Wonderful Family

Family can be a big word, especially when you're married to someone with so much of it. But I'm speaking of my immediate family. I don't have a huge family, and that's cool. We have fun, love each other, all the good stuff family should be. I'm thankful that I have them and that they have supported me in all my various and random endeavors over the years. That's always a nice thing! I'm very much looking forward to seeing them again at Christmas and making some more special memories.

Quinn and GiGi (my grandma) during our last visit in September.

Meredith, Papa, and Quinn

Nana and Quinn

Dancing with Aunt Mere

I just realized I now refer to them as Quinn does. I guess that's part of being a mom. I just hope I don't start calling Ross "Dad" soon.

Wonderful Quinn

The most logical choice in my next listing of the wonderfulness in my life would of course be Quinn.

He has made my life in wonderful in some very obvious ways and maybe some not so obvious ways. You definitely learn about the "darker" side of life when you become a parent. I don't mean evilness (although that does cross your mind at 3:30 in the morning with a screaming, inconsolable infant), but things that will test you, and hopefully, make you a better person. But they are the kind of things that at the time, you just want them to stop! I can definitely say that for me, that was 100% true. And now I wouldn't trade those times for anything. 3 hasn't been easy...hmmmm, l hope I'm not looking back at this period of time when he's 6 or 10 or 15 and saying I wish he were 3 again. But I have a strange suspicion I will.

But being a mom has been the greatest thing in the world. Quinn is smart, headstrong, generous, adorable, eager, exuberant, and a million other adjectives, all in a 5 minute period! He keeps my days interesting, and of course, wonderful. This time of year is so fun, especially this year, he really "gets" it. As I've said on other posts, I can't wait to see what the future holds, although maybe I should just hold on to now for now.

Wonderful Ross

Its day 2 and I'm still going strong. Woo-Hoo!

So my "wonderful" for today will have to be my dear husband Ross. I wouldn't have married him if he wasn't wonderful, right? For those that don't know, I met Ross about 2 weeks after I moved to Florida in 2001. We started hanging out right away, started dating a month after we met, and we haven't looked back since. Through good and bad, all the general ups and downs of life, he's been there for me, and hopefully he can say the same for me. Marriage is a challenge, that's for sure, but I'm glad he's my challenge! Thanks Ross for adding to the wonderfulness of the season!

Christmas 2002

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Happy December everyone. I've been woefully neglecting my blog lately, so I thought I would try (and the operative word is try) to blog every day this month about things I find wonderful. We'll see how it goes.

The first thing I want to write about is, as cheesy as it sounds, the reason for the season. I know I am not always demonstrative about my faith. We all communicate things differently, and while I feel like I do miss opportunities at times, I am definitely getting better at being open and vocal about it. But hopefully not in an obnoxious way. There are enough obnoxious Christians in the world to go around.

I love Christmas. The fun, Santa, snowmen, trees, gifts, family, stockings, cookies, hot chocolate, shopping, excitement part of Christmas. As I've previously stated, I'm a fan of pomp and circumstance, and there are definitely parts of Christmas that fit in. Its so great to see Quinn's face get excited when he sees the lights on houses or the decorations at the mall. Its great to be with friends, have fun, and enjoy all the minutae of the season. But I truly love the Jesus, Mary, Joseph, Bethlehem, angels, wise men, manger, shepherds, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John part of Christmas. The first part wouldn't exist without the second. So much good as come to the world and to me because of the birth of one baby, and for that I am eternally grateful. Agree or disagree, its what I believe. I will gladly talk about it with you, but I don't want to argue or be called names or be forced into a stereotype that I personally do not fit into. And I will show you the same courtesy. To me, this is what makes the entire season so wonderful.

Isaiah 9:6

For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given

and the government will be on His shoulders.

And He will be called

Wonderful Counselor, Might God

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace

Happy Thanksgiving! Oh wait...

That was like a week ago, right? Well, things around here have been crazy, so I haven't had much of a chance to update, so I'm doing it now. Better late than never, right?

Thanksgiving was very nice this year. We spent it at Ross' sister Bridget's house and it was a great time and we had one delicious turkey cooked by Bridget's husband James. Seriously good. The next day was the beginning of the whirlwind, as my best friend Joy got married on Saturday. And what a time it was.

Friday I got up and went to Barnes and Noble and Target. I wasn't going to go out, but Joy asked me to pick up some wine for her honeymoon, and since there was a Black Friday deal I wanted at B&N, I went. For the first time ever. And it wasn't so bad. I was around 8 and home around 9:30, so not bad. Then we left for the rehearsal lunch and rehearsal. I was a bridesmaid and Quinn was a ring bearer, so I've been prepping this for a while. It was a beach wedding and since Quinn LOVES the beach, there could have been issues, but I think the rehearsal helped.

After the rehearsal the entire bridal party and some extras went to stay the night at the Postcard Inn on St. Pete Beach. Super cute little boutique hotel. Not the family friendliest, but still super cute. As Ross said, it is probably the place to be at spring break and during the summer.

The next day was a swirl of getting ready and pictures and the actual wedding. Quinn wasn't perfect, but for a 3.5 year old, he did pretty good. It was an absolutely perfect day weatherwise, and the wedding was awesome. I'm just happy to see my friend marry someone so wonderful for her. And he's definitely a lucky guy too! Congrats Joy and Creagon, I love you both!

And here are some pictures...

After the rehearsal we hung out on the beach at the hotel. Quinn so wanted to go in, so we let him...in his underwear. We really didn't think he would stay in for as long as he did. That kid loves the beach.

During pictures at the hotel the next day, the beautiful bride.

Mommy and Quinn looking adorable.

First dance

Some of the most awesomest friends I could hope for.

3 More Books

At the beginning of the year I was doing pretty good with book reviews, and I've kind of let that slack lately...like everything else. So I thought I'd write up three quick ones, for all of those that I'm sure are incredibly interested.

I read Outlander in a kind of trade with my friend Kate. I would read Outlander if she would read the first Harry Potter. While I did end up liking Outlander, she definitely got the better end of that deal. Outlander is a historical fiction book set in Scotland at various times in the past. I don't want to give too much away, but there's some crazy time travelin' and even crazier relationship building. While the crux of the story was good, there was a whole lot of exposition that was a bit unnecessary, if you ask me. Wordy is a good word for it. But overall, I liked it enough to possibly read the next book in the series at some point in the future.


This is a book I probably should have read a while ago, but just haven't. It is a classic, and rightfully so, although I don't really see the suspense part of it. There was some, but not enough for me to label this a Romantic Suspense book, as it states on the cover seen above. I did like the whole unnamed narrator thing, I named her Daphne in my head. Again, another book I liked enough, but maybe not as much as a lot of people.

I read this because I've read all the others. It was easily the worst book of the series, but I knew what I was in for. I like the series, so I liked this. And it didn't take me long to read it, so bonus.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from Mike Wazowski! This was the first year Quinn picked out his own costume, and he was so excited to wear it. He really looked adorable. He had a great time at his school's Book Character Parade on Friday and Trick or Treating tonight. And yay for candy !?!

Here he is at school...

And here he is with all his cousins before Trick or Treating. There was no way we could get them all to look at once.
Hope you all had a great Halloween!