A "Babies" Shower!

The last weekend in July, we packed up the car and made the trip to Radford, Virginia to celebrate the future arrival of the Bona Babies! We got to stay with Aunt Pam and Uncle Erv...one of our favorite places to go! We had pizza Friday night and made prepartions for the shower. Some of us stayed up until 1 or 2 in the morning to make sure everyone got in safely...and they did.
The shower was wonderful...Suzanne and Jeff received so many wonderful presents for two little blessings...and Suzanne could not look more beautiful! Jeff was super excited to get the "Space Shuttle Stroller"--a two seater of course. He put it all together and showed us all how it worked and all of its parts that popped in and out of place.
After the shower, we all just hung out and enjoyed eachother's company. We played cornhole, sat in the big swings and hammocks, and went on wagon rides! It was a packed house for the weekend...the Stauss', Andrades, Bonas, Mullens, Priddys, Priddys, and Mishoes...and we had a blast!

Caroline was so excited to spend some time and share some smiles with her cousin Kristen!

"The boys" congregated while they deep- fried our dinner...turkey!

Aunt Pam took all three girls on a wagon ride, and they loved it! Quite the lovely load!

We even got a suprise visitor! Cousin Kevin! The little girls loved playing with Kevin, and had such a great time with him!










Aunt "Wizzy" was trying to get Caroline to master going down the steps. She definitely made some progress!

Once again, we had such a fantastic weekend with our family. Nobody throws a party like we do! Can't wait for the next one!

Big Red Backyard Building

Over the last year or so, as Caroline has been growing more and more out of her clothes, we discovered that we were running out of storage room! After watching stack after stack of baby clothes approach the ceiling in the office, we decided to take action and get a bigger outbuilding to accommodate us. At first, we thought about building an outbuilding ourselves. However, with work and our other responsibilities, time was just not on our side...and we needed a building now not in five years. After a lot of browing and praying, we finally decided to buy an Amish-made out building, and it was the greatest decision ever! It gives us plenty of room to store baby items, tools, 4-wheeler, and more! We are so proud of it, and definitely blessed to have been able to get it. So this is our big project for summer 2011, and the newest addition to our home!

I thought it would be neat to take a picture of the new building next to the old building...which after it is cleaned out...will be given to Grandma and Grandpa Mullen. Craig and Papi worked really hard last month putting insulation and plywood in the building, and it has made a world of difference. It was so hot in the building at first and not really conducive for storage...especially in the loft shelves where temps were registering at 120 degrees! Craig is still working on putting up a few other shelves, and eventually his work bench in the building. He is having a great time, and we are enjoying watching him!

The Mullens Take Nashville!

We always try and squeeze in a few trips to Nashville every year, and in June we decided to make a trip! Boy, was it fun. Caroline was in for a long weekend of adventures with her cousins, Audrey and Madeline, and we were just along for the ride...and to take pictures of these absolutely beautiful girls! Maddie and Audrey have a fantastic playroom in their house, so that was Caroline's first stop when we arrived in Nashville...and who can leave Nashville without going horseback riding? With Audrey's help, Caroline took a ride she'd never forget!

After horseback riding, Aunt "Wizzy" put a huge piece of paper on the floor, and Maddie decided to help Caroline embrace her artistic side. Caroline hasn't had too much experience using crayons yet, mainly because she likes to eat them. Luckily, Maddie showed Caroline that there is more to crayons than just taste...and she speaks from experience, being a former connoisseur of crayons herself.

After we put the horses in their barns and the crayons in their box, we decided to enjoy God's gift of sunshine! Audrey and Maddie's Gram and Grandad bought them an inflatable slide for them to play on outside. Caroline hasn't played much in the water, and had never been on a water slide before....but boy did she have a blast! She loved going down the slide and prancing around in the pool of water below. It was wonderful watching her and all of the girls together. Except for Maddie and her bug fear, the girls ran and danced and splashed like there was no tomorrow...and when they were done, they crashed like a ton of bricks!

Friday, we went on a field trip to Cheekwood to see the train display and beautiful botanical gardens. It was great! The train display was wonderful with several sets of trains going up and down and in and out in all different directions. Thomas the Train and his friends were even there! The girls enjoyed running through the middle of the display and waiting and watching for the trains to come.

After watching the trains for awhile, we went on a walk through the botanical gardens, and it was beautiful. Tons and tons of bright colorful plants gathered on either side of the sidewalk. We even found a quiet pavilion to rest and have a picnic! It was a lot of fun. Audrey took a few minutes with herself to dance in circles and sing songs in the gardens. It was quite a show! And we got to see just how many grapes Maddie could fit into her mouth...eight!

