Meet Couper

Couper is our new Boston Terrier puppy.  He arrived this past Monday night and has settled into his new home well.  He is nine weeks old and as cute as can be!  He should grow to be around 15 lbs.  Having Couper is like having a toddler in the house.  He likes to explore and everything is new and exciting!  He also likes to bite and chew:)  He is also very calm and loves to snuggle much of the time which we all love!

This is our first experience with a smaller dog and we are enjoying every minute!  The girls are so happy and taking care of his every need.  Chad and Nicole bought him a bell today which is hung on the door.  If all goes as planned we will train him to ring the bell when he needs to go "potty".  Here are a few pictures of our little guy.

Enjoying life!

As usual it has been quite some time since I have posted.  I do not think I can even begin to catch up so I will just give you some recent highlights of what we have been doing.

School is out so I officially have a 7th and 4th grader...WOW..Where does the time go?  The girls are looking forward to Summer and I am loving the change of routine!  Getting both girls moving in the morning for school was getting more and more difficult as the weather grew nicer.  We have to purchase a new alarm clock for Nicole because her current one is not loud enough.

Nicole started wearing contacts a couple months back and she had a huge growth spurt over the winter. She is only a couple inches shorter than me and is very excited about it!  She is keeping busy with friends, Church, and soccer.  She now volunteers at Church with the first graders and loves it.  She keeps us running to and from soccer most weeks.  Tryouts are tomorrow and her summer soccer league begins Monday.  She   had a great year in school!

Ashley has matured a lot this year and is more and more like Chad every day.  Chad and her love to sit in front of the TV watching sports.  She fell in love with soccer and piano over the winter and just had her first piano recital.  She participated in a program through the schools called, "Girls on the Run" which is a positive self esteem, team building program for girls.  They also run every week and she ran a 5K at the end of the program.  She ran the entire way without stopping on a very hot day!  What a great accomplishment!  Chad ran with her and Nicole and I were there to cheer her on!

Chad and I are both doing well.  Even though we seem to be rushing here and there he is still my best friend and the love of my life!

Enjoy the pics!

Early morning Spring soccer game.

Girls on the Run race

Nicole with Renee Mulensteen
1st Team Coach with Manchester United.  

Ashley with Renee Mulensteen.  The girls were able to train who is known to be the best coach in the world.  What an honor!

Father/Daughter Dance

Father/Daughter Dance

                                                   Action shots of Nicole on the soccer field.

                                                                Ashley's piano recital

Violet Rose is born!!!

My niece was born this week and we are all so excited! My brother sent me a message that read:

A Violet Rose represents love at first sight. It represents Elegance, enchantment, fantasy, and dignity. This rare and beautiful rose is truly an elegant bloom, and would be given to someone who has swept you off your feet emotionally, someone you wish to know a lot better.

This pretty much says it all. She is so beautiful! We will be visiting next week and we are all looking forward to meeting our niece and cousin for the first time in person. Thanks to technology we have been able to Face time a lot. I am not sure I could ever give up my IPhone. It really comes in handy for so many things. I am so blessed to have such a great family to share my life with!

Happy New Year!!

Our family enjoyed the Holidays to the fullest this year! It was nice to take a break from routine and enjoy a less structured schedule. My parents came from Florida over Christmas and my brother moved to a new house over the new year. The girls and I all got Kindles for Christmas and have spent a lot of time figuring them out and reading. I love technology!

We have had a low key weekend which has been nice. Nicole had soccer training this morning at 8am about 1 hour and 40 minutes from home so her and Chad were on the road early. I went back to sleep after they left:) When I woke Nicole up at 4:30am upon her request she bounced right out of bed.

Below are some of my favorite pics from the Holidays. I really did not take enough pics this year.

Cousins are a wonderful thing!

Feeding the reindeer

Christmas morning

Nicole's favorite gift-a kindle

Nicole's reading corner.

Ashley's reaction to her big gift this Christmas.

She loves her piano and headphones!

New slippers

Papa opening his Ipod shuffle

Christmas breakfast. The only pic of my parents that was not blurry. I only had two others which will not happen next next time we are together. My camera will be their worst enemy:)

Snow arrived after Christmas.

November already???

Not sure where the time has gone. It seems as though my posts are few and far between these days. Nicole is staying busy with school and working very hard. We are so proud of her! She had a decent Fall season with soccer and is now playing indoor soccer and doing a soccer training class once a week. This weekend she is doing ODP soccer training. She has become a pre-teen and we are all adjusting to the changes that come with that age:)

Ashley has adjusted to school this year although it always takes her a little longer to emotionally get ready for a new routine. She has struggled with the losses our family experienced
this fall. We have been working hard at helping her adjust and this week I think she is back to herself. Please continue to pray for her. She is still enjoying piano class and loves soccer as well. She chose to play indoor soccer over basketball this year. We had our first snowfall 2 days ago and her excitement was priceless!

Chad is gearing up for Hunting season and couldn't be more excited! I think he needs a break from running kids to and from activities and hope this hunting season he enjoys relaxing in the woods.

I am trying to keep up with all of them which can be a challenge. I am now volunteering at Church twice a month and love working with the children.


This is me attempting to play jarts.


Chad posing for a picture.


Chad and his Dad.


We enjoyed Halloween with my Brother's family. Carter was a robot, Ashley..Cruella Devil from 101 Dalamtions, and Nicole was an injured soccer player.

The Love of Family

Last Saturday, September 17th, 2011 Chad's Mother left this earth and went to her forever home in Heaven. We all know that she is living it up in Heaven but it does not take away the pain and sorrow in our hearts.

I consider myself one of the lucky ones. I actually liked my mother-in-law. Sure from time to time we disagreed but that is part of life. Sally devoted her life to her husband and boys. Once I entered the picture I always felt that she loved me like one of her own. Their is now a hole in my heart that will not heal until I see her again. I will miss our talks and her support the most.

Thanks to all our friends and family for your support during this difficult time. We appreciate all the kind words, cards and prayers that have come our way. Please continue to pray for our family as we adjust to life without Sally.

Our Dog Miley

Genesis 1:24

And God said, Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds---livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds. And it was so.

Because God chose to create dogs, our family was blessed to nurture and love our Chocolate Labrador "Miley". Even though we feel our time spent with her on this earth was too short we know she was chosen for us. She had such a tender heart and loved to snuggle. Some people saw her as a dog with a lot of energy and a bit too hyper at times. Our family had the honor of her unconditional love.

One of my favorite dog quotes "Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole".

Miley...We will miss your funny rabbit face, watching you run through the snow or in the field at a speed none of us could come close to, running around in circles in the yard, snuggling up with Ashley for a story, catching grasshoppers, running with you, "big lips" when you hold your Frisbee, your wet nose nudging us when you were looking for attention, and most of all your love.

We love you Miley and will miss you every day. Rest in peace.