Happy 9th Birthday, Jen!

We all love Jen. She is spunky, funny, and beautiful, just to name a few. She is one of those gals who just sparkles all the time. Well, today is her ninth birthday, and last night we had a pajama party to celebrate. Jen was born on February 29th, 1972, which just happened to be a leap year. So although she's lived on this earth for 36 years, she is officially nine years old. We surprised her with a party at our MOPS steering meeting, and indulged her with fun 9-year old things like Hannah Montana plates, napkins and cups, a twister game, and a High School Musical cake. Gifts included jammies, hot pink nail polish, a training bra, a tiara, wand, and banner set, and stickers and bubble gum. Several of the girls sprayed themselves with glitter perfume, and we all gorged ourselves on cake, chips, brownies, and popcorn. We always have fun when we're together, but last night was a special time meant to honor Jen.

wordless wednesday

Grover Friends

One of the scariest things about being a teenager is having to choose a college, and thus a path for one's life. I remember being quite clueless about what I wanted to do with my life and where I wanted to study. In fact, the day before I left for my freshman year at Grove City College, my parents literally "threw the book at me" and told me to choose a major. Ha! I had applied as a biology major, hoping to eventually pursue marine biology. There's no marine life in western PA. Finally I declared, "Well, I guess I'd like to study elementary education." And the rest of that story is history. But my point here (sorry, I got a little off track) is that going to college is like taking a leap of faith. Most freshmen arrive on campus scared and feeling completely alone.

But here it is, years later, and I see clearly how God's perfect plan has unfolded for me. Bryan and I met the second day of freshman year. Two weeks ago we celebrated our 17th Valentine's Day together. This past weekend we got together with college friends to reminisce, fellowship, and celebrate just being together. The last time we were together, Matt was still a bachelor and none of us had kids!!! I am thankful for these friends with whom we are bonded together by our history, our faith, and our love for one another.

Here are just a few of the pictures we took.

Bob, Bryan, and Matt

Jen (Bob's wife), me, and Melissa (Matt's wife)

The kids (minus Hannah. She was hopping around with her bunny ears on).

A future Grover? Her sweatshirt says so, although you can't read it here.

Only God knows what's in store for her!

Dressing up (as always) and Dancing with the Stars!

Here is a funny video of the kids watching Dancing with the Stars. Hannah has seen this episode about 34 times. If you watch closely, you will see her emulate Helio's fancy move in the beginning where he throws himself down on the floor. This was the first time Tyler had seen this show but he is a fast learner.

Kids will be kids!

Hannah and Tyler had so much fun together. They particularly enjoyed playing on the steps. They had picnics, slid down on their bellies, and perfected their raisin rolling. Yes, raisin rolling. Bailey loved cleaning up after that!

Snowy day!

Our very good friends Matt and Melissa flew up from Florida to stay with us for the weekend. They brought along with them their adorable son, Tyler. The seven of us had a great time together. Here are some pictures of our snowy Friday. This was Melissa's first experience with snow... those southerners don't know what they're missing.