HE DID IT!

I just couldn't resist blowing up this picture of Peter! He has had long hair for the past 3 years and he came home on Friday and said he wanted to cut it short. I fast thought, I better drive fast to the barber! Well, not so fast.....Ed took him on Saturday morning and walaaaaa! I knew if I didn't bug him about it and prayed really hard about it, sooner or later he would get tired of the long hair and he did. He is on track and they run 2-3 miles a day and he hated the hair on his neck. He loves it and says it is much easier to take care of now. I still think a "female person" might have had something to do with his decision.....and it wasn't mom!

Whatever it was that made him do it I am so thankful! I love you Peter, you look awesome.. .

Fishing

Last week fishing season started here in NJ! Well, Ed loves to fish and we live near beautiful streams with lots of fish. He was out there everyday in the water trying so desperately to catch some trout. NO LUCK! His buddy Dick came by the church everyday to encourage him and try to help him and teach him how to catch the fish. Ed said he was a better fisher of men than he is of catching fish! After what seemed like forever.....he finally caught one! It was the first time we ever had trout, it was good but many tiny bones which made it very hard to enjoy and eat. Maybe he will master this and go out and catch me some lobster one day! I will let you know!

Cleaning out the fish!

Bri's Blood!

Today I took Brianna to the dr. She has not been feeling well since last week. She has had stomach aches, stomach pains, nausea, headaches and very tired. The dr said it could be gallbladder, or gastridis. So they wanted to do some blood work on her. Bri has never had a blood test done before, so she was pretty nervous about it. They pricked her once and couldn't get any blood. I looked down at her and she was like a ghost and told me she was going to be sick. The nurses hurried up and laid her down on the bed before she passed out. They gave her juice and crackers and told her to relax awhile and then they would try again. The Dr. came in and tied her arm with the rubber band and she turned white as a ghost again! This time the dr. said he wasn't going to try and she had to go for an ultrasound. After a long afternoon waiting and not eating or drinking anything, she got it done. I am happy to say that all the tests were negative for gallstones. PRAISE THE LORD! She is on Nexium for the next 2 weeks, and then back to the dr. for a follow up.

If you ask Brianna about today, she will tell you it was the worst day of her life! I asked her what she is going to do when she has a baby????? Funny thing is, I was the same way with needles when I was her age......then I had 3 kids! That will toughen you up quickly!

Please keep Bri in your prayers and that she will have a clean bill of health when we go back to the dr. in 2 weeks. She is back to school tomorrow!! YIPPPPEEEEEE!

Camping in NJ!

When we left Michigan last year, we thought we wouldn't be camping for awhile....well, God is so good to us, he even gave us camping buddies in NJ. Our friends went camping and invited us up on Friday night for a campfire and Saturday for dinner. NO, we did not camp, didn't need to since Camp Carr is only 5 mins. from our house. We enjoyed a great time of fellowship and laughs. Maybe next time we will take our tent....the ladies said I can camp with them while Ed can camp in the tent with the kids! I think he'll take the "0" and go home to his own bed!

Hanging out at the fire, but as you can see, Ron was still working on it!

Matthew met his buddy from school there!

Ron biting into his "overdone" blackened hamburger. FYI....don't ever let Ron cook for you! (LOL)! After we were all done with dinner on Saturday night, we sat around a nice fire and cooked smores and Ed & I introduced our friends to "Mexican Smores". We ate these all the time up at family camp in Michigan. They loved them!

Congratulations Tom & Sarah!

Tom & Sarah are youth leaders in our youth group and they just got married last weekend. We celebrated with a cake for them on Thursday night.

And of course, the bride feeds the groom!

Ahhhhhh, so sweet ! God bless and many years together!

Track & Field

Now that Spring is here the kids, Peter & Bri are doing sports again. Peter is in "Track & Field" and does shot put, discs, and javeline, (Don't know if I spelled it right), but you got the idea! He never did this before and really likes it because he get s to work out everyday after school with weights. This is good for him! Now he eats more though.....the growing years I guess!

Bri is doing softball for the first time ever also. She is one of the best players. I haven't even been able to get to a game yet to see her because Peter's meets are on the same day and Ed needs to be with Bri because he is assistant coach. Hopefully I will get to one this week and get some shots of her to put up on the blog.

Matthew on the other hand just drives me crazy saying he doesn't want to go and watch his big brother and sister play....."it's boring" he whines! He is my BIG CHICKEN to play anything, afraid of getting hurt. But he loves football and plays awesome. Hoping next year in 3rd grade he will be in a sport.

So needless to say, my days are very busy to say the least. (Joelle, I am sure you can relate)! But I enjoy watching them so much. These days are precious to us, because before you know it they will be gone off to college!

