big D, little a, double L, A, S

This is officially blog posting day. I plan to play catch up on all of our exciting adventures in the last 10 days : ) Previously I shared a bit about our anniversary in Dallas & how sick we were. We had a great time before the sickness set in visiting with friends & family. Unfortunately, I stopped taking pictures after I started throwing up so we are missing (in photos) the fun we had with my moms' side of the family.

The trip to Dallas was planned around Robby's company Christmas Party that we so look forward to each year. It works out great to turn it into a long weekend so we can catch up with our friends & family. Here are some photos of our visiting:

A tradition within the last year of trips to Dallas: Lunch at Uncle Julio's, you guessed right, we are addicted to Mexican food : ) This trip, Andrew, Renata, Jocelyn & Levi joined us for the delicious meal. The Jensen family was short one person, sweet little Owen who we missed so very much but we enjoyed visiting with his mom & dad before they headed to Brazil that evening.

After lunch, Jocelyn & I loaded our two kiddos into her back seat & headed over to my friend Halie's house. Char & Levi were so funny checking each other out, humming random things & pointing at each other. Levi practiced saying "Charlotte" which was absolutely adorable. Charlotte cannot even say "Charlotte!" We let the kids run in the back yard with Halie's dogs....both kids LOVE dogs & are not intimidated in any way. Levi spent some time barking at one of the dogs : )

Here we are with our little ones....who aren't so little anymore

I do love flashbacks so, on the left is Jocelyn & me in April 2009 at 26-27 weeks pregnant with our first babies. We were only 1 week apart with our due dates & ended up 10 days apart with our oddly similar deliveries. On the right, I am almost 15 weeks & Jocelyn is almost 19 weeks with our second babies! She had found out the day before that they are expecting boy #2 which is super fun! It has been a blast to visit each other & let Charlotte & Levi get to know each other. We hope to keep it up after the new babies arrive!

Above is a photo of me & Rob before heading to dinner with all our friends at Cogent Company

And below, me & Halie. I just LOVE Halie. We worked together at Parkland, starting just a few months apart & later, tag teamed the Bereavement Committee before I moved. We were just becoming good friends when we left Dallas & the Lord has been so good in deepening our friendship over the past 2 1/2 years. She is a budding seamstress & quilter who has an eye for matching fabrics & always has some project going...we would totally get into trouble if we lived close ; ) She & her husband Eric came to visit just after Charlotte was born & we were not surprised to see Robby & Eric hit it off with all of their similar interests. We miss them terribly & of course wish we lived closer but as always, we enjoy our visiting!

The Cogent Co. Christmas Party was at Ozona's Bar & Grill where we enjoyed more hot salsa & fajitas after eating at Uncle Julio's. This picture is a tad humorous. In 2008, when Robby started working with these guys, the men pictured below comprised the entire company. Our Christmas Party was with the 8 of us & it was wonderful : ) This year we had about 40 people total & that was missing a few employees! God has provided so much work to be done by these talented men. We definitely mixed up & chatted with all sorts of people but what do you know, it clears out & we are down to the originals from 2008! Each of these individuals are incredible people that we are blessed to have in our lives.

Thursday night while we were at the party, Charlotte spent the afternoon & evening with Grammy, Grandpa & GG. This trio did lots of playing & reading while Charlotte did lots of entertaining for them in return. Fun was had by all! The next morning, Charlotte & GG got to pick some persimmons of the neighbors tree!

For lunch, Charlotte, GG & I went up to Jeannine's school to enjoy a pizza lunch with her 4th grade class. Apparently the kids have been dying to meet Charlotte after watching all of her videos on Jeannine's phone. We had a blast talking to the kids & watching them enjoy Charlotte's antics. She put down 2 full pieces of pizza (which she threw up later) but she enjoyed eating what the big kids were eating!

That evening, Robby's Aunt Anne & her 4 kiddos joined us for dinner at the Valentine's house. It was wonderful to catch up with them & let a few of them meet Charlotte for the first time.

