Miss Jules

Was just sent some adorable pictures of Julia after church on Sunday so I thought I would share. She is talking so much, commenting on everything!! She does believe she is a princess and almost jumps out of her carseat everything we go by Cinderella castle at Magic Kingdom on our way to school. She is beginning to be annoyed by the camera so the days of the pretty julia pose for the camera are coming to an end. Enjoy!!

Lazy Thanksgiving Day

We had a lazy Thursday Thanksgiving -- we cooked most of the meal the day before and only had to worry about the stuffing and turkey Thanksgiving morning. We had turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, squash, corn casserole, my grandma's lemon jello salad, cranberries, pumpkin and chocolate mousse pie!! Andrew and Katie weighed themselves before the meal and then immediately afterwards. They each gained 2 POUNDS in a course of one hour!! Earlier in the day, we spent some time at the park playing football and just hanging out. It was really nice and relaxing and the weather was perfect.



I did not do a THANKFUL THURSDAY thought yesterday, but I guess it is understood how thankful I am for each of my five children. They are each unique, Andrew so loving and good natured, Katie very creative and independent, Matthew so spunky and cuddly, Julia so beautiful and mischevious and William our perfect baby boy. They keep me on my toes, tire me out, but at the end of each day, I am so thankful to be their Mommy!!! So with that thought, back to reality and the chime of the washing machine. Music to my ears ......

I am Thankful for .....

Yesterday we went to Matthew's Thanksgiving Celebration and feast at WPS. They did a great job with a short play, some songs and each child got to say what they were thankful for on the microphone. I held my breath when Indian Matthew grabbed the mike. He proclaimed in a loud voice, "I AM THANKFUL TO BE ME!!" Everyone laughed and it didn't surprise me that he chose to say something different than the typical I am thankful for my family or my teacher. When I asked him how he chose that, he replied, "I have a GREAT LIFE. I love being ME!" I think that is a pretty awesome response. We all have a GREAT LIFE and we have many blessings.

Sisters, Friends

This is a picture of the girls this morning at Mass. People are starting to tell us that Julia is looking more like Miss Kate. Katie is a great big sister, playing Little People, helping Julia take a bath, even sharing her room. I am so excited to see their relationship grow as Julia gets older. You know how they say it is usually a sister that is the boss of the family - my bet is Julia is going to be that boss.

Little Andrew

For those of you that knew Andrew as a baby, you can see how much Will looks like Andrew. I will get some baby pictures of Andrew scanned in so you can compare. Check out William's checkered shirt - both Andrew and Matthew wore that. We are so loving this time with William. He is such a CHUNK, so smiley and happy. We are so lucky to be blessed with this little guy.

Matthew's Baseball Season Finale

Boy - Matthew had a great first season of Machine pitch baseball. He was 3 for 3 yesterday with 3 doubles. He really had fun with his teammates and LOVED playing catcher!! He wants to be like his big brother. Sean coached 3 teams this season - Challenger baseball for kids with physical and mental disabilities, Matthew's team and Katie's softball team. It is nice to have a break now until Spring baseball/softball begins. Although - both Katie and Andrew have pitching lessons today!!! Can't get away from the fields too much.

Baptism Memories

Thanks to Jim Siegel for taking so many wonderful photos at William's baptism. I have attached some of my favorites. We are so lucky to have so many pictures of his special day. We love the picture of all the altar servers with William. Hopefully someday he will want to serve like Andrew!!

Thankful Thursday - Celebration Friends

We are so thankful for our wonderful friends we have made in Celebration over the past SIX years. It seems impossible that we have been here that long, but on 12/21 it will be 6 years. I can remember driving here with Andrew, Katie and Matthew (who was 2 months old) into Celebration not knowing anyone and wondering what we had in store for us. Over the past 6 years we have made some amazing friends.

At William's baptism, we were surrounded by so many close friends, many from our church. What a peaceful feeling to look around and see so many people who have been so kind and loving to your family. Both after Julia and William were born, we received over 20 meals!!! Everyone has been so delighted with our new babies and so caring to our family. I couldn't have imagined 6 years ago what life lasting friendships we would make here in Celebration. And for that I am so thankful!!!

