Searching for Home

Decatur, Alabama

2012-01-21T21:02:00.006-06:00

After the wedding, I went home with Katie to spend a few days getting to know her hometown. It was so special to be with her and to get to finally see the places I have heard so much about! Now I can truly picture her at home.

There is quite a bit of my father in me...on my first day there I noticed some painted chickens. Katie didn't know what they were exactly so we decided to investigate. I convinced her to go on an adventure with me to find them all. We ALMOST succeeded. I think a few had been taken down. It was a fun way to sight see around Decatur.

Here are a few pictures from the trip:

If you are interested in our entire chicken tour:

Avanti Italia Reunion

2012-01-16T09:17:00.006-06:00

The big event at the end of July 2011 was my dear friend Amy's wedding. Amy was one of the girls who was with us in Italy when we were part of Avanti Italia. I grew very close to those girls. We try to have a reunion once a year, but it usually works out more like every two years. As often happens with families, our gatherings usually center around an important life event - weddings and babies being born! There are six of us so it is hard to get us all together. The last time we were all together was Marilee's wedding in 2009.

This particular reunion even more special is that our fearless leaders Gary and Jennifer for there as well! We had such a great time together. The only thing that made me sad was that Jeremy was not able to be there with me. Here are a few fun pictures from the weekend:

July 2011

2012-01-12T21:25:00.004-06:00

A personal note

2011-10-10T20:59:00.004-05:00

I seriously should be getting up off the couch and crawling into bed. I am exhausted. But I just wanted to stop by this blog, in case their are any readers left.

We have been very busy! Every time I think we have been busy, we redefine the word "busy." Jeremy and I are both worn out and probably need to be scaling back. This weekend we are supposed to be having a garage sale, but since it is the only weekend in a 2+ month span that we don't have some commitment outside the house, we are going to take it easy. Well, as easy as I can while frantically grading last minute papers and making sure everything is correct in the computer for report cards. It makes me very tired to think of the weeks to come, because we are approaching conference time, which means I will have meetings with parents morning, noon and night for a couple weeks. It is emotionally exhausting and cuts deeply into time otherwise used for lesson planning and grading which will probably mean many more late nights at the school.

I have over committed myself this year, but I just can't find anything that I am willing to trim out. I guess I am literally "asking for it." So I really don't deserve your sympathy, but I do ask for your prayers. Peace, good nights' sleeps, energy and productive, smooth days would be wonderful.

I am also still really struggling with who God wants me to be and what his plan is for my life. I honestly never, ever wanted to be a teacher for life. There are several other things I would much rather do with my life, two in particular that are deep desires of my heart. I just don't know what the right thing is to do. So please pray also for my own inner peace, guidance and contentment no matter which direction my life takes (or I guess if I just stay right here as well.)

I would also like to ask you to specifically pray for missionaries tonight. Those preparing to go, those on the field and those struggling with the return "home." My mind has been with them a great deal lately and I wish so much there was something more tangible I can do. Perhaps I will come up with something, but in the mean time, I ask for your prayers. Pray for missionaries in general and then specifically for any you may know.

Thank you for listening, goodnight.

2011-09-23T10:49:00.001-05:00

15 days til Jeremy’s birthday

29 days til we get to see some sweet Italian friends

55 Days til Breaking Dawn

61 days til I get to hug my babies again

Before and After

2011-07-12T16:27:00.003-05:00

Some dreams of mine

2011-07-10T21:31:00.002-05:00

(in no particular order)

· EVERY item in my house would have a specific assigned place

· My entire personal hygiene regimen would be all natural

· I would actually learn how to use the manual and program functions on my camera to get the types of pictures I want

· Our bedroom would feel like you had just walked into the most amazing room in the most amazing Tuscan villa you can imagine

· I would actually have the motivation/belief in myself to become the teacher I want to be

· I would actually have the motivation/skill to become crafty and make things for my home and family

· The clothes would magically wash themselves

· My front yard would turn into the magical garden paradise in my mind without all the massive amounts of money and work it is going to take

Home Makeover

2011-06-27T18:39:00.001-05:00

We are finally going to add some color to our house! I have never wanted to have white walls, but I also am SO not a decorator! It has taken me more than a year to even come close to picking the colors. We took our first steps last weekend.

After going through hundreds of color strips,

we finally narrowed down our colors and bought some samples.

For the kitchen:

We'll most likely go with the top one.

We are planning to paint the cabinets white.

Before picture of the kitchen

Before picture of the dining room.

Color options for the dinning room:

The light one on the right will be the entire living room.

The two on the left are what we are considering for the dinning room.

Right now we are leaning toward the one on the top.

Color options for the bedroom:

The color on the right, Chianti, is going to be our accent wall.

We are deciding between the two on the left for the rest of the room.

We are going for the warm Tuscan look in there. And I'm not too worried about the dark paint making the room seem small. It is a big room and it is the bedroom, so... :)

Sorry, no before picture of the bedroom - it is a mess!

Summer at our house

2011-06-18T15:56:00.003-05:00

How did we celebrate the start of summer?

By buying a pool!!!

We have really missed having instant access to a pool,

so we decided to do something about it. :)

We've been in it everyday since we bought it!

Anyone want to come over?

Other signs of summer around our yard:

Our Grape Vine

June 4th

June 11th - starting to ripen!

Our unexpected garden guests: Sunflowers!

June 4th

June 14th

There are two little ones on this stalk.

Can you find them?

Happy Summer to all!

May 2010/May 2011

2011-05-17T21:17:00.001-05:00

Have we changed?

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T08:27:00.001-05:00

I sure am going to miss these guys today,

even more than normal.

Mom made us retire our Easter baskets a few years back,

so I guess we have to wait until there are grandkids in the family

to enjoy some more egg hunting and cascarones!

Be an advocate for children's education

2011-04-02T07:41:00.001-05:00

Spring 2011 - Updated

2011-03-26T20:07:00.005-05:00

Born and Raised in Texas

2011-03-18T22:30:00.002-05:00

Where we grew up: Robert Lee and San Antonio

Where we live now: Aledo and Houston

I love my mom!

2011-03-18T20:14:00.001-05:00

Our garden survived the winter!

2011-03-15T19:35:00.001-05:00

I love my brothers!

2011-03-14T21:15:00.001-05:00

I love my daddy!

