the iles'

Spring and Summer photos

2010-10-31T19:51:00.000-07:00

Here's what we've been up to :)
click on the photo below to see a bunch of photos!

spring and summer 2010

Our little performer

2010-02-18T17:22:00.000-08:00

Like I said before, Ava REALLY loves to sing. She enjoys making up her own songs and she really sings from her heart. Sometimes the words are funny but I try my best to keep a straight face :) I think we might see musical theater in her future, what do you think?

Unfortunately the sound quality stinks, so turn the volume up as high as it will go.

Huge Photo Update (for my mom)

2010-02-16T06:51:00.000-08:00

I've been so behind on updating and after many "nudgings" from my mom, I finally got around to updating. Since there were so many pics, I uploaded them to Picasa. Here are the links:

fall/winter 2009-2010

2nd fall/winter

Things are really good in the Iles home. Aside from being completely tired of all this snow, we are having a great time and enjoying life. Jesse is now 25 months and Ava is about 4 1/2. They are doing great!

Ava is still just as sweet as ever.. she's a really wonderful big sister to Jesse. She amazes me everyday at the kindness she shows all of us, and keeps me smiling with all of the songs she creates and sings. She has a really caring and loving heart, although she has to be in just the right mood for cuddling and kisses. She's growing up and looking like a pretty little lady (sniff sniff). She still adores Piggy and loves to collect tons of stuffed animals. She keeps up with her title of first born with her twinge of bossiness and her "job" of correcting us all, especially her brother :)

Jesse is getting to be a big boy. He is speaking more and beginning to form small sentences. He is LOUD! Constantly jabbering about something. Constantly yelling "Wook at me" "I did it" "Oh tay mommy" and "I tummin" (I'm coming). He steals our hearts everyday with his little smile and his big beautiful eyes. He likes to irritate his sister, but he is her biggest fan. He is almost always willing to give out kisses and hugs. I'm blessed that he still wants to sit on my lap and cuddle. Check out his video below :)

Michael and I are doing great and just reached 9 years together. We're looking forward to celebrating 7 years married in a few month and aren't feeling a twinge of an "itch" :)

Hopefully I'm off the hook now for a bit. Have a good day, Mom! :)

Jesse sings

2010-02-15T19:11:00.000-08:00

Birthday Video

2009-11-30T05:47:00.000-08:00

I'm a bad, bad blogger! I have so many pictures to upload.. they will be up soon! Until then, check out this video that Michael and the kids made me for my b-day! So cute!! They are the best!

Ava's 4th Birthday

2009-10-28T17:44:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time, but I am going to try to be better at updating our blog. (Sorry Mom!) Our little Ava turned 4 last month and we had a fun "Piggy Princess Ballerina Party." :)
We are so thankful for Ava and we can hardly believe she's already 4... life is moving way too fast.
Here's some pictures:)

Summer 09

2009-09-03T18:16:00.000-07:00

Since I've been horrible about uploading pictures to blogger lately and have been posting them mostly to facebook, I decided to make a slideshow rather than try to upload photos one by one... this way I could post a ton. So, this video is basically our summer in review in just 2 minutes :)

This summer we passed on a vacation, but instead, took a few trips to visit family and friends, and as we posted before, we went to Chicago back in June. We've had a fun, laid back summer. When we we weren't entertaining or traveling, we spent a lot of time in the backyard, went to the splash park, went to the zoo a few times, and just enjoyed being together.

I don't journal on paper, but very infrequently do on here, so I can print it for our kids someday to know how I'm thinking/feeling at this stage.... I'm about to journal some things I've been thinking about, and since It's mostly our moms and siblings that read this, they may be interested, but if you don't want to read my mooshy reflections on parenting, just watch the slideshow below :)

Lately I've had this overwhelming sense of reality in realizing how fast life is moving. As Farris Bueller so wisely put it, "Life moves pretty fast, if you don't stop and look around once and a while, you could miss it." :)

Ava is aproaching 4, and Jesse is now 20 months old. Even though I spend everyday, all day with them, I still find myself wishing I had them longer. Don't get me wrong, I look forward to their bedtimes, and getting out of the house for dates with Michael or alone time for myself... But I guess, I mostly wish time would slow down and they would be my babies for longer. The thought of kindergarten makes me weepy, and so I have been trying to remember to treasure this awesome time that I get to have these two little people all to myself everyday. It seems as if each day Jesse does something new or he gives me the cutest little grin from across the room. Each day Ava says something so witty (get's that from her dad!) or she discovers some new truth about life or God and I get to be the first one she tells it to. I've been storing these memories like snapshots in my mind.

