Ollie- Our newest family member

For years David has wanted to add a dog to our family. He has been talking about rescuing a Greyhound since I met him and then about 8 years ago he started talking about Italian Greyhounds. 

I didn't know anything about greyhounds or most dogs for that matter. I did have 3 dogs while growing up that I loved and I feel very strongly that if you are going to have pets that they are a part of the family and should be treated as such. So....that meant I didn't want any. I figured I already had enough to do. (Selfish maybe, but this blog is about transparency). 

Over the last year I have been more and more open to the idea of adding a pet to the family. We have a gap in the ages of our kids and many times people have commented that it'll be like having two little families. I detest that idea. I want us to be one big family. We are very initial about how we structure our kids activities and our time together so that we function as a family of six. I had already starting getting sentimental about the idea of David having the dog he's wanted since we got married, add to that the bonus of the kids sharing memories and experiences of the same pet and I was ready to take the plunge. 

I started doing research and seeing what the options for rescue were available in the DC area. I found a great organization called the Italian Greyhound Club of America. We completed the application, had a home visit, spent time with several IGs (or Iggys) and in just over six weeks, on Sep 28th, we got to bring home Ollie!

He is WONDERFUL! I am so glad that he joined our family. Ollie is a great dog and a joy. The kids adore him. He loves to cuddle and burrow in blankets and believe it or not, he rotates whose bed he sleeps in. Ollie is 8 years old and in great health. Hopefully, we will have many years together. 

11th Birthday!

On Aug 21st, Connor turned 11 years old. I can't believe how fast time flies! He is an amazing young man. 

In early August, we had a party for Connor at our pool including: swimming, table tennis, tetherball, pizza, cupcakes, and more.

Not only did Connor have many friends attend but his cousins were able to attend as well. 

Cooper and Andrew (cousin)

The AMAZING Birthday Boy

Sybella and Hannah (cousin)

Although he is now one year older, Connor is a joyful soul and I hope he always stays a kid at heart!

Happy Birthday Son!

Family Vacation

This year for our family summer vacation we again went back to Myrtle Beach, SC. The kids love this vacation spot and asked to return this year. 

This year Sybella and Cooper were both able to really enjoy the waves and sand...

We always boogie board while we are at the beach but this year, the boys also used the skin (skimmer) boards to glide across the top of the water in the shallow areas. And yes, our most adventurous child, Cooper, spent lots of time trying to figure it out. He discovered it's harder than skateboarding.  :)

We had 7 days just swimming, running in the sand, building castles, and enjoying the sun. It was amazing! David took a special day with each of the kids to do something one-on-one that they wanted to do. He took Colin golfing. Connor chose a 3D movie, Sybella took him shopping. And Cooper took him outside for a walk and to throw the ball (every day---apparently, the youngest gets more dates!)

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Family Picture

I have lots of photos and videos that I want to get out but the best place to start is probably with our most recent family photo; It ain't easy to get 4 kids on a couch smiling, looking in the right general direction, and interested in the 40th photo of the day, while at the same time having the parents stop giving instructions long enough to smile. The kids did pretty good!

~Sharon

Visit with my Young Cousins

On New Year's Eve, I got a special & spectacular treat: I got to spend the day and evening with my littlest cousins. They are 10 and 8 and yes, they are my first cousins. My dad's older brother Carl got married for the first time a bit later than his brothers. He and his wife, Susan, although my Aunt and Uncle, have always felt a bit more like cousins since we have gotten married and had kids in the same general time frames. So, it was a bit surreal (yet totally amazing) hanging with their family on Friday and spending time with Sienna and Cade who are younger than my oldest children. We had a great time and had the blessing of spending some time with Susan's family as well.

2010 Army 10-Miler

It was another year of fun at the Army 10-Miler (Oct 24, 2010).

Last year I ran by myself. This year- David, my brother Joel, and my sister-in-law Stephanie, all ran too.

It was beautiful weather, which is always a bonus on race day. I also ran much faster than I did last year-- a hard earned accomplishment!

This year I also got the chance to catch up with several folks that I hadn't seen it a while: Todd Little (LTC and TCU grad), Misty Cornett Lever (another fellow Horned Frog), and Jennifer Brown (an Ob-Gyn that I worked with at Madigan).

Here is a shot of the of us after the race:

Frying Pan Park

In late October, we had the chance enjoy a play-date with the St.Clair cousins (all the kids that weren't in school). We visited Frying Pan Park in Herdon, VA.

We saw lots of animals, ate lunch, and played. The kids loved the sheep, pigs, cows, horses, turkeys, ducks, and peacocks. A beautiful sunny day and fun with the family. We couldn't ask for anything more!