2011-03-14T21:06:00.001-05:00

Why we drive over 10 hours

2011-03-14T20:46:00.001-05:00

Hot Stuff

2011-03-14T10:37:00.001-05:00

True friends never fade away

2011-03-13T18:47:00.001-05:00

May 2004

October 2010

Nostalgia

2011-03-06T14:36:00.002-06:00

I miss college. I didn't realize how much until I was on campus hanging out this weekend. I don't miss the homework and projects and deadlines. I do miss being immersed in opportunities for service and growth. They sell T-shirts there that provide clothing for orphans in Africa! And there is an upcoming rally for modern day abolitionists.

I miss being surrounded by Christian people who genuinely cared about my welfare.

And I miss the friendships and camaraderie that come from organizations and social clubs. The sense of belonging and working toward a common goal. The feeling of achievement and purpose.

Life after college is somewhat of a let down. The mundane day to day drag just isn't as exhilarating. I think that is part of why I wanted to continue in ministry, to try to hold on to some of those feelings. I have felt rather purposeless since we ended our time as missionaries. I am no longer working toward a common goal of greater good. What am I really doing now?

2011-03-03T21:03:00.005-06:00

1 day until I see my parents

2 days until I see my brothers

2 days until I watch Spring Sing at OC (for probably the last time in my life)

3 days until I see my husband again

9 days until I see my precious nieces and nephews

14 days until I see some dear friends from Italy

33 days until the most important day of my school year

140 days until our 10th anniversary

160 days until I turn 30 (bleh!)

133 days until Deathly Hallows Part 2

259 days until Breaking Dawn Part 2

Reunion with some of my favorite Italy Girls

2011-02-27T20:37:00.003-06:00

McBroom Family Christmas

2011-02-09T21:08:00.002-06:00

Things I Like About Today

2011-02-09T16:47:00.003-06:00

1. I came up with a really great idea to corral a crazy kid at school.
2. The January book order came in at school today, including my three FREE books!
3. My husband and I are both going to be home from work early due to weather.
4. I have been a busy beaver making fun plans for nearly ever weekend from here through the end of March! Yea!

Dahlia's Birthday

2011-01-23T19:52:00.003-06:00

Neal Christmas

2011-01-16T22:48:00.002-06:00

A New Christmas Tradition

2010-12-18T23:49:00.005-06:00

This year Jeremy and I decided to attend the Nutcracker Ballet. Both of us had been as children, but it had been a very long time.

The Wortham Center

Downtown Houston

Our seats were in the front row of the highest balcony.

It was a beautiful evening!

We hope to make this a yearly tradition.

PS These photos were taken with my BRAND NEW CAMERA!!!

Some numbers

2010-12-11T08:47:00.005-06:00

6 days until my Christmas break begins

7 days until we go see the Nutcracker Ballet

14 days until we spend Christmas with our favorite nieces and nephews

15 days until I get to see my BROTHERS!!!!

215 days until Deathly Hallows Part 2

341 days until Breaking Dawn Part 1

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2010-11-24T08:08:00.003-06:00

I hope that your holiday is full of wonderful, joyful moments,

that you will be surrounded by people who love you,

and that above all,

you will be overwhelmed with all you have to be Thankful for.

Lazy Weekend

2010-11-13T21:38:00.003-06:00

Even though it is only Saturday night, I feel like I have had a great weekend already. Friday was Staff Development. I was in a training all day, which wasn't fun, but at least it was different. Didn't feel like a "real" work day. Friday night I attended a girl's night with the girls from Clear Lake church of Christ. We ate, received pedicures from Amie, and had lots of just hanging out and talking.

Today has been a really laid back day for us. We slept in and made breakfast as usual. However, we did have a little bit of trouble. Jeremy tried a new recipe for pumpkin pancakes which just wouldn't cook up right. They were still gooey in the middle no matter how much Jeremy tried to cook them. So then I made muffins. I tried to make sure they were cooked thoroughly and ended up burning them on the bottom. We ate them anyway... After that we had a fairly productive morning, making a meal plan and grocery list.

Then we headed out to run some errands, one of which was to buy our tickets for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows!! So exciting!!! After a few more errands including, grocery shopping at our favorite store, HEB, we headed home.

If you are on Facebook, you may know that I bought a new video game this week, Fable III. I have been playing every chance I get. Don't worry, I haven't been neglecting my responsibilities. This afternoon Jeremy and I have been playing together. Since he took his test yesterday morning, he is feeling free and ready to play with me. :D

It is so nice to have a relaxing weekend together, just doing things we want to do. Sigh...

Deer Park Farmer's Market

2010-11-06T19:47:00.001-05:00

We also bought some plants for our garden!
We were so excited to find a Farmer's Market close, but sorry that it only occurs once a month.

Planting a Fall Garden

2010-11-06T19:44:00.001-05:00

For my brother who understands my fascination with the sky...

2010-11-06T19:32:00.002-05:00

Some recent home improvement

2010-11-06T19:27:00.002-05:00

2010-11-03T21:18:00.002-05:00

2010-11-03T21:17:00.001-05:00

Yepez Grape Stomp

2010-10-23T15:29:00.001-05:00

The Flu Blues

2010-10-19T20:23:00.003-05:00

Well, technically we haven't had the flu yet. But both Jeremy and I have had our first round of "colds." We both had scratchy throats and worn out bodies. Some of it may be due to stress and exhaustion. It has been a stressful few weeks for both of us. Nothing in particular, just one of those periods when everything seems to fall on you at once. Jeremy fell prey first, but seemed to recover first. I am still trying to get my energy back and I have that lingering cough that seems obligatory.

Hopefully I will be back up to 100% by next week when I have parent conferences every day. Morning, mid-day and afternoon. Part of me is actually looking forward to meeting with the parents face to face, to hopefully clear up some...misunderstandings... However it will be a busy and exhausting week.

Hope the rest of you are faring better. Be well and full of energy! :)

Nathan's Reception

2010-10-16T19:39:00.003-05:00

I was too busy throwing rice to get pictures of the couple running out. :(

Nathan's Wedding

2010-10-16T19:22:00.001-05:00

Nathan's Rehearsal

2010-10-11T19:38:00.001-05:00

Life on Myrtle Creek...