But, reality is that our life is not perfect. We have our good days and our bad. Jesse just threw 3 tantrums at the doctor's office the other day and that is a memory I am hoping to forget :) Ava can sometimes talk so much and asks so many questions that my mind feels like mush at the end of a long day..haha.

In a couple of days Michael and I will have known each other for 10 years. Last night we were talking about when we first met and how we never could've dreamed how ten years later our life would be so different or how happy we would be together. Or how cute or kids would be (we are obviously biased!)
But one thing has stayed the same- when Michael and I were engaged over 7 years ago it was clear that we were similar in a lot of ways. We envisioned a simple life together, just hanging at the house with each other and our kids in the evenings. No huge homes or lavish vacations. Just us, together. That's the way we like it.

So here's our slideshow.. I know some may think the song is total cheesy-ness. But, I love this song and I love the words. Michael and I feel so blessed that God chose us for each other and chose to take it one step further and give us Ava and Jesse.

Ava's exciting news!

2009-08-25T19:28:00.001-07:00

Ava has some awesome news to share (and no, we are not pregnant!)
We are so proud of her!

Singing the song was her idea (so sweet.) We are so thankful for her decision today and pray that she would follow Jesus the rest of her life.

CHICAGO

2009-06-29T18:44:00.000-07:00

We went to Chicago last weekend and it was super fun. We drove up to Amy and Jake's and hung out with them which was so fun and so nice of them to let us spend the night and take over their house. :) Then we headed to Chicago and packed as much into a short amount of time as we could :) We went to the Children's Museum and the kids loved it, walked all along Michigan Avenue, went to the American Girl Store (where Ava was allowed to buy the smallest doll purse I've ever seen- the store is so expensive!) Ava is still a little young to totally understand the American girl scene as she kept calling it, "the Barbie store." :)
We ate Gino's (our all time favorite deep dish- we are obsessed with that pizza, it's ridiculous!) We also met up with good friends from college, hung out at Millennium Park, played in fountains, went to the beach, walked, walked, walked....
Our hotel was awesome, right at corner of Michigan and by the river. It was great fun, yet a little challenging at times with 2 little kiddos, but all and all, they did really well. We made some wonderful memories :)

May

2009-05-30T19:54:00.000-07:00

Ava and Jesse are doing great. Ava was sooo cute in her little recital. She stood up on stage and performed her whole routine. We were so proud of her!
Jesse is getting so big and he is doing so many "big boy" things, like going down the slide and jumping off the couch.. He's definitely all boy.

Scroll down for more pictures!

2009-05-30T19:50:00.000-07:00

2009-05-30T19:46:00.000-07:00

2009-05-30T19:44:00.000-07:00

Easter Pictures

2009-04-19T18:09:00.000-07:00

This one isn't an Easter pic, but a recent one :)

Ode to Michael (for no particular reason)

2009-04-13T11:31:00.000-07:00

10 Reasons I love my Husband

* He is the most honest person I know. Seriously, he never lies. (well, maybe when he tells telemarketers that I'm not home or when he assures Ava that he will marry her when she grows up....but I don't think either of those count!)

*He spends all of his free time with me and kids. He spends 5:00-8:00 with us every night and always puts the kids to bed so I can have a break. He never asks to do anything for himself. He always thinks of me before himself. It's pretty amazing.

*When I was VERY pregnant with both of our kids, He always told me how pretty I was. And he actually meant it.

*He deals with all the money stuff because he knows it stresses me out sometimes. He does it all, so I don't have to. Oh, and he has never made me feel guilty for not contributing to finances for the last few years. He supports me as I stay home with our kids and wouldn't have it any other way.

*When I have a bad day, he hands me the keys and tells me to go out to Starbucks or to go shopping for as long as I want. Most of the time I run out for an hour and rush home because I miss him and I don't want to miss out on time that he's home from work.

*When we had only been dating for a few months, he told me that I was a lot like his mom. At the time, I laughed because I thought it was a weird thing for a guy to tell his new girlfriend... I soon realized that he meant it as a huge compliment. He loves his mom and dad and thinks very highly of them.

*If we are watching one of our favorite shows and the phone rings, He quickly answers it so I don't have to.

