REJECTED!

YES! That's what is on the windshield of my van....REJECTED! After living in NJ for 7 months that's what they tell you at the Inspection Station when you car/van fail the test. On Monday Ed & I went to Motor Vehicles to change our liscenses from Michigan to NJ. Well, he got his easy but mine, well that is another story. They will not issue me one until I get my SS card. I know the number but don't have the card since my wallet was stolen in Michigan a few years ago. I never thought I would actually need it again since I know the number! Well they need it. Then they asked me for our marriage liscense and when I showed it to them they said it was not valid, it was a certificate and they need the liscense. So, back home we went and ordered one online from Trenton. Today Trenton emails Ed and says they cannot issue me one because they need my NJ driver's liscense! DUH! How do you get a driver liscense without a marriage certificate, and how do you get a certificate without a drivers liscense????Well, Ed is applying for the marriage liscense now. Can you believe this... I never heard of anything so crazy. Then to top it off, Ed brings my van to get inspected today and it gets....you got it .....REJECTED due to a tiny crack in the tail light. So now this will cost me another $55.00 to fix. We are just hoping and praying that when it is fixed we are not REJECTED again.

I know it sounds like a crazy story, but when I walked outside today to get into my van and saw this sticker on my front windshield "REJECTED" I thought to myself how blessed I am that God never put a sticker on us that said "REJECTED". Have you ever been rejected by a friend, a brother or sister or even a spouse.....maybe you have, but God will never and has never but a sign on us that says "REJECTED". We need to be thankful for that!

So as I drive around in my van with my red sticker that says "REJECTED" I am reminded that God has not and never will reject me!! We are blessed!


We finally got our NJ plates and are almost official once we get rid of that "REJECTED" sticker. Only in NJ can you find this!! God certainly has a sense of humor..

More Anniversary pictures!

OK, here are all the grandchildren...all 10,plus 1 on the way and 1 great grandchild Noah due to be born in May.

And here is the Torres family! My Peter needs to stop growing...he is only 15 and is already 6 foot!

Mom & Dad having a toast of Sparkling Cider. We didn't do champagne since dad is on medication and cannot have alcohol.

Here is my cousin Eileen (on the left) with her boyfriend Gil! Cindy in the middle. (Old friend of Eileen's) and Jimmy & Tammy (cousin). After this we were all pictured out! Unfortunately, I was not able to get pictures of the renewing of the wedding vows since I was video taping it. SORRY!! But we even gave them a certificate of their vows.

SURPRISE!

Today we celebrated my parent's 50th wedding anniversary and gave them a surprise party! They were married 50 years on Friday 2/22 and they never had a fight!!! YEAH right.... There were 28 of us. We got to share a video that Andrew and Gisela put together from past memories. They also got to renew their wedding vows with Ed. My cousins from NY and Virginia came, we have not seen them in quite awhile. Their old friends from NJ (that my mom use to work with years ago) came out also. It was a great time. They really enjoyed themselves.

My brother Jimmy, his wife Angela and daughter Amanda, James (their son) was running around with Matthew somewhere.

Here we are, all 19 of us!!

Mom & Dad with their children.....LuAnn, Doreen, Jimmy & Lorraine (with baby to be!!)

Happy 50th Anniversary Mom & Dad! I hope that God blesses you with another 50 years together....ok maybe 30! I hope you had as much fun as we had preparing for it. We love you both so much and thank you for being the truly wonderful parents that you are to us and the best grandma and grandpa in the whole wide world. We love you!!

It Finally Snowed!!!

As much as I hate the cold and the snow, it always looks so beautiful when it covers the trees and is so fresh and white. Today was a snow day for the kids and we finally got a good amount of it. My guess is 4-6 inches. While they went out in it, I just took the pictures. This is a picture of the back yard.

Even the dog got to go out in it. Sorry for the squatting! He just loves the snow. Maybe we can use him as a dog sled for the kids.

Well, when we were moving to Michigan 5 years ago, Ed wanted to sell the snowblower and I said no. We needed it there, but not that much. Then when we moved back to Jersey he said we wouldn't need it, let's sell it. Well, as you can see we sure needed it today. When you live on the east coast or wherever there is winter you need a snowblower. I will not sell it till I move to Florida. (one day)!

