Happy Birthday Gary!!!

Gary went to a gun range the other night with a few friends to celebrate our friend John's Birthday! Look at the end of the barrel of the gun! AMAZING timing of the bullet coming out!!! I would also like to point out if you blow up the pic my hubby's amazing accuracy of shooting! Way to go Gary!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY LOVE!!! YOU BLOW ME AWAY!!! hehe!

Makenzie's Birthday pics!

Here are the pics from Makenzie's Birthday! We didn't have a big party this year at our home...we decided to throw her a birthday party in Buffalo this summer with all her cousins back there! We had a great time celebrating our little girl this year! The 4 of us went to San Fransisco for her actual birthday and had a blast! And she felt very special when Shayna and Kevin came to celebrate her early the weekend before (and to visit with us!)! THANKS for coming guys! You know how much we LOVE having you and how much your little bro and little sis LOVE being with you both!
Enjoy the pics from her Birthday!

More to come later this week from our time with Shay and Kev...
I'm 4!!!!

Yum! We had cupcakes (purple!) for dessert after breakfast!

Ladies are just so much neater...

nap time in the city!

Merry-go-round in San Fransisco!

They were so excited about lunch at the Rainforest Cafe! And DESSERT! Of course we had the VOLCANO! ;)

Chowder bowls at Boudin Bakery!

Makenzie is 4!

Wow, where does the time go?! I have been wrestling with "time" for the last few months...actually several months. I can't believe my baby girl is 4! I can't believe I'm 30! I can't believe I've been married to my best-friend for 9 years! Seriously where does the time go??!!

If you would of told me about parenthood in detail with what my days (and nights!) would look like after children...I would of told you it sounded like a prison sentence! I mean seriously who in their right mind would give up most of their hobbies, favorite things to do, favorite places to visit, long relaxing weekends, freedom to travel, spontaneity, long chats on the phone, long showers in the AM, a clean house, a quite house, a career outside of home that you get to dress up for, etc...all for a little person who needs everything from you to survive. Not just food and shelter but EVERYTHING. Love, cuddles, time, encouraging words...It is so funny how my perspective has CHANGED...I DON'T look at it at all like a prison sentence but I do look at it as a PRIVILEGE. I am privileged to "die to self" everyday for my children (and hubby!)...do I miss my past freedom, sure...daily at times! But I wouldn't change my current circumstances for ANYTHING else this world has to offer! I am exactly where I want to be...caring for and loving my kids (and hubby!), I am so grateful we decided long ago that I would stay home with them. Gary and I are very like minded in this area...I don't actually think we ever even really discussed it. It was just a given...and for that I am thankful!

Maki-Happy 4th baby girl! We love your tender, sweet, caring heart...Thank you for changing my life in the most incredible way with being your Mommy.

A few cute things from this week that she said...I really should post all of her cute little hilarious sayings!

"Are we having Mommy-Mommy tacos?!?" aka...mahi-mahi tacos!

"I don't want to be a fireman or a baseball player when I grow up...I want to be a Mommy! I can't wait to take care of Zach!" Ok, so she was a little confused about Zach not growing up too...she is so dang cute!!!!

Pics to come from her Birthday celebration!!!
xoxo!
Dani :)

A parenting article!

I hope you enjoy this article on parenting and perspective as much as I did!

Slacker Mom of the Day AWARD!

I totally deserve the slacker Mom of the day award today! Every morning the kids brush their teeth in Makenzie's bathroom...well the only difference was today I let them brush for like 15 minutes (they LOVE brushing and playing in the water!) while I was on the phone with Carrie (my sis in law!) right outside the door because they were a bit loud...in my defense (a VERY weak one I might add!) I did check on them every couple minutes and I could hear from being right outside their door they were having fun! And then I heard a little whine from inside so I opened the door to see Makenzie washing Zach's hair with hand soap! They were both soaked and poor Zach had soap running in his eyes! So they both had a late AM bath too! I did have great conversation though with Carrie! Thanks Cpaz!!!

At least he smiled for the pic! He is such a ham!!

Compassion Weekend

Hi! I'm so sorry I took so much time off of blogging...I really do love it! And I'm back...hopefully! ;)

As most of you know it doesn't take much for me to be inspired or motivated for a cause...it is just the way I'm wired. I can be a super sappy person...especially when I hear of someone hurting. A few weeks ago our family participated in Compassion Weekend at our Church. For those of you that aren't familiar with it, every year our Church celebrates Compassion Weekend. Instead of going to Church, 3000 plus members sign up to serve the Bay Area and live out Christ's love to serve the needy, poor and hurting. In years past we have served at a home with HIV positive residents, built AIDS caregiver kits for people in Africa. This year we decided that we wanted to serve as a family because the kids are getting to an age where we want them to see service for Christ in action. So we decided to go to a nursing home because we thought the kids would be great with the older folks. Well, it definetly had an impact on us! The kids were a hit! The smiles and joy that our kids brought to 30plus seniors was amazing...Zach was his normal sweet self laughing and being silly..he must of untied 10 peoples shoes that morning (all the rest had velcro shoes...lol). What was even sweeter was Gary following him around tying the shoes of the folks that Zach had just untied and being so kind and warm with the residents. There is just something heartwarming watching your hubby love on others and making them feel cared for. And Makenzie was her sweet compassionate loving self...she brought in big dolly and introduced her to everyone...big dolly "had a cold" that day so Mak was cuddling her a little extra ;)

So this little act of service got me thinking...why don't we go to nursing homes regularly with the kids so that they can have an impact and know what it is to serve?...So here we go...I'm really excited about the opportunity to serve the older generations with my babies smiles and love! I'll keep you all posted...

BTW...Mom's group and HG...I will be throwing it out to all of you as well! Want to join us!?!?

Feeling super blessed! Happy Mother's Day!!

Do you ever have times in life when you are overwhelmed with thankfulness!?!? Well, that sums up where I am in life right now...
There is just something about Mother's Day celebration that brings the things that are most precious to me to the front of my mind.

My journey is overflowing with things to be thankful for...I try to remember them daily...Here is just a glimpse of my joy...my life!
My sweet baby girl and my wonderful, over the top amazing hubby! More pics to come on our quick last minute trip to Hawaii a couple weeks ago! :)

Oh this precious girl brings me so much joy! Do you see all that sugar on her french toast?...

Baby Zach...never thought in a million years I would have such an amazingly wonderful happy baby boy! Isn't he handsome!?!?

Me and my boy on Mother's Day AM...

I know Zach doesn't look happy but he is! ;) Maki is so happy about her finger nails painted purple!