Date with Luke

Today Lauren was with a friend all day so Tim and I went to Luke's soccer game and then I promised Luke we would do something fun together. We had some gift certificates to a local lazer tag place and Luke has been dying to go. When I mentioned to him the two of us could go he instantly became so excited. He started telling me all the techniques to being a good lazer tag player and how much fun it will be being on a team together. As we drove over to the establishment I listened as he went on and on about lazer tag techniques and took in the joy in his eyes and had to fight back a tear as I realized how excited he was to be spending an afternoon with his mom. I cherish these moments and how he still loves to hang out with me. As I dawned my laser tag gear he talked me through the entire battle and we both did pretty well (as the teenage group of boys we were against ganged up on us).
After that I got him some tokens and instead of chosing his favorite racing game and playing by himself,  he wanted to play air hockey with me (his choice, I swear). We played 4 rounds of air hockey (and that was 3 tokens per game, again his choice out of the limited amount of tokens I gave him for the day). The game was intense and he said at one point "you've got skills mom, I can't deny it"  I had to laugh : )  I was enjoying the moment so much I had him stop at one point so I could take a picture of him so I would never forget these precious moments together:

As you can tell, he had his game face on : )  Well out of 4 rounds Luke would tell you HE beat ME 2 out of the 4 rounds, but I'm here to tell you that I beat HIM 2 out of the 4 rounds : )  Then we headed over to the basketball hop a shot game and went head to head and he did beat me there by 2 points. As we walked to the car and he reached for my hand and thanked me for a great afternoon my heart skipped a beat. I am so blessed to have a son like Luke and I cherish every single moment with him - wish I could freeze time, o.k, now I'm starting to cry so I'll sign off.................LOVE YOU LUKE!!

The Tent

Our amazing summer is coming to a close. We enjoyed a trip of a lifetime to Disney beginning at the Boardwalk resort, spending 5 glorious nights on the Disney Dream and then ended with concierge level at Animal Kingdom Lodge. We came home and it seemed like in a matter of days we were packed up  and back in the car headed to Grand Haven where we stayed a fun filled week enjoying quality family time together. The day after we returned from Grand Haven some friends from New Jersey stayed with us a week- it was nice showing them around the Cincinnati area and taking in a REDS game as a tourist.
Tragedy struck right by us last week with a local teenager being shot and killed by her ex boyfriend. This occurred two streets over  from us where we take our dog Mickey to doggy day care. The ex boyfriend ended up going home and commiting suicide as the police surrounded his home. This is such a tragedy and our hearts go out to both famlies during this difficult time. The poor girl was gunned down on her 17th birthday. Another tragedy occured that same day, a 3rd year old girl from my school died from cancer - so the reality that life is fragile was quite apparant to us.
It  made Tim and I realize once again how precious life is and that we need to cherish every minute with our babies. Now we only have a few dwindling days of summer left and we are trying to enjoy some family time. The kids had been bickering back and forth, typical sibling stuff and it was driving Tim and I crazy. We decided some family time was in order. We went to Kings Island water park just the four of us, the kids werestled with Tim and I played board games with them, and then we built a "tent" in the living room:

We had built tents like these in the past, but this time we put the air mattress inside and layered it with blankets and pillows inside and told the kids they could sleep in it. They were over the moon excited. They slept soundly inside of there the first night and Tim and I were shocked they wanted to sleep in it again on night #2. Well, then night #3 they STILL wanted to sleep inside of it, I couldn't believe it. So, we let them crawl inside for night #3:

They enjoyed eating snacks and watching a movie in there before falling asleep. I even crawled in there with them to read them a bedtime story together. We had a thunder storm on night #3 and Luke came upstairs a little scared and said he wanted to sleep in his own bed upstairs by us. I said "o.k., but I worry about Lauren down there by herself, she might wake up a little scared wondering where you went". He said "I know, me too." Then he retreated to his bedroom and I rolled back over and continued my slumber. I awoke around 8:30 a.m. and went to Luke's room and saw he was no longer in there. I went downstairs and he was back inside the tent with Lauren, he said he woke up early and snuck back inside of the tent to make sure she wouldn't be frightened in the morning. Awwwwwwwwwwwwwww. The tent brought my kids together and showed me once again that deep inside they care for one another and enjoy spending time together. This is the first school year that the kids will be in different schools. Luke is headed to the Intermediate School for 5th grade and Lauren will be a 2nd grader, the time keeps slipping away. I know it's the beginning of the end and Luke will start being too cool for me soon enough, but for now, I will cherish these times and lock them away in my mind because they mean the world to me!