*He plays with Ava and lets her put headbands and necklaces on him....even if we have company over. :)

* He looks away from the tv when a Victoria's Secret commercial is on (he looks at me during the whole comercial until it's over and usually tells me how pretty I am)... Every-Single- Time! I have never once told him to do this or ever said anything about it. He has always done it! He's started to cover Jesse's eyes when we walk past the big VS billboards on the way to the play area at the mall. Haha!

*He's never once done anything to make me question his loyalty or commitment to me. I think that is a pretty big deal.

I could go on and on- these are just a few.
Michael-I can't believe that I turned you down about a hundred times before I finally dated you- What was I thinking? :) Thanks for taking a risk and holding my hand 8 years, 2 months, and 11 days ago. I'm really glad you did. I love you Michael.

Jesse's 1 year old pictures (taken about 3 months too late!)

2009-04-05T12:45:00.000-07:00

We finally took Jesse's 1 year pictures, which is great, but he's 15 months old now. These are our favorites..........

He's pretty stinkin cute! We are very bias, of course.

Jesse is now starting to say a few more words- his vocab includes: Nana (me), Dada, Ada (Ava), ball, dog, ruff ruff, all da (all done), bye, ha (hi), baba (bottle)

He's cuddly and very sweet.. He sits on my lap and kisses and hugs me which is a whole new experience this time around. . Ava was a busy body at this age and never wanted to sit on my lap. Unfortunately he is somewhat stubborn, starting to throw tantrums and hit too, so we are gearing up for this phase again. (sigh) Michael and I can't believe how much we've already forgotten already in the baby discipline department.

Thankfully he seems to balance his naughtiness with sweetness :) He really is an adorable little stinker! Even though it seems like he is becoming such a big boy, he is still a baby in so many ways. He still lets me rock him at night and he loves holding his sister's hand in the car- I know those things aren't going to last for much longer.

We love you buddy! You definitely keep us on our toes:) We can't imagine life without you!

1 Timothy 4:12

2009-03-28T12:20:00.000-07:00

Sweet Ava

2009-03-01T17:46:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share what my little Ava did one night last week, it was definitely one of the proudest moments of my life.

After the kids baths, we were all hanging out in Ava's room upstairs, when Jesse unexpectedly darted out of her room (the first time I have ever seen him run). He was running towards the steps, and to make a long story short- In the process of trying to catch him, I fell and cut my arm. (I did catch him, though, thankfully)

Afterward, I started crying, mostly from the trama of thinking Jesse was gonna fall down the steps (and maybe a little because it Really hurt!)

Ava was immediately worried and started wiping tears from my eyes saying, "your okay, don't cry mommy, you're okay." I assured her I was okay and went downstairs to get a bandage, leaving the kids with Michael.

About 60 seconds later Ava was at my side again, sympathizing for me, trying to help me with the band-aid, then she asked if there was anything she could do to help. (Very sweet and especially mature coming from a 3 year old!)

I told her that she could pray for my arm during her bed time prayers and that would be a big help.

Then, she placed her hand on my arm, and asked "can I pray for you right now mommy?"
Proudest. Moment. Ever

I watched my 3 year old close her eyes tightly, place her face in her hands, and pray for me. I smiled to myself when she said "thank you Jesus for my mom's boo-boo,"(she gets a little confused) And tried to hold back the tears when she very boldly prayed, "Jesus- please heal my mom!"

We've been praying for her since before she was born and have been teaching her about Jesus everyday, and recently we've been seeing her "get it." It is an amazing thing!

She is a typical 3 year old, that is for sure- fights with her brother, begs for candy, ect... But she can be so, so sweet and caring- We are so proud of her!

Playing outside in her Barbie bridal gown :)

Hangin out with her best friend Hannah, both dressed as Belle

We're still here :)

2009-02-13T10:40:00.000-08:00

I never realized how busy life could be with 2 little ones. Recently I have found myself staring at women who are out and about with 3, 4, 5 kids. How do they do it?? I feel like it is such a challenge to get my two kiddos dressed and fed and entertained everyday, and if we make it out of the house to run errands, library, dance class, ect 3- 4 times in a week, we are Really doing well!

I am so excited for spring and summer when we can ditch the bulky coats and boots- That stuff is definitely getting old! I find myself trying to think of creative "indoor" activities to do in the meantime.
Here are a few that went well: letting Ava give all her stuffed animals a bubble bath in the sink; setting up a puppet stage, buying new coloring books and tons of foam craft thingies at the dollar store and letting her create, throwing a bunch of pillows on the floor and letting the kids jump off "mountains"
Stuff that hasn't gone so well: letting Jesse try to play with playdough- big mistake; letting Ava pretend shaving cream was snow in a cake pan with plasitc toys- total disaster

One other thing that was a total success were these "pirate swords" that I found at the dollar store. Totally worth $2!! They have been lovin the pirate fights.

