I'm proud to be an American!

American Woman...but I'm wearing my Great Grandma's necklace, to keep my birth country close to my heart!

The Court House

American Baby

Very proud of his moma

Happy American/Belgian Family!!! Now that I think of it, Reed is the only ones who is not Belgian in that photo, should I kick him out?Taking the oath. The speaker wasn't loud enough, so I'm not sure I said everything correctly, I kinda mumbled a bit, but my heart was in it!

The Judge

Alex took the pictures...hope you take Dramamine because they will make you feel nauseous, not straight at all!

They asked for 2 volunteers to share a few words...I couldn't resist being in the spotlight for long! I just figured I'd make it more personal for me that way...and people clapped for me, who wouldn't want over 200 people clapping for ya?

When I was 7 or 8, my family and I went to Florida on vacation, to Disneyworld and all the fun spots there. After I went home to Belgium, I told my mom and dad that" when I grow up, I want to live in America."..and here I am! ( My brother had told them he wanted to be a pilot: he flew F16 for 12 years and now flies the VIPs of Belgium...I'd say that trip was pretty much a life changing experience for our family...my poor parents, if they had known, they would have gone to Spain!)

Oath of Allegiance for Naturalized Citizens

"I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God."

PS: on the way home, the radio played Leni Kravitz's song : American Woman! How cool was that!!!!

Now I need to plan an apple pie/hot dog party!!!! Invitations coming soon

George Bush was right!

Do you recall our former President Bush making a comment on how he didn't like broccoli? It had made a big'ol splash all over the news, as if the man wasn't allowed to dislike some veggetables. Anyway, I might have found out why he dislikes the green-flowery vegetable so much. This is what I found on mine! I was steaming the END of a big bag, so that I can freeze the broccolis. When I pulled them out of the water to put them in a ziploc bag, I saw I had won an extra little friend. I re-read the serving suggestions, but nowhere did I find to add protein in a form of a caterpillar!

Notice how I said it was the "end" of the big bag...meaning that yes, we've eaten a lot of it before I got to that end!!!! Would you blame Bush for not wanting broccoli? I think I might join him on this opinion (and that's the only one I'll agree to)!

My mother's day gift from Reed

This year, all I wanted for Mom's day was a letter from Reed. I don't need jewelery, pots or pans and negligees for sure. So he out-did himself, some of the subtleties are only known to us, but if you know my parents were teachers and my brother was an F-16 pilot, it might help a little. Here he is ...

Once upon a time…

…in a land far, far away, there lived a beautiful young maiden named Murielle. She lived in a small cottage with her parents and older brother in a wee little village in the depths of the forest. Her parents tried for years to educate the villagers in the ways of language, mathematics and physical fitness. Her brother dreamed of soaring through the skies like a falcon defending its territory. But Murielle had a dream of her own. Even though she loved growing up in this quaint little village, she longed to see the world beyond the mighty Meuse. She desired to travel to a far away land in search of something better. Little did she know, how much better things could really be.

One day, Murielle received an invitation to visit a foe near a land known as bountiful. After a long journey over the great pond, she arrived at her destination and was greeted by her friends. Her time in the land was absolutely wonderful. She fell in love with her new found language, culture and religion. But much to her dismay, she would not stay long, and returned to her cottage and her family. Life continued for the young maiden. She continued to seek out higher education and indulge herself in her new religion.

As Murielle matured to young womanhood, she courted many of the local peasant boys but none were worthy of her constant companionship. This was an honor to be reserved for someone special…for her prince charming. She found amusement in dancing all night at the ball with the other damsels, but there was something missing in her young life. As the seasons passed, she often thought of her journey to the far away land and dreamed of returning again someday.

Winter was approaching and Murielle received word of a young man named Reed who was on a religious quest and recently arrived in a nearby township. The man was from the same far away land that she had once visited and adored. Intrigued, she decided that she would find the man and would engage in conversation. The day came…Reed was the most handsome man she had ever laid eyes on. He was equally drawn to her beauty. The two conversed and shared much laughter for days thereafter. But as all good things must come to an end…the young man had to part, for his religious quest was not over. The damsel was in distress.

