A Thanksgiving "Thank you!"

While in Scranton for Thanksgiving, our family felt overwhelmed with thanks! All of our family looked so good and we enjoyed the time spent with everyone. We got to spend a wonderful Thanksgiving at mom and dad Mulherins (Yummy as always, mom.). The next day we celebrated a special birthday with Mark's mother at their beautiful home. We spent quality time with Dean and Sharon, Haley, Jenna, and Reese. Thank you for letting us invade your home! And....thank you, Cammi, for helping my children get over their fear of dogs! Woof! Woof! We were able to be with Mark's brother, Mike and his family at their awesome home in the mountains! They treated us with homemade hot wings and smoked fish from their own backyard smoker. Do I need to mention the bear skin rug, too?! (; Below you'll see how we were able to visit with great grandmothers. It was great to see other family like, Aunt Jeanne, and Aunt Tina. And it's always special time spent with Jerry and Arlene Beck!

We ended the trip visiting our friends, the Hume family, in Bethlehem. It was as if we never left, talking all night and laughing. We even went by our old house and knocked on our neighbors door. It was great seeing them!

Thank you to everyone for welcoming us into your homes, feeding us, taking the time to be with us, being great with our kids, and making us feel great to be in PA!

Have to say, McIntyres.....we missed you and thought of you a lot!

All around, it was a wonderful trip, especially with our new Corin in arms. SUCCESS!!!

The Electric City

This trip marked 5 years to the week that we moved from PA to NC. Some things you miss, some things you forget, and some things change while you're gone. Some things you count on like amazing mountains and great pizza! Then there's things you took for granted, like living a few blocks from the beautiful St. Ann's Basilica. Finally, there's the nice changes that have occurred like the renovation of Nay Aug Park. Mark and I enjoyed memories while the kids constantly remarked on how different everything looked...all good!

3 Great Grandmothers!

Top: Great Grandma Grala. Middle: Great Grandma Lil. Bottom: Great Grandma Salamon What a blessing!!!

Happy All-Hallows Eve!

In a new neighborhood for Halloween this year and it was just as fun as our last one! Here a pic of our outfits! Cora: self made midevil princess, Kade: puss in boots, Colette: balerina, Mark: pirate!

Corin's Baptism

Corin's baptism was wonderful! Here's some pictures until, I can write more!

Corin Bernadette is here!

Corin is 1 week old today! She fits into the family perfectly and it's like she's always been here. Her first week has been full of lots of kisses, hugs, and holding. The kids can't get enough of her. Well, none of us can. She's pretty laid back, so far! (: She had a rough start coming into the world, but she's strong and has transitioned well. Every day she looks bigger and is just pure joy!

These are pictures from the day we brought her home. She's about 6 hours old and we celebrated with a huge chocolate chip cookie birthday cake! When Cora saw her she said, "Oh my gosh mommy! She's so small!" Kade said, "She is so pretty. I love her!" Colette said, "Baby out!!! She's cute!"

We'll pass some video along later. (:

Marks Testing

Coras Tesing

Baby Shower

Saturday was a very busy day here! After the TKD testing (see post below), it was off to a Baby Shower! Friends of mine were kind enough to pull off a wonderful, relaxing, and fun shower. It is very rare we get together just to talk. So, this was quite a treat! Something I told all of them, was that it was just two years ago, I was on my knees praying that could God give me just one good friend. All I needed was one. And now, I find that He has surrounded me with many unique and special friends. Each one of them inspires me to be a better wife, mother, educator, and to live my faith as I should. I am very blessed and this baby is loved abundantly by all of them. It was a great time and I have to admit, the cake was the hit. If you haven't had Gelato Italian Ice Cream, you MUST try it! A friend owns the coffee place we had the shower at, and she made a chocolate cake layered with gelato ice cream. It was wayyyy yummy! So, now we have everything set up and ready for the baby to come. It can be any day now! (:

Deputy Black Belt

On Saturday morning, Mark and Cora tested for their deputy black belts and earned them! It has been a very long road with a lot of blood, sweat and tears. Well, not really blood, but sweat and tears, for sure! The test was very long and challenging. They had to perform each previous belts form, then within 2 minutes all the ho sin sols (defense moves against an attacker). Then for the first time, Mark had to break a brick with his hand, then using four different types of kicks, break boards that were held up around him in a circle. Cora had to break two thick boards and do the same kicks as Mark. It ended with sparring a black belt. It was quite a sight! Mark and I are especially happy for Cora. She wanted this so bad, but at times we wondered if it was just too much. I know I couldn't have done all this at age 8 and seriously not now either! But, she has a great memory, loves the physical aspect and the fact that she does this with her dad, kept her going. She was on fire out there! Mark overcame a lot of physical challenges and has been put back on a healthy track. He also, loves that he has been able to dedicate consistent time with Cora. They needed it! So, the belt ceremony will be Monday night. There they will have to read in front of the entire Do Jang and visitors from some essays they completed. They will then be officially a part of the Black Belt Club!

