Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Ephesians 4:2

Look the little tribe of Benjamin leads the way. Psalm 68:27

Our Family

Daisypath Anniversary tickers Lilypie Kids Birthday tickers Lilypie Kids Birthday tickers Lilypie Kids Birthday tickers Lilypie Fourth Birthday tickers Lilypie Angel and Memorial tickers Lilypie Angel and Memorial tickers PitaPata - Personal picturePitaPata Dog tickers PitaPata - Personal picturePitaPata Dog tickers PitaPata Dog tickers PitaPata Cat tickers
"In everything you do, put God first and He will direct you and crown your efforts with success."
Proverbs 3:6

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Happy 3rd Birthday sweet girl

From the moment you were born you have brought light into our lives
With every passing day you bring a new emotion & favorite memory
Happy 3rd birthday Princess Kendall!
Mommy, Daddy, & Isaac love you!
Little girl pigtails
dimples and hugs
nothing quite like
a little girls LOVE.


I loved you from the very start, You stole my breath, embraced my heart. Our life together has just begun, You're part of me my little one. As mother with child, each day I grew, My mind was filled with thoughts of you. I'd daydream of the things we'd share, Like late-night bottles and teddy bears. Like first steps and skinned knees, Like bedtime stories and ABC's. I thought of things you'd want to know, Like how birds fly and flowers grow. I thought of lessons I'd need to share, Like standing tall and playing fair. When I first saw your precious face, I prayed your life be touched with grace. I thanked the angels from above, And promised you unending love. Each night I lay you down to sleep, I gently kiss your head and cheek. I count your little fingers and toes; I memorize your eyes and nose. I linger at your nursery door, Awed each day I love you more. Through misty eyes, I dim the light, I whisper "I Love You" every night. I loved you from the very start, You stole my breath, embraced my heart. As mother and child our journey's begun, My heart's yours forever little one.

You're the end of my rainbow, my pot of gold.
You're mommy's little girl, to have and hold.
A precious gem is what you are.
You're mommy's bright and shining star.
You're sugar, you're spice,
You're everything nice,
And you're mommy's little girl.


Monday, June 29, 2009

You know you love your husband when.....

you let your son wear this outfit!

Since I adore Ben so much & Kendall and Isaac have a bunch of Steeler & Pirate gear I thought that I would show you this isolated occurrence that we have a son wearing Cowboys!

A few of my favorites from Emerald Isle

Stay tuned for our memories & a slide show of the rest of the pictures
Kendall was excited for pictures for a change
With Grammy and Pappy
Hot tubbing

Just us
At the aquarium
This one is for Andrea! Kendall loved having planes on her shirt and wanted to make sure everyone could see Isaac's too! Thanks again!
Goofy family portraits

"Swimming"
Sunbathing
Playing in the sand is serious business




Saturday, June 27, 2009

Back to life.....

.....back to reality!
We are home from the beach and full swing into the last minute details of Kendall's birthday party for tomorrow. Am I crazy? Hmmmm.....yes I think that I might be!
We had a blast with my parents, sister, and brother in law. I think that my sister was a little leery about Emerald Isle at first (even though it is still part of the outer banks). She gave her seal of approval & agreed that it was much better and the beaches less crowded.

As this adventure comes to a close, we are gearing up for our Wisconsin trip in less than 2 weeks to see the Schwalbe/Denton side of the family. Stay tuned for more memories and pictures to come from Emerald Isle.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Fathers Day Pictures, Images and Photos

Just wanted to wish all of the special men in my life a Happy Father's day!
Benny, Dadoo, Pa Beach, and Pappy

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Vacation

EMERALD ISLE Pictures, Images and Photos

We are pleased to say that our vacation to Emerals Isle, NC with my parents, sister, and brother-in-law begins today. Pictures to follow!
Thanks JT and Kelly for watching the animals and house!

Friday, June 19, 2009

9 Month Portraits

Besides almost losing my mind, Isaac's 9 month portraits turned out great. Being the huge sucker for pictures that I am, I also did their promotional series with Kendall. (If I had known they were doing this I would have actually fixed her hair.) Here they are to enjoy :-)
One of the collages that they put together.
Our sweet munchkins
The only one that she didn't have her dress up in.....
Before he was in serious need of food.....
My favorite of the day....
Did I mention that the photographer was awesome? (That she has 5 kids all under the age of 5....4 yrs, 3 yrs, 2 yrs, 1 yr, and 3 mo!)
Isaac 9 Months old



Thursday, June 18, 2009

Long one for the Grandparents

Since we will be at the beach for father's day, we gave Ben his gift early.
We're pretty sure that he likes it :-)
Slippin' and slidin'



Kendall (and everyone else) had a BLAST at Maya's birthday party.
Isaac couldn't go down the huge slide but Melissa did get him wet in his own way!
A quarter, a rainy day, and your little brother on your bus with you....
PRICELESS!
We have started a lot of our summer activites and here is Kendall helping to lead laptime at the library.
Isaac at laptime
Just as it was with Kendall, the dogs are not far from Isaac when he is down playing on the floor.
Kendall thought that Isaac would like to dress up like a knight since she does.