Thanksgiving Feast

Every year the elementary school does a 'Thanksgiving Feast.' This year was no different. Sybella, Cooper, and I had the opportunity to go Connor's school and enjoy lunch with him and his friends. Connor loves showing off his younger siblings to the kids in the class and the younger kids love both eating with Connor and all the attention.

We had turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and green beans....along with Pumpkin Ice Cream. Not too bad a fare for cafeteria food!

**Unfortunately, the Middle School does not offer a Thanksgiving Feast so, we didn't get to eat with Colin this year. :0(

Conflict or Harmony

It's interesting, I suspect that people would say of me, "She doesn't mind conflict. In fact, she likes it." That's true but it's also totally not true... What?!

Let me explain. I have an analytical mind, I enjoy a debate (I get that from my dad). I have no problem with conflict in which there can be resolution. And that resolution, does not have to be me being right. I am happy to be wrong (just show me), I am happy to apologize, I am happy to compromise, I am happy to form a different opinion based on sound reasoning or fact.

Conflict in which I feel powerless, meaning: conflict in which there is not transparency, conflict in which there are malicious motives, conflict in which communication isn't present, conflict in which my motives have been assumed, conflict that is riddled with gossip, or conflict in which people assume that I don't get me feelings hurt--- these are the conflicts in which I do not do well with! They grieve me. I use the word 'grieve' in the most serious of connotations, GRIEVE me, they cause me physical ailment. I wrestle with them.

I am desirous of peace, desirous of reconciliation (I get this from my mom).

Where is all this coming from?

I didn't have some crisis in my life, I didn't have some major conflict or falling out yesterday. (Promise.)

I was reading this morning and came across this:

Ps 133:1 (NLT) How wonderful and pleasant it is

when brothers live together in harmony!

or

Ps 133:1 (NIV) How good and pleasant it is

when God’s people live together in unity!

This just struck me... I have lots of people in my life: family, friends, neighbors, associates, organization peers. There is conflict in these situations. Anytime you are in relationship with people for more than a year, there will be conflict (for many, it could take a day). All it takes is enough interactions to get past the superficial.

However, I am in a season of my life where there is peace. (in same cases, it's absence of conflict, in some it's mature relationship where conflict is easily resolved, and in some cases, it's just grace-filled situations paired with forgiveness.) It makes life so smooth. Harmony is wonderful and pleasant. It provides for so much freedom. Freedom to spend my energies elsewhere. Freedom to be creative and explore (which takes focus for me). Freedom to grow, engage, and flourish. Harmony is a gift. A gift that I am Thankful for...

I love the holidays and what I love most about the holidays is having family and friends around. I don't get to have all of my family around like I wish (many of them live FAR away or cost is just too much, or they have other family to visit). But I am so thankful for both our family and friends. And in this season of celebrating Thanksgiving, this passage spoke volumes to me about the blessings of harmony.

(And for all you natural debaters out there, no I don't think absence of conflict is all good or should last forever...I am just grateful for peace in this season of my life.)

September Catch-Up

Here are some highlights from September:

Note: Since I was adding several pics, they are smaller than usual but if you click on any picture, you can view a full-size version.

Wedding Shower:

We started off the month of September by hosting a Wedding Shower for Phillip (David's Brother) and his fiancee, Christy. It was a fun evening of food with friends from VA, MD, DC, & NJ. It was a great opportunity for many of their friends to meet and get to know each other a bit before the wedding. We also had the chance to bless them with gifts and prayers as they entered the last month of preparation before their wedding day.

4yo Preschool- 1st Day of School:

Sept 13th was Sybella's 1st day of school (sorry no pictures of the boys...I don't know how I missed that!). She is in a 3-day a week program from 9am-Noon this year. She loves her preschool and we are so blessed that her BFF, Kylee, is in class with her again this year!

Sept 27th Haircut:

I have to admit, I thought that Sybella was past this stage...but, she cut her hair. I was shocked. She loves to use the scissors, she cuts paper almost daily, I just didn't think I would ever have to write another blog about Sybella taking scissors to her hair. I think she had just turned 2yo and I was pregnant with Cooper the first time she did this. This time it was particularly painful to me for several reasons:

1. I was standing RIGHT next to her. Seriously, I was about 12 inches away.

2. I was looking right at her and I couldn't react fast enough.

3. When she was 2, she didn't really know better, now she should.

4. When she was 2, she did very little damage. You couldn't even tell that she had cut it and I didn't do anything to 'fix' it.

