Happy Holidays!!!

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On The Downslide....

For those of you that have heard either Ian or myself talk about our "journey" with our Immigration process, or those of you that are totally unaware of our crazy life right now I thought I would update you all.

We started this journey the first part of April (yes...April!), shortly after we got married. And it is just now that we are starting to see the light at the end of this LOOOOOONG tunnel. We have been walking a long time through this tunnel, and our feet hurt and we need new shoes!! LOL :)

As recently as a couple of weeks ago we learned that we only have a few more things to submit to the National Visa Center (as us veterans like to call it "The NVC")and we will shortly find out when Ian gets a date for his interview with the US Embassy. He will be traveling to the Embassy in Montreal Canada to meet his "Master"!! The unknown person who decides our fate of whether he is granted legal entry to the United States permanently. Please pray for us as we are just so stressed about the situation and have long awaited to be together for longer than a few weeks at a time.

I will keep you posted as the news trickles in....literally! Our hopes are that he gets his interview date sometime in January...because we have our wedding ceremony in February down in Mexico and that would be something if he had to leave our vacation to fly to Canada for his interview. I think that's when this "unknown guy" would meet his master...ME!!! Ha! Just kiddin'!!

Take care everyone. XOXO

Our New Wheels!

Everyone loves it...That "New Car" smell!! And now...Ian and I are enjoying that wonderful scent. Yes, we got a new car! We are very excited and love it! As some of you know, it takes alot of time looking, deciding and then finally choosing the car you are going to invest in. Now just imagine...I'm here and my husband is 35 hours away. There has been numerous phone calls, text messages, and a whole lot of back and forth!! But we managed to get all our ducks in a row (my head is still spinning a bit!!) but we managed to find our new purchase. I got to drive it home today and Ian is anticipating his turn!! XOXOXO

Autumn Fun & A Birthday Dinner!

Hello everyone!

Yes, it is that time of year again. The air is crisp,the ground is wet and the leaves are EVERYWHERE!!! Ian has been down and I will tell you that between the two of us...I am surprised we still have our arms attached after raking soooo many leaves the past week.

Shelbey's birthday is Monday but we took her out to a birthday lunch today. She enjoyed her lobster tail, but I must say I think she enjoyed her HUGE piece of chocolate cake with ice cream a bit more! As you can tell by the pictures I have attached she was anticipating diving into it.

Hope all is well with everyone and Thanksgiving is fast approaching and we are looking forward to seeing all the family. Take care. XOXOXO

Happy Birthday Mom!!

Today is my mom's birthday...and myself, Ian, Shelbey, and Tanner too want to wish her a VERY happy birthday!! Enjoy!!

October = Breast Cancer Awareness Month

I am a FIRM believer that what comes around goes around....and I believe that if we all come together and fight something it will eventually lose. I hope all of you reading this will at least take a moment to remember someone you know or love that may be battling cancer or has lost their life to this terrible disease. October has been marked as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and to all you moms, aunts, sisters, grandmothers, and friends....please be aware!! Educate yourself, do your examinations and fight against what many women around the world are battling today.

As a team, we can conquer this disease!! FIGHT BACK!!!

Peace!

The Clan!

Here are a few pictures of us and the kids when they were down for their visit. Enjoy!! XOXOXO

Stay Off The Sidewalks!!

Yes....that's right. The pictures don't lie. Shelbey has taken driver's education and passed her test. So....she now has her learner's permit. I cannot believe it. *sigh*

We are very proud of her for doing such a great job!! She has been driving every chance she can get her little paws on that steering wheel. Although I want her to have all the practice she can get, I think I need to get a stress ball to squeeze on to relieve the white knuckles and maybe a few sedatives to calm my nerves! LOL :) Just pray for me!!

Shelbey turning 16 is just a year away and then she will be flying solo...I will have a sign up sheet coming soon if you would like to join my support group. Ha Ha! Take care all. XOXOXO

I LOVE MY HUSBAND!!!!!

Just wanted to share a few pics....and let my husband know that he is the best and I just love him BERRY BERRY MUCH!!!! XOXOXO

Fun With The Kiddies!

Here are some pics I promised to post! We had alot of fun with the kids playing games in the backyard and going to Cedar Point!! Enjoy!

Fun! Fun! Fun!

We have had so much fun this week! All the kiddies are down from Canada this week and I'm here to say that it has been one busy week!!! We have been shopping at the outlet mall (which by the way....I have lived here for a long time and NEVER knew that even existed!) and it was awesome!! And we have been to Cedar Point Amusement Park and we had our cookout today!! It poured down rain for the entire day so we had to cancel almost everyone coming out, but my family all made it here and they got to meet Ian's kids.

Ian's son Sean and daughter Bryony are leaving tomorrow, but we still have Conor Bug for one more week!! So that will be fun. We plan on giving him the experience of our county fair...and if you are from Jackson or have ever been to the Jackson County Fair....you KNOW what I mean by "experience". LOL :) I will be posting some pics soon of our fun this past week. Hope all is good with everyone....XOXOXO

Ed.....Seriously???

Ok....once again I ask myself why oh why do I get sucked into watching the Bachelorette?? It NEVER EVER turns out the way I hoped it would.