The Little Things

It's the little things in life that make my motherly heart proud. Yesterday Lauren had a friend spend the night and they slept on our pull out couch downstairs. The couch remained in the "out" position and when I came downstairs this morning I found Luke and Lauren snuggling together:

This just made my heart skip a beat. They love eachother! They really love eachother : )
I love my babies!
-Lesley

Lemonade Stand Joy

Yesterday we FINALLY had sunshine here in our part of Ohio and we put on a Yard Sale to raise some money for our upcoming Disney getaway. The kids had been BEGGING to have a lemonade stand forever so we figured since we'd be having traffic anyway it would be the perfect day to do it.

They had fun decorating the sign together and it was such fun to watch the joy on their faces as each customer would approach. Lauren was halarious at first, determining how much change she would give back based upon how nice the people were- giving a few customers free lemonade (until Luke found out about it and insisted on their need to turn a profit : ).  They earned $10.00 to split for the trip which they were thrilled about. Thanks to all who came out to buy a "refreshing glass of lemonade for only .25 cents! 
I hope you enjoyed some sunshine this weekend too!

Not as Planned

We had our Spring Break a few weeks ago and we headed to Kiawah Island South Carolina for a week on the beach. In years past we always had wonderful weather full of sunshine, bike rides around the island and tons of beach time- this year it didn't go quite as planned. There was rain in the forecast every single day, one day they broke a record low temperature of 40 degrees and on the sunny day we had at the end of our vacation there were 40 mile per hour wind gusts on the beach.
When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. We enjoyed some good family time despite the weather, taking in a Children's Museum:

(My adorable nephew Ben)

(They had the coolest grocery store)

(Tim prisoner on the pirate ship)

(Luke performing a puppet show for us)

We had fun exploring Charleston's bakeries on the rain and found some incredible cupcakes and keylime pie to keep us happy despite the 40 degree temperatures and pouring down rain that day. We had an amazing lunch at Poogan's porch in Charleston, which if you are ever there I HIGHLY recommend, YUM!

We still were able to get 2 days in on the beach, although freezing and cloudy, we enjoyed watching the kids play and explore and having our feet on the sand and looking from treasures from the ocean:

(our sand castle creation, decorated with shells by Lauren)

(Tim showing Ben how to dig in the sand)

(a father daughter dance on the beach)

(mom and dad on the beach)

(super Luke)

(My brother Dave, his wife Barbie and son Ben strolling on the beach)

(Ben exploring)

We got to spend a lot of family time together in our beach house, and it was nice time that I know I will always cherish. Was it the most ideal situation? No! Was the vacation all we had invisioned, NO! but did we have great family memories together despite what mother nature handed us, ABSOLUTELY!

My favorite memories of the trip were the Amazing Race Scavenger hunts we created as a family. We would set out on bikes on the cloudy drizzly mornings in teams of 2 (my mom  and my kids were always on one team, sometimes my dad joined them) and then Tim and I were on the other team with Dave, Barbie and Ben. We would take turns being the clue leaver and the clue finder and the team who was searching had to text pictures of the clues found in order to get the next clue. The hunts took us all over the island and we all had fun doing it- I especially loved the thrill it gave Luke and Lauren.

On the last day, the sun came out and although it wasn't a beach day, we enjoyed some time in the sun on the back patio:

(Luke and I enjoying the sunshine)

(Tim and Luke soaking in some rays)

(Ben)

So, Spring Break 2011 will always go down in history as a wet and soggy beach vacation, but for me it will be one that I cherish on a different level because of the creativity it involved and the family bonding that ensued................good times : )

Things are going GREAT!

So it's been about a month now since aligned with Pixie Vacations and became an independent travel agent. www.destinationmagic.com (my own personal travel agent website) is going strong. I am LOVING planning Magical vacations for people. I've only been with the company a month and I have already booked several vacations for people to Disneyworld and even my first Disney Cruise Line booking. Tim has been such a help and support helping me get the website up and running, I think it just looks great and am so thankful to have such a supportive husband by my side. He was so encouraging during this entire process and was like my own personal cheerleader!
I just love working with my clients to do their personalized itineraries, dining reservations, entertainment reservations, etc.  I had a lot of questions when promoting my business these past few weeks - no one seems to believe that I do all of this for free at no cost to them- but I do. It has been such a fun outlet for me.