5. This time, she had a bob on one side and long hair on the other side--- required a MAJOR hairstyle change. We cut her hair into a bob at the point where she had used the scissors. She ended up losing about 6-8 inches of length.

6. Sybella made her flowergirl debut, 12 days after her haircut, on Oct 9, in her Uncle Phillip & Aunt Christy's wedding (I had envisioned the dress with lots of long curls).

Ok, I wasn't thrilled to have Sybella switching to short hair (especially right before her flowergirl debut) but, I have to admit that this cut is cute!

No words needed!

End of the Summer

I took sometime tonight to figure out how I could get back to blogging. 2010 has been a huge disappointment for me in the simple fact that I failed to share my journey with my friends and colleagues.

The pace of DC and business in general has kept me focused but yet distracted. Focused on revenue and support to my clients but distracted from the things that had made me successful. During my vacation over the next two weeks I hope to find that focus and passion again.

Part of my secret to sharing the stories more readily will be the fact that I can now post blogs through email. Since 80% of my life has been consumed by "electronic" mail ....I figured I should figure out how to maximize it to benefit my goals.

Cheers in the remainder of 2010!

David

Cooper's First Birthday

April 25th was Cooper's First Birthday.
It was Elmo and pizza everywhere in a low-key family event. Must say it was one of the best birthdays ever planned at our house and it'll be our last "1st Birthday" so everyone was doting on our 'baby.'


Can't fathom life without this little guy so it's crazy to think just one short year ago he was joining us for the first time.

Pyramid Art Show

Fairfax High School had their Pyramid Art Show on March 23rd. It's an opportunity for students to showcase a portfolio of work. I will say, I was impressed. Art was NEVER my forte. I love art, I was just never any good at it myself. The portfolios that the high school students had looked professional; every kind of media you can imagine was put to use. The perspectives and point of views including the "green" projects and quality social messages reminded me that high school student are beginning to think like adults (despite the crazy hormones).


Since we don't have a high school student yet, we wouldn't have even known about this fabulous art show had our 6th grader not been invited to participate! Yes, you heard me correctly, our 6th grader was invited to submit a drawing to display at the art show. In what I would say is a community event (disguising a very smooth marketing strategy), the high school invites all the elementary and middle schools to bring a collection of pieces. It increases art awareness and encourages the students to continue taking art classes as they rise to the next school. Colin's elementary school selected 6 pieces to display at the art show and his was one of them! Congratulations Colin!
The whole family went to the art show and proudly supported Colin in his debut as an artist! It was a blast.

Thoughtful Thursday

Here is a great picture of "My Guys"-- aren't they adorable??


This picture was taken this week after Colin's Area Orchestra Concert (post to follow).

Wordless Wednesday

Catch Up

When you have been gone this long from blogging, where do you even start????

I have no idea! So, I will just jump in with a little summary of life.

David- doesn't have to travel too much with work now (as compared to previous seasons of life) but over the last month, he has been very busy. The first week of February he stayed in DC for the week in order to support the President's National Prayer Breakfast and to work. DC isn't far away but his schedule is so packed during this week that it just makes more sense to stay downtown. The next week was Snowmagedden for us in Northern VA. Here at the house we got 30+ inches. Then David's travel went in motion. He spent 8 days in Germany, had 30 hours at home, then went to Columbus, OH for 4 days. He had 3 days at home and then spent 3 more days in Columbus.
He is home now and it is SO NICE. We miss him when he's gone.

Colin- He is doing well in 6th grade. He loves school and loves playing outside. He is participating in Area Orchestra (experienced students from 6 Elementary Schools). Their concert is in 2 weeks. Colin is prepping for Spring Soccer Season and already starting to plan his birthday party (he can't wait to be 18, so 12 needs to hurry up and get here). Just a couple of weeks ago, I attended the Parent Orientation Night for Colin's move to middle school next year. Colin has been attending Youth Group at The Falls Church since January. He loves it. There are about 200 kids for the first hour and then they break out into small groups of 12. He has a great group of 6th grade guys and 2 awesome leaders (we are thrilled that he likes it and BONUS- it's only 15 minutes a way!).

Connor- is ready for Travel Soccer Season to start. He has enjoyed Winter Training (for the last 6 weeks on Friday nights) but he is ready to be in fully engaged in the season. His team attended a Pre-Season Scrimmage Event last Sunday and went 2 and 2. In the last game, Connor scored the winning goal! Since he normally plays midfield or defender. He has had many assists but this was his first goal in a game since starting Travel Soccer. It made it that much more special to him that it was the game-winner! Connor is also doing well in school and enjoys it. He starts learning the recorder this month and can't wait for next year when he will be learning Violin.


