Ariana Claire...

was born May 6th, 2008 at 1am. She was 8lb 6oz and 19 1/2 in. We're so excited that she's here. Praise the Lord for a safe and healthy delivery. She has been the joy of our lives for the past week now. Any of you ladies who are interested in my very exciting birth story will have to call me for the details. In the meantime, I love being a mommy!!
Here are some pictures from Ariana's first week...

One happy family...............................................................One of Ariana's few awake moments during the first couple days
















She's such a sweet baby. We love her so much!!! ...................................................................................



















Mommy and daughter bonding (kind of)......................................................Daddy is reading one the classics to his baby girl.

Ariana's Nursery...


is now completed. The bedding is washed and ironed and on the bed; the clothes are all put away; the projects are completed and on the walls; and the glider is waiting to be used. Now all I need is little Ariana, but she still has a few more weeks of developing to do. Enjoy the pictures!

To Ireland and Back

Our trip to Ireland was all that we expected and more. We were able to see and do a lot of things. Our traveling companions, Don and Katrina Hines, were so much fun to be with. They made our trip that much more enjoyable. Thanks guys for going with us! Ireland was beautiful! It's so different than the states. It was so green. The countryside consisted of rolling hills, rock fences dividing properties, lots of quaint little villages, and lots of sheep. We also saw parts of Ireland that were rugged and mountainous with crazy narrow, winding roads. The weather was cold and rainy, but we did have a few sunny days. The light rain was never enough to hinder us from doing anything. Our accommodations were great. The townhouses were on a beautiful piece of property with a lot of cool stone structures and walls. The resort also had an old castle and a beautiful old manor house where people could also eat and sleep. There was also a golf course on the resort where this year's Irish Open will be held. Well, I could go on and on about our trip. But instead I'll post some pictures for you all to enjoy. (Caution: There's a lot of them) .

Day One: Traveling. Notice our green Ireland getup.

Day Two: We spent touring the grounds of our resort, relaxing, and playing games in the manor's library while drinking Irish coffee and hot chocolate

Day Three: We saw the Blarney Castle, kissed the Blarney stone, drove through the city of Cork, toured the small fishing city of Kinsale, and saw the south eastern coast of Ireland called Old Head.





































Day Four: We drove through the city of Killarney and saw a beautiful cathedral. We went on a carriage ride through the state park. On the grounds of the state park was a beautiful old manor house and chapel. The scenery at the park was beautiful. We saw lakes and mountains and waterfalls. Later that day we drove through part of what's known as the Ring of Keary where TJ drove through the mountains on some very winding, narrow roads. We were able to see the more rugged, mountainous countryside of Ireland.






Day Five: We drove to the western coast of Ireland to see the famous cliffs of Moher. After seeing the cliffs we spent the rest of the day driving around seeing more of the countryside. We found another castle to tour, saw lots of sheep, and saw some mountains covered with limestone.
















Day Six: We spent all day in Dublin. Dublin was a very unique city. There was a lot of history to see. We went to the famous post office where the Irish revolution began. We walked around Trinity College. Don and TJ were looking forward to touring Trinity's famous library. There was a cost to tour it and they couldn't take pictures, so they decided not to. We saw the Dublin castle. We tried to go into the old city prison, but we got there after it closed (much to Don's dismay). We walked into a pub where they were playing traditional Irish music. But, when we found out they didn't serve food, only drinks, we had to go upstairs to find some dinner. We ended our evening in Dublin doing some souvenir shopping.

Post Office .............................................................................................................Trinity College



























We got around the city in the tram. It would have been to crazy to try to drive.














Day Seven: After a very busy week. We all decided to spend our last day relaxing around the townhouse and manor. The guys did some swimming while Katrina and I sat by the poolside reading our pregnancy magazines. We took some more pictures of the grounds and went into town to eat some pizza. We spent the rest of the evening playing games.

Time to go home: Our day began around 3:30 in the morning. After a long day of car travel and air travel and sitting in airports we got home around 10:00pm Virginia time. Which was actually 3:00am Ireland time. So yes, we were up for about 24 hours with a few hours of sleep here and there on the plane or in the airport. Needless to say, we were so glad to make it home and sleep in our own beds.
We praise the Lord for a great trip full of memories. We also thank the Lord for the safety He gave to all six of us (including little Ariana and Kate).

