So Thankful

A proud papa and his baby!!! Feb 2007

Happy Thanksgiving!!! There are so many things in life right now to be so thankful for. I know it's been a tough year for a lot of people with the economy, but there is so much happiness that comes from the people around us. I am fortunate enough to have two of the best families around! Of course my immediate family is awesome and we have such a great time together! I am so excited to go back home for Christmas, I just can't wait!!! My other family (my husband's family) is so much more than I could have imagined, as well. I'm not sure how I've gotten so lucky, but I do treasure each and every one of my family members!!! And a girl couldn't ask for a better set of friends! I hope everyone else has a blessed and grateful Thanksgiving!!! Here are some pictures to show what a great family I have!!!

This is from Thanksgiving 2002 in Texas!!! Dad and his 4 girls!!! I can't help but smile everytime I see this picture!

This picture was taken in July 2006 with my immediate family including Grandma and Pa, Mom and Dad, sisters, brothers, brother-in-laws, and nieces and nephews. Michael and Steve weren't able to make it so their not pictured. Another cool thing about this picture, I found out I was pregnant with Zach the day this was taken!!!

Here's Grandma and Granddad teaching Zach about feeding the giraffes! They do soooooo much for us it's amazing! Zach is so lucky to have them as grandparents, and I'm so fortunate and grateful to have them as my in-laws!!!

And last, but certainly not least, I'm so grateful for my bestest friend, Kimmie!!! We've been best friends since high school and even though we live 2 time zones away, she has helped me through some really tough times and she's ALWAYS there for me! I love ya, Kimmie!!!

Memories of NYC

For our4th wedding anniversary, Michael (or Jeff) and I went to New York City for a few days. It was my first visit and I was soooo excited. I think we stuffed as many touristy and authentic New York moments into the few days as possible. Highlights of our trip were seeing Bobby Flay at Mesa Grill our first night in the city, seeing Young Frankenstein on Broadway, eating at Two Times Square for our anniversary dinner, and just taking in all of the wonderful sites. It was pretty cold (in the 40's and 50's) so most of our pictures show only our coats. So much for my cute clothes that I had to buy just for New York! Anyway, here's a picture of the two of us on our last night in the Big Apple. We went down to Central Park (about 3 blocks from our hotel) and took a carriage ride around the park. It was beautiful. We had such a great time and I can't wait until we can go back again! Just one more thing that makes me SMILE!!!

October 24, 2008. NYC