JibJab Sendables

Andrea introduced me to this site today. There are only two free cards and this is one of them. The other is of three people break-dancing. It's pretty funny too!!! Enjoy!

Don't send a lame Holiday eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!

Easter 2008

It's that time of the year again...When bunnies lay chocolate eggs and sugary treats are a plenty. Yes friends, I'm speaking of Easter.

I wonder how Easter went from celebrating the resurrection of Christ to celebrating the giant bunny's candy handouts. Hmm...

We heard in church on Sunday morning that the next time Easter is scheduled to fall on March 23rd is the year 2228 (I think that's right...it could be 2224). I thought you'd like to know that!!!

Chris and the boys and I celebrated Easter early this year. Nothing like having ham three times in less than a week...

Jonathan requested that I take the following picture the day we celebrated. It has nothing to do with Easter but I wanted to share with you how his mind works...He organized all of the Galactic Heroes (Star Wars) and stood them up. If you look close (and know what you are looking for) you can see how he separated them...

We bought each of the boys special book/toy besides their normal Easter basket this year. Jonathan received a book that contained pieces and directions on how to create a cardboard robot. Drew received a pop-up book that when opened turned into the Black Pearl from the Pirates of the Caribbean. His book also contained little cardboard men.

Easter Sunday was crazy as usual here in northeast Ohio. We went to Chris's mom's church in the morning then ate lunch with my family then headed to Chris's mom's house for dinner. We were exhausted at the end of the day but had lots of candy to show for it...

My parents hid eggs inside for the boys to find since it was too chilly outside. I think the boys had fun finding all their eggs and even more fun finding out what treats were waiting for them inside...














I would like you to compare the following two pictures...Jonathan (or should I say Michelle) has his candy piled neatly in front of him and his eggs piled neatly beside him (behind the bag). Drew (or should I say Chris) has his candy and eggs strewn all over the place.

It's fun (and scary) to see the boys taking after us...





In addition to their Easter baskets, Andrea bought the boys the Galactic Heroes version of the Millennium Falcon. Jonathan was especially pleased.

Doesn't Andrea look spiffy???

Big Hair

Drew has decided he does not want to cut his hair EVER again. I snapped this picture on a particularly good hair day...

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

St. Patrick's Day is Chris's favorite holiday. We celebrated this year by taking the boys first through McDonald's drive thru for shamrock shakes then to Chuck E. Cheese. Chris insisted that we all wear green and sing Celtic music on our way (just kidding). The boys enjoyed themselves and Chris treated me to a Leprechaun Latte from Starbucks on the way home. Yum!





If you notice, Chris has some facial hair action. Although he denies it, I think he was sporting the leprechaun look for the famed day...

Does anyone know what Erin Go Bragh really means? Have any of you ever kissed the Blarney Stone or found a pot'o'gold at the end of a rainbow? Hmm...questions to ponder...

Gourmet Pretzels (For Sale...)

Chris and I attended our church's marriage retreat last weekend. We actually serve on the marriage retreat committee...he leads worship and I provide a small gift to each couple as they arrive at the hotel.

Because I am unoriginal and lack creativity, I enlist my sister to help me every year. This year we decided to make gourmet chocolate-caramel pretzel rods. They were a hit! We gave each couple one of each along with the book Love Talk Starters by Les and Leslie Parrott.








Andrea and I really think we could sell the pretzel rods (along with lots of other yummy things we've created over the years) but are not sure how to market ourselves. Actually, we'd really like to open a small deli/catering business. Anyone want to fund our dreams???

Thanks for all your help Andrea!

Look At Me With Your Good Eye

Poor Pug is getting so old. We caught her winking at us one day...

Go Cleveland!

Chris and a friend won tickets at the Cleveland Car Show in February to see the Cavs play at home on a Monday night. Being the gentlemen that they are, they chose to give their extra tickets to their wives thinking it would be a fun double date.

As you can see from the pictures we had incredible seats...

This is what I saw looking straight across...eye level...

Here's what it looked like to look down...

Beyond Chris you can see the back wall.

My palms were sweaty the whole time and I felt as if I would plummet to my death if I leaned forward.

It was nice to get out in spite of the change in atmospheric pressure (there was only one row behind us)...I enjoyed dinner and the company but could have done without LeBron. I'm not sure I even saw one whole minute of the game.

Sorry Chris! I love you!!! Thanks for chatting with me Stacy!

March Weather Woes

So far in March we've had an ice storm and a blizzard.

I was certain that a branch (or fifty) would fall on our house during the ice storm. It was eerie to hear the trees swaying under the weight of the ice. I guess there were 3000 people in our city without power for a while. Thankfully ours stayed on the whole time...and no trees landed in our home. Our yard was not as lucky.







After those pictures were taken more branches fell. Our yard desperately needs picked up but the darn snow just keeps falling!!! We're supposed to get five inches tonight...

The blizzard began shortly after all the ice melted. I don't think we got as much as Central Ohio but I know I shoveled my fair share of snow...I think I shoveled four times in two days. That huge coat is my Dad's. It was nice and toasty!!









Yes, I sent the boys out in spite of all the branches on the ground. I told them to stay away from branches, yellow snow and poo. The boys had an awesome time! Jonathan even built a 'cave' with mini pumpkin carving shovels.








After a long day of shoveling and playing outside Nina and Papa brought over pizza to share. Yummy!!!

Family Pictures: Easter 2008

We got together with Chris's sisters (and their families) and had a group picture taken for my mother-in-law's birthday this year. It's a surprise so I hope she doesn't look at the blog before Sunday!!!

The pictures turned out great...I had to share them...

Chris's younger sister Beth and her husband Josh and daughter Arianna are on the left. Chris's youngest sister Megan and her fiancee Austin are in the middle. My family is on the right.

What an incredible looking family!

Josh, Beth, and Arianna

Austin and Megan will tie the knot June 21st.

Can you believe how big this kid looks?

Drew's pretty spiffy too...