2010-09-15T18:46:00.002-05:00

4th week of school and I still don't feel adjusted to being back at work. It's my fourth year to teach 5th grade, so you would think I would be able to waltz in at the first bell and waltz out at the last bell without a worry in the world. Nope, not me. I'm there at least 30 minutes early (7am or earlier) and have been staying there until 6 almost every night. I don't know why I can't seem to get it together! Lesson plans are definitely easier, but the grading never seems to stop! Every year my goal is to stay on top of it, but I always fail...

I am somewhat more organized at home. We have been making meal plans and grocery shopping for weeks in advance. I have been keeping up with laundry and cleaning (for the most part). Unfortunately I can't seem to keep up with the budget...I just can't seem to balance it ALL...

My biggest accomplishment is my strive to get healthier. I got an app for my iphone and I have been tracking my calories. It can be tedious and somewhat time consuming, but it has really helped. I have also been doing much better about working out. It helps that my friend Brandy is committed to working out with me after work. We have been doing it two days a week since school started. Mostly we do taebo, which is intense and burns tons of calories! I LOVE IT! When we can't do it together, I have been pretty good about doing it on my own at home. I have been really proud of myself. Sorry to brag.

Well, I have to go. Time to make dinner! Quesadillas, yum, yum!

Sitting on the back porch

2010-09-05T19:44:00.002-05:00

If you know anything about Houston, you know how shocking that statement is. You wouldn't believe how nice it is here tonight. Birds and bugs are singing in the trees. The smell if BBQ is wafting over the fences. The sky looks like a painting with pink and purple strokes. There is actually a cool breeze!

Glancing around our yard gives me a sense of accomplishment and pride. I would be happy to let anyone run around and play in our soft, mostly weed free back yard. Our garden is a little bare as we are preparing to switch from summer to fall vegetables. I'll have to post pictures of the fig tree soon. You won't believe how much it has grown!

We actually met our other neighbors yesterday. We were out front doing lawn work and they came over to introduce themselves. They were very nice. Unfortunately they're trying to sell their house, though they said they haven't had much luck. Hopefully nobody crazy or annoying will move in after them! :)

Tomorrow we are heading out to Killeen for Orian's birthday party. I am so glad we live close enough to be a part of special moments like this!

I hope everyone has a beautiful Labor Day holiday! Hug the people you love!

Meeting our New Nephew

2010-09-04T22:26:00.000-05:00

My Birthday

2010-09-04T21:52:00.003-05:00

Despite having to be at work on my birthday, my partner and friend, Brandy Olukoga, made it AWESOME!

Houston Restaurant Week

2010-09-04T21:45:00.002-05:00

We went to a very special restaurant, Haven. It uses fresh, local ingredients only, so the menu is always changing and unique. So YUM!

9th Anniversary-Trip to Ft. Worth

2010-09-04T21:40:00.000-05:00

Weekend with the Neals

2010-09-04T21:23:00.003-05:00

Housewarming Party June 3, 2010

2010-09-04T20:28:00.001-05:00

I survived!!

2010-08-29T08:51:00.004-05:00

My weekend of "parenting" is almost over. It was easier and harder than I thought. Brandie and Adrian have raised some amazing kids! They have been allowed to grow up as their own people, but still taught the consequences of their actions and how to respect adults. Speaking of respect, my respect for my BIL and SIL has shot through the roof!! Somehow they manage this house of four children (ages 1-13) successfully on a daily basis.

I was unprepared for how exhausted I would be. It is just like I thought, the emotionally draining part if my job as a teacher, but 24 hours a day and more intense! Physically I haven't done that much, but my brain and my body are worn out! Brandie, you are my HERO!!!

Mom, Dad, and baby Charlie should be coming home today and we will turn the reigns back over to the real parents. I am so grateful to have had this opportunity to bond with my nieces and nephews and I look forward to many more years of loving on them.

Here comes Charlie!

2010-08-27T01:36:00.001-05:00

1:30 in the morning. I shouldn't be awake. But here we are racing (under the speed limit) up I35 headed toward Killeen. Our newest nephew, Charlie, is due to make his appearance tomorrow. Yes I'm tired, yes I'm a little worried about missing a day on the first week of school, but I am SO excited to be able to be a part of this momentous occasion. I am so glad we are close enough to be able to make this trip. I am looking forward to some bonding time with my baby nieces as well as a supervised test run of our patenting skills. I am just hoping that everything goes smoothly for my precious sister-in-law and I can't wait to meet baby Charlie!!

Zzzzz

2010-08-25T06:28:00.001-05:00

I wish I was still sleeping! I went to bed at 8 last night... Each evening my feet have been killing me. Going back to school is hard! So far things have gone well with my classes, though today will be the first "normal" day. Hopefully the rest if the week continues to go well. Happy Wednesday!

Trip to the Barnyard

2010-08-22T17:40:00.001-05:00

This is kind of long, but I just couldn't eliminate many pictures. My nieces and nephews are just too cute!!

Jeremy at Work

2010-08-22T16:55:00.001-05:00

After graduation, Jeremy was hired to continue working where he had been for his internship. He is really happy with his job. Here are a few pictures of his office.

My Old Neighborhood

2010-08-22T16:51:00.001-05:00

Trip to San Antonio in June

2010-08-22T16:35:00.004-05:00

In June, I joined Jeremy on a trip to San Antonio. He was attending a conference for work, so we took advantage of the hotel room to have a little vacation. Here is a snapshot of some of our adventures and some of the people from my past that I got to visit.

Back to School

2010-08-20T18:58:00.001-05:00

It's almost here...school. I have been back to work for a week - busy having meetings and getting my room ready. Last week I was confident that I had everything well in hand and it wouldn't take me as long to get ready this year. Well, I was wrong. It's Friday and I'm still not ready. In a way, I'm glad we have another work day tomorrow

I really don't like the first day of school. Just like I don't like going new places alone or meeting new people. I will be doing both, meeting 20 new people all alone!! Granted, they are 20 small people, but still. I also feel awkward with the parents on the first day. I don't really know what to say.

I am trying my best not to think too much about it so I don't stress out, but...

I am really excited about this year though. I really have a great team of teachers around me and I ADORE my partner!! I think this is going to be a good year - if I can survive Monday!

And I'm Back

2010-08-18T21:06:00.001-05:00

I downloaded an app for my iPhone so I can write on my blog!!! So look forward to many more, though probably short, posts. :)

Jeremy's Graduation

2010-07-13T13:07:00.001-05:00

Growing the grass

2010-07-08T11:33:00.001-05:00

Jeremy has been working hard on the backyard. Check out how well he's done!

