Gary's Surprise Party!

Mommy and Daddy at Daddy's surprise party! He was so surprised! Such a fun memorable night to remember! Makenzie saw the pic this AM and said "Mommy that is where you got my balloon! THANKS!"

Happy Father's Day!

We have had a really busy weekend but I just couldn't let today go by without wishing everyone a Happy Father's Day! Especially The Dads/Daddys in my life! I will 1st start with my Daddy-because well, he is my Dad! Dad- I love you so much and am inspired by you (just started my shadow boxing Mr. Blackbelt!) 2nd of course my hubby- G, our kids are so blessed...SO BLESSED by YOU!! And lastly my brothers-Dave and Doug- you both are such AMAZING Dads! Can't wait for us all to be together again! 2 weeks! Yippie! :)

I am surrounded by GREAT Dads!!

Hope everyone had a great Father's Day weekend!
Love,
Dani :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GARY! :)

Happy Birthday to the man who makes my world go round! Ok, so I won't get too gushy on my blog...I'll save that for his card! But we all know I'm a gusher and very cheesy especially when it comes to Gary!


Gary, you rock! That pretty much sums it up! You are such an amazing man and I am so blessed to be your wife! Thank you Lord! You are the best Daddy in the world and our kids are evidence of just how amazing you are! You always put others 1st, especially our family! And I am so grateful for that!

Like I always say and will continue to say until the English vocabulary expands...words do not express how much I love and appreciate you!

Love you Chumby!
Dani :)

Celebrating 8 Wonderful Years!

Wow, we have been married 8 years! Where does the time go?! We have been through so much in the last 8 years together! AND I AM SO GLAD TO BE GOING THROUGH THIS LIFE WITH YOU GARY! Can't wait for the next 50! I was looking at what I wrote last year and realized I love you more and more each passing year if that is even possible...and for that I am THANKFUL!

8 reasons I love you...
You are:
a man after God's heart
a man after my heart
a man who loves his children deeply and completely
a man who loves others unconditionally and wherever they are
the MOST forgiving person I have ever met
wise
generous
and of course handsome! ;)
(I have to say it was hard to narrow them down to 8! I was sitting here frustrated I couldn't narrow them down and choose...and then I thought, what a great problem to have!)
I love everything about you (even the things that drive me crazy!)...because that is what makes you, YOU!
Thank you for all you are to me and all you do for me and our family!
ALL MY LOVE,
Me :)

Some of my favorite pics of us over the years...It was so fun reminiscing looking through old photos! FUN TIMES! :) It was hard to narrow them down (I'm seeing a theme of having a hard time narrowing things down)!

1st Anniversary in Hawaii!

Yes, we are on the same wave!

Sedona

Western night at a company conference! Me, 5 months prego! :) He didn't want to wear the hat but I think he looks great as a cowboy! :)

Gary's awards night! Go Gary!

YOSEMITE! Can't wait to go back with the kids! SOON!

So tired after a long day of sight seeing in Germany!

Ethiopia on a missions trip! I love the kid picking his nose! ;)

5th Anniversary in Hawaii!

both kids napping!

What to do when both kids are napping?...laundry, bills, clean...nah...blog! :)

I know my last blog was a bit heavy...sorry! I have to tell you just how AMAZING my hubby is! So this week as you know was a long hard week for me...Especially Tuesday when Zach had to have that test done...and then the waiting for the results! So Tuesday afternoon Gary surprised me told me he was going to take all of Wednesday off to lighten my load a bit...so sweet! We were going to go to the City but decided it was probably best to stay home so I could rest a bit. I was able to take 2 cat-naps yesterday! Yes, 2! Gary played with Mak all day, cooked all 3 meals for us and did laundry! My hot little house hubby!:) I was so grateful for the rest! I think you should take off every Wednesday Gary! ;) Yes, now I am dreaming...

NESTING!

Nesting has been the theme around our home for the last few weeks! You should see Gary's "honey-do" list! Poor guy! I am so crazed! He has worked his way down the list just for me to think of more things to add to it...but he has happily done every task WITHOUT complaint. And trust me, some of the random things I have requested have deserved a BIG complaint! He just says "nesting is done once the baby comes right?". I can't believe how supportive and patient he has been in my obsessiveness! THANKS GARY! :)
So last week my Mom came up for a couple of days and it was so GREAT! Not because she organized my pantry and cupboards, and not because she organized Makenzie's playroom, or because she organize Makenzie's closet, cooked, cleaned and even babysat Maki so I could go to coffee with a friend! But it was GREAT just to have her here! Yes, I am SO GRATEFUL for all her hard work...and I worked her! She knocked off a few things on G's honey-do list too so he was so thankful too! She is just such a fun lady! Thanks for all the laughs Mom! And Mak had a blast with Tita! They had so much fun playing together!
I was thinking this AM about Mary and how she must of felt carrying the "king of the world" and how strong her nesting instinct must of been! And she didn't even have a home to nest! She had a donkey and probably a bag of belongings. How upset she must of been when they got to the Inn and they only had space outside in the manger for her and Joseph. How sad! And I was thinking how important it is to me to have everything in it's place for our new baby. My Mom said something so profound that it has just been ringing in my ears! "The only thing that baby needs is you and Gary and how much you both love him!"...Wow, what a thought...he doesn't need my pantry to be organized or my laundry room organized! He just needs to know how much his Mommy and Daddy love him...He just needs us! Not the "stuff" that I think is so important for his first few months...He just needs us! What a reality check for me! Thanks Tita for all your help and incite! :) Here are a few pics...

Kisses!

Big hugs!

Maki really thought Tita should wear a bib for her meal! So cute!

We love Barney!

We love Barney! Makenzie took an interest in Barney actually in Hawaii. We bought a few DVD's for the plane and Barney was one of them...now she is hooked! But this is why Gary and I are hooked: So everyone knows the song from Barney "I love you, you love me!" well every time it comes on Makenzie runs right over to us and sings it with us and gives us "BIG HUGS!" and "KISSES!" So fun! And Gary and I can start to sing that song anywhere and Maki comes running to give us big hugs and kisses! SO WONDERFUL! I have really never had an opinion about Barney...just a purple dinosaur to me. But Gary on the other hand has NEVER really liked the big purple dinosaur...he knows many sarcastic songs and so many jokes about Barney. But now, Gary is 1 of his biggest fans! I just laugh at the irony of it all! :)
I actually had this realization a few weeks back but was reminded of it yesterday when Gary was enthralled in a Barney show with Maki...What ever is important to those we love becomes a priority to us! I realized this when we were in Hawaii and Chelsea, Shayna and Gary would all watch Barney with Makenzie...it was so cute and heart touching to me to walk in the room and see 3 grown adults watching Barney. It was a great reminder that whatever is a priority to those we love will become a joy and priority to us! I think there are so many activities in all of our lives that we would not choose on our own...but they become a regular activities that we now enjoy! :)
I am really overwhelmed and thankful to all my family and friends who have become interested in the things that are important to me...for me! I hope am doing as much in return for you!
Here are a few pics!
I found this pic on my computer...this was taken almost 2 years ago! My baby is growing up SO FAST!

Daddy and Maki making the birds fly away!

Our new van! Totally kidding! I wish! :) This is an organic vegi dog of course!

Maki just looked pretty in her dress for Sunday school!