Tara's First Bridal Shower!!!

Today was fantastic! It was so wonderful to celebrate such a deserving person and couple! Tara and Matt have been together FOREVER :) When I was on the way to the shower today I was thinking that this previous winter we were all getting together to go to Tara and Matt's engagement party. Since that party Michael and I became engaged, got married, went on our honeymoon and then found out we're expecting our first baby! So while I have been doing all of that... Tara has been my right hand girl even though she has been doing all of this planning herself!

Tara is the greatest friend a girl could ask for. She is kind, considerate and most importantly she is a get things done kind of girl. She has been so selfless throughout my wedding planning and helped me with ideas and kept me sane through all of the drama.

Today was the first time that all of that is now in the past and we are 100% focused and happy about the upcoming wedding of Tara and Matt! January 7th 2011 can't come fast enough if you ask me! It is going to be a very emotionaly charged fun day!

Tara's shower today was thrown by our friend Libby. Libby and Tara met through me and our crazy workout schedules. I've dropped out for the most part but Tara and Libby are still going strong and so is their friendship. That makes me so happy! Isn't it the best when your friends become friends?

Libby had so much amazing food and a lovely cake! She had little party favors of puppy chow in cute little bags with green ribbon because we are all dog lovers and there were a lot of kids there. Pink roses were spread throughout the house to give it a beautiful smell and look! My favorite part were the games! I had to get competitive like usual but I didn't win! There was a question and answer game that helped everyone get to know the couple a little better if they didn't already, then the PRICE IS RIGHT which was so fun! And finally a list of celebrities that we had to come up with thier spouse's names. That was tough for me!

After food and games Tara went to town on her presents which were many!!! She got a ton of great stuff and Lisa and I got a pretty good start on her ribbon bouquet for the rehearsal.

This shower couldn't have been better. We watched all of the little girls play together while we got to chat about wedding stuff and other summer fun.

Best Wishes Tara... You deserve nothing but the best. I know there is much more fun to come... soon! :) Love you!

Baby!!!! 9 Weeks

I have so much catching up to do so I figured I'd skip the wedding and honeymoon posts for now and go back later to finish them up since so much is going on!

We found out a few weeks after the wedding that we conceived on the honeymoon! It is completely unexpected but we are absolutely thrilled. Michael is having to deal with some pretty crazy hormones but other than that marriage life has been good.

Last week we got to go have our first ultrasound and we were able to see the little bean and it felt like my whole world stopped for a minute when I saw a little heartbeat. It is CRAZY to understand that all of that is going on inside of you! Michael was mesmerized too, whether he would like to admit that or not. It was an incredible moment that our little family got to experience with each other.

So far we have felt so much love and support from everyone! Baby Lee will be the first Grandchild on both sides of our families and we get to make all of our brothers and sisters aunties and uncles for the first time. Knowing how happy and excited everyone is melts my heart. I can't express how much I love all of you!

So there is that exciting news! I'll work on getting the ultrasound pics up on here.

Tomorrow is Tara day! We're going to celebrate Tara and Libby is throwing a great party for all the girls tomorrow for her Bridal Shower.

I will write about that and post pictures of all my fav girls :)

Ayden Joseph

So I know that this summer has been the summer of weddings and babies but today was a big day! My Godson was born! Ayden Joseph Schroeder was born this afternoon and he is a big healthy boy! He is 8lb 13oz and 22 1/2 inches long. He is so handsome. He is a little man and seems very even tempered and calm. I loved holding him!

I absolutely love the family that I have married into! Ayden's mommy Kim and I have been close for years but now we like to pretend we are sisters-in-law. Kim and Drew are great parents and Austyn is adorable and full of 2 year old little boy energy.

Kim had told me that I could be in the room when she had the little guy and I tried! She was admitted into the hospital to be induced Sunday night at midnight. I got to the hospital about 2:30am to hang out and hoped things would move quickly like they did with her first, Austyn. I had my ultrasound at 10am downtown so I stuck around as long as I could. When I left at 9 she had made some progress and was about the get her epidural. By the time my appointment was over I went back to work and got the news that he had been born and everyone was doing great.

Michael and I went to the hospital when we got off work to see and hold the new little guy. He was so big and handsome! He was very cuddly! I even got to feed him a little which was so fun! Mike was exhausted from a long hot day at work but he held little Ayden as well.

Then Gigi (Mike's Aunt Susie) came in with Austyn to introduce him to his baby brother. He didn't seem too interested but he was very excited to see his mommy and quickly grabbed a snack and climbed into the hospital bed with her.

Such an amazing day. Welcome baby Ayden... we are here to always love and support you! Congratulations Drew, Kim and Austyn... such an adorable family!

Alexis Michelle

Alexis Michelle Art was born today! She is absolutely gorgeous and very tiny! She is 6 lb 14 oz. I went up to the hospital this morning right after Michelle's C- Section and was one of the first people to be able to hold her. She is doing really well and everyone is trying to figure out who she looks like. I think she looks just like her brother and sisters. She seems to have a lot of personality already... she screamed the entire time during her first bath. She loves to be held.

Michael and I went back to the hosptial tonight so he could meet her. It is so cute seeing him hold a little tiny baby.

Congratulations Tony, Michelle, Isabella, Ethan and Adelyn! She is a gorgeous addition to your beautiful family and I can't wait to get to know her!