Funny Faces....



Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Marriage survey...taken from Facebook

Since I haven't had a big chance to post any pictures in the last week and a half I thought that I would throw this on for our loyal family and friend readers! Hope you enjoy :-)


MarriageShare

For all you married people out there! Tag your married friends that you want to know about!

1. When was your "engagement" anniversary:
December 24, 2003

2. When is your "marriage" anniversary:
December 31, 2003 (Yep those dates are right don't adjust your monitor!) We also renewed our vows with our family and friends May 29, 2004.

3. How long have you known your spouse:
6 years last month

4. How long did you date/court before you were engaged:
6 months

5. Where did you meet your spouse for the first time?
Pensacola, FL at a concert

6. What is your spouse's full name:
Benjamin James

7. Do you have any children:
Two beautiful kiddos

8. How many - boys/girls:
1 boy and 1 girl with the possibility of more in the future

9. Do you have any house pets:
2 dogs (Jordan and Geronimo), 1 cat (Kahlua or kitty kitty), 2 turtles (big turt and little turt)

10. Do you own a house or rent:
own

11. Do you live in the country or town/city:
I guess it is within city limits

12. What is one of your favorite activities together:
Hmmm.....most recently I would have to say kayaking but really anything. Ben makes almost everything seem fun even house projects

13. Do you have a favorite vacation spot:
Anywhere together but I have to say that Charleston, SC, Fredericksburg, TX, and Puerton Rico stand out in my mind

14. How many siblings (including in-laws) do you have:
I have one little sister, 2 sister-in-laws, and 2 brother-in laws (wait unless I am supposed to count Judd then it would be 3!)

15. What church do you attend:
First Baptist of Jacksonville

16. Is this the church you were married in:
Nope

17. What town is your current address at:
Jacksonville

18. Do you work or stay at home:
I work at home!

19. Where did you go on your honeymoon:
We traveled from Pensacola, FL to Oceanside, CA for our first stopping in A LOT of cool places. New Mexico & the Grand Canyon are standing out to me. We went to Puerto Rico for our "real" honeymoon with our friends Dan & Nikki.

20.Who drives when you go out together?
Mostly Benny

21.How long have you been together?
almost 6 years in total

22. How long did you know each other before you started dating?
a little over 2 months

23. Who asked who out?
hmmm....well technically it was me. I asked Ben to pretend to be my boyfriend to get a guy to leave me alone at the beach then Ben called me to ask me if I wanted to go out on Will's boat the next day.....I guess a little bit of both!

24. How old are each of you?
Ben's 32 and I am 31 (but soon to be 32 yuck!)

25.Whose siblings do/ did you see the most?
Actually surprisingly it is about even since we live so far from all of them!

26. Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple?
I would have to say money and cleaning....although we are getting better in our old age!

27. Did you go to the same school?
Nope....I from PA and Ben is from (TX) hee, hee well from jr high on at least!

28. Are you from the same home town?
Nope see above!

29. Who is smarter?
We each have our own special areas!

30. Who is more sensitive?
Me hands down!

31.Where do you eat out most as a couple?
Recently Chick Fil A (active toddler= kid friendly resturant) Before that we really liked a local place called Duck's (one of the few non chain resturants in J'ville)

32. Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
Puerto Rico & 2 trips across the country courtesy of the Marine Corp

33.Who has the craziest exes?
Not really sure?

34. Who has the worse temper?
We both can hold our own! He is part Italian and I am part German....interesting mix!

35. Who does the cooking?
usually me unless it is grilling

36. Who is more social?
Normally me I guess but Ben does great once he warms up!

37. Who is the neat-freak?
ME!!!!

38. Who is the more stubborn?
Both of us!

39. Who hogs the bed?
Both of us!

40. Who wakes up earlier?
He does! Poor Benny and that long drive!

41. Where was your first date?
Group date....Flounders at Pensacola Beach, Casual date....dog park in Pensacola, We also did a lot of dating at the beach too!

42.Who has the bigger family?
Benny

43. Do you get flowers often?
Yep....not as much as when we were dating but then again we would be in the poor house if that continued!

44. How do you spend the holidays?
We rotate Thanksgiving with the families normally. Most of the time Christmas in PA & we have spent a large majority of New Years with Ben's family....either in NC, WI, or MO.

45. Who is more jealous?
I am

46. How long did it take to get serious?
About a month or 2

47. Who eats more?
Probably me?!!

48. Who does the laundry?
Me

49. Who’s better with the computer?
depends what you are doing!

50. Leave a piece of advice for the other couples:
Go to church and pray together; laugh, laugh, laugh; enjoy each other and your life together because you never know when it can change!

Monday, June 15, 2009

Down and Dirty....

What's been going on in our household in 5 minutes or less!


  • Isaac had his 9 month well check up on Friday (no vaccines!) He is starting to even back out. He weighs 23 pounds 4 ounces (90%) and is 29 inches tall (75%.) The pediatrician is super happy with him. It is best to be at 75% and 75% for both height and weight according to him so if he keeps going at the same pace.......

