Seratonin on a Rainy Day

No need to feel down... 

our camera arrived a day early!

And we can't begin to tell you how happy we are!

Beyond Cozy

With fire alit in the fireplace, we are uber-cozy here on this Thursday afternoon.

The kids and I got stuck out at the playground not long ago when the rain began...  We initially decided to wait it out underneath in a dry area, only to change our minds and run clamoring back home.  M ran the whole way, a huge smile lighting up his wet face.  He was having a blast!  T sat in the wagon, saturated and quiet, but seeming to enjoy the adventure.  And J, well, poor J was at the bouncing mercy of the Baby Bjorn.  We had him warm in a knit stocking cap and mittens--too cute!!  Thankfully, he also seemed to be having "fun" (in a baby sort of way) and never complained.

We arrived home happy, sodden, and ready to flicker on our fire.  

Nothing better on a fall morning...  :)  Warm hugs!

Good Morning!

Happy Wednesday to you all...

Gasperini-Ville is overcast and rainy this morning with a subtle sense of warmth and coziness.  M is off to school, the baby is down for his morning nap, leaving me and T to accomplish a few tasks around the house this morning.  First will be to collect the remainder of a pile of leaves in the yard and bag them.  This should be interesting considering the rain!  The second will be to ignite the pilot light on our fireplace and get it cookin'!  I am so excited for this...  To have fake fire at the flip of a switch will be oh so wonderful (definitely not as cozy as the real thing, but we'll take it!)  

Yesterday was a phenomenal day here...  We celebrated Veteran's Day with a lunchtime trip downtown to meet up with GG and spend some time at the Virginia War Memorial.  What a beautiful place!  The family ate lunch on a hillside blanket overlooking the city and river.  Then the boys took to the hills and had a ball rolling down through the grass.  

We eventually walked through the memorial and were so touched.  I cried as a mother of three boys, imagining all the mothers of the fallen sons, whose names were etched in the glass and stone.  Our country has sacrificed so much.  Each of those names represents a person who lived, loved, and was loved by others.  Each one fell in service of our nation.  Not profound, just powerful.  I was so glad we made the trip.

I wish I had some photos to document such a lovely day, but alas, the camera is still acting up.  You should see the pics I did capture--they are like overexposed negatives, even worse than the shot I posted the other day.  Solution: I just ordered our new camera--a Canon Powershot Elph, which arrives Friday!  Can't wait!! 

In the meantime, enjoy some of GG's old OIF1 shots...  What a stud soldier, huh? :)

 I remember crying after seeing this one...  So sweet.

God bless you today!  Hugs from Gasperini-Ville today and all days!

WOW

I write tonight from an immaculate Gasperini-Ville... all thanks to my beloved GG (he's secretly vying for "husband of the year"!)  

Tonight we dashed off to enjoy a pizza feast at Mimi and Papa's, leaving Daddy behind to take a breather and have some manly "cave time".  Rather than kick back and enjoy his two-hour bliss, though, our amazing guy served his family by cleaning the whole house while we were away!!  He knew that less clutter would help get my week off to a less stressful, more satisfying start.  What a gem, huh?

I am blessed to have married the most incredible guy on earth... :)

Hugs and warmth,

All I Have To Say

Is that J went 11 hours last night!

I mean, could anything be better than extended sleep? :) 

**************

On another front, our camera is totally on the fritz as of Halloween.  It takes fine pics, but the color is all off, with a greenish hue and reflective quality.  Has anyone ever dealt with this?  Are we cornered into buying a new camera?  What horrible timing--I would much rather shower our family with Christmas gifts rather than spend the $$ on a new one!

Here's an example of one of the pics:  It is cheeky J with our friend Lt. Pete, who came to visit on Monday with his awesome wife, Carrie!  It was so fantastic to see them and praise God together for his safe return from a second tour in Iraq with the Marines (you may remember seeing him on my prayer request list).  I was so sad not to have many shots of our visit with them due to the crazy camera...  Ho hum.  Any experience or camera insight would be awesome if you have it!

It's Thursday!  Praise God, we're making it...  

Blessings,

Candy Crazy

When M's teacher commented last week that a particular pupil of hers (ahem!) was FULL of energy, I knew we were in trouble.  Halloween.  Candy.  Excessive sugar.  Excessive energy!  My poor children have inherited their mother's sweet tooth and indulge, we have!!  Not so surprisingly, the stash of candy we had following the "holiday" has diminished significantly, which is good and bad.  Good because I won't be rifling through it several times/day.  Bad because I won't be rifling through it several times/day.  :)  I LOVE sweets.

So this got me thinking as to my favorite candies of all time.  Here goes...  For candy bars, in no particular order: Kit Kat, Twix, Watchmacallit, and Reeses PB Cups.  For candy: gummy anything, Sour Patch, Starburst.  Anybody with me?

And in other news, Happy 3mos to our Sweet Baby J!  

He is ringing in the new month with sweetness and smiles and a growth spurt--woohoo!  Perfect timing to take care of all these extra candy calories.  wink! ;)  

God bless you as we head into the end of the work week! 

I Voted!

Have you?!  

It's madness here in Virginia! ;)

Oh and don't forget to indulge in your free Starbucks today.  

You know I won't be missing out on that deal... :)