Like father, Like son

2009-02-13T10:24:00.000-08:00

We went to a pirate party last weekend and Michael dressed as a Napoleon Dynamite pirate- definitely a sight to see, Unfortunately we didn't get a picture of it.

Jesse decided to give the wig and glasses a try when we got home- A chip off the ol' block for sure :)

Jesse actually loves to wear funny glasses and hats. When Ava was a baby she despised "dress up." I would put something on her and hurry to snap the picture before she threw it off. Not this guy - he L-O-V-E-S it!!
Ava has finally decided to take advantage of her brother's willingness to dress up and use him as her own little beauty client. She has been putting barrettes & bows in his hair, and even princess crowns. She brushes his hair and sometimes calls him "Baby Cindy." I know this seems like sibling abuse, but he really seems to enjoy the fact that she is showing him attention. I can't help but laugh- it's hilarious. I don't think Michael thinks its as funny as I do :)

Poor guy- he's gonna hate this picture when he grows up! :)

Fun in the Snow

2009-02-13T10:07:00.000-08:00

Ava has had an absolute blast in the snow this year...even going as far to wanting to play out in it herself when Michael and I aren't able to go with her. That's a huge step for this very cautious child! She usually hates to be by herself and prefers to stay by my side all day. Last Spring we fenced our backyard, so now I sit by the window with Jesse and watch her play outside- I amazed at how big she is getting. She's not a baby anymore, I'm realizing that more and more....
She is now 3 years and 4 months old and she is really into: Ariel, Caillou, dressing up like a princess and putting play make-up on, playing with all of her stuffed animals, cooking with mommy,and doing anything artsy- This kid loves to draw!

Mommy and Ava playing in the snow

Snow princess with a crown

"helping" mommy in the kitchen

Jesse's 1st Birthday

2009-01-07T18:55:00.000-08:00

We were @ Michael's parents' house on his Birthday, Dec 27th....... He was loving the presents, Christmas and Birthday

His snowman cupcakes made by mommy

Not sure about the candle

B-day party @ our house

Bear Brownies made by mommy

He thinks he's big and bad now that he's one!

Happy Birthday Baby, We Love You!!!

Christmas 2008

2008-12-31T05:02:00.000-08:00

Jessie loves his Hermie

Showing a little interest in unwrapping

Humoring my with a photo before they opened their gifts

Ava left cookies for Santa, a carrot for Rudolf, and a couple of pictures that she colored...
She's a believer! :) Mommy and Ava proud of our gingerbread house- It took us a long time!
Jesse just missed Christmas last year by 2 days. This was his 1st Xmas

Posing after presents are opened...Jesse wasn't cooperating

Ava loved her bear
Family Christmas card photo

Christmas was super fun this year and it was great to see the kids loving every minute of it. We have more pictures to share of Jesse's Birthday and other family Christmas events... I'll post more later. We hope everyone have a very merry Christmas!

Funny

2008-12-08T11:03:00.000-08:00

Michael and I randomly humor ourselves by watching stupid videos online after the kids go to bed.... I know, you wish you were cool like us.
Anyway, Michael loved this one, probably because he could relate to it. Check it out if you enjoy totally cheesy humor like we do.

http://www.ignitermedia.com/products/iv/singles/886/The-Dont-Song

Christmas Time is Here

2008-12-06T18:31:00.000-08:00

We have been getting all ready for Christmas and the kids are loving all of the decorations, especially the tree. We had to put the tree up on a table so that Jesse couldn't get it.
Ava is totally digging watching Christmas movies and drinking hot chocolate every other night. We've been letting her live it up! Michael and I love snuggling up and watching Christmas movies and it is so fun that she is old enough to enjoy it with us this year. Jesse will even sit still to watch for about a half hour. Fun times!

Little Reindeer

She loves this snow globe. I loved them, too when I was little

Terri and Rick came for a visit and while they were here we went to the Festival of Lights.

