A Little Bit More About Us

Now that I have been blogging for a while, I realize that I've only shared information about myself, and the family, in bits and pieces, from one post to the next. So I decided to share a little bit more that is all in one place.

This is me, from Dec. '06 (and also one of the only recent pictures I can find of myself that doesn't make me cringe), 5 months pregnant with Gracie. Cropped out of the picture is my father-in-law, who is the BEST Santa Claus ever! If you are ever in the Detroit area around Christmastime, and want to take your family for pictures with a truly authentic Santa, who also has the personality to match, just let me know. A few facts about me: I am 31, I love to read and write, when I was growing up I always wanted to be a mom and have tons of kids. (I used to "buy" extra kids whenever I'd play Life with anyone.) I am painfully shy until I really get to know someone, and even then, I tend to have a difficult time talking.

This is my amazing husband, Eric. Again, this picture is not the most recent. (I believe Alex was 1 1/2 at the time.) We spend a ton of time taking pictures of the kids, but very rarely do those pictures include us. Eric is a fantastic father and even has his own four-member fan club, made up of Isabelle, Alex, Olivia, and Gracie. He is also a wonderful husband. He owns and operates our commercial cleaning business which he has grown into a success, and it continues to grow by leaps and bounds on a daily basis. He LOVES to talk, and can talk to anybody. He is often sought out for his Godly advice and opinion. He is a huge Nascar fan and he also loves to read.

This is the spot where Eric and I were standing the first time we said "I Love You" to each other.

I love this picture of the kids. Even though it's not the clearest, and I think only Isabelle and Gracie are looking at the camera, it is one of the only stair-step pictures we have.

Isabelle is the consummate big sister at 8. She is often my right hand. She loves to read, do crafts, learn new things, and recently, to blog. She is adored to the point of near constant imitation by her little brother and sisters.

Alex is 3 3/4 and he is a bundle of energy who is full of emotion and wears his heart on his sleeve. He is beginning to outgrow all of his mispronunciations that we all loved, with "Fiber-man" probably being the favorite. He loves being a "super good big guy" and also a "brave knight" who protects his sisters.

Olivia is 2 3/4 (she'll be 3 in June). She was born a full 10 months and 13 days after Alex. She is really starting to come into her personality by showing the rest of the world the little spitfire we always saw at home. She has perhaps the best laugh ever, in the history of the world. And her sense of humor is fantastic. She knows what is REALLY funny and is not afraid to laugh about it.

Gracie just turned 1. She is super-spoiled by the 3 older kids. She is a petite little thing but she is just starting to pull herself up to stand, so I think the entire house is in for a paradigm shift. Her eyes are so big and so blue and so pretty. She loves to play, and especially loves to be chased as she army crawls around the house.

Well, there you have it. Just a little bit more about us. I'm sure I'll be posting tons of pictures of the kids, so don't worry, you will get to see those beautiful faces plenty.