Time passed and Murielle soon realized that a flame had been kindled within her heart. The more she thought of the time spent with Reed, the more she realized that he indeed was her prince charming. She was determined to be with him again. She sent him letters to inspire him on his journey and longed to receive word from him. And her parents saw their daughter radiate every time she received a letter…clearly she was in love.

The day came when her prince charming, upon completing his religious quest, departed for his home land. The two made arrangements for her to visit not long after, and after a wonderful courtship, they decided to be married. It was a beautiful ceremony with family and foe. Murielle looked as though she was a princess, and Reed was her knight in shining armor. The happy young couple started their new found life in an arid land. Soon they would experience the joy and happiness of raising a fine lad. Others would follow.

Throughout their life together, Reed and Murielle endured many hardships, but those were overshadowed by the many blessings that came their way. The young couple grew older, but the flame that once kindled within their hearts, now roared with eternal love.

The End


Happy Mothers Day Muche
I love you!!!
Reed

My Reed

I have known this guy longer than I have not. The first time I ever saw him, he was walking with his companion in my hometown Liege, in Belgium. He had just arrived and I had never seen him with that companion before. He didn't see me...I saw him first :)
I thought for the longest time that his birthday was on May 22nd, I don't know why, even after being married, I'd have to force myself to realize it's the 12th.
He steals Mother's Day once every few years and we have to share "who gets to sleep in" on that day!

I think that he is so sexy, especially when I see him taking care of all those kids we keep making.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY REEDEEEEEE!!!!

while the boys went to their annual Father and Son Camp out this Fridaywe girls (and Tomtom) had our own fun... chocolate strawberries...

hair bows...

and Crocs to kill!

Maddy's Locks ofr Love

I was threatened not to take this picture of Melanie, and my head will roll for posting it!

The locks of love need 10 inches to be able to use the hair. It takes 8 pony tails to make one wigg, and they cost between $3.000 and $4.000. They donate them to needy children who suffer from tempory or permanent hairloss. http://www.locksoflove.org/

Chop chop

The end result. A D O R A B L E !!!!!!

Good looking crew!

I just felt like posting some pictures of us outside. The evenings are so nice, we just hang out in the back yard. Of course, Tommy discovered the Slip'n Slide!He started dressed... Slip'n Fall

So hard to stand up and try to hold on to the water!

Happy wet baby!

ME! Not that often that I put a picture of the most important person of this whole blog thing!

Good luck getting a picture of both of them serious!

This is after I told Reed I wanted another baby.

"Hmmm, when I turn 16, I'm gonna rule the world...now if only I could pass my permit!"

What!?! They love each other?

My freckle toothless bug.

Just Peachy

The peach tree is starting to feed the birds, so we all went out to beat them to it! The few that are ready are just so juicy and delicious, especially when warmed up by our AZ sun! I didn't put any Easter pictures, but here is Tommy "peach hunting", same game for him :)

The tree of life. It's only 4 years old and not very big, but I can't imagine what it will give us in 10 years!!!! The round one by the trunk is a plastic ball people, don't get excited, they're not THAT big!

...and yes, he's walking, it's always easier to do if you balance yourself with a peach in each hand!

Finally done

We added two extra rooms upstairs in February...of 2008! It took soooo long to paint, but I finally finised Maddy's room today. Since it's all clean and won't stay that way, I hurried and took some pictures. It's nothing spectacular, but it's cute and FINISHED! I'm betting that in a few years, she'll want to redo it, so I didn't want to spend too much time with extravagant painting.

It's strawberry time!

I love it when strawberries are cheap! I don't quite understand why one store has them for 97 cents while another has them for $2.50, but anyhow...

This is a recipe from Paula Dean, you know it can only be good for you! BUT, it was fat free:

Angelfood Cake, Whipped topping mixed with a can of Condensed milk and cream cheese, strawberries and the red gel thingy....Yum! That was last Sunday. Stop drooling!