My Summer Concert Series Comes To An End~

I cannot live without my music, and am truly a music junkie! I wish I could make a little money on the side to support my itunes habit. I would go to concerts every week if I could. My date of choice with Shane, a concert! It's also a great excuse to spend quality, uniterupted time with our friends. We had a wonderful time getting away with our friends this summer for a road trip down to the Gorge. We've gone to quite a few shows this year, AND they were all INCREDIBLE. Brandi Carlile/Katie Herzig, Coldplay, Keith Urban. And coming up, Mat Kearney. I was able to get some good pictures of a few my favorite hunky men. Oh don't you worry, I'll post some pictures of Edward Cullen soon :)

MAY HIS SOUL BE ON THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD

Stephen Christopher Hennessy 1921-2009
It's nearing 3 months since my Grandpa Hennessy passed away. I will always feel extra sad for my Dad since my grandpa passed away on my Dads birthday. Shane and I went up to Canada for the funeral, however, there were so many family members that couldn't make it up. So, my cousins and I planned a Memorial Service here in Spokane for all of those who could not attend. It was a really special, and emotional time planning it together. My cousins an I dug up some old photos, & put together a slide show for our family. It turned out really beautiful. I just wanted to share some of my favorite pictures that we dug out of the archives for the service. First, I want to mention a few of my favorite things/facts about my Grandfather~
~He was born December 27, 1921 in Dublin, Ireland
~He served in the Royal Air Force(RAF) as an Bombardier Navigator and flew over 38 missions over Germany during WWII. During one of his missions, his plane was shot down, and he got shot in both legs when he was parachuting down.
~He moved his family from Ireland to Ontario Canada when my Dad was 13 years old.
~He smoked a pipe, and I loved the smell of the cherry tobacco he used.
~He loved Rita MacNeil and made us listened to her music all the time.
~He wore really cute slouchy cardigans~which are now called "grandpa cardi's" and I own a ton. I wish I had his, real & vintage!
~He married one of the sweetest, most unconditionally loving souls to have ever walked the earth, my grandmother Kathleen Sarah.
~Both he and my grandma used to tell us stories about Leprechauns and we'd build little makeshift houses and put them outside, because we thought they lived in our grass :)
~He came down from Canada to live with us for about 3 years after my Grandma passed. I wish I'd appreciated our time more back then, instead I was an ornery teenage girl!
~He has 3 boys(Patrick, Derek, & Peter,) and 2 girls(Margaret, and Madeline.) I really love my aunties and uncles, and wish they lived closer. All but one remain up in Canada.
I will miss him! I have a lot of regret not going up to Canada more often to visit with him. Life is too short, and I often don't take that close enough to heart until it's too late. I am however, so glad to have so many wonderful memories, and memorabilia of both my Grandpa, and Grandma Hennessy.

I included a picture that my brother Noel had sent me from Greece. When he found out that our Grandpa had passed he was in Athens. He said he took a swim in the Mediterranean Sea that day for Grandpa. Then he put together his own little monument for him. He sat there for a while, and then he swept the rocks away into the sea. I thought it was really beautiful, and obviously a personal tribute to Grandpa.
I'm so happy that my grandparents are finally back together, forever, in Heaven where they belong.

I'm in Kindergarten... I LOVE babies, playing with my dolls, the colors pink & purple, taking pictures, bubble gum...

First day of kindergarten
Mommy & me(I attempted taking our picture since we were by ourselves.)
Outside of Liv's classroom
Olivia & her Kindergarten buddy Cameron
She insisted that I take a picture of her backpack on the 2nd day of school

2 out of the oh, 6, "kids" Olivia has. This is Kase & Isabel. Olivia took this pic
Liv's photo shoot with Nolan
And, herself :")

Taking a nap with all her "kids"

Can you imagine if our bellies were that distorted during pregnancy, oh wow!
Prenatal yoga

I feel like a bad mom, since I'm probably the only one out there that hasn't yet posted my child's first day of Kindergarten pictures. So, here they are. Olivia is finally comfortable leaving me for the day. She started several of her mornings with crocodile tears, and they slowly turned to baby tears, and now, no tears. Her teacher is such an answer to prayer, and is everything Olivia needs in a learning environment. There are only 13 kids, which I think is a perfect class size.

I also included some of Olivia's latest photos. She has our old camera and walks around the house taking some really random pictures. I've deleted most of the one's she's taken of me because, well, they're hideous..me in my old tattered sweats, bad hair, etc... :") She takes some cute one's of herself, dolls, & Nolan. The other pictures are of Liv doing prenatal yoga. She reminds me so much of myself as a little girl. She loves babies, and pretending she's a little momma. I love watching kids use their imagination during dramatic play.

*One more thing, a BIG thank you to Auntie D for the lovely books~The Night Before Kindergarten, and Chrysanthemum. Thank you so much!

