Yippee...Carrine Faith Celestine is Three!!!

Happy 3rd Birthday to our baby girl...Miss Carrine Faith Celestine!!!

Hard to believe she entered this world 3 years ago and man what an incredible life-changing ride it's been since adding CC to our family! Can't imagine life without her and we're all better, all more challenged and all more loving and complete because of her!

I love her contagious smile...

and the twinkle in her bright BLUE eyes!

(Yes, we're in trouble...been plucking gray hairs out of my head like crazy!)

She definitely gets her "wit" and humor from her daddy!

I love her confidence...

and I'll admit, life's stressful when she and I are locking "horns!"...but I love her stubbornness too...and man she's got a lot of family blood in that category!

(Thank you to the Stangs, Rauschs, Franks, Lingls, Gass Girls...and the list goes on and on)

I love that she's a "Diva!"

This lil' girl loves to wear dresses, skirts, shoes, purses, accessories, sing and dance...all of the above!

I love her crazy hair! Every day her curls amaze us!

And all those around us!

We all love her Nukie for more reasons than one...and are sad that today is her last day with her NEECH!

I love that she's accepted to LOVE DUKE with no strings attached :)

No lie...one of her first sentences..."Let's Go Duke!"

And most of all I love that she's our baby girl...and always will be, no matter what!

You are the perfect book-end to our family.

Happy Birthday baby girl...can't wait to celebrate with you as a Family of Five...and of course...with DORA THE EXPLORER :)

Our 2 baby girls both at the age of 3...same dress and same flower in hair.

Fun to compare!

A Look Back on 3 Years...

Brand New at 5 lb. 13 oz. 18 in.

Fun to be ONE

Look Who's TWO!

and now I AM 3!!!

Last Night with Our 2-Year-Old!!

Feels like a lifetime since I've been able to blog...but now seems the best time to return!

Hard to believe tonight is my last night with a 2-year-old in the house!

Time is flying!

I know I say it quite often, but I'm so very thankful for Carrine Faith Celestine!

She has single-handedly changed my outlook on life and I'm better for it.

Days are stressful being home full-time, no lie, but I wouldn't change it and know in the future I won't regret this extra time I've had with her and the big kids the past 2+ years.

Tonight also marks Carrine's last night with Nukie...aka - NEECH!

Man, we're all going to miss her Nuk...but we've been prepping her for some time now (and when I say "We", that means Jake and the big kids) ... :)  "When Rinnie turns 3...no more Nukie"

But the time has come...she's so excited to turn 3!  

Unreal that our baby girl is turning 3 tomorrow!

Thank you Leap Year for giving us an "extra day" with a 2-year-old in the house!

Wow...Lent is Here Already!

Wow...hard to believe it's mid-February already and Lent is here! Seems like a lifetime since I've been able to blog.

It's been an incredibly challenging start to the New Year for our family...but the kids continue to put smiles on our faces that I'm so grateful for them!

Here's Andray's rendition of our Family Winter Portrait...LOVE!

Carrine was adorable at Ash Wednesday mass...and made sure to tell everyone after church, "Fill your Rice Bowls!" Our lil' character!

So true...God's healing mercy and grace is powerful!

Hope you all have a fulfilling LENTEN season.

Happy New Year!!!!!

Another year in the books...hard to believe.

Hope you all have a safe New Years Eve...

and wishing you all a blessed New Year in 2016!

Great days ahead!

Christmas Eve is Here....

#Throw Back Thursday...Christmas Eve is Here!

A very Merry Christmas to all of you...hope you can all enjoy time with your loved ones this week!

It's been an incredible month of December and season of Advent with this trio! Hard to believe this picture was taken 2 years ago already! We've been busy this month and can't wait to get our blog updated.

Until then...cherish the ones you love...Our Savior is Born!!!

First Snowfall of 2015!

We thoroughly enjoyed our first real snow fall of the Winter earlier this week!

Played outside until 8:30 pm on a school night!

Yep, that's our 2-year-old eating snow...told her it was ok as long as she stayed away from the "yellow" stuff!

So happy to be outside in the SNOW!

Thanks to my mom for the beautiful Winter Planter on our front porch.

Hats off to Jake for finding the Red and Green lights for our garage this Christmas season.

SNOW MUCH FUN!

What a Weekend!

What a weekend! Filled with Thanksgiving gatherings and preparation for Christmas!

Love celebrating this "magical" Holiday season with the kids!

Started the long weekend off at the farm for Stang Thanksgiving.

Big kids had a blast playing on the hay bail stacks!

Andray loves being out at the farm.

And so does this Turkey...even in the cold!

Friday morning we realized......CHUCKY'S BAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!

For the third straight year, Brenda and I went Black Friday shopping from 3 am - 11 am!

Man we find amazing deals!

Then I love coming home to the kids, so excited to decorate for Christmas!

The ornaments were quite a bit higher this year on the tree...thanks to the ladder!

Every year gets more fun with the kids while decorating the tree, despite only 2.5 hours of sleep the night before!

Carrine was excited to put ornaments on the tree after nap time as well!

Strike a pose Rinny!

Had a nice "surprise" visit from my Mom, Uncle Jeff and Gram!

Carrine was so excited to point out "Chucky" to my Gram! So adorable.

Roz was a great help setting up the Nativity scene.

Big kids were so proud to show Gram the Nativity Scene.

One of my most treasured gifts is this Nativity Scene that my Grandparents gave Jake and me for our wedding. So glad Gram can see us enjoy the Nativity scene with the kids.

Ta-Da! What an accomplishment!

Every year I underestimate how much work it is to take down Fall decorations, drag out the Christmas decorations and get the house completely transformed in one day!

The kids are an awesome help!

And a huge shout out to my hubby who strung the white lights on the Christmas tree not once, not twice, but three times before all the strings of lights continued to work!

Patience is a Virtue :)

Continue to remind myself and the kids the "Real Reason for the Season."

The Advent Season is among us!

Saturday was another BIG DAY for our family!

Big kids and I headed to Barnes and Noble to try to raise money for our school library!

Andray was scared to death to talk to strangers and enjoyed the toy section and kids book section instead.

Roz was good at handing out the free cheese cake :)

Then that afternoon Jake and I brought Andray to church for his First Reconciliation! 

Hard to believe our Little Man is old enough for his second sacrament.

Andray was so proud when he came out of the confessional with Father Jose!

Way to go Andray Paul - we are so proud of you!

Next Sacrament...First Communion!

On Sunday our family got to light the first candle of Advent during mass.

What a way to start off the Advent season on the altar with the kiddos!

Lots to be thankful this Holiday season and even more to pray for!

May you all have a blessed Holiday season with your families!

Counting our blessings, that's for sure, and wishing I could freeze time during this "magical" season with the kids!