He did such a good job. We actually have 2 driveways that needs to be plowed.

Shadow looking to chase the kids around in the snow. He loves to roll in it. NOT ME!!!

Sweetheart Banquet!

Last Saturday, 2/16 we had our First Annual "Sweetheart Banquet" at the church. They have done this for the past couple of years and we added the 50's theme to it this year and some dancing....YES DANCING!!! Joelle, you would of loved it!

We also did Karaoke with 50's music. Nieves, Maritza, Richard and Ed singing to "LaBamba" Go figure...all the spanish singers were up there!

Then it was time to play the "NOT SO NEWLEYWED GAME" It was a blast! Dave & Susan Elwell (3rd couple in) went home the grand prize winners with a box of chocolate. Thank God no counseling was needed after the game!

Some of the teens came down to serve. When they were done serving they joined in with the dancing. Here is Ronnie (left), Tom (far back), Emily and Brianna. They danced the night away and had a blast.

A great night was had by all. Ed did the dj ing. He got all his old records out from years ago and just started to play. Who said you can't have fun at church??????

Brianna's First!!

Brianna had her first dance at school last Friday. We thought for sure that Dad was going to chaperone, but he didn't. He was really cool about it.

She had a great time dancing with her friends. Her big brother Peter wanted to go and make sure that the boys didn't bother her! We didn't let him!! She is a big girl and a good girl at that! We love you Bri. Stop growing up so quickly!!

Forever in Our Hearts!

Happy Valentine's Day to you!

Ed and I will celebrate tomorrow with a nice lunch and time together.
Today was a very sad day for us as we had the funeral for Glenn Sturman, the 25 year old who passed away last week from cancer. It was a beautiful celebration of his life. There were close to 250 people in attendance and they all came back for the luncheon that we had at the church.

Although Glenn is not here with us, he will remain in our hearts forever. He was a pretty special guy to Ed & I in the short time that we knew him. Please continue to keep his wife Faith in your prayers as she is struggling with the loss of her husband and best friend!

She's Back!

Matthew and my niece Vincenza playing army! Whenever she comes over to visit, she wants to play with Matt's army stuff. See, mom doesn't let her play with that stuff in her house. Only in Aunt Doreen's house! Matt & Cenza have a "love/hate" relationship. One minute they love each other and get along, next minute they are slamming doors on one another. She is only 3 years old but BOY! she is a tough cookie! Takes after her mom! LOL!

SHE'S BACK! Cute as a button! Don't you just love the glasses?

Kids just love to dress up. Matt got out his "Bling Bling" and they dressed up as "gangsters" for us and started dancing.

Gotta love em!

A Sad Day!

Friday, February 8th was a very sad day for Ed & I here at Faith Chapel! Glenn Sturman, 25 years old lost his fight against cancer. He leaves behind a beautiful wife Faith of 1 1/2 years, mom & dad, brother and grandpa.

We met Glenn about 4 months ago when he started coming to church with his wife and mother-in-law who have been part of our church for many years. Glenn got very sick about 6 months ago with cancer. We have been praying and believing for God to work a miracle in his life to get better. Ed and I have been asking WHY, WHY, WHY? All we know is that "HIS WAYS ARE HIGHER THAN OUR WAYS" and we have to hold onto that.

Glenn was part of our life for such a short time and we will miss him greatly. He is in Jesus' arms now where there is no more pain or suffering and we are thankful for that and to be able to hang out with him on his birthday a few weeks ago at the Hibachi.

Although he is not here with us, we know that he is in a better place and not suffering anymore.

Please keep Ed and our church family in your prayers this week as we prepare for the funeral on Thursday. This is a very emotional time for us. We appreciate all your prayers.

We will talk soon.

Way to go Matt!

In the Demorcrat (New Jersey paper) there is a Kids page that is published every week with a question in it. The kids in the schools get to write their answers and the teachers submit it to the paper. Well, Matt's made it to the papers this past week. "How Fun Toys Injure"
We are so proud of Matthew. Now he want's his name in the paper all the time.



Just in case you can't read it, it says: I was plkaying with my army men on the floor. An army man's helmet was very sharp and I stepped on it. I hurt my foot. Next time, I won't leave it on the floor! AMEN! (it didn't say that)!