Father's Day was just around the corner and we had to think of something great to do because we have such wonderful Daddies!

Audrey helped decorate cards for her daddy and Uncle Craig. She worked really hard on her project. Maddie worked on a card too. Caroline colored a card and a photo mat for her daddy, and put three great Caroline and Daddy pictures in the mat! What a great present! The girls made a special breakfast for their daddies, decorated the dining room with lots and lots of pictures! It was a Father's Day to remember!

Caroline was so proud of herself when she hopped up in a big-girl rocking chair on her own!



The weekend in Nashville was fantastic, as always, and we can't wait to go back. It's always such a blessing to be with our family, and celebrate eachother's company. We can't wait for the beach!

Fun In the Sun!

Well summer isn't officially here yet. But Caroline has gotten her swimsuit out and is ready to go! Today, after the parade and nap time, we decided to take Caroline outside so we could take advantage of this insanely hot muggy weather. She did so many things! She took a dip in her pool, she ran through her whale sprinkler, and she got to swing! She even got to hang out with her daddy while he cooked the ribs for our Memorial Day Feast--which included BBQ ribs, mashed "tatoes" as Caroline calls them, peas and corn, and biscuits! Caroline's favorite was the biscuits with lots of butter. Yes...she has a new love in her life...butter or "bubu" as she calls it.

Caroline's Day at the Parade

We love love love holidays around here. It's an extra day we get to spend with Caroline! What could be better! Today, Craig decided to put Caroline in her first parade. The Memorial Day Parade was taking place in Cairo, and we decided to make it a family affair. But we couldn't just stand along the side and watch...we had to be in it! So we piled into the fire truck for Caroline's first parade!

Caroline and her daddy driving full speed ahead in the fire truck.













Caroline and Daddy standing on the fire truck.











Now they've jumped over to the ambulance!









As you can see, Caroline had a fantastic day at the parade. We are so proud of Craig for being a fireman. He makes huge sacrifices constantly for the well being of others. Though we do miss him terribly and say our prayers every time he gets called out, we are so proud of the job he does. When a home is saved from a fire, or when someone's life is saved, we are so proud and blessed to say "Hey! That's our daddy!"

THE FIREMAN'S PRAYER
When I am called to duty, God,
Wherever flames may rage,
Give me the strength
to save some life,
What ever be its age.
Help me to embrace a little child,
Before it is too late
or some older person
from the horror of that fate.
Enable me to be alert
and hear the weakest shout
and quickly and efficiently,
To put the fire out.
And if according to your will,
I have to lose my life,
Please bless
with your protecting hand,
My children and my wife.
© A.W. "Smokey" Linn 1959

Wonderful Wedding Day

Saturday, May 21, 2011, we got to celebrate the marriage of two of our best friends...Aunt Stephanie (or "sheshe" to Caroline) and Uncle Rob. It was such a beautiful and blessed occasion for celebration. The flowers at the reception hall were one of my favorite decorations...yellow and purple flowers gathered together and place in watering cans. The perfect touch to the perfect country wedding. The food was great too! Caroline really enjoyed her ox roast sandwich and scalloped potatoes...and we know Aunt Sheshe enjoyed her pile of green beans LOL It was such a blessing to be able to celebrate with our friends and family on this fantastic day that we have been waiting for! It was such a gift to be able to see two of our best friends begin their lives together and we look forward to what blessings God has in store for all of us!








This is our friend "Dr. Mandy" and her
daughter, Abbagayle.










Our beautiful little cousin, Adelyn, came to town for the big event, too! We were so excited to get to play with Addy and Aunt "Hee Hee" (Aunt Jill).



"And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry." -Luke 12:19

Happy Mother's Day!

Chives from the front herb garden!

I don't consider myself to be a conceited or selfish person, and I hate saying a certain day is "my day." Even on my wedding day, I hated it when people said, "it's your day." No day is my day. However, on this Mother's Day, it sure felt like it was my day. It just a fantastic blessed day. It started kind of rushed...waking up late, making breakfast for the fam, and scooting off to Sunday School and church. Then, we came back, rushed around to get lunch ready, watched Caroline eat some "tatoes" as she has started calling them, cleaning up, and then putting Caroline down for her nap. Before this point, the day didn't feel any different than any other day of cooking, cleaning, and taking care of my family. After Caroline went down for her nap, Mimi, Papi,Craig, and myself went to work outside getting my gardens ready for the season. It was fantastic! We'd gone the day before to get plants, and Craig had gotten a truck-bed full of mulch a few days before. So everything was in place. A couple of hours later, we were done and everything looked wonderful. All the plants were planted right where I wanted them and everything was freshly mulched...I know it sounds weird, but I love love to mulch. My front flower bed is now the herb garden I've been wanting for two years! Love it! I have a beautiful lilac bush in the back that my very own mother talked me into getting, so I can't wait to see what becomes of it. I also got a few more gifts from my loved ones!