Cora's party and friends

Cora had her party last Saturday with the neighbor kids. All went well. The picture is of the pinata pile-up. They had a good time.

Today, I took Cora and her close friend, Julianna out for bagles then off to the bead store. Julianna joined Cora's last year of Little Flowers this year and they quickly became friends. She also homeschools and comes from a sweet family. They really enjoyed themselves today and made necklaces that matched, just different colors. When her mother came to pick her up, they didn't want to part. So, Cora will be at their home until her dad picks her up for TKD tonight. Cora's growing up!!!

Cora is 8!

Our girl turned 8 and had a great day! It started off with her running out to the van, pulling out her booster seat, getting the dustbuster and vacuming the seat clean. Yes!!! No more booster! Then we went to Mass where the priest gave her a big hug and some of her friends were there to play with afterwards. Then we came home and did schoolwork....we made it a short day! (: Then a neighbor came by and dropped off a present. It was a crafty present where she and I worked on making a headband during Colette's nap. She wore it all day. Then she picked out a movie to watch. When dad came home we had our family party where she had asked for chicken parmesean with pasta topped off with a lemon cake with lemon iceing and pinapple. I wasn't sure about the pinapple, but it was actually very good. She had a wonderful time opening presents from everyone! It feels like your all here when she opens them. When dinner was done it was off to the street with her new bike and scooter. She was smiling from ear to ear. Thank you for all the phone calls. She enjoyed talking with all of you. Lastly, we played a game of SORRY! It was a riot! She won fare and square, but Colette, not kidding, Colette was a tight second place. We didn't pull out the bell (idea from the Carol Burnette Show) and ring it in the face while screaming, SORRY! But, the kids definatly put some simpathy into saying it.....NOT! We had a lot of fun!

We were supposed to have a small neighborhood party last Saturday, but since we were on the hold for possible chicken pox, we cancelled it. Well, Cora cancelled it. She overheard Mark and I talking about what we should do and she came in and said we should cancel it and that she would be alright. We were so proud of her! When we called all the parents they all said that she was an amazing girl and very thoughful. So, with all of that and the clear okay on the no chicken pox, we're going to have it this Saturday. Pizza, cupcakes, pinata then out into the cul-de-sac! Should be a good time. Then on Monday, she's going to go to a bead store with her close friend, Julianna to make jewlery. I'm going to bring them back to the house so they can cook something together. She's looking forward to that!

Cora is doing great. She's growing up and really trying to change some things that she is realizing makes her unhappy. She's also starting to deal with making friendships and the challenges that can come with that. It's a lot, but she's really shining! Keep her in your prayers as she prays for all of you!

Third trimester

I'm 30 weeks and I've never felt better! The last three weeks (except for yesterday for whatever reason) I've had energy, been able to get back to exercising (T-Tapp and swimming), eating normal, and no weird discomforts! I know it's the calm before the storm, so I'm enjoying every moment of it.

Nesting is going pretty good. Well, I don't know if Mark feels that way. (; Honestly, my entire house needs organizing, so nesting is at a whole new level. Mark hung our mirror above the fireplace on Saturday and we were all sooo happy. Cora asked me to sit with her on the couch with a blanket to look at our new home. Kade said, "Hey! I remember that in our old house." Colette didn't really care and Mark said that it felt more like home. He put together a new table for my sewing machine. It's the first time it's had a home. So, I'm hoping to get to my nesting project and make some curtains for the living room. It's all coming together.

Kade took the last picture so Cora took this one (note the stain on my shirt...Yeah!). I have a midwife appointment tomorrow. Prayers are always welcome!

NC Zoo

We went to the NC Zoo last week and had a great time. The zoo is beautiful. This comes from someone who is not a big fan of zoo's. It was a long day, but everyone hung in there. It's only about a 1 hour drive, so we pulled it off in one day. We saw polar bears, flamingos, giraffes, puffins, gorillas, crocs, chimps, black bears, an American Bald Eagle, all kinds of tropical and desert animals, and much more. There was a new honey bee exhibit that we loved seeing since we've been studying them the past month for science. BTW...they are the NC state insect. (; So, we had a great time and we're glad to fit it in before it gets too hot!