Good Luck Rules

I came across these "Good Luck Rules" today and I loved them so I thought I'd share... wonder if my stress recently has anything to do with me not following #6???

Lotus Touts

ONE. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.

TWO. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.

THREE. Don’t believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.

FOUR. When you say, ‘I love you,’ mean it.

FIVE. When you say, ‘I’m sorry,’ look the person in the eye.

SIX. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.

SEVEN. Believe in love at first sight.

EIGHT. Never laugh at anyone’s dreams. People who don’t have dreams don’t have much.

NINE. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it’s the only way to live life
completely.

TEN.. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.

ELEVEN. Don’t judge people by their relatives.

TWELVE. Talk slowly but think quickly.

THIRTEEN! .. When someone asks you a question you don’t want to answer, smile and ask, ‘Why do you want to know?’

FOURTEEN. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

FIFTEEN. Say ‘bless you’ when you hear someone sneeze.

SIXTEEN. When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.

SEVENTEEN. Remember the three R’s: Respect for self; Respect for others; and Responsibility for all your actions.

EIGHTEEN. Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

NINETEEN. When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

TWENTY. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.

TWENTY- ONE. Spend some time alone.

Update- Wedding Planning and Welcoming Baby Nathan!

Baby Nathan
Tara holding Nathan for the first time!

Mommy and Nathan

So I haven't done a very good job of updating this blog to reflect all of the wedding planning madness that has gone on in the past couple months so I'm going to try to update in one long post! Everything has been happening so quickly that we focus so much on what is left to do and haven't looked back on everything that has been accomplished! All of the big stuff fell into place with the help of lots of researching friends and family. I feel so lucky that when I had an idea I could take it to my mom or a friend and they will have already researched some information for me. Without this help Michael and I would NEVER have been able to plan a wedding in 3 months!

Michael and I originally wanted to have something very very small. We looked into any kind of park you can imagine in the area. We had envisioned a casual ceremony with a cookout to follow. THEN we started putting the guest list together and realized it would be impossible to keep it as small as we had wanted. We both have fairly large families and a lot of friends we wanted to have share our day with us. After making a list and aiming for a group of 100 people that were made up of all of our parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and first cousins, and a few close friends and co-workers we went to visit a banquet hall to see if it would be a good fit. We wanted to have the wedding and reception at the same place since our friends and families would be traveling so far to come together and the Marquise in Wilder could offer that. We wanted them to provide all of the food and drinks so our families wouldn't be working the whole time and the Marquise could offer that. We wanted a place where we could see ourselves getting married and picture all of these people we love in one place having a great time... and the Marquise helped us see that. SO we went ahead with it!

Next came finding a DJ, florist, photographer and of course THE DRESS. All of this happened in a matter of a week or two. The DJ will be from DJ Butlers, Music By Request, the florist is Fort Thomas Florist, the photographer is the amazing Izabela Mroczko (Jara Photography) who has worked with friends in the past and will also be shooting Tara and Matt's wedding in January. The dress shopping was a little overwhelming. I picked with I felt was "The Dress" and then it took a little time to convince my mom that it was the one- after she was on board the dress was ordered and another thing was checked off the scary long list!

The next step was dealing with invitation trouble and planning the details of the ceremony. I've also had 3 wonderful showers. Libby was the first to throw a shower for all of my work friends. It was a gorgeous day and Libby was a fantastic host as always. The food was great and it was fun to have everyone together. Next was my family shower that my Aunt Connie and cousin Susan threw at Susan's house. The games were SO much fun and the food and cake were yummy. I love my family so much and am very thankful for everything they have done for me! Most recently was my friend shower/bachelorette party that my friend and Maid of Honor Kim threw for me with the help of my other friend and bridesmaid, Tara. They did a fantastic job and we all laughed so hard that my cheeks were hurting! Stephanie and Kennetta both drove a very long time to be with us, Kim planned every detail fantastically and had some great games, Tara took care of the desserts that were INCREDIBLE! I'm really looking forward to Michael's family shower next weekend!!

All of our gifts are finally making Michael's house feel more like a home. It's going to take him a while to feel okay with actually having STUFF around. All of the love and support we have been shown from everyone has been so wonderful.

Michael and I are nervous about the big day but very, very excited to be married! We are also looking forward to the cruise!

This weekend Kim was in town for another wedding so we were able to have final fittings for the bridesmaid's dresses with Tara. They are looking great. After dresses the three of us were able to go visit Tom and Valerie in the hospital because baby Nathan was born on Friday May 14th! He was so perfect and it was fun to hold a tiny baby just a few hours after being born. Valerie and Tom are such wonderful parents to little Leah and I'm so happy that Nathan has completed their beautiful family! Congratulations guys!!

And now I'll leave you with a promise to update more often! I hope everyone has a great week!

Adam and Katie!!!

Mr & Mrs Adam and Katie Brumley

(taken by: Susan Rath)
Katie before the Ceremony- Gorgeous!

Amazing Rehearsal Dinner Cake

made by Katie's mother, Sue Rother

Adam and Katie got married this weekend! Everything was beautiful and even the weather cooperated! I remember when my family first met Katie... we were so excited and hoping that Adam would recognize what he had! She is so lovely... kind, considerate and easy going... perfect for my little brother! They are a perfect pair and I know they will have a very long and happy marriage!

And on a selfish note... I'm way excited to now have a fabulous sister-in-law!!!!! :)