At Home: Happy Father's Day

This Father's Day has me thinking about home life.  It has me thinking about how blessed I am.  During my life, I have had a rock, someone who has loved me unconditionally.  He taught me how to drive a car, how to ice skate.  He pushed me at school so I could go to college and be able to take care of myself.  My dad is my hero.

He has been there for all the big moments, my graduations and birthdays. But, its the little moments I remember the most.  The elaborate snowmen he would build or how he let me cry on his shoulder when my heart was broken.  We had one major fight in my childhood and I hated every minute.  It was hard being so mad at the man who always worked to protect me. I didn't stay mad long.  Because I love this guy.

My dad showed me firsthand about big concepts like loyalty, perseverance, bravery and kindness.  I can't count the number of times he stopped to help someone who was involved in an accident.  He has given to others his whole life.  As I have searched for love in this lifetime, I have been able to meet my life partner.  And Steve is loyal, shows perseverance, is brave and is one of the kindest people I know.  I knew what to search for because my dad showed me.

Steve is a great dad.  These two adore him.  I feel lucky to be able to watch their relationship evolve, to watch Steve share his knowledge and life lessons.  He is the even in our world.  He is the calm and the steady.  We are all blessed to have him.

Then there is the father I didn't know very well.  The father I didn't met until later in life. The father I have had the opportunity to get to know only after his passing.  Even though he wasn't a presence in my life, I have learned much from him, have learned much because of him.  I learned about how he was as a father by meeting my siblings.  It has been an incredible journey.  I am sure he is looking down with great happiness knowing we have come together. Today I celebrate the opportunity to be able to share this photo.  

This Father's Day, I am cherishing all the moments and memories from the fathers in my life.  There are many.

At Home: Never

I would love to post some At Home photos, share the new bathroom...but I would have to be home in order to do that...LOL!

Just 4 more weeks and I will be at home for the summer.  I have a list of things I want to work on.  I list of things I want to share.

For now, this past weekend marked the end of dance for the year.  Our girl made us proud.

I was struck by how brave each girl needs to be when she goes on that stage.  That makes my heart beam.

Here are some photos of her and her family.

Our little ballerina!

This face makes me know the meaning of love!

Ella with her grandmothers.  She loves these two!

I adore this one of Steve and Ella.  They beam.

This tutu was so big and super pretty!

The way she is looking at him.  It melts my heart.  I have looked at him this way my whole life, my dad.

The Grumpster and Ella.  They are tight and she loves to tell his stories!

We are proud parents.  So blessed with Nathan and Ella.

Life may be crazy, but it is pretty great too.

Sunday At Home: Thanks to Mom and Dad

Steve and I had a Sunday away from home...thanks to my mom and dad.  This weekend was all about wedding festivities for one of Steve's friends.  Since it was being held an hour away, we decided to make an event of it.

We drove down yesterday and had a leisurely lunch at a cool restaurant in Mystic, CT.  Then we went to the beautiful ceremony and reception, followed by sleeping in until 9:30 this morning.

Breakfast at a diner and a pretty ride home...it was great!  Yes, I am behind in chores and scrappy assignments.  But I am right where I need to be in life.

A perk?  Bonding time with my kids and their cousin Xavier as well as Nonnie and Poppi.  They had a great weekend away from home too.

Here is Nonnie with some of the grandkids!

I went with the Count Your Blessings ideas and the thought of adding numerals popped into my brain.  I simply combined a bunch of Bella alphabets to make the left side.  It is a familar design for me, yet...it is different with the numbers! I used a variety of Bella Blvd products to create this layout!

This Sunday and every Sunday...

family makes all the difference...when we are at home or away.

At Home: Family Vacation

When I use the term "family vacation", I mean it in so many different senses.  Our family of four decided on Washington, DC per Nathan's request.  He has a thing for the presidents and history.  A big thing.  So he asked, and we quickly agreed.  We planned the itinerary together.  I asked them to tell me their top five places.  There we went.