Finished swingset!

Mark finished the kids swingset a few weeks ago and it's wonderful! He had to be creative in building it, since the spot wasn't level. But, he pulled it off and the kids have been on it every day!!! Thank you, daddy!!!

Mark update

I have Marks approval to give an update on him. Oh, he must trust me alot!!! Well, he is doing really well. I had some people mention that he looks like he lost weight. He has. He has lost 30lbs. and is very happy where he's at. He's maintaing well and feels much better. He's working on getting his deputy black belt in TKD with Cora and really enjoys it. They take classes twice a week and that helps him stretch and feel fit. Right now, he's building a new swingset for the kids. It's quite the task, but he enjoys it and it's looking great! (I'll post pictures soon). He's still a Eucharistic Minister at our church and volunteers with other church events when he can. His job with GE is going well. It's been, and still is, quite an adjustment for our family. On one hand, we're thankful during this econamy that he has a job, and a good one. On the other hand, we don't see him much. He struggles with maintaining balance and we struggle not showing how much we miss him. It's a very demanding job, but we're all understanding that and trying to make the best of the time we have. In fact, he's on his way to Georgia today and will be back Thursday evening. We're looking forward to spending time with him this weekend!

So, I hope this gives a fair picture into his life at the moment. He works hard, is a great husband and a caring father. He's the man...or is it the king?! (:

Per requests...pics of the house.

Thank you!!!

I've been awful at getting thank you's out over the last few months. You know I usually send them, but I just couldn't seem to get to it. So, I want to give a huge "Thank you" to everyone for all the gifts for Kade's b-day, Easter, housewarming, and congratulations on the pregnancy! It is such a treat to get mail from our family. Being so far away, the kids just light up when they "see" that you are thinking of us. Thank you, thank you!!!

Happy Memorial Day!

Hope everyone had a great holdiay weekend! We had the best time we've had in a long time! We went camping at Lake Jordan Friday night with six other families. There were about 30 kids and eleven adults. Sounds crazy, but it wasn't! The weather was perfect, the campsite beautiful and everyone was great. There was fishing, swimming, a bonfire, silly stuff, great conversation and the best...s'mores! Mark and I were unsure what to expect. But since we both love to camp, we thought this would be a perfect time to start. The kids had the best time! The first words out of Cora's mouth on Saturday morning were, "I love camping!" Kade loves sticks, so he was in his glory and Colette was born to camp. Over the years Mark and I have been buying things here and there and he bought a tent for last Christmas. So, we were ready and comfortable!

Saturday, was filled with more of the same from Friday. Then we went home, rested and went to our church festival. Sunday we had friends over for lunch that turned into also having dinner and then a movie.

Today, Memorial Day, we rested! Mark and I took turns with naps and we tried to get everything ready to start the new week.

We miss everyone and think of you all the time!

Easter

Here's a family photo on Easter. It was our first holiday in the new home. We still had many boxes to be unpacked, but we were able to pull off a nice day with Mass, an easter egg hunt in the backyard and a delicious dinner. Meme and Pa were here to help and celebrate!

Cora and Colette update

I just realized that these posts are not going to be in order as I wanted them to be. I'm writing several today and didn't realize the last post will be on top. So, being a bloggin newbe, the last post, Sold house, bought house and pregnant...oh my! was meant to be read first and so on......

Now, I thought I would just give little updates on Cora and Colette since I talk about Kade in the following post.

Cora
She is doing great. She has grown both physically and maturly a lot over the last few months. She still keeps us on our toes, but she is doing amazing things. She is a red belt in TKD and only two belts away from becoming a black belt. Her goal is to help teach classes, which she does a little now. She loves to help others learn TKD and still loves that she is taking the class with her dad!

There are some girls her age in the neighborhood that she rides bikes with and plays with sometimes. But, her closest friends are some girls from her Little Flowers group. This is her fourth year and a new girl joined that she has become close with. It's been nice seeing her make these friendships.

As for schooling, she's doing well. She will take her first standardized test the first week of June. She still loves to read and insisted on learning cursive. I wasn't surprised since she loves "fancy" writing. She's been taking free classes at the library and will be taking a cooking class with fellow homeschoolers based on a geography lesson once a month. I'm really proud of her!