Santa just happened to be there. :) It took Ava a little off guard, so she was afraid to sit on his lap and even told him, "no thank you" when he offered her a candy cane. This girl LOVES candy canes, so she must've been really nervous. We finally convinced her to get in the picture, but she only agreed to it if P-Pa held her... oh, and she changed her mind and took the candy cane. :)

Jesse was surprisingly brave, well until he realised that he was actually sitting on Santa's lap :)

Trip to Indiana and Birthday fun

2008-12-06T18:23:00.000-08:00

We went to South Bend to visit Amy and Jake a couple of weeks ago and took this cute picture of the kiddos with their aunt and uncle........

Michael took me to see "A Christmas Carol" for my b-day. It was fun to go out on a date.

Ava and Michael decorating my birthday cake. Ava looks like she has a french mustache :)

Thanksgiving

2008-12-06T18:16:00.000-08:00

We spent Thanksgiving at my uncles house in southern Ohio. It was really fun, the food was so good and we had fun with family. We forgot our camera, but here is a picture of Jesse browsing the Black Friday ads.

Jesse's ready to bake

2008-11-26T17:41:00.000-08:00

I caught this little rascal in sprinkle heaven the other day. I left him in the kitchen playing with fridge magnets, walked back in a minute later to this. Red sprinkles all over the floor. He even managed to unscrew the lid...what?
I'm sure I will be finding little red sprinkles on the floor for a while. I randomly see remnants of the white sprinkles Ava dumped last Christmas.

How could I get mad at a face like this :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Day after the election depression, stomach flu, and Halloween

2008-11-05T17:47:00.000-08:00

i Jesse the Lion & Mommy

Kit, David Beckham, Ariel #1, Arial #2, and Mr. Lion @ Boo at the Zoo

Cutie Lion

Glam-girl Ariel

Happy Family at Fall Festival

Kiddos with their friend Niko the Lion

Ava and Mommy carving the pumpkin

Ava drawing pictures on the back

It's been a crazy week here- I've been wanting to get Halloween pics up for a few days but I've been playing nurse to a very sick Ava- Poor girl has been hit HARD with the flu. And then she passed it to her daddy. So, combined with the election results- There hasn't been an abundance of smiles in our house today. I am hoping that Jesse and my immune systems stay strong and that Ava and Michael will turn the corner of this thing soon.

On a brighter note- the kids looked really cute for Halloween. :)

Because it's almost election time and we can barely stand to watch the news anymore.....

2008-10-23T19:25:00.000-07:00

Someone sent this to us and we thought that it was a very interesting read.

Would the Last Honest Reporter Please Turn On the Lights?
By Orson Scott Card

Editor's note: Orson Scott Card is a Democrat and a newspaper columnist, and in this opinion piece he takes on both while lamenting the current state of journalism.

An open letter to the local daily paper — almost every local daily paper in America:

I remember reading All the President's Men and thinking: That's journalism. You do what it takes to get the truth and you lay it before the public, because the public has a right to know.

This housing crisis didn't come out of nowhere. It was not a vague emanation of the evil Bush administration.

It was a direct result of the political decision, back in the late 1990s, to loosen the rules of lending so that home loans would be more accessible to poor people. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were authorized to approve risky loans.

What is a risky loan? It's a loan that the recipient is likely not to be able to repay.

The goal of this rule change was to help the poor — which especially would help members of minority groups. But how does it help these people to give them a loan that they can't repay? They get into a house, yes, but when they can't make the payments, they lose the house — along with their credit rating.

They end up worse off than before.

This was completely foreseeable and in fact many people did foresee it. One political party, in Congress and in the executive branch, tried repeatedly to tighten up the rules. The other party blocked every such attempt and tried to loosen them.

Furthermore, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were making political contributions to the very members of Congress who were allowing them to make irresponsible loans. (Though why quasi-federal agencies were allowed to do so baffles me. It's as if the Pentagon were allowed to contribute to the political campaigns of Congressmen who support increasing their budget.)

Isn't there a story here? Doesn't journalism require that you who produce our daily paper tell the truth about who brought us to a position where the only way to keep confidence in our economy was a $700 billion bailout? Aren't you supposed to follow the money and see which politicians were benefiting personally from the deregulation of mortgage lending?

I have no doubt that if these facts had pointed to the Republican Party or to John McCain as the guilty parties, you would be treating it as a vast scandal. "Housing-gate," no doubt. Or "Fannie-gate."

Instead, it was Senator Christopher Dodd and Congressman Barney Frank, both Democrats, who denied that there were any problems, who refused Bush administration requests to set up a regulatory agency to watch over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and who were still pushing for these agencies to go even further in promoting sub-prime mortgage loans almost up to the minute they failed.