The other exciting thing is that my new column at DisneyDispatch.com has been doing well. It runs every Friday and I now have 3 columns under my belt. Here is a direct link to my column home page: http://www.disneydispatch.com/content/columns/happiest-tips-on-earth/  I've had a lot of people approach me at work encouraging me saying how great it is that I stepped out of the box and finally acted on my dream- I must say I am thrilled this time has come too- it is a very rewarding feeling.
As a family we are anxiously awaiting our first sailing on the DisneyDream in June and our first stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge concierge- can't wait to experience new Disney things ourselves, especially after planning so many fun trips for others these past few weeks.
Thank you to all of my friends and family who have helped me promote destinationmagic and my services these past few weeks and who have read my column and posted replies- thank you your support means SO very much to me!

-Lesley

Follow Your Dream!

So....... a few weeks ago at church there was a sermon on following your passions in life and instead of sitting by to actually come up with a plan and act on them.........I was INSTANTLY inspired.
As those of you who know me are fully aware, Disney is a  huge passion of mine.  I enjoy our Disney trips, planning others trips and writing trip reports more than words could express. I have been planning so many trips for people lately and always ask myself (and Tim), why don't I do this for a living!?!  Now, I am fully aware that my true gift is education and teaching my students on a daily basis and I have NO intention of quitting my day job but I wanted to pursue something on the Disney front. I am SO happy to report that not only have I followed my Disney planning dreams but I have taken it a step further.
I have aligned with a travel agency and have taken online courses and Tim helped me design my new website: http://www.destinationmagic.com/    The site has only been up one week and I've already booked my first vacation and it's just gotten more exciting from there.
Starting on Friday I will have my OWN COLUMN on http://www.disneydispatch.com/ entitled "The Greatest Tips On Earth". This will be a weekly column and the owner of the site will also reference my personal travel website within it. I can't tell you how exciting this is for me. I am so excited that instead of standing by and hoping for things I have actually started taking action to watch my dreams come true. I hope you will tell others about http://www.destinationmagic.com  if you have friends/family who are planning Disney travel (or ANY travel) and that you will also check out my column this Friday on http://www.disneydispatch.com/ .
Thanks!!!!
Lesley

Iron Chef Luke

Luke's latest obsession is with the Food Network. If you ask Luke about any show on that channel he could go on for hours talking about the latest Iron Chef, Diners Drive In's and Dive's,Chopped,  Man vs. Food, etc. He watches the channel when he first wakes up and as he falls asleep at night. He dreams of going to culinary school and learning the tricks of the trade. We decided since hs is so passionate about it we should start teaching him the physical skills of the kitchen.
A few nights ago the guys decided to prepare a meal for us and Luke was the chef, here are some pictures of him in action:

He had Tim as an OUTSTANDING teacher:

Luke was so excited during the entire process and was soaking in every bit of information Tim gave him. They did a great job preparing a yummy Italian dinner, they even finished it with a delicious desert. Here are my Iron Chef's:

Luke took great pride in setting the table (notice the candle to make it romantic : ) 

Tim created score cards for Lauren and I to rate him on presentation, taste and originality - I think he was pleased with his scores . This will just be the first of many adventures in the kitchen with Luke (we have some more fun cooking challenges planned).  I am a firm believer in going with your child's interests and helping them to build those skills in order for them to gain confidence. I realize he is only 9 (almost 10) and his interests will definitely change over the years. Maybe Luke will end up being a chef some day, only time will tell, but he will remember that he got his start as an apprentice of Chef Tim in our kitchen : )

-Lesley

Happy New Year!

Life is good.................... no......... REALLY good ! I am truly blessed and so thankful for all that 2010 has brought to me and my family. I am thankful for too many things to put into this blog, but let it be said that I am one happy girl. I am so thankful to the good Lord for all that 2010 has brought us and anxiously await all that 2011 will bring. I will admit it is a little scary to think I will be a mom to a 10 and 8 year old in 2011, where has the time gone!?!

Here is a bit of a year in review via pictures for you as we say goodbye to 2010 and hello to 2011.

I hope that 2011 brings you health and happiness, live each day as if it is your last,soak it all in......I know I do.



HAPPY NEW YEAR!



