Shayna & Kevin's 2nd ceremony and reception!

Shayna and Kevin's 2nd (and final!) ceremony and reception was Saturday night at the Church where Kevin is a Pastor in Lodi. It was so beautiful! The Church grounds are probably the prettiest I have ever seen for a Church. The ceremony was in the Amphitheater and behind it is a beautiful little creek and woods. I can not paint a picture of how gorgeous the setting was so you will just have to wait for pics! But the only catch is I don't have them yet! Hopefully soon/today?!!

The ceremony was beautiful! Gary walked Shay down the aisle and the Senior Pastor prayed and then Gary officiated...it was so wonderful and special to see! Gary really did not want to officiate her wedding...he really just wanted to be Daddy on her wedding day. So it was perfect that they did 2 ceremonies because Shay and Gary both got what they wanted! Gary got to be Daddy at the 1st ceremony and Pastor/Daddy at the 2nd! It was beautiful! I love it when Gary does weddings! He always has a message for the audience as well, not just the Bride and Groom. It is like an opportunity for every couple to renew their vows and a reminder of what marriage is and where our focus should be! He did such a great job! And I have to admit I have a little crush on the guy! ;) Ok more than a little! He also challenged everyone there since it is basically their "community" to commit to pray for them for a year...it got me thinking, am I praying for my "community" enough?...no. Most of the people that I know that read my blog are from our "community" so just an fyi-I'm committing to pray for you more!

We had such a great time with everyone and are so grateful everything went so smoothly! The kids were GREAT! Zach was an absolute champ! He is usually in bed by 630p at the latest! And he was up past 10p! And was still all smiles! PRAISE GOD! And Maki was adorable as the flower girl. She even announced to everyone at the reception that it was time for cake on the microphone! She wanted more time with the microphone but Gary had to pry it out of her hands...so cute!

Shayna planned and designed the whole reception herself! It was beautiful and I'm not just saying that because it's Shayna! Everything was perfect! She really should start a wedding planning business! Although I'm pretty sure she is burnt out now after 2 of her own in 4 weeks! LOL! We are too! But it was all so worth it! And I got a pretty dress out of it! Once again, Shayna has great taste!

Tita and Jaja flew in from Buffalo where they were spending a month or so and we are so grateful for them coming all that way! And for all the help they were with the kids!

Well enough of my ramblings for tonight! Praising God for such a great time! And praising God for marriage...especially mine.

God's goodness!

I am so overwhelmed by God's goodness! Words can not express my overflowing gratefulness and emotions! God is so good! I LOVE this stage of my life...I love that Zach is 8 months old and is all smiles! And Makenzie is such a joy! I can not believe how fun it is to be their Mommy! Nor how much work it is...lol! :) But worth it! After a very long week I went out to celebrate a great friend's birthday! Happy Birthday Kim! It was so great being out with so many people who mean so much to me and Gary! Gary stayed home with the kids and took care of dinner, baths and bedtime. SO GRATEFUL Gary is so hands on! I do know how spoiled I am that he is so capable and loves being so involved!
You know how after a long week things pile up on you...or at least they do for me...clothes out, playroom a mess, kitchen a disaster..ect. I came home and the house was clean...Gary spent his evening cleaning to try and lighten my load...honestly it is not necessarily the clean house that makes me so grateful (although I AM!) but just that he sacrificed his evening to clean the house while I was out with our friends so I wouldn't have to worry about it this weekend. Gosh this man humbles me! I love you Gary and am so grateful for your heart! And I love my friends! Dinner and bocceball was so much fun! We just reconnected with an old friend and I am borrowing his motto for a bit- "The Lord has been so good to me in spite of all He knows of me!"

Shayna's Wedding!

Hi! Sorry it has been so long since my last post! We have been busy! We were in San Diego for Shayna's wedding and then went to Buffalo for our annual family reunion for the 4th of July! We have had such a busy but amazing 3 weeks!

First I will start with Shayna's wedding...
Oh my gosh it was beautiful! She was a beautiful bride! We had such a great weekend visiting family and running errands for the wedding. I don't have pics from the wedding yet that I can post but I will as soon as I am able to...

I have so much filled in my heart about Shayna and her wedding...Shayna asked me to be her Matron of Honor...I probably haven't written about it because for one of the rare times in my life I am speechless about something. As you all know I usually have a lot to say about everything...I am not usually at a loss for words, but this time I am. I am absolutely honored that she asked me and am still speechless about it. My relationship with Shayna is so much more than I could of ever asked for when I married her Dad (or as she still calls him "Daddy"... so cute!). Shay and I have had hard times and good times that we have gone through together...and I am so grateful for where our relationship is now! At least we laugh now about the chores I used to give the girls when they lived with us in Valencia...gosh looking back I was like a Gestapo! But we had so many great times too...that Shayna reminds me about all the time. Like every Tuesday night we used to go to Outback for dessert after the kids homework was done...we all wore sweats. Like our many days laying out together. Like our late night talks when we would all stay up late and just talk. Like the many times (too many, I confess) when I would pick up Shayna early from school-loved the look I would get from the office ladies signing her out! ;) And so many more memories...I could go on and on...that night before her wedding it was like old times-Shayna and Chelsea stayed in our hotel room in the bed beside us. And I had a thought at about midnight that brought me to tears...this phase of life is over. Shayna is no longer "our little Shayna" she is a grown woman about to commit her life to the man of her dreams. Things are forever different...I balled! But then when Kevin and her were standing there hand in hand saying their vows to each other I realized we weren't losing Shayna, we were gaining Kevin. Yes things will be different now but that is ok...actually it is wonderful! What a blessing it is to have the great addition of Kevin to our family! We are so blessed! Welcome to the family Kevin! Or as I have been calling him "son in law"! Shayna it was an absolute honor to stand by your side on your wedding day! I love everything about the Godly wonderful woman you have become!

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 :)

some fun pics from Makenzie's Birthday weekend!

Last night Gary and I went out on a date! We had a great time! Thanks to our AMAZING babysitter Erica! Seriously, we love her! Mak has really taken to her and they have a blast together! We are so thankful! We were talking at dinner about how precious this stage is with the kids...I know the baby/toddler age is tough in it's own rights but we aren't dealing with crazy emotions or anything like that yet...our problems are really very simple. And for that we are grateful! We are trying to figure out when Maki should start kindergarten...Do you think 6 1/2 is a little old to start? Gary suggested 10! LOL! Would love input on this!! Email me!
Love, love, loving getting out on date nights! Erica, you are such a BLESSING! :)

**thanks for your prayers and encouragement! I am feeling much better! Vanessa, 6 times?! Wow you are a much stronger woman than I...I have hit my wall at 3! playing in a creek...she looks 10 years old to me here! STOP GROWING Maki!

some lovin' on the grass!

so precious!

awww!










my 3 favorite people! :)

we were taking pics too!

playing with Daddy at her Birthday dinner!