So all in all, it was just a fantastic mother's day. I got to do exactly what I wanted to do. I know it seems like on Mother's Day I should want to lay back with a glass of something and read a good book or sink down in a hot bubble bath, but I wanted to bring my garden to life...and with the help of my awesome family, that is exactly what I did! Thank you to my parents and my husband for making my Mother's Day exactly the way I wanted it to be. Love you all!

Pictures:
-Top Left: My lilac bush I'm so excited to smell!
-Top Right: The lemon balm I planted last year that did nothing then, but look at it now!
-Bottom Left: This is our back flower garden that I dug out myself the spring after we moved into our house!
-Botton Right: A beautiful little angel enjoying the sun in her shades and ready to plant!

"...She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed;her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women do noble things,but you surpass them all.” -Proverbs 31:10-12 and 25-31

Another First...

When I went back to work after Caroline was born, which was well over a year ago, I regretted the fact that even though I was working to provide for the needs of my daughter, I was going to be missing out on a lot of time with her. I believe that any good parent will agree that spending time with your children is as much of a need as ensuring there is food in their little bellies. Since I would be missing out on a lot of time with my daughter, I made two promises to myself: #1 I would never leave Caroline when she was sick because I figured if I can't be with her as much as I'd like, I'm at least going to be with the kid when she is sick. And #2 I will witness all firsts. As a rule of thumb, and Caroline's babysitter and loved ones will attest to this, nothing officially happens until I see it. Caroline didn't take her first steps until I was there to see it with my own eyes. Caroline did not cut her first tooth until I saw it breaking through the gums. And I definitely wasn't going to miss her very first haircut. She did fabulously! I didn't trust that she would sit quietly and patiently on the big black box they have for children to sit on when they are getting their hair cuts. So she sat in my lap instead. We chatted about several things...what she would do at the babysitter the following day, who she would play with, what she wanted for dinner, etc. All the while, her little blong flakes of hair falling to the floor and in my lap. It was an excellent experience, and another excellent first! My favorite part was that after it was all over, I could see my baby's eyes again!

Priddy-Mullen-Stauss-Bona-Mishoe Family Easter Weekend 2011

The biggest and brightest event in April was Easter weekend...which I like to call "Priddy-Mullen-Stauss-Bona-Mishoe Family Easter Weekend 2011." It was awesome! Though everyone couldn't make it...and believe they were missed terribly...we had an incredibly blessed weekend spending time with family. Here are some day-to-day play-by-plays of the weekend:

FRIDAY:
Everyone arrived Friday afternoon and evening. We inhaled some pizzas, and then the adults went to the Good Friday service while the kids stayed home and got Baby Carowine through her evening bedtime ritual. But before that, we just had fun smiling!

Aunt Suzy-Q got to help Caroline with her favorite time of day...bath-time!

SATURDAY:
We started Saturday with an awesome breakfast...big, beautiful Belgian waffles and fruit...and lots and lots of coffee. As you can see, Uncle Wayne is really enjoying his breakfast!

The Mullens and the Bonas took a trip to Target for some last minute Easter items. Aunt Suzy-Q and Uncle Jeff bought Caroline some really cool blocks and a "Fancy Nancy" book. Caroline is playing with Aunt Suzy-Q and enjoying her new blocks!

Sometime Saturday, it got hot and muggy so we decided to let Caroline run around in just a diaper. But we ran into one small problem...she kept taking her diaper off! So in an effort to keep
her from doing this, "Engineer Papi" was on a mission...and he succeeded!

Another bath-time...this time with Aunt Nancy and Aunt Pam!

























EASTER SUNDAY!
Easter was fantastic. We all went to church together and took up two pews! Then, we came home and ate a big Easter dinner...ham, turkey, two kinds of potatoes, rolls, and all kinds of great stuff! Then, we watched as Caroline found what the Easter bunny had left her! The weekend was absolutely wonderful and we will never forget it. Even though we don't live as close to each other as we'd like, I thank the Lord daily for the family he has blessed me with. We love each other and genuinely enjoy each other's company. I know it was a long blog posting of the weekend, but I wanted there to be plenty of memories for everyone to share and enjoy, and I wanted the Mishoes, Priddy's, and Andrades to feel like they were part of the weekend as well! God bless my family! Miss you all!