Congrats Renee & Ryan

Renee was married this weekend to Ryan...They are now Mr & Mrs. Ryan Gray!
The wedding was beautiful, Renee was gorgeous and a great time was had by all!! Enjoy!!

The girls.. Tara, Heather Renee and Me

Beautiful Alayna

Old buddy Trent that I had not seen in years!

The Bride.. Just realized I have no pics of the groom :(

The Bridesmaids minus Vanessa..

Play Date

Friday after school Mara got to have Delaney over for a play date. These two played so well together and topped the date off with some chill out time in the toy box.

Rehearsal

Just a quick pic from Renees Rehearsal.
Tara, Renee and me

Old Friends

Thursday morning I got to reconnect with some old girlfriends from elementary and high school. Lara and I were inseparable when we were younger. In fact almost all my childhood memories are with her and her family or her with my family. Lara lives in Federal Way, is married to a great guy Jay and when she is not working on her new clothing boutique she is chasing around her little man Noah. What a cutie!!

Nikki is a friend from high school who is just sweet as can be. Currently Nikki is living in Boise with her man Jim and their two little ones Emmit and Lillian. What cuties they are. It was so great to have her back home to be able to play, chat and learn about her life in another state with kiddos!!

Heather also got to come with Mia. Which if you ever read my blog is Gracelyns Best Friend. These 2 squeal when they see each other.

I feel so lucky to have so many wonderful friends!


Mia

Emmitt

Noah

Hello Cupcake

On Wednesday the four of house headed into downtown Tacoma to walk around and take in the sites. I love walking around down there and reminiscing about college and such. Our stops included UWT, the bookstore, the art gallery, the running store and of course Hello Cupcake. The girls love going here and they do make a really yummy red velvet.

Exercise

Gracelyn and Mara have both learned the value of exercise and being healthy in our house. I do it everyday and so does Justin.. well he does it every other day. This day we were in the living room doing some toning when Gracelyn decided to join in. I think she has it down just right. For as little as she is, she is really strong!

Slumber Party

The girls got to have a slumber party on the living room floor. I let them haul out their sleeping bags, pillows, blankets and animals. Then we topped off the night with a big bowl of Popcorn while watching Dr. Doolittle.

P.S. They were both lifted and taken to bed shortly after they fell fast asleep!

Great Job

Mara wrapped up basketball season Saturday morning. The kids played their final game and I think all of them scored. Yay!! Afterwards they received team pictures and their awards. Great job Mara, Zach and Joey for a wonderful basketball season.. You all did such a great job playing together as a team!!

Chillaxin

Friday afternoon we were hanging out at my moms house when Gracelyn decided she wanted to watch Dora on the computer. The next thing we know she has her feet kicked up, girl scout cookies in her mouth and not a care in the world. I had to capture a picture because she just looked so big girl. Such a rough life at age 2...

Brooks Joseph Barker

(I stole your pic off your blog but he is just so cute I had too!!)

My dear friend Allison and her hubby Garrett just welcomed their son Brooks Joseph into the world. I feel like I was just in Vegas visting then last year and I was asking them when they were going to start having babies. I am glad they took my advice and got on it. Allison is such a beautiful person and I know will be an amazing mommy. Congrats guys I can hardly wait to meet him!!

Tending the Garden of Marriage

Tending the Garden of Marriage: Kathy Davis

There is weeding and hoeing that needs to be done...
And don't forget watering after the sun.
Your caring will pay off in all that you do..
As love and togetherness flourish for you!

Model Search

Saturday I got to judge a modeling search contest for NFI productions. It was a blast and the kids were really cute. There were hundreds of contestents but only 25 were chosen. The winners get to be featured in a spring fashion show next weekend. I have been really involved in events lately and it has been such a blast. Alayna who owns NFI has been awesome in teaching me the ropes throughout the years. Thanks Girlie :)

Here are the winners :)

Tile Painting Fun

I have been working on Mara's class auction project and I had some left over tiles. I let the girls get a little creative here at the house. We have always been Art & Soul fans and now that it is gone we are finding our own ways to paint! Thanks Deb for all the paint. You are so awesome!!

Happy Birthday Alayna

My sweet precious God Daughter Alayna just turned 10 so we went out to celebrate at Red Robin. The kids had a blast and were stuffed to the brim with cupcakes, sundaes and the occasional french fry. Addyson joined us for the celebration and boy was she cute. Peyton wanted to suck her thumb and have ice cream all at the same time while Renee and I were ready to run out of the joint. It was a fun time had by all and I think Alayna had the greatest 10th birthday ever!!

Fun with Scarlett

Wednesday afternoon we got to have Scarlett over to play and then we went for a quick trip to the park. The girls are so ready for Scarlett to be able to play and quite frankly I think Scarlett is ready as well. The park was very windy and cold so while the girls were on the tire swing Scarlett stayed cuddled in her car seat. Smart baby.. I wish I had been in there because it was FrEeZiNg!!!

Bouncing Babes

Mara and Gracelyn have found new ways to have fun at our house. Yesterday Mara got out my exercise ball and was bouncing everywhere. Gracelyn thought it was hysterical and decided to hop on. The giggling that comes out of these two just warms your heart like you wouldn't believe. They fight most of the time but in a few sweet moments there is laughter and sometimes even sisterly sweetness. After they were tired from bouncing they were just cuddling up watching television on their big red ball.

My Story

Not many of you may know this about me but I have never known my biological father Scott. My mom and him were young when they got pregnant and made choices that were appropriate for me and their circumstances. I was raised by a man named Fred with my mom and he was Dad my entire life. On about 8Th grade my mom told me about Scott. At the time it wasn't a big deal but as I grew up and grew into myself curiosity got the best of me. I tried to find him many times but every time ended up a dead end. I figured it was just timing and that if it was ever to happen then it would. Years passed and I focused on my life and building my own little family.

Last April as many of you may know my water pipes broke under my house. There were many days where the Fircrest Public Works guys spent a lot of time at my house trying to help me get to the bottom of my problem. Who knew they were getting to the bottom of more then just broken water pipes. One day the guys were teasing me about going to Bellarmine and so I asked them where they went to High school.. One of them said Stadium class of 76. I knew this was the year Scott had graduated. I told them this and they asked who he was, I told them and they knew exactly who he was. They said I completely looked like him and said that they had contact with him. Huh??? R u kidding me??? In my heart I knew this was the path that would lead me to him. It took many months and many details later but last Saturday(Feb 28Th) I finally got to meet him and have since established an awesome relationship with him.

I am not being ungrateful for my past and I certainly am so thankful for the life I have had but there was always a void inside of me that is now filled. It is amazing what part biology plays in the makeup of who we are. Scott is an amazing person and I feel so lucky that I get to have one more person in this world love me and that I can love as well..

Let's just say those guys at the works department have since become some of my best friends (Jim especially.. Thank you from the bottom of my heart..you mean the world to me).

This is our first time meeting






Here we are at dinner together..


The future so far looks really great and looks like it will have a permanent fixture in it. The only thing I ever wanted from this was to see him and maybe talk to him. I got way more then I bargained for and I am simply over the moon!