Home Improvement

2010-07-06T17:10:00.002-05:00

Watch our Garden Grow

2010-07-05T14:21:00.004-05:00

What you've been waiting for...

2010-06-30T19:07:00.011-05:00

The House Tour!!

Welcome to our new home!

Notice that Jeremy had the address painted on the curb

with the Texans symbol :)

The front walk.

The mulch was already there.

We planted the bougainvillea on the corner

and added the lights.

And in we go...

View from the front door.

Garage door just to the right of this picture.

Inside of the front door.

To the left

Dining room

Kitchen

360 of the kitchen

Down the hall.

First stop on the right - master bedroom

Master bath

Shower/toilet on the right

Closet on the left.

Around the corner.

Guest bath-

the black curtain and flooring were already there.

My good friend, Brandy, helped me figure

out how to go with the black and white.

Next down the hall,

the office.

Mom and Dad painted this room for us!

Guest bedroom.

Come try it out!

Thanks for stopping by!

2010-05-02T20:14:00.001-05:00

More pictures of the house to come...

Moving Day

2010-05-02T20:11:00.001-05:00

Spring and Our Porch Garden

2010-03-19T17:01:00.009-05:00

Spring is finally here!

We bought more birdseed to feed our flying neighbors:

Look at the mess they leave!

We actually went outside for recess last week
(I know, you're shocked)
and one of my kids brought me this:

Waiting for Jeremy one afternoon,
I had a visitor:

In my school's parking lot:
PS The reason this looks fuzzy is because it was raining,
not because I'm a bad photographer! :)

And now presenting, our porch garden:

Watch the Dahlia flowers grow!
We planted them as seeds;
this was when they first sprouted:

A little more growth:

And today:
The plants are filling out, but still no buds.

We have quite a few plants waiting for a yard to be transplanted into...
Let me introduce...
Blackberry!
We brought him home with leaves and he's still looking good.

We thought our daisies had died this winter,
but as soon as the spring weather came,
these beauties showed up!
PS Please try to ignore the bird excrement in the background :/

This bougainvillea may be dead...

but this one is showing signs of life!

Up close of bougainvillea bud:

Meet Raspberry!
She is the fullest plant on the block!

Meet Mr. Fig:

He's finally showing signs of life:

The Fredonia grape is still just a stick...

but the champanel is looking good!

He's had lots of new growth since we brought him home!

Vanessa is doing pretty well too.She has a couple of leaves budding:

This is our wildflower garden.
The birdseed collected here and we just let it grow.

I bought these pretty babies on sale
only to bring them home and realize we didn't have
any more long planters available... :(

This is our rosemary,
the one herb that has survived everything!
That is one serious plant!

And last but not least, our poinsettia.
You may remember this guy from the Christmas pictures,
though he was a lot more colorful then.
We thought we had killed this one
(note the deadness at the top),
but just before we gave up, he decided to grow some more!

I hope you've enjoyed this little tour of spring!

January's Big Event

2010-02-07T11:03:00.001-06:00

New Year's Eve

2010-01-02T16:55:00.003-06:00

We spent New Year's Eve at home, just the two of us. We lazed around, playing on the computer and watched TV. We finally got off the couch at midnight to ring in 2010.

Jeremy pops the cork on the bubbly.

Toasting the new year.

Midnight kiss.

Many changes are in store for us this year...who knows where we'll be in 2011...

A Very Long Christmas Post

2009-12-28T23:02:00.004-06:00

We spent Christmas in Ft. Worth with my parents at their new house. They just moved, but Mom worked really hard to get things ready enough for our family to all be together. It was a really special time. I couldn't wait to get there. In fact, I literally couldn't wait and we went a day early!

Mom was very surprised. :D

I could write a long story with lots of pictures, but instead I made you a few slide shows to enjoy.

Christmas Eve

We had a White Christmas!

Opening Presents
A few pictures from an early Christmas before we left and just a few of our presents to our parents. William has the best present pictures...

Christmas #2
Today Jeremy and I exchanged presents with each other. Fun, fun!

Thanksgiving

2009-12-06T14:49:00.002-06:00

Here are some slide shows of all our adventures over Thanksgiving Break.

The many faces of Dahlia:

The many faces of Bella:

Bella's Birthday Party:

Christmas time is here!

2009-11-22T15:59:00.008-06:00

Jeremy and I both woke up Saturday morning with a feeling of excitement! Holiday!!! We were so motivated that we did a bunch of house cleaning and reorganizing. Our spare bedroom hasn't looked this good in a looong time!

We don't really have room for a full sized Christmas tree, so we decided to "go green" and buy a live tree.

Picking out our tree in the misty cold:

It's an Italian Stone Pine

Jeremy tinkering with the train set to make it work.

Check out this video of the final product:

Our Christmas tree nook:

Our beautiful nativity that my wonderful sister in law made me!

Some other Christmas knickknacks:

Our outside lights:
We love Christmas!!

My first ever movie premier!

2009-11-22T15:38:00.009-06:00

Thursday night, I joined the hordes at the theater for the opening of The Twilight Saga: New Moon. The atmosphere and anticipation were exciting! The movie itself...well, they're never as good as the books are they?

Our group: Kendal, Cathy, Sara, Amie, and me.
We made our own shirts.

The back was all the same:

Our album cover pose:

Sara represented Team Jacob

Amie showed her love for Carlisle.

Cathy represented the neutral party:

Kendal represented Team Edward:

And I showed my love for Alice!

Playing around while we waited in line.

Our Cullen and Quileute crests:

Katie also joined us:

New Moon popcorn:

A view of the crowd:

We had picked a less crowded theater.
It was much worse other places.

It was quite an experience. I hyped myself up a little too much on caffeine, but managed to stay awake through the movie and all the way home.
The next morning was the hard part. Only 3 hours of sleep and I had to roll out of bed to go to work. I wasn't the only one though. Thankfully it was the day before a holiday so I was able to just let my kids do fun worksheets. :)

2009-11-08T15:03:00.001-06:00

As the Odometer Turns

2009-11-08T14:53:00.001-06:00

Thursday October 29th

Jeremy's trusty little Toyota Corolla.

Weekend Getaway

2009-10-31T18:33:00.004-05:00

A couple of weekends ago we took advantage of the opportunity to spend some time alone. A local gospel radio station provides a small prayer cabin free of charge. It is amazing how much you connect when there is no TV, phone, or internet to distract you. We had tons of fun playing outside:

We even took a turn in the row boat they had. It was quite a learning experience!

