Year In Review - Merry Christmas!

Welcome to our blog! You may be a regular visitor, or perhaps you were brought here by our Christmas card...either way, it's time to take a moment to recap the year and give thanks for our many blessings.






2010 was full of magic for our family as we welcomed our second daughter into the world in May.



Gloria Frances was born on May 26th and has been keeping us on our toes ever since. While her entrance was grand as we discovered her personality to be a bit...uhm...abrassive...she has since managed to grow on us with her dazzling blue eyes and hint-of-red curls. At almost 7 months, she is a giggling, smiley, sweet, rolling, babbling, almost sitting fool. She LOVES to eat and is almost 3 pounds more than her big sister was at this age.

Speaking of big sisters, Rosemary has taken to her role with grace and ease.


She loves to share with her sister and help mom and dad take care of her. Gloria is the first thing Rosemary asks about in the morning and the last thing she's talking about before she goes to sleep. Talking to Rosemary is like talking to a 16 year old. I can hardly believe the conversations we have throughout the day and the memory she has for things we've done or seen. Even at two, she is an absolute delight. She loves watching cartoons, playing in the snow with dad (mom gets the hot chocolate ready to avoid having to go in the cold), playing with her friends and cousins, going to swimming lessons and changing her outfit about 5 times a day.

Other happenings this year included the sale of our previous home that we had remodeled. After completing that project, putting our house up for sale, two fallen through offers, countless showings...finally, a closing in July. The sale led us to a 4 month stay at Paul & Doris' house while we searched high and low for a new home, eventually found and closed on this one and after a brief remodel of the upper level, we finally moved in in November. Eyeye! You can look back on past posts for pictures and details of what we've been working on inside the house.


Since moving in, we've been enjoying settling in and planning out the main floor and exterior remodel we will begin on this property in the early part of 2011. Never a dull moment!

Jeff has been busy at the drug store working with his dad. Of course, in his free time, it's all about where and when he can go on his next motorcycle trip. He's been working hard on home improvement projects, spending time wrestling the girls (and that includes Gloria) and spending time with friends in the little free time he has.

As I'm sitting here writing this, I feel most thankful to be in our new home. It is so great to be in a place we hope to call home for many years to come. I have had a wonderful year being home with my girls and paying witness to their ever-evolving personalities (even though I was initially not all that fond of Gloria's personality in general;-). We have fun meeting Jeff for lunch while he's at work, meeting friends for playdates, having lunch with Grandmas and Grandpas and playing with cousins. I have also been enjoying decorating our new house, baking for the holidays and spending time with our wonderful family and friends.

Our biggest adventure of this year (aside from bringing a human being into the world of course) was our motorcycle trip out to Sturgis Rally in August. For me, I think they call this "baptism by fire" as 1500 miles in 4 days was quite the undertaking. But I must say, it was actually (dare I say) fun and we look forward to visiting the fine town of Sturgis again.

Here we are baking in the sun as we drove through the Badlands.


Of all the awe inspiring moments this year has brought us - nothing compares to having such amazing people in our lives to share them with. Merry Christmas to you and yours and blessings of peace, love and joy in 2011!

**Photos by Stephanie Bloom Photography (www.stephaniebloomphotography.com)**