Before and After...

In February with my two sister-inlaws... In August with Cindy and Lucas (5 Months) and Amy and Sophia (3 Months).

Our Village

Here are some pictures of the Markt Platz in Weil im Schonbuch the day before we left. It was such a beautiful summer day, I couldn't resist snapping some last minute shots of our little town. We loved Weil and will truly miss living there. We are so blessed to have had the opportunity to live in another country and experience a different culture. Our lives are forever changed.

Our Last Days in Deutschland

August 1st-7th: Our last few weeks in Germany were spent sorting, packing, organizing and cleaning. It was a stressful time, especially with two very young children. Jeff and I are really glad that it's all behind us now, and we can prepare for our new life in Virginia Beach. The light at the end of the tunnel during all the chaos... spending our last six nights in Germany with our good friends Kim and Larry. We had a great time enjoying meals and taking our last few walks in Weil im Schonbuch. We had beautiful weather the last week we were there so I was able to snap some great pictures of our village (I'll post soon). It was truly sad to see our house empty and leave our little corner of the world. After all, this was our home for the past three years. The place where we had both of our children. Jeff and I hope to live in Germany again some day when the kids are older. But for now, we have great friends, lots of memories and more pictures than one person could ever scrapbook!

Thanks for everything Kim and Larry!! We miss you and can't wait to see you in October.

Candid Shots

Here are some of my favorite candid shots of Jeff and the girls. They were all taken the last few days we were hanging out in Germany. Lots of posts to follow...I finally got my laptop back!!
Enjoy the pics....

A Family Picture

Just wanted to share a new family picture that Cindy took a few weeks ago. Still can't believe we are a family of four now!

THANKS SO MUCH!!

Thank you so much Cindy, Josh, Trevor, Breanna and Lucas for welcoming us into your home for almost three weeks. You are so sweet and thoughtful. We are lucky to have such a wonderful, close family. We will never forget our time with you! We love you!!

Pictures

My sister in law Cindy just posted a wonderful slide show of our visit in Maine. Check out her blog to see the slide show:

http://parenteaufamily-ourlife.blogspot.com/

Lily, Emma and I are in Boston now anxiously awaiting Jeff's arrival tomorrow night. We will stay here with his parents a few night and then head to Virginia. On the way down we are stopping in Philadelphia to take the girls to some fun attractions. Sesame Place is our top priority, as Lily will love spending the day with Elmo and all her favorite Sesame Street friends.

Emma, Three Months!

Although we are in transition, I still wanted to document Emma's three month milestones. Thanks to my sister-in-law, Cindy for taking the cute picture...it's nice to be able to post something new. This picture is of Emma riding forward in the baby Bjorn. She loves being carried in it and watching everyone. Her bib says it all...Thank heaven for little girls!

Here is an update on Emma Rose:
-She is the new HAPPIEST baby on the block
-She is cooing and smiling all day
-She can ride forward in the Bjorn and loves it
-She flew for the first time and was a role model passenger
-The time changed has stopped her from sleeping through the night...ugh!!
-She loves watching Lily
-She enjoys the occasional Baby Einstein video
-She met all her grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins this month
-Her eyes are deep blue
-Most people say she looks like Mommy
-She has discovered her hands and loves to watch them and suck on her fingers
-She can grasp and hold a toy if you give it to her
-She usually is fussy only if she is tired or hungry
-She wears size 3-6 month clothes and size 2 diapers
-Lily showers her with hugs and kisses every day and she smiles back at her
-She has good head control and can sit in the Bumbo seat for a few minutes at a time
-She loves to kick and bounce, especially if someone is bouncing her on the exercise ball
-She still likes her bath, but hates being cold afterwards
-She attended her first wedding (Melissa and Brad) and loved dancing with her Daddy
-She sleeps best swaddled

This is our little Emma. She is such a sweetheart and Jeff, Lily and I are completely in love with her. She adds such a wonderful new dynamic to our family. I love watching Lily talk to her and shower her with affection. I know their relationship will only get sweeter with each passing day. We feel so blessed to have two such amazing daughters. We love you so much Lily and Emma!!

More pictures VERY soon!

Pachelbel Bedtime

This is cute and SO TRUE...especially for all us parents who can relate. Turn up the volume and enjoy!