Jillian ended up picking Ed (the Microsoft Engineer that left the show on his own to go back to his job....and not to mention it is speculated he has a girlfriend in the learch!) who in my opinion is sooooo not for her. And just to name a few reasons why, in my opinion of course, he is the wrong pick:

1.) NERD!!
2.) In the last rose ceremony he dressed like the ice cream man
3.) Does he seriously think the "Larry Bird Green Shorts" are attractive??
4.) He was too nervous and put on the spot to be romantic with her
5.) Once again....he has a girlfriend back home waiting....
6.) Somebody needs to teach that dude about "man scaping"

Ok, maybe those are VERY shallow reasons I think she should have not picked him...but its my opinion and in my "professional bachelorette" opinion, Kiptyn was the one for her. He was awesome!!! But, of course, it was her decision and in the end she will realize that I was right! LOL :)

Well, I hope she is happy with Ed. (did I mention he has a girlfriend back home??) And may all her dreams come true. Maybe I should follow in my sister Jennifer's footsteps and ban the Bachelor and Bachelorette shows out of my TV time. Someday I will learn. Hope all is well with everyone!!! XOXOXO

We Can Hardly Wait!!!

Hello again! We are soooo excited because Ian's kids are going to be here in a week. We have been talking about them coming to Michigan for quite sometime now, and finally it is fast approaching. We will have the pleaseure of Bryony and Sean for one week and having Conor (or as I call him "Conor Bug") for 2 weeks. We have alot planned and are looking so forward to them being here.

We also busy planning our wedding ceremony in Mexico. Trying to get invites, plans and all the fun stuff organized and ready for the big day. And of course getting ALOT of "us" time now that he is here for a while. Lucky ME!!

Shelbey is doing great...she just got her 10th grade schedule in the mail for her upcoming school year. Yep, that's right....10th GRADE! My goodness, I just cannot believe it. And that's all I have to say about that.

We also had some pics taken a few weeks ago. I have posted just a few to share with all of you. These pictures were taken by a guy that does this for fun and I could not believe how awesome they turned out and not to mention he made us look fabulous after we had such a LOOOONG weekend! Thanks Brad!!! He will also be taking some shots when the kids are all here, so stay tuned for those pics to be posted soon!

Hope all is going great for all of you out there....thats all for now! XOXOXO

Summer Fun

Hello to you all!! It is officially summer time and Ian is FINALLY here for longer than he has ever been!! YEAH ME!!! And YEAH US!! We are very excited to spend longer than a week together and I think Ian is excited to put his clothes away long enough to collect a little dust. We have already had lots to do and lots to do ahead. It is wonderful having him here and Shelbey kinda likes it too!! :)

I have attached some pics of a few things we have already done....a wedding reception, Ian strumming some tunes at Duffy's and some random shots. Hope all is well with everyone out there and you are enjoying the summer time. I know we are!! Take care...xoxoxo.

Pictures From Mike's Cookout

HEY HEY HOCKEYTOWN!!!!

As you all are very well aware of...I am a BIG Red Wings fan and tonight is the 3rd playoff game of the Stanley Cup Final. They are up 2 games to NONE and hoping to make it 3!! Good luck guys!!!!

Happy Birthday To ME!!!!!

Yes, that's right....happy birthday to me! Sunday May 24th was my 34th birthday and it could not have been better. Shelbey and Ian made me breakfast in bed while dressing me up in balloons and topped it off with a "Happy Birthday" princess crown! I had a very relaxed day and thanks to my 2 favorite people in the world for making it so special...love you both!! XOXOXO

TV News and Reviews

Ok...here it goes....

* The finale of Dancing With The Stars is next week and good luck to my fav Melissa, you are fabulous!

* I've been keeping up on American Idol a bit more lately...and Adam Lambert, you are MY Idol!!

* Grey's was UNBELIEVEABLE!!!

* The Biggest Loser Helen...you GO GIRL!!!

And just for the record, yes...I do have WAY too much time at night on my hands or maybe it's just that I don't have a life. Ha! And the sad thing is...The Bachelorette starts this Monday. I'm starting to think I need a "TV Internevtion". :)

Oh yeah....the Detroit Red Wings made it to the Western Conference FINALS!!!!!!!! GO WINGS!

Peace....

Fun With The Sisters!

While my mom and Phil are in Hawaii soaking up all the warmth...we get the pleasure of watching their dog Sophie. Tanner Bug loves having the company of her sister here for the week and they are so happy together playing and jumping all around! Poor Sophie had to have a little surgery on her foot and decided that she liked the taste of her stitches a little too much...so she now has what Ian calls a "satellite" around her neck. I feel bad for her because she seems to hit that thing on every possible thing around her. Poor thing...she will have it off soon enough!

Ian and I have been working in the yard getting everything ready for the summer. I have to say that it was kinda fun mowing the yard...ask me that in about 2 months and I'm sure you will get a different opinion. :)

Hope all is well with everyone. XOXO

Lives cut too short...

Caylee Marie Anthony...Sandra Cantu...Hayleigh Cummings

If you havn't heard by now, these are just a few children in this country that have either come up missing or have been murdered in the last year. The media publicity has been over whelming for these girls and unfortunately have somewhat shadowed the REAL tradgedy that has happened.

These precious lives have been cut short in the hands of selfish, cold and cruel humans. It is unfortunate that we have people in this society that feel they have the right to take lives from this world for their own benefit. Hearing about these children and the way they spent the last moments of their lives is a hard pill for me to swallow. I have found myself getting angry and making judgments...and now I am realizing that these feelings are not what is important. What is important is these children.

I have so much sympathy for the families affected by these tradgedies, and I can only pray for them and hope they come through all of this with the support of their friends and family.

So, before you put your children to bed, drop them off at school, leave your parents house after dinner, kiss your husband/wife goodbye, or hang up that phone....take a moment to tell them you love them AGAIN! Take care all...and I love you!! XOXO

Fun with Shelbey!

Shelbey got a new camera for Christmas this past year, and she likes to take ALOT of random pictures. She likes to play with the colors and graphics on her camera...and no, she really doesn't have green hair!! I thought I would share some of these "creative" photos with you...keeping in mind she likes the close ups!! :)