This morning, my husband reminded me why I married him.

First, he surprised me by saying he took the day off of work.
He had his mom come over and said it might be nice to take a mid-morning motorcycle ride.

While on the bike, he non-nonchalantly asked if I was comfortable enough to ride to Nazareth Hall. I said sure, thinking nothing of it, because we’ve taken that ride to Grand Rapids before. But when we walked down to the Grotto, here’s what I saw.

I thought it was a little strange seeing a single table, but it still didn’t hit me. Then Nick said he “thought it would be special…”

And that’s when I realized! I couldn’t believe he thought of this!

A little picnic brunch right where we got married!

Our food and wine was brought down to us while soft music played in the background. It was so romantic and thoughtful of him to arrange this special time together!

Nick and I have had our share of challenges and struggles over these past five years, but we’ve gotten through them and it’s made us stronger.

We’re amazed at God’s grace and the many blessings he’s given us. Most of all our two precious children.

Amazing all that can happen in just five years…

Excited for what’s to come!

Since we never took an extravagant honeymoon, (we just went to a cabin in Southern Ohio) we would also like to plan a big trip for next spring. We were thinking about doing an all-inclusive in Punta Cana (hope I spelled that right). What’s a favorite trip you’ve taken? Anywhere in particular you would suggest to go? We don’t want a trip full of activities. We’d rather have scenic surrounding, and lay around on a beach all day. Let me know if you have any ideas!

Nick on his Harley

Cue music…
“Get your motor runnin’
Head out on the highwaaaayyyy!”

I’ve had my motorcycle license for about six years now… I don’t do a whole lot of riding though, with two young kids an all.
My husband loves to get out on his Harley when he can; just cruisin, nothing crazy. (Or so he says)
This past weekend, My husband on his Harley, a friend on his motorcycle, my parents on their big scooters, another friend on her scooter, and me, also on a scooter,(after becoming a mom, my fear tolerance has greatly decreased for some reason, but to my credit, this lil’ scooter goes 55 mph +!) we took a ride to Grand Rapids, Ohio. It was so fun! I love the hot summer wind in your face, the fresh air smells, the relaxing twist and turns of the road, and the low wave all the motorcylists give you (makes you feel like your in some special club! haha!)
It was nice to pass beautiful Nazareth Hall where my husband and I got married. And hanging out for a bit in Grand Rapids was also a good time. Such a cute little area. And you always have to get the ice cream there. Yum! I hope to do it again sometime before the summer ends!

My sweet little angel turned 3 years old this past weekend! I can’t believe it! It’s been so neat to see her grow into a little girl… but also a little sad. Sometimes I miss my chubby lil’ toddler.

My brother’s wife went into labor and had to have an emergency c-section in the early morning of February 25th. Sienna Bre was born! I went into labor at home around 9 a.m., arrived at the hospital around 11a.m, and had Beckam Samuel at 1:05p.m! So Beckam and his cousin are only hours apart! What is the likelihood of that happening?!  Here are a few pics of  the two of them hanging out…

Beckam Samuel n' Sienna Bre

Sienna already bullying Bex! hahahaha!

People have vastly different perceptions about what that is. Many seem to find it very strange, and I get a lot of questions about my experience. However, from what I read, homeschooling seems to be getting more popular.

I think perceptions about homeschooling varies, probably because it can be done so differently. It can be as structured or unstructured as you want it to be. From my experience, the only thing that matters is that the testing at the end of each year show that your are learning at or above your grade level.

I think homeschooling has positives and negatives.

The Positives…

• I feel that learning from my mother at an early age, just strengthened our bond even more.
• Learning from home never felt like a chore… I didn’t have to “go to school.”
• I was able to spend less time on the subjects that came easily to me (Reading/Writing) and more time on the subjects that were more challenging (Math/Science)
• I spent significantly less time on my school work than when I entered public school. There is a lot of wasted time in school… waiting for others to finish, waiting for the bell to ring, switching classes and so on. This goes back to you get the same amount of time on the “easy” subjects as on the “hard” ones.
• No homework!
• Since I wasn’t stuck with only my age group from the start, from an early age, I was able to get along with and speak with people of all ages very comfortably.
• Not as much peer pressure.
• I can work independently very well. In my experience, homeschooling promotes self-motivation. I remember from about 4th grade on, I pretty much followed each book’s instructions, completing my work without much assistance from my parents.

The Negatives…

• Social skills… I always get this question. Here’s the deal. I’ve always been a pretty outgoing person, so being social wasn’t really a problem for me. But, my mother involved me in sports and church, so I had other social outlets. So I can see how it could be a problem depending on the parents…
• Adjusting… It was a pretty hard adjustment to go to school. Having a bell or a goof-off in school interrupting my thoughts was tough at first. There wasn’t as much to distract me at home, so learning to focus with a lot of noise was a little hard. Also, going back to social concerns… it was a little tough adjusting to being around people that didn’t like me. I was always able to be just around friends before. I took it very hard if I was made fun of or not included.
• Multi-tasking… I feel that I have to work very hard at this, because again, at home, I could focus on one thing at a time with no distraction or time limits.
• Susceptible to distraction… I feel like my high school years were wasted. I was so distracted by all the social clubs, seeing friends everyday, etc., because it was so new to me, that I don’t feel like I learned much!! On the other hand, I had a good solid base from homeschooling that helped me to do well in College.

So that’s all I can think of right now, but I’m sure there’s more positives and negatives. And again, it would depend on the homeschooler that you talk to!

Here’s a couple new video clips so you can see how the lil’ munchkins are doing!