Looking Back on 2011

Wow...I can't believe 2011 is over! It went by sooo fast. It was an amazing year for Kevin and I, mostly because it brought us 2 of the most wonderful blessings. So...here's a look back our at 2011..

January ~ my best friend got married!! Her wedding was just gorgeous and tons of fun!

Kevin and I at the wedding, isn't my Maid of Honor dress gorgeous??? She did an amazing job of picking our dresses, and her dress...it was beyond fabulous!!!!

The beautiful bride, in a gorgeous Vera Wang dress, moments before she walked down the aisle...she is just glowing!

February ~ We spent Valentine's Day in Colorado and went on a fun Valentine's Day double date with some friends! It was such a fun trip and Colorado is such a beautiful state.

March ~ Kevin parents came to visit. They like to tour little vineyards (just like us) so we took them to a few of our favs. Here we are a one of them...the random lady in the middle of the pic is the Vineyard owner.

April ~ We took a really quick trip to Norman, Oklahoma (home of the Sooners!!) and this seemed to be the only picture we took...it's me in front of my beautiful Sorority house. Like I said, it was a super quick trip. Lol ;)

May ~ This is the month we went to Coronado, California. Oh my goodness, it was such a lovely island. I could have stayed there forever. After this trip we're totally planning to retire there...like next year. ;)

June ~ My bff (the one that got married in January) and I had a fabulous little girl's weekend in Kansas City. LOVE the Plaza!! Can't wait for our next one!

July ~ my friend Katie and I attended Omaha's 'Red Sky Music Festival' - we went to the Jason Aldean concert, he was uh-mazing!! We had such a fun night. One of the best nights of my whole summer!!

August ~ Molly and I tagged along on Kevin's business trip to New Mexico. Such a beautiful state, the desert is so neat. Also...on this trip, I found out I was pregnant!! SOOOO EXCITING!!

September ~ Kevin and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary. It's just crazy to think that we've been married for 3 years now - sometimes it seems like we've been married forever but other times things still seem so 'new,' I think it's a good mix. ;) As a wedding gift to each other, we decided to purchase new toasting glasses since ours never made it home from the reception. But, the BEST anniversary gift of all, was learning that we were pregnant with TWINS!!! What an amazing blessing!! After a 3 year fertility journey, we were overjoyed. I can't even tell you how thankful we were/are for this amazing gift!!

Toasting Glasses!

First picture of our TWINS!!!

October ~ I turned 30!! EEEKKKKKK!!! We celebrated with a trip to Florida and the Bahamas. We had a fantastic time! On my actual birthday, Kevin treated me to a spa day - seriously, best Spa experience of my life!!

Here we are on the balcony of our hotel in Fort Lauderdale...look gorgeous beach...love.

A week after we returned from our trip, we learned that the twin were BOYS!!! How exciting!!! For weeks after that just saying things like "My boys and I," "When we do --fill in the blank-- with our sons," brought tears to my eyes. As I mentioned before, this has been quite the journey for us so we already had names picked out - we had such a wonderful time telling our friends and family that Connor and Grayson will be here in April!! Even now, I tear up writing about the experience. I'm just so thankful God chose me to been a Mom to these two precious little boys!!

November ~ we went to Maine (Kevin's home) for Thanksgiving!! I just love Maine, it's such a beautiful state. We had a wonderful time and were able to take a picture of all of the 'Rooney' cousins. It was sooo amazing to be with his whole family!!

...Do you see those baby boys in the picture??? Those are our nephews that Kevin's sister had last December (2010). So, our little boys will have twin boy cousins to play with - SO PERFECT!!

December ~ Our first snow of the season!! I was eager to 'play' in it - even if that meant scooping. Ha!!

And, of course we took our Christmas card pic - and you can see my little baby bump!

What a fabulous 2011!!

I can't believe all the amazing things that happened in 2011 and I know God has even more amazing things in store for us in 2012!! Most of all, Kevin and I can't wait to meet these two wonderful boys...

Connor

And Grayson...he's waving 'Hi' ;)

Love these boys so much already...isn't it crazy how that works?!?!

Happy New Year!

Wishing you all a fabulous 2012!! May it be your best year EVER!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving full of family, food and lots of fun!!



30 I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.
- Psalm 69:30

Happy Vererans Day!

Happy Veterans Day to the brave men and women of the United States Armed Forces. Thank you for the tremendous sacrifices you have made to defend us and our freedoms.

No one has greater love than this, that one should lay down his life for his friends.
- John 15:13

It's Labor Day!!

Happy 4th of July!!

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday filled with family, friends, yummy food and LOTS of sparkle!!

God Bless America!!

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you...

1 Peter 1:3-4

May your Easter be filled with blessings

How sweet it is to be loved by you

Have a wonderful Valentine's Day!

"Three things will last forever: faith, hope, and love, and the greatest of these is love."

1 Corinthians 13:13

Thinking about Spring Flowers

In case you missed it, there was a HUGE snow storm that hit the Midwest - it was not fun. Tons of snow, ice and wind. The whole time, I just kept telling myself that no matter what happens this summer I am not going to complain about the heat.

I'm pretty pumped that everyday that passes is one more that gets us closer to Spring - yay!!! One of the things I'm most excited about for this Spring is all the flower planting I have planned. I've been collecting pics of flowers I like....here are a few that I'm just loving right now...

L-O-V-E all these!! They are all just so delicate, pretty and PINK!! A bouquet of any of these would be just perfect for Valentine's day....don't you think? ;)

Merry Christmas!!

I wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas as you celebrate the birth of our Savior.

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is....

---

Thanksgiving is a
time of gratitude to God,
our Creator and Provider,
whose guidance and care
go before us...
and whose love
is with us forever.

Thanksgiving is a time
to reflect on the changes,
to remember that we, too,
grow and change
from one season of life to another.

Thanksgiving is a time
of changing seasons,
when leaves turn golden
in Autumn's wake
and apples are crisp
in the first chill breezes of fall.

Let us remember the true meaning
of Thanksgiving.
As we see the beauty
of Autumn, let us acknowledge
the many blessings
which are ours...
let us think of our families
and friends..
and let us give thanks in our hearts.

~~Author Unknown~

Wishing you and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Thank you to all those who serve and who have served. Your dedication to this country has made it a difference to all who call it home.

Thank you to my wonderful Husband for his service, I love you so much and am so proud of you!!

Here is one of my favorite quotes, I think it is just perfect for Veteran's Day ~

I think there is one higher office than president and I would call that patriot. - Gary Hart

Our Labor Day Weekend

I was very fortunate that I didn't have to work over the Labor Day weekend. Since I have recently changed jobs (I'm now working on an Ortho floor - which is sooooo much different than OB) I felt pretty lucky, being the new girl and all.

Kevin's cousin Rachel got married that weekend in upstate New York so we were thrilled to find out we'd be able to go! We are both so blessed to have amazing families and since Kevin's family all live on the East Coast anytime we have the chance to visit them we take it!

The wedding was at one of the Bed and Breakfast's on New York's Finger Lakes. Even though I once lived in New York, I hadn't ever heard of this area but wow, was it gorgeous. If you ever have the opportunity, I highly recommend a visit. I heard a few of the locals say that the Finger Lakes are New York's best kept secret and I couldn't agree more!! Beautiful area, HUGE lakes, lots of wineries....what's not to love?!? ;)

We stayed a few minutes away from the wedding/reception site at The Trimmer's House Bed and Breakfast. It was a really precious home, really friendly couple that owned it and super yummy food! We were lucky to find a place (last minute) that was so conveniently located to the wedding/reception, the lakes and the wine trail!

Kevin and I hanging out on the front porch swing...

Our 1st day there we kinda just hung out with Kevin's dad, sister and brother-in-law. Sadly, Kevin's mom wasn't able to make it; Kevin's grandmother, Sophie, (who lives with his parents) isn't doing very well - please keep her in your prayers. We had a great time catching up, hanging out and checking out some local restaurants. Kevin's sister is pregnant with identical twins so it was wonderful to be able to catch up with her about her pregnancy, plans for the nursery...ya know, all the fun baby stuff...but, x's 2!! Identical twins - what an awesome blessing, huh?!? I can't wait to meet them! It will be so much fun!! ...After what felt like 20 minutes of catching up (really it was about 3 hours), it was time to get ready for the rehearsal!

The chapel is one of the neatest chapels I've ever seen! It's located on the side of a mountain overlooking Keuka Lake. The view was stunning!! It was such a perfect place to get married!

The Chapel

The back of the chapel

Arches right outside the chapel - isn't this architecture just stunning?!? LOVE it!!

Gorgeous views...

After the ceremony rehearsal, we were off to dinner - which was at Glenora winery. Dinner was outside overlooking Seneca lake. Another beautiful view!

The nest day, we had time before the wedding to visit a couple of the local wineries. Both had great views and yummy wines! The wine trail was really fun and I'm so glad we had the opportunity to check it out!

Here's a view from the Keuka Lake Vineyard....Seriously, I could have sat in those chairs, sipped wine and stared at the view all day!

The tasting room

Rooster Hill Vineyards

After our quick wine trail trip, it was time to get ready for the wedding - yay!! I just love weddings!! And this one was so sweet, their vows to each other were so heartwarming, they are just such a precious couple!. The intimate setting of the small chapel make it really special and we were so happy that we were able to be there for Rachel and Adam. The Reception was at the Esperanza Mansion. The views from the mansion grounds were just spectacular - it was "postcard perfect"! Most of the Rooney side of the family was at the wedding so it was wonderful to chat and catch up with the aunts, uncles and cousins.

Rachel and Adam...they were sooooo happy!!

Kevin and I at the wedding.....

Seriously - this view was just spectacular!!

Kevin with two of his beautiful cousins

The next day we all woke up early, said our goodbyes and all headed out. Saying goodbye is always hard but this time it was especially hard since we really aren't sure when we will have the time/opportunity to get back to the East Coast. Hopefully, we will start going up more once the twins are born! ...Did I mention Kevin's sister is going to wait to find out the sex of the twins?!? So exciting!!!

Kevin and I flew out of Ithaca, which was a couple of hours away so we headed out pretty early because we weren't sure of quite how long it would take. I'm so glad we left as early as we did because it provided the opportunity to visit Ithaca College and Cornell University. I loved, loved my college time at the University of Oklahoma's gorgeous campus (Boomer, Sooner!!) and I think it's because of all my positive experiences that I really enjoy visiting other campuses.

Ithaca's campus was more modern than I expected. I'm not sure why but, I pictures more traditional New England architecture. Either way, it was very pretty.

Cornell university was exactly what I expected!! It is a very picturesque campus also with gorgeous mountain views!

Our weekend trip was such a great little get-a-way, a true blessing for us and we are just so happy that everything worked out allowing us to go!