Here is a video of Jeremy's prowess in the boat:

2009-10-24T12:08:00.001-05:00

Happy Anniversary...to us!

2009-07-28T21:50:00.004-05:00

8 years ago today.

8 years ago today I woke up with a smile on my face.
I looked up at the last ring of the countdown chain and grinned.
All the planning, all the preparing, all the waiting, wishing and hoping all came down to today.

The night before I remember that my mom tucked me in.
We realized it was the last night that I would sleep in my parent's house.
I think we cried a little.
And in the dark of the room, Mom gave me some last minute advice

The next morning, I remember crawling into my parent's bed.
I don't remember what we talked about.
It was just nice to be together.

8 years ago today I was climbing the walls (literally).
So anxious to see my Jeremy.
So excited to be getting married.
So loving having (almost) all the people I loved in one place.

I remember being trapped in that little room while guests filed in,
when all I really wanted to do was dance around the lobby singing
"Welcome to my wedding day!"

Then they finally had to leave me alone.
They were worried about my emotional state, but I was euphoric!

I remember standing behind those closed doors waiting for our cue.
I can feel my dad's arm in mine (or mine in his?)
I can see the faces of my brothers, so HANDSOME!
I was so proud of them.
I wish I had written down what they said.

Ironically, I don't remember the walk down the aisle!

I do remember realizing that the Pierces were all in tears!
And I thought my face would break from smiling.
As soon as we were in position, I gave my bouquet away.
I had to hold his hands, my precious Jeremy.

Our vows to each other were a surprise.
Maybe we should have shared because they made a great story,
only we told it backwards!
There was crying all around, but not me!

Finally the kiss.
The one part we hadn't rehearsed!
And Jeremy is whispering something to me.
What??
What a dip!
What a kiss!
Then we danced down the aisle, literally.

Everything was too fast from there.
Too little time, too many people.
Most people say they are just in a hurry to leave.
I just wanted to enjoy my party and see my friends!
I remember I even argued with the photographer.
Too many pictures!
Must return to my party!
People had driven hundreds of miles to be there.
To see me.

Only one mess up that day that I can remember;
we left the wedding license at the house!
If memory serves Jeff and Sendy went to get it for us.
As we waited, the crowd blew bubbles.

Another moment with my brothers.
They presented Jeremy with a spiderman mask.
They bought it in Mexico on their mission trip the week before.

Finally ready to go.
By now the floor is thoroughly soapy.
And down slips the bride!
Well, not all the way down.

I remember making a big deal over the decorated car.
It looked great!
And I was so thankful there were no messy pranks waiting inside!

And we're off!
Or not...
Someone didn't think to pack ahead.
Amazingly that someone was me!
I was embarrassed to have my grandmother see my room!
I hadn't cleaned up after the tornado!

After much ado, we were off.
Wedding cash and honeymoon kit in hand.
I remember the *sigh* when we were finally on the road.

Husband and Wife!

What a day! What a gloriously happy day!

2009-07-19T22:01:00.001-05:00

The Neals come to visit

2009-07-13T14:59:00.004-05:00

We had a great time this weekend with Brandie (Jeremy's sister), Adrian, Xavier, Orian, Isabella and Dahlia. Despite the smallness of our house, we managed to not only fit, but have fun! It was a whirlwind trip, though surprisingly laid back. Since they live fairly close, there wasn't the sense of "we have to see everything because we may never come back." We just did what we wanted, when we wanted to do it! :) We hit the Houston Museum of Natural Science (that's two weekends in a row baby!), the Space Center, Gattiland and Galveston/Rainforest Cafe. And in between we enjoyed the free fun at our apartment pool!

Our nieces and nephews are growing up so fast! We wish we could see them more often!! But after going five years without seeing them due to geographic separation, we appreciate that we can see them as often as we do. In fact, since they moved back to Texas, I think we have seen them at least once every two months. Still isn't often enough with a two year old and a 6 month old because they change every day, but at the very least we can say that Isabella has not had time to forget us between visits!

The house is awefully quiet today. I have that feeling you get after you have looked forward to something for so long and it happens and then it's over! :( But I know that we will see each other again soon. Now, back to laundry and other boring everyday stuff...

To see photos of our visit from the Neals, please visit my facebook photo album.

Fireworks

2009-07-05T20:40:00.001-05:00

4th of July

2009-07-05T20:29:00.000-05:00

Quick Note

2009-06-29T10:56:00.002-05:00

I have started a picture blog. Please visit my Project365 page. I will be updating daily (hopefully!).

Flash Back

2009-06-24T21:27:00.003-05:00

I went skating tonight! Sorry, no pictures!

The last time I went skating was last year for a perfect attendance party with my school kids. Before that it had been years! Tonight the church was having a skate night, so my friend Kendal and I went. It was soooo much fun! But the little kids made me so nervous! I am also very out of shape and had to take frequent breaks!

It was such a flashback. I think I was in 8th grade when my group of friends used to go on a weekly basis. There was one night of the week that was cheaper. Maybe it was summer time, I can't remember, but we would go skating and then go to Dairy Queen. I'm sure they loved us at the Dairy Queen because as I recall there were like 10 of us and we might order drinks and maybe one food item, then proceed to hang out and talk for extended periods of time! :) I really need to see if I can find pictures of this for you. :)

Anyway, just thought I would share.

Back home!

2009-06-21T19:44:00.004-05:00

Be prepared for a long post. I have been gone for a little over a week, so here's the story:

Last Friday mom and I flew from Houston to Oklahoma City. Nathan was also able to drive down from Kansas. So Friday night we had an early Father's Day dinner at Mr. Catfish, one of Dad's favorite restaurants. (Hopefully I'll have some pictures to show you when William emails them to me). After dinner we gave Dad his present: a new ice cream maker that can either be electric or hand crank.

After dinner we went to play miniature golf. It was so much fun! I hadn't been in a long time! I was the hard hitter. :) Didn't help me win though. :/

Saturday morning we had breakfast all together and then mom and I headed out to two weddings. The first was for Krista Whiddon, a girl I worked with in college. I didn't really know anyone else at there though, so we decided to head out early from the reception. We grabbed a bite to eat and then met the rest of the family at our next wedding. This one was for a friend of ours growing up Blake Cunningham. We were excited not only to be there, but also to get to see lots of old friends! And we did! The wedding was beautiful, and at the reception we ran into even more friends we weren't expecting to see.