  • Ben went on a men's camping trip on Friday night. He had a great time minus being bit up my skeeters. I had the ladies over here at my house and had a blast as well esp with all the good news that was floating around!

  • Obviously, I celebrated by myself on Friday night when the Pens won the Stanley cup!

  • Saturday, we all napped a bit then of course went to Lowe's for more home improvement project materials....Ben is such a good sport!

  • Sunday was good as well. I missed church since I had nursery desk duty but we had a great SS class. I am really loving our study and bummed that we won't be there next weekend! We puttered around the house and worked on completing those other projects.

  • This week is going to be busy.....we have a bday party on Wednesday night, I have a squadron wives coffee at my house on Thursday, then we leave for the beach on Saturday. Oh did I mention we get back on the 27th and I will be having Kendall's bday party on the 28th? So we will probably be hit and miss on here for the next 2 weeks! Ok little man is crying so off I go!

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Friday Fill-ins (on Saturday)

Sorry I was crazy busy yesterday! Isaac's 9 month MD appointment, my knee xray, getting ready for the girls to come over.....etc. Anyway, here we go!

And...here we go!

1. I grew up thinking I would live about 3-5 hours away from my parents. (I think this is the closest that I have been since I first moved away in 2001 & we are 10 hours away!)

2. Yahoo mail was the last website I was at before coming here.

3. Why don't you help me figure it out?

4. A nice hot bath helps me relax.

5. Thanks for the invite Melissa we are excited to celebrate Maya's bday.

6. ??? very off-putting.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to (the girls coming over to my house and the Stanley cup playoffs), tomorrow my plans include recouping from the kids when Ben gets home from camping and Sunday, I want to get some house projects done with BeeGee!

Friday, June 12, 2009

Congratulations Pittsburgh Penguins!!!!

pittsburgh penguins Pictures, Images and Photos

pens stanley cup Pictures, Images and Photos

PENGUINS Pictures, Images and Photos
2009 Stanley Cup Champions!!!!!!!

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

The ABC's of Me

The ABC's of ME!

I saw some other people do this so thought I would too!

A - Age: I'm not telling! :-) JK....31 soon to be 32

B - Bed size: King....Ben is a big guy and we both like to sprawl out.

C - Chore you hate: paying bills

D - Dog's name: Jordan (rhodesian ridgeback/boxer mix) & Geronimo (rottie)

E - Essential start your day item: a shower

F - Favorite color: Pink

G - Gold or Silver or Platinum: White gold

H - Height: 5 foot & 3 glorious inches

I - Instruments you play: clarinet from 4th grade thru senior year

J - Job title: Wife, mommy, RN, domestic goddess

K - Kid(s): Kendall (soon to be 3 on the 30th) & Isaac (9 months)

L - Living arrangements: In our own beautiful home with my wonderful hubby, Ben, 2 children, 2 dogs, 2 turtles, and 1 cat

M - Mom's name: Linda

N - Nicknames: Jamie, Jamers, Jamela, Buns, Mommy, Mum ma

O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: Just giving birth to my beautiful babies

P - Pet Peeve: Bad drivers

Q - Quote from a movie: Beginnings are usually scary and endings are usually sad. It's the middle that counts the most. So give hope a chance to float up. "Hope Floats"

R - Right handed or left handed: Right

S - Siblings: 1 sister, Jen

T - Time you wake up: When the kids wake up....normally about 6

U- Underwear: Ummmm.....I like them :-)

V - Vegetable you dislike: Peas!

W - Ways you run late: Ha.....the two kiddos, my blog or facebook, trying to make sure I look half way decent....surprising how much your looks slide after kids!

X - X-rays you've had: Chest (pneumonia), left leg (sandwiched between a hosptial bed and wall during a code), right leg (Geronimo demolished the MCL, meniscus, & patella in 2005....& I have to get it xrayed again this week before my MRI!)

Y - Yummy food you make: Earthquake cake, Italian dip, Turkey vegetable chilli, Meatball stone soup, Crab boil (even if Ben doesn't like it!)

Z - Zoo favorite: Bengal tigers

Daddy time

This is from the past weekend when Kendall and Ben shared some special time together.
They put together a wooden helicopter.

Kendall got a lady "bug" apron so that she could be like daddy so they made waffles for supper which we topped off with YUMMY homemade syrup that my parents brought down from the PA "Hardy Gang."

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Delightful Dentist Visit

Yes, you are reading the title of that post correctly & no I am not being sarcastic. I must admit that driving to the dentist today I was remembering our visit last time where Kendall wouldn't even open her mouth much less do any cleaning. I am pleased to report that (with me holding her in my lap) Kendall let them count, polish, rinse, and floss her teeth. I was so proud of her! Next visit, her hygienist is hoping to add a fluoride paste to Kendall's regimen. Kendall brushed her teeth with her new tooth brush and paste while we were waiting for the dentist to come in and check her. She got to grab a prize and settled on an emerald ring to go with the rest of her bling, bling that she wore today.
I feel on top of the world with potty training (at least #1) is going well and we seem to have conquered the dentist as well!
Working the chair!
Showing the teeth how pretty they looked after she brushed them.
Brushing them again
With her hygienist

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Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9

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Family Love
2009

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