for phil...

when i see a hawaiian shirt, i will think of you...
when i smell a cigar, i will think of you...
when i hear aaron neville or rod stewart sing, i will think of you...
when i hear about a golf game, i will think of you...
when i make coffee at work, i will think of you...
when i go into work on tuesday morning, and you aren't there, i will think of you...


i will miss you.

what i love about a Sunday....

i got up this morning, getting all settled in to start my Sunday routine. get the girls up, get their juice made, hot coffee in my hand and the lap top slowly making its way to the target ad.... i happened to glance over to my yahoo IM and saw something that made my day. my brother was online!! my brother, who is in Iraq, was online. i all but spilled my coffee trying to run to the phone to call my mom to tell her, then called my sister in law to tell her.... you see, we just can't call him and check on him... so this internet "connection" is truly our only "connection" to him. it connects this crazy family even though one of us is halfway around the world....i don't know what we ever did without the internet...

DJ, i love you. be safe. be strong. and i always have my computer on....

cool.....

that one word sums up my dad....

my dad is such an amazing father. he always supports me 110% and believes that if i SAY i can move a mountain, then he will do all within his power to help me. he taught me to always believe in myself, believe in my family and believe in God, and everything else will fall into place.

the most special memory to me of my dad is when i was in labor with my oldest daughter. i think my dad was in more pain than i was. i was told that he was literally about to pass out until he heard the news that aubrey was born and that i was ok.

my dad is an amazing papa. if you ask aubrey who her best friend is, she will tell you without a doubt its her "papa". her papa colors with her, puts puzzles together, digs with her.... he sings to Ava, gets them dressed in some clothes that in SOME country must match, and is SO proud that he gets to "babysit".

I am SO blessed to have a "cool" dad....

here is my dad, my brother and my nephew...


my girls and their "papa" as you can see, he thinks they are pretty special.



happy fathers day to all the fathers out there!!!

until you come home...

"Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need. Amen."



dj... tonight during aubreys prayers, she asked God, "please keep unkie doyle safe". she is a pretty smart 3 year old. she helped me tie this ribbon around the tree out in front of our house. remember this tree use to be 2nd base in our front yard baseball games? this ribbon will be tied around this tree until you come home. you are my hero, no matter what you say, you are a hero to me and a lot of other people. i love you big brother. be safe.

my birthday wish...

as i closed my eyes to blow out the candles, one thing came to mind.

peace.

i wished for peace.

June 7, 1977

happy birthday to me....
happy birthday toooo meeee....
happy birthday dear cheyenne.....
happy birthday tooooo meeeeeeee!!!!!


today, i am (cough cough)31 years old. now, that was a hard pill to swallow until my friends and i discussed last night that 30 is the new 18 :) and after a poll of random people throughout fridays and the movie theater, i actually only look 26 or 27.... so perhaps being (gasp)31 isn't going to be so bad!!!

fudge...

those who know me, know I make a killer batch of fudge. in fact, i am known for it... people can't wait for Christmas time because that is when i start making my famous fudge. ( i swear there is a reason i am talking about fudge and here it is) i think one of my favorite quotes is "families are a lot like fudge; mostly sweet with a few nuts." i love my crazy family, i am the luckiest girl to get STUCK with such an awesome family.

since this is the start of my fun filled birthday weekend, i thought i would post some of my family pics... my brother told me i couldn't post any, but its my birthday, he can't get mad at me :)

love me tender....

love me tender

love me sweet

never let me go.

you have made

my life complete

and i love you so...

those were the words that were sung as i walked up the aisle 6 years ago today to marry kenneth. i can remember seeing him sway back and forth while i was walking up and i prayed that he wasn't gonna faint. he didn't. we had an awesome wedding and we have had an amazing 6 years. life has changed in these 6 years. some gray hair has sprouted on my head, some more has fallen out of kennys, we brought 2 beautiful girls into this world and through it all, kenneth has remained my best friend. how i got so lucky to marry my perfect match, i will never know. but i thank God that i did.

love me tender

love me true

all my dreams fulfilled.

for my darlin

i love you

and i always will.

here are to many more happy years kenneth....