Trophy Cupcakes, Sweet Baby Girl, Friends, Wazzu=A great weekend!

Our good friends(the Wileys,) came over from Seattle for a visit last weekend. As always, we had such a great time with them. It's even more fun now with their 4 month old addition, Lilah~who is such a little doll! Shane enjoyed hanging out with his Buddy Lance(who is more like his little brother.) I've mentioned before, that Olivia just adores, and slightly idolizes :") Shaana. So of course she would wait for Shaana to get dressed and accessorized, and then she'd try to put the same outfit together for herself. Shaana brought cupcakes (Trophy from Seattle,) to have a little belated treat for Olivia and Nolan's birthdays. Oh my were they DELISH! I've been to NY and had the Magnolia Bakery cupcakes, and I think the Trophy Cupcakes take first place for sure. We also planned a trip down to Pullman/WSU for the football game. We packed up the 7 of us and headed to Wazzu. It was a BLAST! Lance is also a Coug, he and Shane actually went through the Construction Management program together. Shaana is a Husky, so they have a little rivalry going on :") We ate at one of our favorite pizza places~Sella's, walked around the campus, went to visit Shane's Fraternity, drove by my old apartment, went to The Bookie, and most importantly, the game. Sadly the Cougs aren't very good, BUT they actually won last weekend, so that was fun. The kids did surprisingly well hanging out in the bleachers. The only thing we missed out on down there was Ferdinand's, one of my favorite ice cream shops. We were all bummed because by the time we walked over for ice cream, it was closed.

If was fun to reminisce. Some of my favorite times in life were spent at WSU and I really loved my college years in Pullman. It's a quaint little town, and I kind of miss that. When the kids get a little older I think it would be so much fun to buy season tickets for the football games. I think it would be a fun little getaway, and better yet, good quality family time.

Thank you Wileys for blessing us with your visit :") We love you guys!

Nolan's 2!

Darling little treat boxes
HaPpY BiRtHdAy little buddy!
Nolan Blowing out his candle
I think the cake turned out so cute!
Yummy!
More Yummy!
Presents

Njp's 1st pinata experience

Nolan celebrated his 2nd birthday two weeks ago. He's such a sweet little boy, but definitely has his spicy side too. He adores Olivia and if she's out of his sight he'll ask "where's sis?" He just loves her. Some of the things I love about him~I love the way he talks, his curiosity & determination, his kisses, hugs, listening to him sing happy birthday, Jesus loves me, and the ABC's to himself =) , watching him ride around on his little tricycle, the way he loves his little "puppies, doggies, b's, and blankies. Since Olivia has started Kindergarten I've been able to have some one on one time with NJP and it's been a joy. We get to hang out together just he and I during the first half of the day. I still consider him my baby...that's nothing new I guess, considering I say the same thing about Olivia :) I'm still upset that I didn't get a family photo of us on Nolan's day...but there are still some fun photos in the Mix. We kept his birthday quite simple this year since we had unexpected things going on in our life the week prior. Nolan is fasinated with fire trucks, so that seemed to be a fitting theme. It was easy to find fire truck supplies, there were so many cute things, it was fun to play around with. Here's to a year full of fun, and all that comes along with being 2...o boy!

One Day at a Time...

This summer has gone by way too fast, as does life I guess. I wish I could say that our summer has been pure bliss with summer vacations, the lake, parks, picnics, etc, it's been anything but. We did get to celebrate both our kiddos Birthdays, Olivia's 5th, Nolan's 2nd, which was a definite highlight! The down side of our summer, we've had a lot of loss. First my Grandfather, then Shane's best friends father, and then for Shane & I, another miscarriage followed by a D&C. I was hesitant on writing that part on here, but it's a huge part of my life right now, my reality. Most of you who are reading this are "our family" and you know our life. Throughout the heartache and devastation of this last couple of weeks I have realized yet again what AMAZING friends I have. I have been blessed with some of the most amazing girlfriends on this earth, TRULY, without a doubt. I love my girls, they are like the sisters I never had. They along with my husband, children, neighbors, and family have been my ROCK through this. I'm struggling with my Faith right now and am trying to lean towards the Lord, but haven't quite gotten there yet. It will come, I know He's always there, just waiting, and I will come around, I always do. I listen to this song that's currently on my blog fortnightly, my constant reminder that His hands are holding me, and no matter what, He's always by my side.

I titled this One Day at a Time because a dear friend of mine brought me a gift last week. Inside the little box I was given, a beautiful silver bracelet. Engraved on the inside of the bracelet was the saying "one day at a time." Ahh, I'm crying as I write this. Siri, this is one of the most precious gifts I've ever been given, thank you so much. To all of my other soul sisters, thank you for the beautiful cards, desserts, dinners, flowers, phone calls, and support(in whatever form it was given.) I love you all, you make me smile and touch my heart more than you will probably ever know.