Another flashback photo that we couldn't avoid. It was the eve of our wedding anniversary & we were actually hanging out with our flower girl & ring bearer! How often does that happen? Thomas & Caroline have definitely grown up as you will see in the photos below : )

Just after dinner was when the throwing up began & if you missed out on the rest of the story, feel free to catch up via the previous blog post.

Over all, it was another wonderful visit to Dallas. My only complaint is there is NEVER enough time & there are always so many people we love but can't see every visit. We will return I am sure!

Happy Anniversary!

We celebrated anniversary #6 yesterday in a different way than usual. Here is a little recap of what we have done for previous anniversaries:

• #1- Weekend getaway to Granbury, TX


• #2- Played hours upon hours of Mario Bros on Super Nintendo, Dinner at Luna de Noche


• #3- Lunch at Oceanaire Seafood Room & Christmas shopping at Galleria


• #4- Steak dinner at home with my family


• #5- Weekend getaway to Savannah, GA

So, all the excitement began for anniversary #6 on Friday evening. We ate dinner at Robby's parents house & I took Charlotte into the bedroom. She looked at me funny, stood up & then threw up ALL over herself, the bed & me. POOR baby.....it was awful to see, and experience : (

We ended up putting her pack n play in our bedroom for the night and were up at a once an hour minimum. We began wishing each other "Happy Anniversary" after midnight & saw each other about 8 times before the sun came up including each of us being covered in throw up more than once...this was a bit humorous.

My favorite moment was around 5am when we were all exhausted. I rolled over in bed to see Charlotte all snuggled up with Rob, sucking her thumb with her other arm stretched over her head. I said "Happy Anniversary" again but this time it made my eyes fill up with tears. It was like I was experiencing the real life anniversary, the not so fun times that we committed to stand by each other. Sadly enough, I ended up being sick for the entire day but spent it with with Robby & Charlotte & my mom's side of the family at my Grandma's house. I had many people caring for me so I sent Robby out on our anniversary date we had planned. He went to dinner & the Dallas Symphony with his parents & a few others. I laid around drinking 7up & went to bed by 8:45.

With a day where I was forced to relax, I spent a lot of time thinking about our wedding day & our years together as husband and wife. I married a man who loves God, loves his family & has stayed true to the covenant he made with me on December 18, 2004. Here are some pictures from that sweet day:

I love being called his wife. I love the exciting times & what comes from the difficult times. I love being a parent with him. I love serving each other. I love working through the issues that come our way. Mostly, I love the life the Lord has blessed us with & look forward to each year we have ahead.

Welcoming the Christmas Season

I have been quite the slow poke when it comes to blogging lately. I will blame it on all of the exciting things we have been doing lately combined with the lingering pregnancy nausea & over all sleepiness : ) All that to say, I have been thinking about this post & what I could include to knock it all out at once so.....here we go!

First, a Valentine Family Tradition, we decorate the tree on the Sunday evening following Thanksgiving. We set it all up, minus ornaments while Char was asleep in the afternoon & she was in awe when she came out! She loves the lights & points at them frequently saying "dat" which means "that." She came right out and smelled the tree which is funny because ours is artificial. She continued to sniff the tree for a few days after.

The evening was kicked off by a sugar cookie baking session complete with Charlotte's first opportunity to "help." She was so happy to stand on her chair & help pour in the ingredients.

Our entire tree is covered in ornaments our families passed onto us plus those we have added over our years together. We found it very funny that the first year we each had our childhood ornaments, the two pictured below matched! Mine says 1985 on it, not sure when Rob's is from but I just love that we have them!

Our ornament extravaganza is not complete without "snackies." Sausage Balls & Piggies, two favorites in this household for special days. Sometimes when we don't want to cook a real dinner we say, "Do you want snackies for dinner?" Anyway, so tasty. Charlotte needs to learn some snackie etiquette....she would suck all the bread off & leave the piggie on the plate haha! Don't they look delicious though?

