Let the Olympic Games Begin!

Excited to watch the Olympics this month. Roz especially can't wait to watch the figure skaters!

Yesterday Roz got to have her own Olympic Games at pre-school...complete with the torch and medal ceremony.

What a Day For Roz...

Roz got to start up dance lessons again last night and she was in her element.

This lil' girl loves to dance!

Was pretty pumped to find out her dance costume will be Purple this Spring...her favorite color!

Then after dance we headed to Kindergarten Open House.

Not sure who was more excited...Roz to meet her teacher for next year or Andray to show her around the Kindergarten room.

What a difference a year makes. Last year at Open House Jake and I didn't know which school to send Andray to and had no idea what the future school years would bring.

Last night we were much more confident all around...very happy with the experience we've had at St. Mary's school so far!

The second child has such an advantage.

Roz was not scared at all last night and neither am I for her.

I'm glad she'll have her big brother in school with her next year!

Some Good Advice...

Thankful for the true friends that I have in my life...the ones I can trust.

WBB Alumni Day at SCSU...

St. Cloud State celebrated Women's Basketball Alumni Day yesterday at the university.

Was absolutely awesome going back and seeing old teammates.

Coach Fish and Coach Jess did an incredible job preparing for yesterday's festivities...THANK YOU!

One of the highlights was a luncheon at the new Herb Brooks National Hockey Center.

Gladys Ziemer, the first women's basketball coach was honored.

Even though she couldn't be there in person, it was incredible to hear her players talk about Gladys not only as a coach, but inspiring person. 

If you haven't seen the new HBNHC...you gotta see it! 

The kids loved running around the new concourse, breaking in the new bathrooms (ha!)

and seeing the hockey players on the ice.

Jake and I continue to say how fortunate we are to have the connections we have with the SCSU Athletic Department. Pretty awesome that SCSU's Blizzard personally entertained our kids during the women's game.

If you couldn't tell...Roz LOVES Blizzard!

CC on the other hand reacted exactly like she did with Santa...SCARED TO DEATH!

Was fun bringing the kids out on the court with me to get introduced at half time.

The farther removed I am from my playing years at SCSU the more grateful I am that I had the opportunity to play DII college basketball.

If I wouldn't have played bball at SCSU I may never have met Jake nor have my beautiful kids.

And I sure as heck wouldn't have the lifelong friends I now have as former teammates.

Had a great time yesterday...very thankful.

Our Lucky #11 Months...

Happy 11 Months to Carrine Faith Celestine!

She has single handedly made me a better person and has helped me to take a step back and appreciate the true meaning in life.

Her smile is contagious...and she smiles nearly 90% of the day!

She's starting to get on all fours now, rock back and forth, and even throws out the "snow plow" once in a while!

She has quite the funny personality...

And she loves being the center of attention.

(very easy to do in our household!)

It's getting harder for her to sit still for photos...

Every month and new stage with Carrine has been enjoyable...

Yes, even watching her figure out how to open drawers and empty them out is enjoyable!

Just hard to believe we only have 1 month left of the "infant" stage in our house.

Without a doubt Carrine is the best thing that could've happened to us.

She has forced me to "slow down" and appreciate the little things in life.

She has taught Andray and Roslyn responsibility and to share a lot more.

She's taught the entire family more patience.

But most importantly, we all LOVE a whole lot more in our family.

Happy February everyone, hope it's a good month for all.

Another Tug at a Mother's Heart...

Ah, the whirl wind of last year is approaching again.

Just over a year ago we added Carrine to our family, registered Andray for Kindergarten and made the big decision to send him to St. Mary's. Add to that we also registered Roslyn for Pre-School.

Now this morning I registered my first baby girl for Kindergarten!

(I was holding it together until a worker came over to ask me how things were going...then reality set in and my eyes filled with tears. School changes everything. The innocent stages of infant, toddler and pre-K years are almost over with Roz. I've been through this already with Andray. Shouldn't it get easier the more times  you send a child to school?)

And to top it off in just over a month our baby girl CC will be a YEAR OLD!

How is this possible?

All positive things going on in our family right now, but sometimes it's just too much for a mother's heart to stomach!

Roslyn continues to blossom before my very own eyes every day.

She is beyond excited to be in Kindergarten next fall...which means her big brother will be in 1st grade!

(she has the next 20 school years planned out for both of them, including college;)

My biggest hope for Roslyn in school is that she won't lose an ounce of her "excitement" for life and that her confidence only continues to rise.

My first baby girl grew up way too fast!

If only I could freeze time...

Interesting Advice About Marriage...

10 Marriage Tips Every WIFE Needs to Hear

Karen / October 28, 2013

There’s a blog post that’s recently gone viral, written by a divorced man featuring some really sound advice about marriage (click here to read it).  I really have to applaud this guy.  It takes guts to stand up and be transparent about your failures.  It’s equally as commendable to stand up and say how you’d do things differently.

One thing that his post is lacking, however, is the female perspective.  After reading his post, I wanted to take some time and write down some things that I’ve learned in the last ten years.  You see – I’m now in my third marriage.  When people learn this fact about me, their reaction is usually pretty awkward.  It’s almost as if they’re waiting for me to be embarrassed by my admission. While going through two divorces was some of the most painful times of my life, I’d only feel ashamed if I’d gone through it without being able to say I’ve learned a thing or two.  My husband and I had both been through divorce before we married each other, and with that brings a unique perspective into many do’s and don’ts of how to treat your spouse. Don’t get me wrong – our marriage isn’t perfect, but our failures in past relationships have shaped decisions we make about the way we treat each other, and to be honest, I’m glad I went through it.  We’ve learned better, so now we do better.

