Cheering with the Rocks!!

This past Friday Abby got to cheer at halftime of the Varsity Men's Basketball game at Dublin Coffman High School. She had two after school cheer camp practices and then performed along with 150 other dublin elementary girls at the big game. They did a dance, cheer and chant. The best part was that my husband's cousin is a Varsity Basketball cheerleader, so Abby got to do the camp practices and hang out with her before the game. We are so grateful to have some family nearby, they are so helpful and truly love and care for our children. I have video but blogger won't let me upload it for some reason. Enjoy!!

Here is Abby with all the other girls,she is on the far left, second row from the back and the sixth girl over.


Here is Maggie with Abby and Will before the big performance

Here is Abby looking up to Maggie as she stretches out before the game.

Kellys Korner- Show us where you shop

I love to shop. Over on Kellys Korner blog she wants to know where everyone loves to shop. What a great way to pass on some great shopping advice.

For my kids I love shopping at Target and Old Navy for basics that I don't care if they are ruined in 2-3 months. I have also had some good luck with Gap Kids,Landsend and bodenusa. I occassionally buy from Garnet Hill as well. For great tennis shoes I always go to Stride Rite and then fill in the rest of our needs with Kohls,Target etc.

For myself I am a Banana Republic girl, they have the best jeans.

I also like Martin and Osa for tops because they come in longer lengths.


I shop anthropologie for special things like a cute sweater or top that I plan on wearing for a while. For Shoes I like DSW,Marshalls and Zappos. I still peak my head in Jcrew from time to time and Abercrombie has the softest tshirts. One of my favorite brands of clothing is CABI, it stands for Carol Anderson by invitation. It is a home clothing party line and some of my favorite pieces are from there. The sizes are consistent,flattering and there really is something for all women. It is a little pricey but I find that I wear the pieces so much that it is totally worth it. I can't wait to read through all the other posts and discover some new places to shop.

Welcom Colton!!

Well just over a week ago my nephew Colton Michael Vogel was born. I was blessed to arrive at the hospital 10 minutes after he was born and got to hold him right then. It was so special to be apart of my brother and sister in laws special day. Erika was a champ, she had no epidural and had her baby was born in about 10 hours. Here are some pictures at the hospital and a few days later at their house. Abby and Will were so excited to meet their new cousin and are already asking when they can see him again. Thank you Lord for this blessing to our family.

Christmas 2009

Here are some long time coming Christmas pictures. I posted some on Facebook right after Christmas but haven't gotten to post them on the blog yet. Christmas this past year was with Mike's family but we got to host part of it. It was so nice because the three of us who live in Dublin each took one of the meals. I had brunch on Christmas morning and this worked out perfect for our kids to get to stay in their jammies and play with their Santa gifts. I had fun decorating this year, we decorated a little more than usual since we were hosting.


Here is the whole family on Christmas morning at our house opening tons of presents.

A picture of all four cousins together on Christmas Eve. This can be a hard task so I am glad that we got physical proof that all the cousins were together for Christmas for the first time.


Here is my dining room. I didn't have table cloths for my tables and I wasn't ready to commit to buying a nice tablecloth for the holidays yet. So I found this really cool wrapping paper at Target that coordinated with the plates I was using and I used it as a runner. I think it turned out pretty cute. I also hung ornaments from the chandelier as I had seen on other blogs.


My favorite new decoration was these candles from dayspring. I really wanted people to know that Christ was the reason for the season so I placed these candles with the nativity scene on my kitchen island.

It was a great Christmas. The kids were happy with all their toys. Abby and Will both got a Zhu Zhu pet, Abby got a Barbie hair salon and a new bike. Will got more trains/tracks for his imaginetex train and a cool dragon castle from his Uncle Bri Bri. I got a lovely Cole Haan purse from Mike and Mike got some shoes that he has been wanting. We feel so blessed to have family near us for the Holidays. The only thing better would have been if my family could have been there to celebrate as well. We did have Christmas with my family on new years day and it the best gift was a Buckeye Victory.

Polar Express

So many fun things have happened this December and I am really behind on updating the blog about them. This post is about the Nona/Papa adventure weekend the kids took the first weekend in December. They did their traditional Gingerbread House making and then went on a fabulous trip to the Polar Express.



Here they are with Santa on the Train. Abby and Will each got a very special Santa Sleigh bell and only those who believe in Santa can hear it, it was very cute. They also got to eat hot chocolate and get their tickets punched just like the movie.



Here is Will with his Papa!


Abby with her Nona!



I think I have more picture of the kids with their grandparents then I do of all four of us. One of my goals over the next year is to get better about taking family photos of all of us together.

Mike and I are so grateful for the free time we were able to have while the kids were away. We got some much needed Christmas shopping done, slept in and had a great meal out.

More December fun to come!!!

Be the Match!!

A little over a week ago our church hosted a bone marrow donor drive. It was very powerful as 70+ people from our church signed up. I have always toyed with the idea of being a donor, I know from several blogs I follow how critical the need is but I never felt that "God Moment" telling me to pursue it or maybe I did but I chose to brush it aside. It was interesting when our pastor first mentioned it to the congregation, as he had become aware of a mother who knew someone in our congregation who was in need of a bone marrow transplant. I prayed about the choice God would have me make that day and then relaxed down to watch Extreme Home Makeover that night. Wouldn't you know that on that very episode a woman who was cured by a bone marrow transplant was featured and they brought her donor to help rebuild their house. It was truly a moving moment and a prod in the right direction.

Later when they announced the date of the actual sign up it happened to be the Sunday our kids were with the grandparents, allowing us to take the 15 minutes or so to fill out the paperwork and do the cheek swabs without two kids begging us to go. So I anxiously await to see how God uses our church to literally save a life. Thankyou God for the clear signs pointing me to your character and your desire for me to give something that isn't really mine to give. I pray that more people will pray about the decision to be a bone marrow donor. I pray for those who continue to battle bravely severe illness and those heroes who give of their time, energy to help them fight that battle. Thank you for your son Jesus Christ and the ultimate gift and sacrifice he made for all.

Greatest Gift

Today I received one of the greatest gifts a mom can get. It was presented to me in a conversation with my 5 year old son today.

Me: Will, what is the true reason for Christmas?

Will: Jesus was born

Me: Why is it important that Jesus was born?

Will: So Jesus could die on the cross

Me: What does Jesus death on the cross mean for us?

Will: That we are able to live

Yeah God, thank you for all the people placed in Will's life who have taught and modeled a life of Christ for him. There is no greater gift than the gift of Christ, and a close second is being able to witness that someone accept Christ and his message. I am truly blessed.

FYI: I asked Abby these same questions this evening and she got it as well, the comfort in knowing that the seed has been planted. In BSF we talked about God enabling people to understand his word, thank you for enabling my children to understand the most important truth of your precious word