Here is the little silly goose doing her new trick. She is such an entertainer when it is just us at home but is a little more shy out in public. I will have to do a post dedicated to the little lady soon to update you on all her doing & growing.

The newest additions to the decor for the holiday season are a banner & pillow covers. It took me forever to find fabric I liked but was happy with my final decision & finished product!

A note on our Christmas tree....the first year we were in our house in Richardson we really wanted a real tree. We went to get it & saw how expensive they were. We settled on purchasing the cheapest one at Target for $25 with the plan to return after Christmas & buy a nice one on sale. Fast forward 5 years, here is our cute little $25 dollar tree all lit up. It has grown on us, not in height but in our hearts ; )

One of my favorite holiday stories from 2010. I had been looking for a nativity set for Charlotte to play with. She loves my Willow Tree one & wants to be on the couch constantly so she can touch it. I had my eye on a set I had seen online & looked at it nearly everyday for 2 weeks debating whether I should buy it or not. At the end of the 2 weeks, I received a phone call from my Grandma Shirley saying she had a brilliant idea. She wanted to buy a nativity set for Charlotte for Christmas. This idea had come to her mind the day before & she spent the afternoon searching for the perfect set but returned home empty handed. She started looking online & found the one she wanted. She even went to Toys R Us at 6am to get it! So during our call, she started describing the most adorable nativity set she had ever seen. What do you know....it was the same exact one I had been hoping to get! Something so small but so special that I know the Lord blessed me with.

Our prayer is that our home would reflect treasuring Christ through every season of the year. We are feeling the weight of responsibility to teach Charlotte the story of how Jesus came into the world as a baby with the purpose of dying for our sin so our relationship with God the Father would be restored. What a special time of year to focus on the birth of Jesus & what a special way to help her little heart & mind begin to grasp the love of Christ. Our prayer is that this nativity set would be touched by little hands for many years in our home as we share with our children the true reason we celebrate Christmas. Thank you Great Gran for helping us get started!

We definitely need to work on our character identification. Yesterday, Charlotte picked out baby Jesus & Joseph easily but when asked to bring Mary to mommy, she returned with a cow & a huge smile on her face. I love this little girl! Here she is in her Christmas dress that Robby's mom & dad gave us last year. She got grass stains on it from sitting & rolling in the wet grass : ) Such a girly girl right?

And finally, a picture of the growing belly. Last weekend I had the opportunity to step in for a sweet friend from work that had a bridesmaid cancel on her last minute. It was amazing that the dress only needed minor alterations! I think the style of the dress REALLY accentuated the growing bump. I don't look THAT pregnant all the time : ) The wedding was in Port Orange, Florida near Daytona Beach & we had a such good time at the ceremony & reception. We are just a few days away from our anniversary & are in reflection mode thinking about the week leading up to our special day so that makes a wedding super enjoyable!

We are fast approaching a couple trips to visit family & friends, company in our home over Christmas, Pierogi Day & New Years! We are close to frozen here in Orlando with highs in the 40s the past few days. Brrrr!!! Hope your next couple weeks are enjoyable & focused on the real reason we celebrate during this season.

a little peek at Baby V # 2

This week we got to enjoy a lovely performance via ultrasound by the sweet baby pictured below. He or she was quite the entertainer waving at us, putting their little thumb in their mouth & doing a few flips. It was absolutely amazing to see.

The baby measured right on target for 12 weeks at around 2 1/2 inches from head to bottom & the heartbeat was 155. Our doctor said if we believe old wives tales we may be having another girl. We have definitely found ourselves getting equally excited as we consider the possibility of a boy or a girl! We are scheduled to return January 10th to hopefully find out if we can continue with all things girl or if we need to bring some blue in to balance things out.

We have a couple names we like but have pretty much stopped talking about it until we find out what we are having....then we can really get serious : )

Enough talking, sorry, ONTO THE GOOD STUFF!