Sunday I went to church with my parents at Del City. It was so great to see so many people who were so special to us. I especially enjoyed seeing Andrea Moyer. She is a PRECIOUS pregnant lady!

Monday morning Mom and and I headed to Ft. Worth. We had plans to spend a few days working on her house there. Mom had three projects for us to do, paint the front bedroom, clean and oil the kitchen cabinets, and line the inside of the cabinets and then unpack the kitchen boxes. The day we arrived, we started by cleaning the outsides of the kitchen cabinets. Tuesday morning we started by cleaning the walls in the bedroom to be painted and then priming them. We left that to dry and went back to work on the cabinets. We worked linseed oil into the cabinets to help them look refreshed and shiny like new! Wednesday we got to work painting. Our "Sky blue" paint was quite beautiful. Once the painting was done, we got busy lining the cabinets so we could unpack the boxes. It took us three trips to Wal-mart to finally buy enough shelf paper! Mom was so excited to actually be able to fully use her kitchen! Of course, most of the real stuff is still back in OKC where she lives!

Thursday we finally got to have fun! After a quick touch up job on the paint, we actually washed and dressed and went out for some fun. Aunt Trudy and Trinity came for a visit and we went into Ft. Worth to have lunch with Aunt Sara. Then we went bathtub shopping! It was actually fun! Trinity and I had a blast playing pretend with the displays. :)

Thursday evening I went to a party! Some people we know from Italy were here visiting: Rosa, the cook from the Bible school, and her husband Felice and their daughter and son in law Angela and Carlo. The party was at Gary and Jennifer's house. They brought together a bunch of people who had a connection with Italy and Rosa, but not necessarily with each other. It was fun to meet other people who love Italy! I laughed and cried and spoke Italian, surprisingly well despite my fears. It was lovely!!

Friday my mom headed home and she dropped me off to be baby sat by Gary and Jennifer. :) I had a great day hanging out with them. It has been a long time since we had time just to be together. That evening we went out to eat Italian pizza at another new place. The Williams have this great friend who scopes out all the great Italian restaurants. This one is actually a member of an exclusive pizza making organization from Naples.

Marilee joined us for dinner and then I went home with her. I hadn't even seen her since she got married and I was excited to see her and Greg together in their house. Friday night we watched a movie as we waited for Jeremy to make it up from Houston. I was SO excited to see him after a whole week! Saturday morning we hung out with Marilee while Greg was in class and then we all went to lunch at El Campo, a really tricked out Mexican restaurant in Arlington. I wish I had a picture of it. The best part was the little electric train that ran around the wall above our heads. :)

Marliee and Gregg has something to do in the afternoon so we decided to go see some wineries in Grapevine. We were able to see four in the time we had: Delaney, Homestead, La Buena Vida and Su Vino. Downtown Grapevine was so cute! We would really love to go back there. (Sorry no pictures, we didn't have a camera with us)

We made it home yesterday and I was glad to finally be home! I missed my husband, I missed my computer, and I missed my BED! :) So, now summer, in all it's monotony begins! I think that is enough for now. I'd better go finish the laundry and get busy with things around here.

I can't believe it is summer

2009-06-07T20:48:00.007-05:00

It still hasn't really sunk in. Maybe it will tomorrow morning when I don't have to get up at 5am!! Even though I am sitting here catching up on blogs while my hubby and MOM watch the crazy finals on TV, I still can't believe summer is already here.

The end of the school year went slow and then super fast! It seemed like May drug out....of course those of you who teach know that real teaching ends several weeks before school technically ends. Of course, with our beloved TAKS test happening in February and March, the kids seem to think school is out two months before it really is. :P

The last week flew by and was bitter sweet, but we won't get into that on here. We started off the summer with a Foundations cookout/pool party. It was GREAT!! Then, that night we picked up my mommy from the airport. I get to spend two whole weeks with her! :D

Here are a few pictures to catch you up on what we have been doing:

May 9, 2009
Houston's Art Car Parade

My favorite: the peacock car
The tail actually opened and closed!

Another of my favorites: Shattered Vanity
It was covered with tiny mirrors!

I loved this one as well, though I don't know it's name.
Not only was the car cute, but the old people dressed up inside made it precious!

See more cars here.

May 23, 2009
Winery Trip with Trent and Rachel

We have some friends who live in north Houston (who will hopefully soon be in south Houston) that we rarely get to see. We recently discovered that they share our passion for wine so we planned a day trip to see some wineries out toward Brenham.

Here are Jeremy and Trent having yet another wine tasting. (I gave up after the second place. It wasn't worth paying for me when I only liked one out of every 5 wines!)

Rachel and I inside this cute cafe called Must Be Heaven in Brenham.

We have started a collection of wine glasses from each of the places we visited.

Here is our wine rack, full of delicious wine.
Jeremy very kindly bought several sweet wines so that we can share. :)

A few more pictures on Jeremy's facebook album.

May 30, 2009
Xavier's Birthday Party

We made a day trip to Killeen for our nephew's birthday party. They are always such fun to be around.

Here is Isabella, pretending to be a cat.

4 month old Dahlia having some tummy time.

Xavier opens his present from us: a travel Guitar Hero game.

For more pictures of Xavier's birthday, visit my facebook photo album.

Our thumbs are turning greener

2009-05-02T17:34:00.005-05:00

We have a terrible track record with green things. From our first round of porch plants just after we were married we have quickly killed anything we tried to grow. In Italy we bought an already grown and producing strawberry plant and managed to kill it...

This season we seem to have done better. Perhaps we are learning. Earlier this year I posted about the plants we had bought for our porch. I would happily like to report that not only are they still alive, but the seem to be thriving! Here are some pics to prove it.

This is the view from our porch door after a recent rainstorm.
The clouds had cleared just in time for sunset and everything was bathed in a warm glow.
The picture doesn't do it justice.

Our daisies with water droplets from the rain.
They opened up full and beautiful!

Here they are today. They have bloomed, seeded, died and brought out new blooms!
It is so thrilling to watch our little plant reproduce!
And we are so glad they feel healthy enough to make new blooms!

This is our basil plant.
I wish you could see how tall it was to start with.
It has grown so much and now it has blooms!

I forget the name of this flower.
Jeremy picked it out. There was one point where we thought it had been done in by the pelting rain and winds, but it perked back up!