-Lesley

Changes

We have had a BIG change in our household this week........... Tim has gone back to work. The economy finally hit us with all of my courses cancelling at the University I teach at. I am SO thankful that my children and myself have benefitted from the years of hard work and dedication Tim put into running our home and taking care of the kids. This time also allowed him to dedicate time and energy into establishing his successful DJ and DVD production businesses as well.
As with any new venture anxiety did ensue at first but I am so proud of him for his smooth transition back into the work force outside of home. I did have to hustle and try to find after school care for the kids (he went in for a hiring conference on Wednesday and his first job was Thursday!) and found it through an amazing neighbor who is going to watch them from the time they get off of the bus until Tim or I get home from work.
I am so thankful and feeling so blessed right now, this could have been a difficult transition for all of us,but it has been so smooth. It's incredible how the Lord provides for us ALWAYS.
-Lesley

"I want to help!"

The other day Lauren and I were watching t.v. together and an infomercial to help starving children across the world came on and Lauren looked at me and whole heartedly said "I WANT TO HELP!" 
Well, we have a local organization called kidsagainst hunger - our Vacation Bible School donated pallets of food to them this summer. I remembered they asked for volunteers to come to their factory in Milford to pack food. I sent an email to them this morning -  I am hoping that I can show Lauren that if she wants to help and does help she can make a difference..........I will let you know how it all turns out.
-Lesley

I would do it again!

Tim and I had such a fantastic time on our getaway to Disney.

I did feel guilty when we left at first but that faded quickly as Tim and I just enjoyed one another's company, were able to relax and enjoy without worrying about meeting the kids needs. It was wonderful reconnecting with Tim and just having fun together.

We enjoyed Food and Wine Festival, drinking and eating our way around the World Showcase, laughs with eachother and our friends, shopping, and some great couple moments, like going out to a fancy restuarant we have never been to before with the kids - just the two of us. It reminded me how much fun Tim and I have together just the two of us and how lucky I am to be married to Tim.

We got to experience Osborune Lights together, it was AMAZING!

 I am not one to cry at events like this, but when those lights came on, the snow fell down and the Christmas music started, I teared up - words can't describe it, it is truly magical!

That was honestly the only moment of the trip that I wished the kids were there to experience that with us- but I reminded myself that I can easily bring them back to experience it for themselves at another time and just to enjoy this time with Tim.......... and I did!

I absolutely loved our time away together. It was nice to see that the kids did indeed survive without us (had a good time with their grandparents actually). I love my kids and we did miss them and were showered with hugs and kisses the entire evening we returned which was wonderful!

I would definitely do it all over again, and can't wait to plan our next getaway.......just the two of us.

-Lesley

Second Honeymoon

Well, tomorrow it is!!!! Tomorrow night Tim and I head up to a hotel at the Columbus airport for our second honeymoon to Disney World. Tim and I haven't been to Disney without the kids since our honeymoon over 12 years ago. We are heading down for 3 nights at the Disney's Boardwalk resort to enjoy Food and Wine festival together:

Don't get me wrong, we will both miss the kids desperately, especially since we are going to Disney where we have vacationed together as a family since the kids were babies. BUT I need to keep reminding myself that this is for our family- to keep our marriage strong and fresh, to enjoy time just the two of us, to renew ourselves and thinking about it like that makes me SO EXCITED! I am thankful for Tim's mom and my parents for taking care of the kids in our absence, it helps so much knowing they will be in safe/fun/loving hands while we are away. Please pray for our safe travel, for the kids to be fine without us and for Tim and I to make some wonderful memories together.................I'll report back on how it all went : )
-Lesley

Is it that time ALREADY!?!

Can you believe we are only 62 days away from Christmas!?! My goal this year is to stay on top of things and get shopping and cards done early so I can sit back and enjoy the season instead of last minute rush and wrapping as in previous years. Although, I will admit, I'm already logged in to the various black Friday websites, I just can't resist that early morning shopping rush and I do anticipate being one of the crazies out at 4 a.m. for the deals.
The Christmas budget list is made and the shopping has begun, I SO love this time of year!
Last year was the first year that I didn't do the traditional store bought Christmas cards. I found it so easy to personalize my cards on Shutterfly with our favorite family pictures from the year then all I had to do was stuff envelopes and address them- LOVE it!
 I have already made a trip over to shutterfly to check out their new holiday styles : http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery    http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery   They even have photo gift tags this year: http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-gift-tags ................. tempting.......
  My favorites are the "peppermint bliss" and the "many memories tree" styles- I'm trying to decide if I want a style with 3 pictures or 6.  Now I need to search through our family pictures from the year and decide which ones will "make the card cut".   Wish me luck ; ) Enjoy your own holiday preparations............. let the fun begin!
-Lesley