Founder's Day Run

Wow - what a fun morning at the Celebration Founder's Day Run. Sean ran a great 10K (I think around 7:30 miles) and then Katie and Andrew ran the 5K with Sean. Andrew finished with his friends Matt and CJ and they ran it around 29:30. Katie and Sean ran together and she finished around 33:30. Matthew ran the 400M 6 and over race and came in 2nd place. Look at his superior sprinting form - must have inherited that from his mommy. Even Miss Julia ran a 100M dash. Mom and Will were the managers of the Kane running club. Everyone wants to enter in more races. Another weekend sport pasttime - just what our family needs!!!

Weekend Update

Hope this post finds all our friends and family well. We have been busy this weekend and have a full day tomorrow. Mom and Will took the red-eye from Seattle in Friday morning!! Can you believe that Will slept door to door from Meredith's house until we arrived in Celebration. Almost 10 1/2 hours. Made the flight nice and quiet for Mom. Sean got home from a business trip Friday night and then we spent a couple of hours at the Celebration Founder's Day Festival!! Saturday morning was baseball and Andrew's Kissimmee Kowboy football game. His team lost 12 - 6 so their season is over. This was the 2nd game in the playoffs and he got alot of playing time and did well. Although we are sad to see his season come to an end, we can't imagine what life will be like this week with no football practice every day. Maybe Andrew will get to be a kid for while.

Tomorrow is the Founder's Day 10K and 5K. Sean is running the 10K, Andrew and Katie are doing the 5K and Julia and Matthew are running the Kid's Fun Run. I will definitely try to get pictures of all the athletes. We are going to attempt our Christmas picture tomorrow (Sean's worst day of the year!!). We will definitely post some of the out-takes.

Thankful Thursday - My Sisters

I thought it would be nice every Thursday to post about something I am thankful for!! My sisters are two of the most amazing women I know. I take for granted what an awesome relationship I have with them and I hope they both know how thankful I am for them. I am six years older than Meredith and ten years older than Melinda, but the age difference really doesn't matter. Below is a picture of the three of us in May 2004 at Melinda's wedding.

Meredith has always been such a hands-on aunt, using her gift of teaching with my kids. I have to thank her for my whole children's library at home. She is one of the most enthusiastic, caring people I know and is an incredible mom. John is a lucky boy to have her as his mom. I anxiously await to watch her and John together!!

Melinda is the most patient, easy going girl I know. I know she must be exhausted with 2 little girls (aged 2 and 6 months), working the night shift as a nurse, playing with Charlotte and Emma Kate (and going to the gym!!!). I have learned alot from her - she always embraces her situation with a good attitude (never a complaint!) and sees the good!! I am in awe of how wise she is at such a young age.

One of the reasons I yearned for a big family myself is because of the amazing relationships I have with my sisters. I hope someday, Katie and Julia have the bond that we three have. I have much to be thankful for!

Seattle Fun

Will and I are having a blast in Seattle with Aunt Mere and Uncle Jeff. It is so relaxing with just the two little guys. We spent the day in Seattle yesterday!! Check out the picture of Will at Pike's Place Fish Market. Not much on the agenda today -- some shopping and photo shoots of the boys. We are going to work on their Christmas card photo today (the thought just frightens me for our picture - watch out Terri!!)

Sleeping in Seattle

Will and I arrived safely in Seattle this morning. We even got to see Melinda and Emma Kate at their gate right before they left from their visit with Meredith and Jeff. We are all out here to meet Baby John!!! He is so adorable. I am so thankful to Sean and his mom for keeping care of the kids so I can spend some time with my sister and get some rest and relaxation. We are going to take the ferry into Seattle tomorrow to shop, visit the fish market, and just sightsee!!! Will did wonderfully on the airplane, slept most of both flights. I will post some pictures from our trip.

Meredith, John, Melinda and Emma Kate in Seattle

Caroline, Will, Melinda and Emma Kate's quick visit in the airport

Beautiful Baptism

Today was William's baptism at the 8:00 Mass at our parish, Corpus Christi Catholic Church. It was a beautiful service and William was a little angel. He was asleep during the prayers and blessing and then woke up startled with the baptismal water on his head!! He didn't even cry!! Chris and Deb Stellwag are his Godparents. We have known them now for 5 years and we are honored to have them be a part of Will's life. We will post more pictures when we get them from the church photographer. I love this picture of William in Father Gregory's arms. My best friend Buddy from Austin, TX was able to be here for the weekend solo!! She was a huge help in getting everything ready. We had a brunch at the Tavern after Mass. We were joined by all our great friends.

Terri once again made an amazing cake for the baptism. Terri is a great friend and one of the most creative, energetic girls I know. The cake was so beautiful and tasty too!!