This is one of our bouganvilla. We bought these plants first on the recommendation that they were hardy and could withstand the Houston heat. Well, the have lasted, but they haven't turned into the full plants we had hoped. Several times we thought they were totally dead, but then they will bloom again. I'm a little concerned for this one because it now has some kind of ground cover plant growing in it's pot. I'm not sure whether to pull it up or not.

There are two colors of blooms on the bouganvilla!

And last, but not least, let me introduce you to our porch kitty.
She just started coming around and Jeremy felt sorry for her so he started giving her milk.
Next thing I know he was buying food for her!
It is fun to have a friend greet us. We aren't her only benefactors, but I think we are the most consistent.

She joined me on the porch while I was trying to take pictures. She really just wanted me to pet her not take her picture.

There is a porch contest this month in our apartment complex. I would have thought we had a chance until we walked around the complex the other night and discovered several other porches with much bigger and more beautiful plants. Well, we can try! And at least we are enjoying them. Happy Spring!

HAAK Vineyard

2009-04-04T14:43:00.006-05:00

We went to another winery today! This one was a little bigger and a little older. We actually got a tour of the wine production. We found out that Blanc du Bois grapes are the only ones that grow on the gulf coast because there is a disease prevalent in this area that will kill the other types of grapes. Hence why all the local wineries make Blanc du Bois wines. If we want something else we'll have to travel further inland. Of course, all of these wineries also import grapes to make wine, but it is fun to buy a wine made from their very own grapes.

What was interesting is we actually knew a little more than our tour guide about types of wines, but we didn't say anything. Especially since our knowledge is only a week old. :)

The Haak Vineyard in Santa Fe was started in the Haak family's backyard and is still run by the same couple. Mr. Haak is the one that decides what kind of wines to make and when they are ready etc.

At the door to the vineyard:

The vineyard:

The baby grapes. They will be fully ripe in July.

The spinner that drops the grapes into the smasher (can't remember the technical terms).The fermenting vats that hold thousands of gallons of wine.
This one withstood Hurricane Ike.

Oak barrels waiting to be filled with wine for aging.

Barrels full of wine in the basement, aging to perfection.

Some wine is aged even longer in this cage once it is bottled.

If you rub this little guy and buy a bottle of wine, you will have good luck. :)

We bought a bottle of an estate wine that we could both agreed on, which is a pretty big feat actually. We usually end up with a semi-sweet because I like sweet and Jeremy likes the more dry wines.

We were excited to fill out one more slot on our GoTexas winery passport. Go Texas!

Weekend Adventures

2009-03-28T18:11:00.005-05:00

One our way back from Oklahoma last week, we stopped by the Texas Welcome Center and picked up the latest travel guide. We decided that we should start seeing so many of the things that are in our own back yard. One of the things are most interested in lately is wineries. We have recently started enjoying the search, selection and drinking of wine, but we don't know much about it.

Today we visited our first winery. We found it in the Texas travel guide and it is a mere 25 miles from our home in Baytown: Yepez Vineyard.

We took 146 up to Baytown. To cross the ship channel you go over the Fred Hartman Bridge.

The main building is made like an adobe home.
We enjoyed a nice tasting of all their wine, and the owner was very sweet to explain everything to us. She was very friendly and talkative and even gave us more than the 3 advertised complimentary tastings.

Photos around the vineyard

They even had peacocks!

We had such a great time! We also got a Go Texan Wine passport that will earn us a free gift after we visit four vineyards. :) We look forward to further supporting Texas winemakers.

Testing Update

2009-03-28T17:58:00.003-05:00

I was reminded that I have mentioned several important tests in the last few months and have not given any update.

First of all, let me say that I am officially certified as an ESL teacher! I passed the test with flying colors!! I'm going to have to brag on myself here, so please don't judge me. :) I only missed 2 questions! He he! I was so proud!

Secondly, my students took their Reading TAKS test at the beginning of March. I was really proud of them! I can't reveal any details because the students haven't been given their scores yet, but let's just say that less kids failed in the entire fifth grade this year than failed in just my two classes last year! We are really excited!

So that's my testing update! Thanks for all the prayers. :)

House Diaries March

2009-03-07T23:20:00.010-06:00

There have been a lot of changes around our house lately. It seems we are always coming up with new ways to improve our home. Since I have been writing so much about it lately, I decided I should give these blogs their own name: House Diaries.

Every weekend we seem to find some beautification project that demands our attention. Forget that we have homework, papers to grade, presentations to prepare and lesson plans to complete. All that can wait! Our home is our castle and we must work until it is complete!! Every room in the house has changed in the last month!

Several of our projects lately involved pictures. We have tons and tons and TONS of pictures of our time in Italy and don't have hardly any of them on display. We had been discussing lately certain types of photographs that we were interested in framing and displaying in certain parts of the house, so finally we moved on those plans. So, here is what we have finished so far:

Pictures of us around Italy

Food pictures for the kitchen.
The one in the middle is from our special sea food dinner by the sea right before we left Taranto.

In addition to framing photos, we finally framed the art we bought in Italy.
It is a set of mini-paintings of Tuscany during the 12 months of the year.
This is a very prized possession, so we hung it in the bedroom where we can enjoy it (see below)
We also received some much treasured pictures of our precious nieces and nephews so we promptly found places to display those proudly!
In the front is a book of pictures of Dahlia and the black and white is of Isabella when she was younger.

Here are the four siblings together amongst our bottle collection.

And here is the collage frame we put together.
We are hoping to fill the two big spots with pictures of us with them at Easter.

We have also developed a green thumb lately. Our balcony is turning into a little garden!
We have alternated flowers and herb plants, yum!

We did a little furniture rearranging.
We moved this shelf from the bedroom to the living room and put the desk in the bedroom.

The desk fits nicely in our bedroom.
The contents of it have evolved a little.
This was the first day:

Then I bought this flower at Hobby Lobby and we decided to put this picture frame there too.

So this is the final product.
The only thing left to do is figure out where to move my picture of Grandma that you can see on the floor under the desk.

A few more items for the kitchen:
a hanging basket for veggies, and a plate rack to display one of the plates from our ceramic set from Italy. It cracked a little so we don't want to use it.

As I said, all the rooms have had at least a little updating lately.
We have added some license plates to our collection in the bathroom. :)

The spare bedroom even got a make-over, or should I say, a cleaning out and reorganizing! Totally thanks to Jeremy btw. Too bad I don't have before and after pictures. We had taken to calling it The Black Hole!