Celebrating Our Family

Today was the 2 year anniversary of my student Elli's death at the young age of 8. I loved Elli, she was so smart, and her laughter was contagious. She was at school on a Friday and passed away in her sleep that Saturday night - a very tragic time for all. On today, the anniversary of her death her father Scott wrote an amazing blog honoring her life:
http://joyinthisjourney.com/2010/10/hello-my-daughter-died/

I read the blog this morning before I went to work and I had left it up on my laptop. I got a call from Tim this morning at work and he told me with tears still in  his eyes that he had read it, and as a result he made the decision that today he was planning some fun/memorable activities for us celebrate our family and boy did her EVER!
The kids and I came home to a house decorated with balloons and streamers. Tim and I sat the kids down and reminded them about Elli and we told them about the blog (briefly) and how we wanted to celebrate being alive together as a family- they were so excited. Tim had a fun game planned for us. He filled up balloons in the corner:

I won't go into the details of the game, but just know that it was fun and involved us running with balloons between our legs and popping the balloons for prizes. We ALL had fun getting into the action:
 

We had such fun together laughing and playing the game. Tim made us our favorite dinner of spaghetti, meatballs, garlic bread and salad. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner together and enjoyed our prizes. We wrapped up the evening looking at some old pictures (I am amazed daily how fast my children are growing up). What a great night celebrating our family and our love for one another.
As a Christian I know that my time with my family here on earth is a blessing and is temporary, Elli  and other precious loved ones from my past are constant reminders of this. I am thankful for my loving family and our precious time together. Tim and I do the best we can within our family to enjoy all of our times together and to make memories that we can cherish- tonight was definitely one of those nights............I truly thank the Lord for my family! I am blessed beyond measure.................

Happy Birthday Dear Lauren!

Happy 7th Birthday to my baby girl!

It seems like only yesterday I was holding your four pound preemie body in my arms in the NICU surrounded by beeping wires, my have you grown into a WONDERFUL young lady. I am so proud of your zest for life that sails you skipping and dancing through grocery stores, your caring and giving heart that allows you to stop everything and lend a helping hand to others,  your ability to light up a room with your smile and radiance, your sense of humor that takes us off guard and sends us into wails of laughter.

I am so proud to be your mom! 

WE LOVE YOU LAUREN!!!

Outrage!

I am just outraged by the death/suicide of 18 year old Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi.

(Tyler is in the center, his roommate Dharun on the left, and the other accused Molly on the right)

 When is our world going to stop  judging others lifestyles and bullying one another with these types of crimes?  We should not tolerate this! Our world views need to change and I pray it is sooner rather than later!   His roommate Dharun Ravi's punishment will never suit this crime. What on EARTH would posess you to set up a webcam (without your roommates knowledge)  to stream LIVE when you knew your roommate would be having sexual relations with another? Could you IMAGINE if someone did this to you in the privacy of your own bedroom!?! Would he have set up the webcam and ran a live stream if Tyler wasn't gay? Would Tyler feel he should take his life due to the embarassment of this video if he wasn't outed as a result?  I do not think so and that is what saddens me even more. I am just so incredibly upset and saddened that the life of this gifted young man was taken due to ignorance, hate, and blatant stupidity!
Rest in peace Tyler, my prayers are with your family and friends.

Welcome Daisy!

We have been working with the Golden Retreiver Rescue of Cincinnati since June trying to find the perfect new dog for our family and yesterday that all came to fruition.
We traveled down to Louisville to meet two potential dogs yesterday. We got out of the car at the first house and it got ugly really fast. The other dog was very aggressive towards Mickey and we had to go put him in the car fast, calm down the kids and wipe their tears and we headed over to the other house. I was joking with Tim saying: "Mickey must be thinking, thanks a lot guys, you drive me two hours to meet a dog that kicks my butt, thanks a lot!!!"  : )
Well, the next house was a household with two children and a beautiful Golden Retreiver with curly hair who is now our new baby........ Daisy.

Isn't she the cutest!?! She and Mickey look like brother and sister, only she has the curls (just like Lauren in our family). Lauren thinks she has found her soul mate with another curly haired girl in the house. Luke LOVES her because she is so friendly and constantly drops a ball at your feet to have you throw the ball for her, and Tim is happy because he finally has "his" dog (Mickey is definitely my dog, always attached to my side). Daisy is getting along great with Mickey and even with our cat which I didn't expect to happen to soon. She has fit in tremendously already and we feel so blessed to have her!

