Directions to August 8, 2009!

1. Anticipate the arrival of your baby brother, March 14, 1985.

2. Every day after....show excessive fondness and love toward this little man and dote after his every word and daily ounce of cuteness!!

3. Try not to be mad at him when he barges in on dates with boyfriends and tells you that you have bad breath. Or, when he pops a pop rock in your boyfriends ear.

4. Attend his Turtles funeral and sing a burial hymn.

5. Attend every T-Ball/Baseball Game and each Play or Chorus Recital. Watch him grow and mature...Be there when he turns 16 and starts to drive, when he turns 19 and leaves on a Mission and returns from his Mission.

6. Watch him go to College and date and wait and wait for him to find "the girl of his dreams."

7. Get excited when he starts dating a girl named Anne who makes his heart flutter and adds a skip to his step.

8. Receive a text that says "I kissed her..." and know there is definitely something different about this girl.

9. Enjoy every phone call and text, thereafter, where you hear him tell you he's "in love" and he "can't wait" to pop the question.

10. Watch him get engaged and feel totally ecstatic and in shock that your baby brother is REALLY GETTING MARRIED!

11. Fall in love with his Bride-to-Be and so excited to have a new sister

12. Watch him marry this beautiful girl and feel emotional and touched as you witness his love for her and the sweet humility in his face when he looks at her.

13. Know he is happy. Disbelief that he is all grown up. Wonder where all those years have gone...watching him ride his bike, playing with the dog in the backyard, and kissing his cute little baby cheeks...amazing!

Congratulations Michael and Anne....we are so excited for you both and look forward to the future!! The Best is Yet to Come!!

Chips and Cake for Dinner!

Life, as always, has been HECTIC!

I always assume that once school is out (which it has been for 2 1/2 weeks) that life will slow down and I will be able to pamper myself with much needed "ME" time. However, that has not been the case!

As the saying goes, "When it rains, it POURS!" Well, it has been pouring at our house.

Here are a few things I have learned in the past couple weeks:

• Just because school is out and you are no longer in constant contact with other grimy/germy children doesn't mean you can't get STREP THROAT...you can and you WILL!!
• Recovering from strep throat is even MORE awful when your hubby is out of town and won't be home for 2 days!
• You will do WHATEVER it takes to make sure your husband completes his Bachelor's Degree by April 2010. Which includes sending him away for 7 1/2 weeks to take classes at another University (only seeing him on the weekends) and doing his homework for him for his online courses.
• Absence DOES make the Heart grown fonder!
• Chips, cake, and cookie dough provide much needed comfort when you're alone and especially when you're alone at home watching "The Bachelorette."
• Realizing your baby brother REALLY is getting married...since when did he learn how to Kiss and look so cute doing it?!
• Thinking you're the BOMB when you, your mom, and your sister host an awesome (if I say so myself) Bridal Shower for your soon-to-be sister-in-law.
• Feeling so glad when it's over, but still craving the Chinese Chicken Salad!
• Spending a week with my sister is, as always, a blast! Especially when WE get to do the spying and teasing to those who are engaged...life is great when the roles are reversed!