Here are a few more pictures of what you might see along Ireland's countryside:

Valentines Day

I hope everyone had a nice Valentine's Day with their sweeties. Because it's Valentines Day, does that give me the right to brag on my sweetie?? Probably not, but I'm going to anyway since I'm sure most of you would do the same thing :). I woke up yesterday morning with a rose next to my pillow. I got out of bed and saw that there were a trail of roses leading into the office. In the office, TJ had left me more roses, a new watch, some other little gifts, a card, and a video message on the camcorder. He had left the house before I woke up. He usually wakes me to say goodbye, so it was a surprise when I woke up to no TJ but lots of roses. It was so sweet and thoughtful of him. I didn't get to see him until after he got off work that night. So we actually spent most of Valentines Day apart. But after TJ got off work, we went out to eat at a little authentic Italian restaurant we love called La Bella Italia. The food was delicious! I didn't get a picture of TJ with his Valentines gift. But I got him chocolate covered strawberries (one of our favorites) and a new Fossil watch for work (which he really needed). Just like all of you with husbands, I'm so thankful that God gave me such a wonderful sweetheart to celebrate with on Valentines Day. I love him so much!!!

My surprises! ...............................................................Valentines Day picture with my pregnant belly showing. :)















Side note:
On Valentines morning I also woke up to the most snow
we've had on the ground all winter. Isn't it alot!! L.O.L.

Update AND Super bowl Sunday

I haven't been too faithful in my blogging attempts. Sorry for those of you who check my blog and have seen that I've been a little slack this month in my posting. TJ and I have been busy. TJ is in the midst of one of his busiest semesters of seminary. But we can see the light.. After this semester, he'll only have two spring classes to finish. Along with his school work and job, he's been helping me with projects for the nursery. Preparations for Ariana are well underway. With only about three months left before her expected arrival, there is still lots to be done. I will post pictures of our completed projects and of Ariana's nursery when we are closer to finishing it.
Praise the Lord, my pregnancy is going great! Ariana reminds me daily of her presence with her activity inside my belly :) I love it! I haven't had any unique food cravings, just food in general and ice cream :). I'll post some updated pregnancy photos when I get a chance. We appreciate your continued prayers for Ariana's health and delivery and for TJ and I as we prepare to undertake this huge responsibility of parenthood.

Sunday night we enjoyed the big game with a few families from our church. We were out of church and back to our friends house just in time for kick off. Congrats to the NY Giants! Not being much of a football fan myself, TJ and I had a little wager going on as to which team would win. Our fun little wager gave me an incentive to be more into the game...it worked for the last half of the game. I was actually enjoying it since the game was so close. He wanted the Patriots to win; and since I didn't care too much I cheered for the Giants. Needless to say, I won our wager. :) We had a great evening filled with delicious food, friends, and football.

The men were glued to the TV. I'm surprised they found
time to break away for food. :)















Me and my sweetie!.......................................................................The little ones weren't too interested in the game...What great poses!

Our host, Terry and Pastor Eric

Summary of our Christmas and New Years...

It's so hard to believe the holidays are over. Although I must say, I've been pretty excited for this year to come. This Christmas was one of the most relaxing ones we've had since being married. TJ and I had our own Christmas in the morning. Our main gift to each other was a video camera. Which we plan on using quite a bit once Ariana arrives. Our good friends, the Hines, came over that afternoon for Christmas dinner; and the rest of the day was spent playing games, relaxing, and eating (which is becoming my new favorite past time).
New Years Eve we went to the Hines house and were joined by some friends, Stephen and Sarah Branine. The evening was filled with lots of laughs and good food. I even managed to make it past midnight without getting too tired.
Now that the holidays are over, preparations for our little Ariana are under way. New Year's day was spent gutting out Ariana's soon-to-be nursery. We took down the bed that was in there and TJ put up the crib that was given to us. We cleaned out closets and drawers and bookshelves. It's pretty bare in there right now. It's very exciting for me to think about decorating and setting up her room. I'll post pictures of her room when it's done, but that won't be for awhile. Her arrival will definitely be the highlight of our year.
I hope you all enjoyed your holidays. May your year be filled with lots of memories and may God be glorified through our lives this upcoming year!

Christmas dinner ........................................................................................................................TJ carving the ham.














This pic is for those of you who were asking about my baby bump ......................................Our New Year's Eve group














Here's a fun picture of Niko. He's so festive!