Jeremy is currently working on another special house project that is drying on our porch as I type, but I'm not going to tell you any more. You will have to come back and check in to find out what. I will say you will be impressed with Jeremy's creativity and skill!

TAKS test puts prayer back in schools

2009-03-07T23:05:00.003-06:00

Last Tuesday was a big day here in Texas. If you don't live in the lone star state, let me try to give you some perspective without boring you with the details. See there is this thing called No Child Left Behind... No wait, too much info. In Texas we have this required test called the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills. The kids start taking them in the 3rd grade and never stop. Ok, well technically I guess they stop when they graduate from high school. Anyway. In fifth grade, the grade I teach, the kids take three TAKS tests: Reading, Math and Science. They are required to pass Reading and Math to go on to the sixth grade. Last Tuesday we took the first of these three tests: reading, my subject.

Just try to imagine the stress of a cumulative college exam on an 11 year old mind and soul. Besides the fact that I want my students to pass so that they can be promoted, the TAKS scores also go on my record and count toward the school's rating etc. etc. Needless to say, during the last month, they probably would have done us all some good to serve everyone a daily dose of anti anxiety medicine. I didn't realize how stressed out I was until I started crying in my Assistant Principal's office. Then I started having fitful dreams. I knew the kids were stressed because they were acting out in CRAZY ways which only added to my stress!

So last Tuesday was the moment of truth. After months of grilling the kids on skills and strategies and weeks of railing on them about how important this test is etc. etc., all I could do was watch. And I mean ALL I could do. There are these very strict guidelines about the administration of the test and I practically have to sign my life away to give it and if I break any rules I could go to jail! So anyway, I was pacing around the room "actively monitoring" and feeling sick to my stomach with worry when I thought, "What better thing to do than pray?" And why not? It was just me and God. No cell phone, no computer, no children, or house or husband demanding my attention. I couldn't read, or plan or clean. All I could do was walk and watch. So I started praying.

I prayed down the list of all of my students, then started in on friends and family. I prayed specifically for the needs I knew each person had and for all the things that I was sure I didn't know. I prayed for ministries and missionaries and protection from Satan's attacks. Most of all, I prayed that it wouldn't be another 365 days before I had such a long intimate talk with God again.

Who would have thought...what a way to bring me to my knees.

Belated Valentine's

2009-02-22T16:10:00.004-06:00

Since my parents were here last weekend we had decided to post pone our Valentine's Day celebration to this weekend. We almost didn't do it because we both had so much work to do yesterday and the day slipped away quickly. However, we decided we could at least fit in dinner.

Last weekend we had gone to Kemah with my parents and were overjoyed to find it almost completely back to it's former glory. One of the shining jewels is the newly redone Landry's Seafood. They whole bottom floor is these huge plate glass windows overlooking the water. Remembering that, we decided to go there. We got a perfect seat near the windows and right next to the line where they have marked the flood line from all the hurricanes and floods. We got an extra treat because there was a Mardi Gras boat parade going on right outside the windows. We watched the crazy people in the freezing wind jumping to catch beads as the decorated boats drove slowly by. It was really neat! Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of the boats, but here are a couple others.

The water line. Ike is all the way at the top, near the ceiling.

Yes, Jeremy really is 6 feet tall. Taller in fact.
The name right next to his shoulder is Katrina.

Wow, that water was high!!
In case you are interested, here are a few pictures of Landry's after Ike.
I couldn't find any of what it looks like now. Guess I should have taken one!

New Stuff Around Our House

2009-02-22T15:55:00.004-06:00

We have been spending some money sprucing up our home. It makes us feel good to have new things around the house. We have been married almost 8 years so our stuff is starting to wear out, plus our tastes have changed. Ross is our new favorite place! Here are some of the things we have added lately.

A wine rack!
See, it's shaped like a bunch of grapes.

Our Christmas present to ourselves -
an espresso machine!! Yum!

This grape plate was a gift from Tojuana, Jeremy's mom.
We hung it up in the kitchen because it matches!

A couple of new rugs to replace our old black one.
(Can you believe we once wanted a black and silver kitchen?!?!)

New silverware!
We only got one set of the stuff we registered for when we married and it was never quite enough. We had some hand-me-down stuff with ugly black handles. Those are gone!

An olive...canister?
I'm not sure what you call this but it is a huge improvement
over the one we had before (which was too small) and it matches
the kitchen perfectly!

And last, but not least, our desk.
We bought this beauty at a market in Italy and some very gracious friends shipped it back with their stuff. Mom picked it up from them and kept it at Grandmother's house for awhile.
Recently we were there and Jeremy decided we had room to bring it back.

The plant on top was one from Grandmother's funeral which I am proud to say I have kept alive for over a year now. Right next to it is a picture of me and grandmother that I had given her and she had on her dresser when she died.
The picture in the black frame is Jeremy's hand with little Giulia, our precious baby sister in Italy that we love and miss a TON! I gave that to Jeremy for Christmas our first year back.
And yes, that is a set of Rockband drums underneath the desk.
Come over if you want to play!

So that completes the tour of our little home.
Hope you enjoyed seeing our prized possessions!

2009-02-17T19:25:00.001-06:00

Foundations Retreat

2009-02-17T19:16:00.003-06:00

2009-02-17T18:24:00.002-06:00

Our new niece

2009-02-17T17:51:00.006-06:00

This deserved it's own post.

The most exciting thing to happen to us in January
was the arrival of our new niece Dahlia!

Long overdue pics

2009-02-17T17:10:00.010-06:00

Super Bowl Party

The boys watch the game...

...while the girls play a game...

...and plan the food for the retreat.

Speaking of food,
we had way too much for the few people who were there!

Sharon's Shower

Sharon tells us the answer to the quiz about herself.

Sharon and host Lee Ann.
There is never a serious moment with Sharon.

Vince shows off his new monkey bathroom.
Audrey, Amy, Sharon, Vince, Kendal, Amanda
Amanda and Sara

New Year's Eve

Delicious Tamale Dinner

And a game of Apples to Apples

Katie helps me out
Card Sharks
Katie, Trinity and me

Rockin' in the new year with Rockband

Nathan and Katie rock out!

The midnight kiss

Double Kiss

The midnight toast!
Gotta love camera timers. :)