I did great emotionally during the ultrasound itself but when we got in the car & I was holding the strip of pictures looking at this precious little life growing inside me, I lost it. I was so overwhelmed with joy. I will try to describe it for you....after experiencing one pregnancy & knowing the love I had for Charlotte the day she was born & then seeing how MUCH that love has grown over the past 16 months, I am floored that I get to do it all over again. I can't believe how the Lord increases a parent's capacity to love with each addition to the family & I am SO looking forward to loving this baby & any more that we are given. It is a reminder that the love I have for my children pales in comparison to the love God has for us. Even then, I am thankful that He allows me to experience the joy found in loving a child.

Giving Thanks

Each year during this season, we are reminded of how thankful we are to the Lord who provides every good thing for us. He is faithful even when we are not, He causes us to persevere through trials, He guides us down a path where He is glorified most in every detail & we are refined to be more like Him.

This year we are thankful for more than could ever be listed in a blog post.......but, just to name a few things:

• our growing family
• the Lord's provision in our jobs that we both enjoy greatly
• seeing the beginnings of Charlotte's sweet personality, and her teeth!
• our friends in Orlando that seem more like family when we are all far away from home
• God's goodness in our marriage in keeping us faithful to one another & helping us deeply love & cherish one another
• the joy we are experiencing in serving at Celebration Community Church

This was our third year to host a Thanksgiving Dinner in our home & one thing we love is how the guests vary every year. This year we enjoyed time with Steve, Jenny & Karis, Eric & Jennifer, a couple from our small group & Diah, a neighbor.

Robby has become the best chef around especially when it comes to Turkey. The process begins at least 48 hours prior to Thanksgiving Day with making a homemade brine for the Turkey to soak in for 24 hours before going in the oven. After soaking, the Turkey is stuffed with an array of spices, apples & cinnamon sticks. As many of you have experienced, the smell of a turkey cooking is amazing.....and it was! We had homemade rolls that are Jenny's dad's recipe, Kickin' Potatoes (one of my favs), green bean casserole & stuffing topped off by some fabulous desserts.

Here we are with the Turkey......notice the growing baby bump.

It looked much larger after the meal if you know what I mean ; )

the fam, Karis is now 3 months old & Charlotte is 16 months

These two are so cute together : )

Karis gets LOTS of kisses every time she comes over!

Jenny, Steve & Karis eating dinner

I think the photo below belongs in a magazine! Seriously, this Turkey is to die for!

Jenny made our pumpkin & pecan pies & I made the mini chocolate pies. The chocolate pie is a recipe that my Grandmother Alene made for holidays for as long as I can remember. I will say it has never been replicated as delicious as she made it but I hope to get closer with each attempt : )


Black Friday for us involves NO shopping unless we are picking up a few last minute ingredients for our yearly supply of Turkey Soup. We have given the day a new name...."Dia de Zuppa." It involves pretty much an entire day of work returning nearly 7 gallons of soup. We did two types this year, one basic Turkey Soup with celery, onion, carrots & tomato base. The other, my favorite, Southwest Turkey Soup. This one has rice, corn, black beans, caramelized onion, jalapenos, rotel, green onions & LOTS of spice. I am basically assistant to the chef doing lots of cleaning and moving things around to make room for whatever he needs. I personally am thankful for the husband I have today & everyday, my personal chef, Charlotte entertainer, dog caretaker.....you get the idea. I spent a good part of the day on the couch fighting off pregnancy induced nausea & vomiting accompanied with major sleepiness : ) He was a wonderful husband today!

Here is the finished product & oh how I wish could capture the smell for you!

We pray your Thanksgiving was filled with thankfulness to the Lord for what He has done in your life & those around you. Crazy enough, can't believe Christmas is just around the corner! Bring on the decorations!

Virginia

Charlotte and I returned home earlier this week from a fun filled trip to Virginia. One thing that made it so fun is that my mom came with us! She flew in a few days before & watched Charlotte while I worked then we flew together on Wednesday. I am ALWAYS thankful for an extra pair of hands on the airplane, especially if they belong to someone who loves Charlotte as much as I do : ) She was a HUGE help the whole time we were there and took excellent care of Charlotte while I was busy with all the wedding activities.