It's Time To Get Real

I was reflecting on old pictures of myself today (from my 30th birthday) and I started getting very upset with myself......... I have let myself go. No, I'm not obese by any stretch of the imagination but I am a lot heavier than I was on my 30th birthday. I attribute that to lack of consistent exercise, lack of a healthy diet most of the time, not drinking enough water and my recent obsession with wine. I was not one who drank in high school or college, but about 3 years ago when my job got stressful I started indulging in wine and lots of it. I have a large glass with snacks EVERY single night. That can't be good for weight loss.
So...... it's time to GET REAL. I'm going to be brutally honest here so I can update you all on my progress because I feel I need some accountability right now.
When I started this weight loss adventure I was at 151 pounds (I only started this two days ago by the way). I am currently 150 pounds, my goal is 135 pounds.
For the record I have always been blessed with "good genes" so I have NEVER stuck to an exercise and diet regimen in my ENTIRE life, so this will be tough for me.
My guideline is my "Lose It" application on my Iphone. I input my goal of losing 15 pounds and it is giving me 1500 calories per day. It allows me to input everything I'm eating and my exercise/calories burned. I am also going to cut out wine during the weekdays, weekends only for now - if I find I am hitting a plateau then I will re evaluate and cut it, I'm THAT serious.
So............... wish me luck.............. I really want the "old" Lesley back, it's time!!!!

Happy Anniversary!!!

This Saturday Tim and I will celebrate our 12 year wedding anniversary.

I think back to our wedding day 12 years ago and think how little we knew. When you are young and in love you don't truly understand what it takes to have a happy marriage. We are selfish human beings, always looking out for "number one". You don't know how to argue effectively and love unconditionally. You don't know how to be a parent, how to balance your time so that you can be a loving spouse and a great parent at the same time.

We had to learn a lot and I am so proud of where we are today. In a world filled with divorce I am so proud that Tim and I not only are still together after 12 years but that our marriage is stronger now than it has ever been.

I realize there are certain things that have gotten us here. First and foremost our love for the Lord and putting him first in our marriage has been our glue. Having the faith to know He will provide for us during difficult times has always been our rock.

Here are some others:

LAUGHTER!!!!

Ever since our marriage Tim has made me laugh each and every day (often many many times per day) and I try and do my part to keep him smiling as well. We have (as you can tell from the photo above) taught that love of laughter and finding humor in life to our children. Having a family who is always laughing together makes you one strong happy family unit.

UNSELFISHNESS:

Having been married now for 12 years we know what one another needs and likes. Being unselfish in marriage is just picking up someones laundry when you know they have had a long day. It's picking up wine or drawing a bath for your wife when you know she's had a hard day at work. It's surprising your husband with something he has wanted for a while for no reason. It's arranging a date night spontaneously so you can spend some quality time together. Allowing your spouse to sleep in while you get up and take care of the kids.  It's a constant give and take and predicing what the other one needs and meeting that need without being asked to do so and the important step here, is doing so WILLINGLY and out of LOVE for the other person, not because you want something in return or feel obligated to do so, just doing so out of LOVE

COMMUNICATION/FRIENDSHIP:

My husband is my best friend in the whole world. I can tell him anything and he knows that he can tell me anything. I love having a relationship in this world that I know I can depend on no matter what. I know he has my back and will always be there for me. Our friendship has developed over the years and has made our marriage stronger.

TIME ALONE:

This was EASY when we first got married and didn't have kids, but it took me some time to understand the TRUE importance of this once the kids arrived. As a working mother I always felt guilty scheduling date nights since I never saw my kids during the week. Tim would sometimes book a hotel without telling me just to get me to go away. Now that the kids are older we enjoy frequent date nights and I just love that time alone. Even when we go on vacation to Disney each year we make sure we utlize the child care services to get away and have a night or two just "us".  I had to come to the realization how important this time for us to connect is and what kind of parents would we be if our marriage isn't strong for our children? For our ten year anniversary we went away for an entire weekend and it was wonderful! I look forward to future adults only weekends we have planned, I just love getting away just the two of us.

Tim, Happy 12 year anniversary. Thank you for being the most amazing best friend, companion, father, and husband a girl could ever ask for. I am truly blessed to call you my husband. I look forward to many many more years and good times together in the years to come.  I love you!!!