Colette
She is two in every way! She thinks she's at least 5 and tries to be 10. She hangs out while we do our school work and tries to do it all, too. She just learned how to ride her tricycle to keep up with the kids in the neighborhood and thinks everything is "MINE!" She's tough at times, but also gentle and sweet. She is absolutly funny and is talking more and more every day. She loves to play with the kids and really likes to play with Kade's dinosours and stuff! This can cause some problems at times, but for the most part, they play excellent together. She holds her own in this family! We love her!

Kade is 5

Kade's birthday was a great! Dinosaurs are his thing. And let me tell you, he can tell you a thing or two about them. We are amazed at how much he knows about many kinds of dinosaurs. It's very funny and if you ever want to talk dinosaurs, he's available!

After daily Mass, we went strawberry picking where we picked many of them and played at the playgound. Then we had his party. Two days later we took a friend of his and one of Cora's friends to the NC Museum of Natural Science. They had a wonderful time! Thank you to everyone who called and/or sent a gift! He is one lucky boy!

Kade is doing wonderful! He is a gentle soul, funny, and happy. He LOVES having his own bedroom and organizes it every night before he goes to bed. He told me one day that he wanted to start homeschooling on our new school room. So, off we went to get his first printing book! He's been learning a new letter every day for two weeks now and is an absolute joy!

Sold house, bought house, and pregnant...oh my!

You can say, alot has happened since my last post!!! Due to being sick and not having access to the computer during the move, I couldn't keep the blog updated. So.....we'll start with the selling of our house. We decided to put it back on the market once Mark had completed working at his new job with GE for a few months. We LOVE Holly Springs and now, that he was working close to home, we hoped we could sell and buy ASAP. Well, we put it on the market in January and sold it in March! We got an offer on a Thursday night then the kids and I started the new home search on Friday. We were expecting to be living in an apartment for a little while because we had to close in three weeks. But, thanks be to God, we were led to our new home just in time! So, after some wheeling and dealing with the buidler over three days, we got an excellent deal and were able to have back-to-back closeings! It was absolutly crazy! I was little help because I was so sick. Mark handled the move with co-workers who took off half a days work to help empty the old house. Then we had five other friends show up at different times to help load the house. It was unplanned, yet it worked out perfectly! We have felt so blessed for Mark to have a great job, to be surrounded by a great group of friends, and to now have a beautiful home that we hope to grow VERY old in!!! As for our old house, a lovely couple live their with their 2yo son. It was nice to pass it on to them.

Now for the other wonderful and best news.....we're expecting a baby girl around September 7th! We are so excited, it's just great! This pregnancy has taken a toll on all of us, but as of 4 weeks ago (who's counting) I finally started to feel better. For the first time, we found out what we are having, though I knew it was a girl because of how I felt! She's kicking a lot and the kids just think it's so funny when they feel her. Thank you for all your prayers, support, phone calls and checking in during the difficult first months. Now we're looking forward to getting the house in order and preparing for our newest little one. We can't be happier to be expecting another baby!

Happy New Year!

We had a wonderful New Year's celebration here! Some friends came over last night and enjoyed a huge spread. Nobody went home hungry (: ! Let's see....we had ham (thanks to Honey Baked Ham) turkey breast (thanks to Honey Baked Ham), salad, fruit salad, 7-layer bean dip, chips, veggies & dip, rolls, punch, and for dessert.....apple pie topped with Marks eggnog and/or chocolate ice cream. For entertainment we had fun 2009 glasses, necklaces, music and the good ole train under the tree had the kids mesmerized for some time. The "kids" includes Mark, who brought down the trains he had as a kid to add to our set! The party ended around a whopping 8:30 when Colette started screaming and whaling her body uncontrollably. As our friends were walking out saying goodbye, she immediately stopped and waved and yelled, "GOODBYE!" She was DONE!

So then, as a family, we sat down and announced our New Year Resolutions!!! Cora: "I want to get better at respecting my parents and myself. I also want to get better at not yelling." Kade: " I want to be a better knight." Colette: She was just happy the company was gone. Mark: I'll let him tell everyone himself. (; Me: " To continue T-Tapping, running/walking, and commit to personal morning prayer." We'll all need patience and support to stick to our resolutions. Good luck with yours, too!

We had a wonderful 2008 filled with a lot of excitement. The biggest was Mark's new job. We are extremely thankful for it! Looking forward to a blessed 2009! Love to you all!