As Thomas Sowell points out in a TownHall.com essay entitled "Do Facts Matter?" ( http://snipurl.com/457townhall_com] ): "Alan Greenspan warned them four years ago. So did the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers to the President. So did Bush's Secretary of the Treasury."

These are facts. This financial crisis was completely preventable. The party that blocked any attempt to prevent it was ... the Democratic Party. The party that tried to prevent it was ... the Republican Party.

Yet when Nancy Pelosi accused the Bush administration and Republican deregulation of causing the crisis, you in the press did not hold her to account for her lie. Instead, you criticized Republicans who took offense at this lie and refused to vote for the bailout!

What? It's not the liar, but the victims of the lie who are to blame?

Now let's follow the money ... right to the presidential candidate who is the number-two recipient of campaign contributions from Fannie Mae.

And after Freddie Raines, the CEO of Fannie Mae who made $90 million while running it into the ground, was fired for his incompetence, one presidential candidate's campaign actually consulted him for advice on housing.

If that presidential candidate had been John McCain, you would have called it a major scandal and we would be getting stories in your paper every day about how incompetent and corrupt he was.

But instead, that candidate was Barack Obama, and so you have buried this story, and when the McCain campaign dared to call Raines an "adviser" to the Obama campaign — because that campaign had sought his advice — you actually let Obama's people get away with accusing McCain of lying, merely because Raines wasn't listed as an official adviser to the Obama campaign.

You would never tolerate such weasely nit-picking from a Republican.

If you who produce our local daily paper actually had any principles, you would be pounding this story, because the prosperity of all Americans was put at risk by the foolish, short-sighted, politically selfish, and possibly corrupt actions of leading Democrats, including Obama.

If you who produce our local daily paper had any personal honor, you would find it unbearable to let the American people believe that somehow Republicans were to blame for this crisis.

There are precedents. Even though President Bush and his administration never said that Iraq sponsored or was linked to 9/11, you could not stand the fact that Americans had that misapprehension — so you pounded us with the fact that there was no such link. (Along the way, you created the false impression that Bush had lied to them and said that there was a connection.)

If you had any principles, then surely right now, when the American people are set to blame President Bush and John McCain for a crisis they tried to prevent, and are actually shifting to approve of Barack Obama because of a crisis he helped cause, you would be laboring at least as hard to correct that false impression.

Your job, as journalists, is to tell the truth. That's what you claim you do, when you accept people's money to buy or subscribe to your paper.

But right now, you are consenting to or actively promoting a big fat lie — that the housing crisis should somehow be blamed on Bush, McCain, and the Republicans. You have trained the American people to blame everything bad — even bad weather — on Bush, and they are responding as you have taught them to.

If you had any personal honor, each reporter and editor would be insisting on telling the truth — even if it hurts the election chances of your favorite candidate.

Because that's what honorable people do. Honest people tell the truth even when they don't like the probable consequences. That's what honesty means . That's how trust is earned.

Barack Obama is just another politician, and not a very wise one. He has revealed his ignorance and naivete time after time — and you have swept it under the rug, treated it as nothing.

Meanwhile, you have participated in the borking of Sarah Palin, reporting savage attacks on her for the pregnancy of her unmarried daughter — while you ignored the story of John Edwards's own adultery for many months.

So I ask you now: Do you have any standards at all? Do you even know what honesty means?

Is getting people to vote for Barack Obama so important that you will throw away everything that journalism is supposed to stand for?

You might want to remember the way the National Organization of Women threw away their integrity by supporting Bill Clinton despite his well-known pattern of sexual exploitation of powerless women. Who listens to NOW anymore? We know they stand for nothing; they have no principles.

That's where you are right now.

It's not too late. You know that if the situation were reversed, and the truth would damage McCain and help Obama, you would be moving heaven and earth to get the true story out there.

If you want to redeem your honor, you will swallow hard and make a list of all the stories you would print if it were McCain who had been getting money from Fannie Mae, McCain whose campaign had consulted with its discredited former CEO, McCain who had voted against tightening its lending practices.

Then you will print them, even though every one of those true stories will point the finger of blame at the reckless Democratic Party, which put our nation's prosperity at risk so they could feel good about helping the poor, and lay a fair share of the blame at Obama's door.

You will also tell the truth about John McCain: that he tried, as a Senator, to do what it took to prevent this crisis. You will tell the truth about President Bush: that his administration tried more than once to get Congress to regulate lending in a responsible way.