The wonderful reason we got to go to Virginia in the first place is that my good friend Amanda got married! Amanda and I met on our very first day of work in Labor & Delivery at Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas. We became good friends very quickly & had a blast learning & working side by side. She left to do travel nursing in the Fall of 2007 & ended up in Orlando a few months before I moved there. So, we got to work together again! So fun! After her time there, she joined the US Navy as an RN & moved to work in Maryland. I have missed her so much since she left!

I have always admired Amanda for her trust in the Lord & her contentment in waiting for God to bring a man into her life worth spending time with. God brought Pat into her life during summertime in 2009 & they immediately hit it off. After a year of dating, he proposed after a hot air balloon ride & the rest is history! They got married in a teeny little church in the country north of Ashburn, Virginia & celebrated with a reception at a vineyard. It was all absolutely gorgeous....especially the bride herself : )

Growing up with brothers, I never expected to get to serve anyone as their Maid or Matron of Honor. Jenny, my sister in law was the first to surprise with with that special opportunity & then Amanda was the second. It is funny because both Jenny & Amanda have two brothers also : ) So, I have twice loved getting to enjoy that role, standing beside a precious friend as they become a wife & being a person to encourage & challenge them throughout their marriage.

Another special part of our trip is that we got to stay with my parents good friends, the Machesney family. They lived next door to my parents when they were all newlyweds through when I was maybe 3. They have carried on a close friendship through all of these years & we had such a good time catching up! They were wonderful hosts providing some delicious home cooked meals, an evening out to dinner across the Potomac River with the Washington Monument & Capitol in view, pets for Charlotte to love on, good company & lots of hot tea. It was my first time ever to see leaves changing in the fall & I was blown away with how gorgeous it was. We took some walks & Charlotte picked up countless leaves.

Onto some pictures of our trip....

Charlotte & Grandma riding on the bus to get our rental car

the beautiful trees on one of our many walks

Charlotte, me & Marybeth

Char & her pal Sandy. I think sometimes that Charlotte liked Sandy more than Sandy liked her ; ) Unfortunately Sandy is getting old and couldn't get away from Charlotte as quickly as she may have liked.

Me & the bride to be at the rehearsal dinner

Us two girls at the church. My mom made Charlotte the adorable jacket to go with her dress.

Here we are at the reception

I am so sad that this is the only picture I have of the bride and groom but they do look great : ) Amanda looks like Cinderella to me leaned over talking to a little girl who thought she was very pretty!

What a fun trip we had! Lots of relaxing amidst the busy wedding activities! Thank you to the Machesney family, you were such gracious hosts. We hope we can have you visit us sometime!

Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Pat Nicklas! It was such a joy to be a part of your special day!

Kayaking

We have spent the past 2 Sunday afternoons at Blue Spring State Park doing a little kayaking & just plain enjoying the great outdoors. The weather has been gorgeous & we couldn't deny ourselves a couple relaxing afternoons : ) Charlotte had never been in a kayak before & I have actually not kayaked since we moved to Florida. My idea of kayaking is different than my hubby. I prefer to float along the water with as little paddling as possible searching for the perfect moment to pull my legs out and get a tan. Robby likes to go go go : ) Although, I did start paddling like a professional white water rapid kayaker when we saw a 10 foot gator along the side of the water : )

Charlotte did great! The first Sunday, just the three of us went. She was in my kayak for about an hour and was super relaxed. She got lots of compliments on her hat & her courage. This past Sunday we took Steve, Jenny, Karis & Jenny's friend Brooke along. The boys + little miss Charlotte were the only ones who kayaked this time. Us girlies relaxed by the playground. It was wonderful.

I love her little grin in this one : )

Char & her Daddy

this was so beautful!

the boys

Char & her Uncle Steve

There is water everywhere you look here in Florida & much exploring to be done! We need to get some more trips in before my belly gets too big!