Sybella- loves preschool and is ready to start swimming lessons. She has the vocabulary of a much older child and is quite certain that she is the "first born," it must be that 6-year space between her and Connor. She is a wonderful helper and so smart. I am constantly amazed by the conversations we have. She is truly a blessing to me. The highlight of Sybella's month is that while dad was gone to Germany, Sybella's room went from white (with marker drawings) to Lime Green (or Lemon Green if you ask her, she can't remember the word lime). Last week she wore her 'Cat in the Hat' Hat to school to celebrate Dr. Suess' Birthday. She loves Dr. Suess books, especially Apples up on Top, One Fish Two Fish, and The Cat in the Hat.


Cooper- This child is ON THE MOVE. He can crawl up the stairs (all the way to the top). He can surf down our short staircase (5 stairs) on his tummy. He uses sign language to communicate: milk, more (as in food), and down (when he's done in the high chair). He is trying to stand independently, cruises our furniture with ease, and will soon be walking. He has the cutest curls in the back of his hair and his eyes have stayed blue. He is starting to try to say words: DaDa, Dow (for Down), and shakes his head No whenever he doesn't want something. He has a contagious smile and is definitely going to be trying to keep up with the older kids! He has 2 bottom teeth and the top 2 are coming in now. The only thing he doesn't do that I am READY for him to do is.......you guessed it, Sleep Thru The Night!

Sharon- I am busy staying at home with the kids. I have taken on a role as the Connections Ministry Leader at our church. I have taken on a project for the PTA. I still attend Community Bible Study in McLean once a week. I am leading a Video Teleconference Small Group this semester (a new role and total experiment that I love-- post to follow soon). I am the treasurer for the Travel Soccer team. I am working diligently on weight loss. And drum roll........since I turn 35 this month, it is the year of the Marathon (post to follow)!

First Day in Korea

After arriving in Korea on Monday night, our first trip out of the hotel on Tuesday was met with a little surprise, SNOW. Not much, just a dusting, but still it invigorated all of us and made it feel like Christmas. The weather was mild and pleasant compared to the forecasts (we overpacked when we brought the long underwear). We had a chance to wander around in the area outside the hotel and the Joel and Shauna also got to meet their son, Keller, for the first time-- Amazing!

**Don't forget, you can click on any picture or mosaic in our blog for a better/larger view.

The Police Department

Today I took the kids to the City of Fairfax Police Department.

Before I get into why I was at the police station, I have a little vignette to tell you:

We were in the parking lot on our way into the building. There was a policeman who had just gotten out of his cruiser and was on the way into the building. Sybella says, "Mom, that's a Police Man." I responded, "you're right Sybella, that is a Police Man." She then says in an adorable, sing-song, 2-yr-old voice, "I Liiiiike him!" It was too cute.

OK, back to why I was actually at the Police Station: The Optimist Club of Fairfax was assisting the Police Department in hosting a SafeAssured ID Program.

You may not know what the program is, The SafeAssured privacy-protected mini-CD offers a single repository of important information:

· All ten electronically imaged fingerprints

· Digital photograph

· Streaming video showing mannerisms and gait with linked audio file providing the child's voice inflection and accent.

· Private information (general physical description, street address, date of birth, life-threatening medical conditions, identifying scars or marks, and tattoos)

· Ability to create missing person poster from the mini-CD

Families also receive a full-color photo data card and a Parents' Guidebook with prevention tips, written in conjunction with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

Essentially, you have everything you need to launch a National Amber alert and provide identification data to the police, all at your fingertips. I hope to NEVER need the CD and ID card that I was provided for each of the kids, but I would rather have it and not need it then need it and not have it! The experience also provided me with an opportunity to review safety information with the kids including our family "password," how to handle encounters with strangers, how a 911 call works, etc.

The Program we attended today was Free of Charge and they did a CD/ID card for each of my 4 kids (the baby's CD did not include a streaming video of him walking and talking since he doesn't do that yet-- but does have a photo and his fingerprints!).

This was a great experience, an awesome resource, and the kids loved interacting with the police officers and volunteers.

Note: Most organizations offer this service for between $0 and $10. It is recommended that you update your child's kit every year because kids change so dramatically from year to year. Check with your local police department, Optimist Club, or the SafeAssured ID event site to find an event near you!

Breakfast with Grandma Cretella

While we were in Ohio this weekend for a wedding, we got the chance to have breakfast with David's Grandma Cretella. She met us at the Cracker Barrel to spend an hour with us before we drove back to DC. Here are some shots of her with Sybella and Cooper.