This was a Congress-caused crisis, beginning during the Clinton administration, with Democrats leading the way into the crisis and blocking every effort to get out of it in a timely fashion.

If you at our local daily newspaper continue to let Americans believe — and vote as if — President Bush and the Republicans caused the crisis, then you are joining in that lie.

If you do not tell the truth about the Democrats — including Barack Obama — and do so with the same energy you would use if the miscreants were Republicans — then you are not journalists by any standard.

You're just the public relations machine of the Democratic Party, and it's time you were all fired and real journalists brought in, so that we can actually have a news paper in our city.

This article first appeared in The Rhinoceros Times of Greensboro

Ava and Jesse

2008-10-09T13:25:00.000-07:00

These 2 are so funny. Sometimes they are super chummy and other times they can drive each other nuts...well it's mostly Jesse driving Ava crazy. He is into all of her toys and is interested in everything that she does. I can't count how many times I hear her say, "Mom- get Jesse!!" everyday. Even though it can be difficult at times, I'm so glad that we spaced our kids pretty close together. I think that they are going to have a lot of fun together. :)

Jesse

2008-10-09T12:46:00.000-07:00

Jesse is 9 months old, I can't believe it. He is such a sweet little baby- he totally melts my heart everyday. He is pulling up on everything and getting into anything that is within reach. He keeps me busy, always. I really can't believe he is almost a year old! I am enjoying every second that I have left of cuddling my little baby- He still lets me cuddle him a little, but I know it won't last for long, especially when he learns to walk, which is probably soon!

Tiny Dancer

2008-10-09T12:34:00.000-07:00

Ava started Dance class this fall and she really loves it. She is going to the same dance company that my sister sends her daughter Abbey to. It's called Leap of Faith and it is really cool because it is obviously "faith based"- I'm sure you could figure it out by the name. :) Anyway, It's been really good for Ava. She is enjoying learning a dance routine and practicing her summersaults. When we came home today from dance, I asked her if I could take some pictures of her in her little dance outfit...she was super excited about that and also wanted to practice her routine. I snaps a few shots of her in action- too cute.

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-09T12:32:00.001-07:00

Ava's 3rd Birthday

2008-09-26T06:24:00.000-07:00

She looks too grown up with her dress up heals on!

I had to document the injury :)

Michael, Jesse, and I kept our distance... those balls are hard!

Ava turned 3 on the 22nd! We had a small "piggy party" for her the day before at our house. (For those who don't know- Ava has a piggy stuffed animal that she considers her best friend. ) So, that is where the idea came from.
It was really fun and Ava enjoyed herself thoroughly. Unfortunately she took a nasty fall about 15 minutes into her party and got a big welt on her face. Poor girl...she was tough though. I think tons of attention, presents, and sugar helped her cheer up :)

The next day for her "real birthday" she was treated to donuts for breakfast and dinner of her choice....she chose hot dogs :) She decided that she wanted donuts and leftover cupcakes for her birthday desert. I think she had a lot of candy throughout the day, too, so she was super hyped on sugar. When your kid is wired already, what better place to take them than to Chuckee Cheese's :)
She had so much fun and really got into the games, which is always exciting for Michael. She was scaring me a little in Ski- ball when she was throwing the balls overhand. She also threw the basketball across the room instead of at the basket several times....I actually think that she was aiming for the hoop. Maybe she will have my stellar athletics skills?
I'm sure they are used to this at Chuckee Cheese's though... Can you imagine working there?

We ended the night by giving her a "Sit and spin" and she loved it.

I can't believe that our little girl is already three. I am so thankful for her and the joy that she has brought to our lives.

For more pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/maryjohnson98/AvaS3rdBDay?authkey=XKcxdt5S81Q#

Kerri's Baby Shower

2008-09-24T12:58:00.000-07:00

I was so excited to be able to be a part of Kerri's baby shower. Her mom did most of the work (thanks Joan!) I planned Kerri's bridal shower with her mom last year and we got to collaborate again this year.
I made my first attempt at a diaper cake, too... It was quite lop-sided, but it was made with love. :)

Kerri and I stayed up way too late talking...we also watched a video that we made 10 years ago-freshman year in college, and laughed at how annoying we were at the age of 18. Wow, I can't believe that Michael really wanted to date me then.... I was so whiney and immature. He must've seen my potential. ha!

Our good friend from college Steph(who also made many appearances in the notorious video) , came to the shower, too, and it was great to see her and her cute little daughter.