A Family Link

My sister in law Cindy is a big blogger and has been blogging some of our events the last few weeks while we're staying here. If you want to see what we have been up to (with some new pics), check out their blog!
I'll try to post pics soon....I am lost with out my laptop.
http://parenteaufamily-ourlife.blogspot.com/

Lucky Day!

My mom owns a small convenience store in our town and her store sold the 9.8 million dollar lottery ticket. Here is an article from the paper today! Congratulations Mom and Barry!

Here is the live news clip: http://www.wagmtv.com/news/newscast.php



PRESQUE ISLE, Maine - When Raylene Shaw answered her home telephone late Wednesday evening and heard an employee from her store, Ray’s Corner Variety, say someone had won an estimated $9.875 million in the Maine State Lottery from a Megabucks ticket purchased at the business, she admitted to being a bit skeptical.
"I totally did not believe it," Shaw said Thursday. "I thought it was a computer error or some type of malfunction with the lottery machine."
She was wrong, but the error is one that she is ecstatic about having made.
Raylene and her husband, Barry Shaw, own the convenience store that sold the winning ticket in Wednesday night’s Tri-State Megabucks drawing.
A $10,000 winning ticket also was sold at the Big Apple in Auburn.
Wednesday’s winning numbers were 7-10-12-16-19-21 and the Bonus number was 17. The winning ticket matched all six numbers for the jackpot win. It is the largest Tri-State Megabucks jackpot since 1993.
Ray’s Corner Variety opened at 70 Academy St. a little more than two years ago, and the Shaws are first-time business owners. The store sells both online and Instant Maine Lottery tickets.
The Shaws will receive a selling bonus based on the final jackpot total. Shaw said she learned from lottery officials Thursday the store’s bonus could be an estimated $30,000.
When the store opened at 5:30 a.m. Thursday, customers started streaming through the door, and they were still coming as of late afternoon.
"It has just been unbelievable here today," Raylene Shaw said, looking frazzled as customers filtered in and out of the store, purchasing snacks, asking employees whether a winner had come forward and speculating on what they would do with the cash if they had won it.
"The phone hasn’t stopped ringing. Many of our regular customers have come in to check and see if they had the winning ticket, and they’ve been congratulating us all day."
Shaw said several customers regularly purchase lottery tickets at the store, and employees at the business immediately began speculating Thursday morning that one of the "regulars" might have won.
"Most of our regulars have come in and checked their tickets, though," Shaw said Thursday afternoon. "So far, it hasn’t been one of them."
As for the money the store will receive, Shaw said she and her husband haven’t really thought yet about what they will do with it.
"It’s still sinking in," she admitted, "but we’ve owned this business for a couple of years and there are some things that we’d like to do to it."
News of the store’s good fortune also brought some new faces to the Academy Street site.
"I’ve seen people come in here today that I’ve never seen before," Shaw said. "I can’t wait to find out who the winner is. Whoever it is, we’re very happy for them."

We're Here!

We have arrived safe and sound back in the states. The trip across the Atlantic went very well and the girls were a DREAM!! Things have been non stop since we arrived, but we are having a blast. We are enjoying lots of family time and it feels great to be surrounded by all the new babies. Sophie and Lucas are angels! Lily is especially loving all the time with her cousins. They all play so well together.

This weekend we had a great time at Melissa and Brad's wedding and Trevor's birthday party was a non stop laugh fest. We also spent an evening with some good friends, Brett, Megan and their new daughter, Hannah. It is so wonderful to be with our family and friends again. We love seeing our nieces and nephews on a daily basis.

So....this week my Mom and Aunt are coming for a few days and then my Dad and Barb are heading down for three nights. I am so excited for them to meet Emma. Jeff is heading back to Germany tomorrow for his last two weeks of work and then we will be off to Virginia. While the girls and I are here in Maine we'll hit the beach and enjoy some other fun family activies with the with the Parenteau's. An extra BIG thanks to Cindy and Josh for making us so comfortable in their home and watching Lily this weekend. You are the BEST!! We are so happy to be spending time with the five of you.

I am feeling lost with out my laptop, so it may be a few weeks before I post new pictures. I'll try to update some of our crazy busy schedule when I can. We hope you all are all having a great summer.

Happy Birthday Aaron!

Happy Birthday Aaron! We hope that you have a great day today. We wish we could be there to celebrate with you! May you be forever 29.....

Happy Birthday Trevor!!

Happy 5th Birthday Trevor! We love you so much! We can't wait to be home and celebrate with you!! Have fun today, we miss you sweetheart!