Love Is In The Air...

I love the scene from the movie Elf where Buddy giddily runs into a board room and shouts out to his daddy and strangers "I'm in love, I'm in love, and I don't care who knows it." I couldn't agree more with those words. I have my favorite 3 that I am in love with and I love telling them AND everyone else how special they are to me and much I care about them especially on Valentine's Day.

"How do I love thee...". I started on February 1st and each day added a heart telling my 3 the different ways/things I love about each of them.

Extra notes and treats were awaiting the 3 when they got up.

We got a handmade card from Brayden. Cherishing these special notes from our little bear.

Our Friday ended up being a snow day for the kids despite the sun shining. Never quite sure how they make those calls, but it was a treat to share the day with them. Brayden is always asking if he can go to work with Daddy, so he got the gift of being able to. Sarah got to shop with me at the grocery store and Marshall's. We all met up for lunch at McDonald's with FaFa.

Brayden's big gift for Valentine's Day was an Angry Bird Swimmer. It is a balloon with a remote control. What boy, especially this one, doesn't love anything remote control?

 

Sarah found some perfect gifts at Marshall's for herself, a shirt, perfume and a candle. Sweet Pea is one of her favorite scents.

The kids got lots of love from their grandparents as well. PaPa & MeMe sent their love via messages in bottles.

FaFa & Grandma sent their love in cards and M&M candy (a favorite!)

 

We spent the evening at home together having dinner and of course chocolate dessert. Jason hurt his back shoveling snow right as he got home from work, so it was a quiet night for all of us. It also meant I didn't get a picture of me and my main squeeze. Another time. The pics of my BEAUTIFUL, AMAZING, INCREDIBLE, TALENTED kids will have to do. I can't get enough of them. To many cute pictures of them not to share. 

Love. Them. So.

Happy Valentine's Day...

Awards...

Last Saturday we got a special letter in the mail from Brayden's principal telling us that he was chosen as STUDENT OF THE MONTH for January.

Wow!! We are so proud of him. Brayden, of course, was so excited! His character and work is showing off to those around him even if his favorite things at school are still buying lunch and playtime at centers.

Math problems he did on his own at school

I attended the award ceremony on Tuesday morning for both Brayden and Sarah.

Being congratulated by Principal Frick.

Brayden was so proud walking back to his seat.

Sarah also received certificates for being on Honor Roll for 1st and 2nd marking periods.

Principal Frick and Mr. Murray, her homeroom teacher, congratulating her.

I love when my kids are honored and recognized for their character and hard work.  Proud Mommy.

A Day Off...

Sarah has been quite busy since the beginning of the year. School work, drama practice twice a week and sometimes three, guitar/voice lessons, youth activities, GCT school field trips and teasing her brother every now and then are some of the things keeping her busy.

However, this weekend she had nothing on her schedule except a friend's birthday party and that didn't involve any work other than having fun.

It was nice to be able to sit back, relax and do whatever she wanted.

Everything Is Awesome...

We have been seeing previews for The Lego Movie since last fall and knew it was a MUST see for our family. We LOVE Lego!

Yesterday we took Brayden to see the movie along with half the population of New Jersey. Jason and I are not sure what we were thinking of taking our son to see a movie at 5:00 p.m. on a Saturday at Garden State Plaza. I think our mind was clouded with the desire to make our son happy. The mall was CRAZY! The time we wanted to see it was sold out, so we had to wait for the next showing an hour later and in 3-D.

It was worth the wait! Brayden was so pumped. All day long we heard - Are we going now? How long before we go? We are still going today, right?

A selfie to check himself out for his night out.

There were lots of favorite lines from the movie. Brayden's favorite character was Batman. Mommy's favorite was Unikitty. Daddy's favorite was Emmet. It is definitely a DVD we will be buying when it comes out.

WARNING: If you watch the movie you may get these catchy song lyrics in your head that you can't stop singing for the next 24 hours.

Everything is awesome, everything is cool when your part of a team
Everything is awesome, when you’re living out a dream

 A fun night out for us with our Lego boy.

