

Our wedding vows still ring as true today as they did on our wedding day three years ago:

"Nate, I promise to be faithful, supportive, and loyal and to give you my companionship and love throughout all the changes of our life. I vow to bring you happiness, and I will treasure you as my companion. I will celebrate the joys of life with you. I promise to support your dreams, and walk beside you offering courage and strength through all endeavors. From this day forward, I will be proud to be your wife and best friend."

You took my hand that day...

and never let me go

and with the signing of the license it was official

no more yours, or mine, everything was now ours, including these three gorgeous kids

But our love and our story didn't start that day, three years ago, we've spent 5 1/2 years together (didn't we look so cute and so young back then).

We did crazy things together, like take a trip to Vegas together when we'd been dating less than 3 months. It worked out ok though because on that trip I think we both realized the other was someone they could see themselves marrying.

And since we were talking about marriage, I took you all the way to California to spend Christmas with my family, all before our 1st dating anniversary.

February 10, 2007, you popped the question at the site of our first kiss and my heart melted. A mere 15 months later we were husband and wife and off on our amazing honeymoon to Maui (we can't wait to go back)!

But times aren't always easy, 2009, held a cross country move for us away from all our family and the death of Nate's mom but I still held your hand through all of that and you held mine.

2010, held many joyous times such as my sister's wedding. Can't you see the love on our faces in this photo? But we also lost Nate's grandma and I kept holding your hand tight, never letting go.

After being married for a few years you realize that a good marriage needs constant work, love, and attention to grow. You have to be 100% committed to being committed and I know we are.

You are not only my husband, lover, you are my best friend, and I can't imagine sharing this journey called life with anyone else. Nate, I love you more than you can imagine! Don't ever let go of my hand, good times or bad, and I won't ever let go of yours!

Happy 3rd Anniversary!

A 2nd Grader's Dream and a Parent's Worst Nightmare

I was one of the "chosen" ones, one of the parents who got one of the coveted few spots on the 2nd grade field trip to the Star Spangled Banner Flag House and Fort McHenry in Baltimore. I am only kidding about it being my worst nightmare, well kind of.

I really did have a fun time and my daughter was so happy I could come it really didn't matter. Some of those kids don't listen at all and they were screaming non-stop on the bus so loudly that I felt like throwing myself out the window and did I mention they don't listen! Seriously though, most of the kids are good kids but man are they hyper when they go on a field trip. It was also a reminder for me what a hard job the teachers do and that I need to make it a priority to bake them some cookies or something soon since they deal with this craziness on a daily basis.

My experience also made me reconsider my plans for "when I grow up" but likely that is a few years away and I still have time to figure things out. I have been considering going back to school to get my masters degree in teaching and becoming an elementary teacher for a variety of reasons but I've had a little bit of hesitation. We will see though, if I do go back to school it wouldn't be for 4-5 years.

The field trip was a lot of fun and I love history and seeing historical sites so the Star Spangled Banner House and Fort McHenry were right up my alley. We were also blessed with fabulous weather, temperatures in the 70's and all sunshine.

A full size replica of the flag that flew over Fort McHenry during the war of 1812 and that was the inspiration for the Star Spangled Banner.

The kids got to try out some 19th century games

And then were off to Fort McHenry!

This was what a soldiers bunker looked like

And the canons

The top wall of the fort, looking out over the harbor

Fort McHenry

Beautiful

Today was Youth Sunday at our church. Youth Sunday is the week where the worship service is turned over to the youth of the church to run and man, is there some energy in the room! Youth Sunday two years ago was actually the first time we attended Grace church and while energized, we weren't sure what to think, it was definitely more upbeat than we were used to. Now that I know what to expect I was delighted to walk into service today and to see the stage full of high schoolers on fire for Jesus. We sang so many great songs and I love worship music but this is one of my favorites we sang today so I wanted to share it with you, enjoy!

Happy 11th Birthday Brennan!

Today is my baby boy's 11th birthday! We celebrated last night with a sleepover party with his friends. We made homemade pizza and my son chose the chocolate fountain instead of cake for his birthday treat. The boys entertained themselves with playing on the trampoline, playing video games, watching the newest Harry Potter DVD, playing chess, and playing Beyblades. Overall it was a pretty easy party for mom to set up. For the first few hours the boys were a lot louder than I expected but thankfully by about 9:30pm they had settled down a lot. Overall it was a fun celebration in honor of Brennan's birthday!

Present time!

Happy birthday time!

Chocolate fountain leftovers

Fruit just waiting for chocolate

Yummy, chocolate!