It was amazing to see this:

It was amazing to see this:

His face and reactions were simply priceless.  I stopped many times and just watched him.  It made me stay right in that moment and appreciate how thrilled he was. 

How great it was to be at a place where we are all mobile and can take in life as a unit.

Our family vacation was also about a different family...a family of soon-to-be-four.  My brother and sister-in-law invited us to stay with them for a few days.  Cousins met cousins.  Forty-two years old and there is still healing to be found in my life.  I never thought it possible...but after thirty plus years, I have connected with my sibliings from my biological father. 

We told stories and shared history.  I have really enjoyed putting different pieces of my life puzzle together.  I have to say that nothing really scares me at this point.  It all just makes me rethink the power of forgiveness and the power of being open.

We got to meet spunky and sweet Riley.  Ella and Riley became fast friends.  Or Frusions (friends + cousins) as my kids call it.

Funny, because Cynthia and I have had the same experience.  For the record, we are both Big Brother fans...and Bachelor Pad watchers as well.

I got to see Chris in action.  We are alot alike, which is cool to see.  He cooks a mean meal and is a devoted dad. I loved watching my kids and him interact. I am lucky to have had this time and hope there are more times in the future...and more siblings involved.

Our family vacation...this is what is looked like.

What it felt like...an amazing journey taken....it was worth every second. 

At Home: Easter Sunday

Easter represents so many different things...forgiveness, gratitude, love, spring, childhood egg hunts, family.  This year, our Easter included all of those things...along with some pure silliness!  I was able to catch it all on my camera!

This is what my day looked like:

It was wonderful, fun, relaxing and lovely.

Hope you had a great holiday!

Good Family Times

We had such a good day yesterday...Ella and me.  We hung out.  She scrapped her own page and told her first story on paper.  I spoke all day with a quiet and patient voice.  She was helpful and loving.

Today, when I got home from being out all day, I walked into a moment of Steve and the kids playing hide and seek.  You could tell they had been playing for a while...counting and secret signals were happening.  And I giggle out loud. 

Happy kids.  I love it.  It means the world to me.  They don't always have to be happy, especially when they make the wrong choices.  I know they won't be happy during times of loss.  But they will always be grounded in love.

I guess a long weekend free of stress and full of hockey games, date nights and warm days helps create good family times.

I want those times to go on and on.  I want our kids to love each other as much as we love them.  Hence, this memory captured...they might fight and bicker.  But there is love under that.

The story behind this page:

 They are pretty super. 

At Home: It Snowed

Okay, I will be honest...I don't have home decor photos.  No, that would mean that my house would be clean enough to show home decor photos.  It isn't.  That is the reality of the situation!

But, I do have pictures from my house today...pictures of two happy kids playing in the snow.  Funny, my kids don't beg me to go outside often.  But...let it snow and they want to go out every other minute.  They stay out until their fingers are red and frozen.

Here is what my Sunday looked like!

Looks fun, huh!



At Home: Turkey Day

Twenty years of the same tradition.  It involves an early morning, lots of prep work, protective googles, $30.00 worth of oil, 15 friends, multiple family members, a fire, mayo, cast iron pan for the grill and laughter.

For the past twenty years, Steve has opened his yard to his buddies.  It is about deep frying 12 birds for dinner.  But it is more about having a reason to get together with close friends for a celebration.  It is a bonding day for Steven and Uncle Jimmy.

For the past few years we have been short one member.  It is not always talked about, but the awareness is there.  This is a day that Jay loved as much as Uncle Jimmy and Steve. 

Here are some shots of the day:

Yes, this is my kid's breakfast on this day!

Steve did this 12 times this year.  Slow and steady...

Yep, that is an axe...shh, don't tell him!

The first bird of the day!

Pinterest inspired...can you day dollar store glass jars and candles!  Split peas and cranberries for color...easy and cheap!  I used up some scrappy ribbon to tie my utensils together!

Black Friday prep...

It was a great day...I was even caught singing Christmas carols a few times (even if I was making up my own words).  Who isn't happy with friends, family and a good meal!

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!