Superbowl XLVIII...

We have been pretty excited the last couple of weeks knowing that our beloved Denver Broncos would be facing off with the Seattle Seahawks right here in New Jersey.  So, we got our jerseys on and invited friends to celebrate this once a year game in hopes that our Broncos would pull it off.

Much to our disappointment they didn't even come close. Seattle Seahawks defeat Denver Broncos 43-8. Ouch!

Jason, in the excitement of it all, went into New York City last Thursday to Superbowl Boulevard with one of his best friends, Karl Brummer, who now lives in Harrisburg, PA and his friend Izzy. It is pretty ironic, but Karl is a Seattle Seahawks fan. They had a great time checking out all the Superbowl Madness.

They got to see a lot of the different sports studios.

Being interviewed by a Seattle TV station. Not sure if he made the final cut but he had fun talking.

An added treat was getting into the Late Show with David Letterman. Bill Murray was the guest.

Sunday night we put our game face and jerseys on to cheer for our team.

Sarah took 6 of her girlfriends from school with her to the youth Superbowl party at church. They had a BLAST! Of course this mom wasn't at their party, so a few selfies will have to suffice.

Kate (with a K) and Sarah

Ethy and Sarah

We crashed my-laws house for our party, while they went to another one.

In the busyness of it all I didn't get any pictures of the guys. Probably better that way. Not sure they would have been to keen on smiling for the camera with the way the game went.

Future players??? - Levi, Sammy, Brayden, Jacob and Nathan

More concerned about knitting than the game - Lia and Ella

Sweet little Stella and Kelly stopped by for a few minutes

Suzanna, Trinity and Annette - We spent most of the night chatting in the kitchen.

Mommies and Babies - Samantha, Evie, Susie and Stephen

Me? Oh, I'm behind the camera. : )

It was a late night. I don't think our kiddos climbed into bed until 11:00 p.m. We were blessed by a snow day on Monday and all got to sleep in. 

A disappointing night for our team, but not lacking in good friends.

Grandma Brown...

Three weeks ago today, on January 2, 2014 my Grandma, Phyllis Brown, passed away.

You might remember my post from last April when she turned 100 years old on April 17, 2013

Unfortunately, on December 30th she had fallen and broken her hip and passed away within days of the fall.

Grandma Brown was my mom's stepmother. My mom's mother had passed away when she was 7 1/2 years old. Her father, Clifford, married Phyllis on December 28, 1959 when my mom was 13 years old. They lived in different states throughout their marriage and as my mom and sisters were growing up. They finally retired in Florida.

1993 - Grandma and Grandpa Brown. She loved red roses.

1998 - The last time I saw my Grandpa was at our Brown Family Reunion

My Grandfather passed away on March 6, 1999. In October 1999 Grandma moved to Alma, Michigan to Masonic Pathways Senior Living a full care facility where she lived until her passing. She had been a part of the Eastern Star organization since the early 1940's and paid her dues and because of that was able to be a part of this home.

The last time I saw Grandma was when I was pregnant with Sarah and they had a baby shower for me in Florida. She surprised me by coming to the shower.

January 2001

One of the things I remember most about Grandma was the porcelain dolls that her and my Grandpa made. I have been so blessed to receive some of them through the years and have been able to pass them down to Sarah. 

Our substitute baby Jesus for our Advent calendar was one of the dolls she made as well. 

Here is what my mom said when I asked her about the history of the dolls..."We can't seem to agree on when they started making the dolls and why that got into it.  I think she started out helping her sister Gladys.  Then, when they lived to Winter Haven, Florida they started pouring their own dolls.  They had molds and a kiln.  My Dad did the pouring, firing and cleaning up, then she painted and dressed them. They sold all their equipment before moving to Welaka, Florida and from there moved to Michigan."

Grandma always sent us cards for birthdays and special holidays. We would talk on the phone occasionally. I know she loved us and cared about what was going on in our lives even though we didn't see each other much. 

I am thankful for my grandparents and for the love they have added to my life.