And with that, I’d like to offer up my version of his wise marriage tips – from a woman who has triumphed the murky waters of divorce (and if you’re interested, my husband also wrote one from his perspective).

1. Respect your husband.  - Notice how it doesn’t say “Respect your husband if he has earned it”. A man’s greatest need in this world is to be respected, and the person he desires that respect from the most is his wife.  The trap that we’ve all been ensnared by is that they only deserve our respect when they earn it. Yes, we want our husbands to make decisions that will ultimately garner our respect, but the truth is that your husband is a human being. A human being who makes mistakes. This is the man that YOU have chosen to walk alongside you for the rest of your life, and to lead your family and he needs to be respected for that quality alone. Take it from me – when respect is given even when he doesn’t deserve it, it will motivate him to earn it. That doesn’t mean you pretend that his choices are good ones when they aren’t. Things like that still need to be communicated, but you can flesh out your differences WITH RESPECT. It makes all the difference in the world to him.
2. Guard your heart.  - The grass is not greener on the other side. Do not believe the lie that with a slimmer figure, a higher salary, a faster car, or a bigger house, you will be a happier woman. The world is full of things and people that will serve as reminders that you don’t have the best of the best, but it’s simply not true. Live the life you’ve been blessed with, and BE THANKFUL. I get that we all have struggles, and there are even times when I would love 1,000 more square feet of house to live in, but square feet is not fulfilling – relationships are. Guard your heart from things and people that will try to convince you that your life or your husband is not good enough.  There will always be bigger, faster, stronger, or shinier – but you’ll never be satisfied with more until you’re fulfilled with what you have now.
3. God, husband, kids…in that order.  - I know this isn’t a popular philosophy, especially among mothers, but hear me out. It’s no secret that my faith is of utmost importance, so God comes first in my life no matter what. But regardless of your belief system, your husband should come before your kids. Now unless you’re married to someone who is abusive  (in which case, I urge you to seek help beyond what my blog can give you), no man in his right mind would ask you to put your kids aside to serve his every need while neglecting them. That’s not what this means. When you board an airplane, the flight attendants are required to go over emergency preparedness prior to takeoff. When explaining the part about how to operate the oxygen mask, passengers are instructed to first put the mask on themselves before putting it on their small child. Is that because they think you are more important than your kids? Absolutely not. But you cannot effectively help your child if you can’t breathe yourself. The same holds true with marriage and parenting. You cannot effectively parent your children if your marriage is falling apart. Take it from me – I tried. There will also come a time when your kids will leave the house to pursue their dreams as adults. If you have not cultivated a lasting relationship with your spouse, you will have both empty nests and empty hearts.
4. Forgive.  - No one is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes. If you make forgiveness a habit – for everything from major mistakes to little annoyances (every day, I have to forgive my husband for leaving the wet towel on the bathroom counter ;)) – you will keep resentment from growing.
5. Over-communicate.  - I used to have a bad habit of not speaking my feelings. I played the standard “You should know why I’m mad” game, and that’s just downright unfair. Men are not wired like women, and they DON’T always know that they’ve been insensitive. I’m still growing in this area, and there are often times when my husband has to pry something out of me, but I’m trying to remember that I need to just communicate how I feel.
6. Schedule a regular date night.  - This one isn’t new, but it’s very important. Never stop dating your spouse.  Even if you can’t afford dinner and a movie (which we seldom can), spending some regular one-on-one time with your spouse is essential. Don’t talk about bills, or schedules, or the kids. Frankie and I often daydream about our future, or plan our dream vacation. We connect emotionally and often learn something new about each other – even after four years.
7. Never say the “D Word”.  - If you’re gonna say it, you better mean it. Plain and simple, threatening divorce is not fighting fair. I did this a lot in my previous marriages. I’m not proud of it, but I learned better. I was hurting deeply, and I wanted to hurt back, but it never helped me feel better.
8. Learn his love language.  - Everyone has a love language. The way you perceive love is often different from the way your spouse perceives love. Does he like words of affirmation, or does he respond better when you give him gifts? Whatever his love language is – learn it and USE IT.  Edited to add: If you are unfamiliar with the principles behind love languages, you can learn more about it here.
9. Never talk negatively about him.  - I learned this lesson the hard way too. If you’re going through a difficult time in your marriage and you need advice, see a counselor. Family counseling is a great tool, but try to remember that your family members and friends are not the most objective people to give advice. The argument they are hearing is one-sided and they often build up negative feelings toward your spouse, which usually doesn’t subside once you and your husband have gotten past it. Protect his image with those that you’re close with and seek help from those that can actually be objective.  News flash, ladies – your mother cannot be objective!
10. Choose to love.  - There are times in a marriage that you may wake up and not feel in love anymore. Choose to love anyway. There are times when you may not be attracted to your husband anymore. Choose to love anyway. Marriage is a commitment. In sickness and health, in good times and in bad. Those vows are sacred. They don’t say “if you have bad times”. They say “in good times AND in bad”, implying that there WILL be bad times. It’s inevitable. So choose to love anyway. He’s worth it.