I could not resist this beautiful sunset the other night. I pulled off the side of the rode to take this. The wonders of GOD never cease to amaze me!

Happy Birthday Dad!

My dad turned 71 on Saturday. We celebrated on Sunday after church in PA at my parents house. There was lots of good food and since my 2 nephews and brother could not make it, there were lots of leftovers to take home too!

Mom made her famous "Ice Cream Cake", brownies, angel food cake and a yellow cake. Do you think we had enough calories for the day???

Waiting to sing Happy Birthday!

Cutie pie Vincenza!

And of course my Matthew!

Happy Birthday Dad, & Grandpa......your the best! We love you!

Happy Spring!

Spring has finally arrived in NJ! It was 75 the other day. Almost as hot as Florida.

Our dog Shadow loves to fetch the frisbee. After a few runs he is tired out!

Shadow smiling for the camera!

I hope Spring is in your neighborhood also. I know some of you have had a very cold and snowy winter. We have been pretty lucky this year. It is so nice to see the flowers again and the green grass. I am looking forward to starting a vegteble garden this year with the help of some of the ladies from the church. I never did this before, but my dad has always had a garden from when we were kids. I hope his green thumb has rubbed off on me. I will let you know how it goes!

Our Vacation to Florida!

On Easter Sunday after church, we headed out to Florida on an 18 hours car ride! YES....Family bonding! We stayed at Ed's parents house in Port St. Lucie for 9 days. 9 gorgeous days I may add. We would go to the beach from 10-2 and then go to the pool from 2-5. That was surely a vacation. No ties, no demands.....and the best part was that we went out to eat almost every night! Now that's a vacation worth bragging about. Enjoy the pictures below that I have posted on my blog! As most of you know, I love the warm weather and hated to come back....but I am happy to be back in my own bed! Miss the warm sunshine though! Enjoy the pictures!

Ed's dad! I just love his t-shirt! We love you Pop!

Matthew learning how to swim under water at the pool.

Matthew and mom...our last night in Florida at a Cuban restaurant. It was delicious!!!

And of course, every night we would have ice cream sundaes. Matt is being silly squirting all the whip cream in his mouth!

Vacation

Daddy with his kids!

Eddie and his girlfriend Yani. She's a keeper Ed!

Dad with his daughter Jessica!

And of course, as Eddie would call me when they were younger,

"THE EVIL STEP MOTHER"!!!!!! They love me anyway, and I love them also. We had so much fun with them. Come and visit us in New Jersey soon!

Our visit with Eddie & Jessie!

We had the opportunity to visit with Ed's kids who live in Miami. Here is Eddie & Jessie. Eddie is 27 and Jess just turned 25 yesterday ...Happy Birthday Jessie! We love you! We have not seen them in about 4 years and boy, have they grown up. It was great spending the day with them and reminising about old times together.

We went out to Game Works which is a gigantic arcade room. Here is Eddie, Peter and Matthew! Poor Eddie is so short, 5'5" and my Peter is only 15 and 5'11 (I think)! The 3 brothers had a great time together!.

Eddie with his 2 daughters, Bri and Jessie and Eddie's girlfriend Yani.

Brianna and her big sister Jessica! See the resemblence....Yes, Jess is short too. She was even wearing spiked heels that day! She has grown up to be a beautiful young lady!

Daddy with all 5 of his kids! I can't believe it either....he looks pretty good for an old man!

Florida Vacation!

As you can see Matthew got alittle burned at the beach. It was so windy that you never felt the sun on you. He was a real trooper about it though. Now he shows everyone his tan lines!!

Me and my honey! Love ya babe!!!

Bri with grandma Torres. As you can see, Bri is bigger than grandma. We miss you grandma!!

Grandma with the 3 stooges! Another 2 years, Matt will be passing grandma too!

Peter, Bri and Matt at the Shell Bazzaar. Every time we go to Florida we need to visit this shop, they have the neatest souvenirs in Florida. This is the shell outside the store!

A day at the beach!

What an awesome week we had at the beach! Here is my honey trying to ride the waves in. Ed, Peter and Bri were brave enough to go into the water with a bad riptide. Luckily the life guards were on duty, (just in case)! Matt and I made sand castles on the shore! After I laid out in the sun of course....

Well, ok, they were alittle small, but we had fun doing it even when the waves washed them away. We got to walk on the beach and collect lots of sea shells for souveniers to take home.

I just love this picture of the kids. Just looking out into the big sea!

Peter, Bri and Matt after a day at the beach in front of grandma and grandpa's house. Oh the Palm trees!