Kerri's looking unbelievably good, especially considering that she is just a few weeks from her due date. We can't wait to meet you Baby D!

Back from Orlando

2008-09-13T11:22:00.000-07:00

Hey! We spent August 30- September 6 on vacation in Orlando and it was really fun! To be honest, when people ask us how is was, we usually say, "REALLY FUN and sorta hard!" It added an interesting dynamic to the trip having an 8 month old. We took Ava to Virginia beach for a long weekend when she was about the same age, and no doubt its a lot more difficult with 2, then 1. But, overall- Jesse seriously is a such a good baby, he's just really active! And Ava was such a good girl, it was so fun to watch her enjoy herself so much. And Michael and I loved getting to see my whole family for 7 full days- how cool! I had a lot of help with the little guy, too, which is always nice.
We drove through the night Friday night with my mom and dad to get there. It was a rough drive since none of us could fall asleep during our off driving duty times. And the kids woke up each time we had to refuel. (I think Ava was also up from 3-5 am for no apparent reason, too. ) I hope she isn't up during those hours every night! Long story short- We made it. We drove straight to Cocoa Beach (where Michael and I went on our honeymoon and 1 year anniversary.) Jesse immediately decided that sand was his new favorite food :)
From there we drove to the condo where all 16 of us would stay and we had plenty of room, which was nice. (Thanks Uncle Rick for letting us rent your condo!) And props to my big bro who so generously paid for the whole family to stay!! That was so sweet.
Days were spent swimming at the pool, cousins playing, adults hanging out- catching up, and going on some outings. We went to the gulf one day to St. Pete beach and had lots of fun and lots of family pictures. I will admit that trying to rinse sand out of the butt cracks of 2 kids was sorta stressful since they were both crying and I felt like crying myself for a moment. :) Thankfully Michael always helps me to calm down when I feel stressed!
Tuesday we spent the whole day at Disney World. Thanks mom and dad for buying the whole family's tickets to get in! Again, so generous! Ava LOVED it and had the time of her life. Jesse did surprisingly well even though I know he had no idea what was going on. He loved "It's a small world" and it was so sweet to see the look on his face during that ride. We rode lots of rides and we even stood in line to meet Mickey and Minnie. Ava had been looking forward to meeting them for months. I think Ava and her cousin Hannah were in shock to meet "the real Minnie Mouse" They are both big fans! Michael and I had both never been before and it was really cool- We definitely want to go back when Jesse is a little older.

This was our Christmas/ B-day presents to each other for a year. My family decided that for a full year we wouldn't buy gifts and save the money that we would've spent to be able to do this vacation- Good idea Dave!

To see lots more pictures click here
or
http://picasaweb.google.com/maryjohnson98/DisneyVacation08?authkey=HBOwnXM8ZIQ#

Friends

2008-08-22T07:21:00.000-07:00

Cathy, Mary, Danika, Kris- Friends from high school

Cami (Kris's daughter) and Ava- I wish they lived closer

Kerri (7 months pregnant- isn't she cute) and me

Within a one month's time I got the opportunity to see 4 friends that I don't get to see nearly enough. It was great catching up with Danika, Cathy, and Kris for an evening. We all went to high school together. It's always fun to catch up and see what everyone is up to. Cathy just moved from Cali to Florida( now she's a little closer to Ohio:) , Kris just had her second little cutie (She has a girl and a boy that are almost the same ages of my two kiddos-how fun!), and we recently found out that Danika is having a baby, too (yay! I'm so excited!)

I also got to go to Indiana to visit Kerri, one of my best friends from college. We always have fun watching movies, taking, shopping, ect. She's pregnant and due soon and I just can't wait to see little baby D!!

Thanks to Michael for watching the kids so I could go to Indiana and to my mom and dad for picking up the kids so I could stay out a little later with the girls. I'm thankful for little breaks every once and a while :)

the end of summer

2008-08-22T06:40:00.000-07:00

Ava drew that and totally blew us away- She's really good at art just
like her daddy!

Ava and Jesse swinging :)

m & m

I don't think they were in a picture taking mood

Daddy playing with kids at Zoombezi bay (our summer pool pass)

Zoombezi bay- poor Jesse thought that water was too cold

Backyard kiddie pool

Photo Shoot

2008-08-10T11:10:00.000-07:00

The amazingness of Jen added to the cuteness of our kids = some awesome pictures.

One of our favorite people Jen, was kind enough to take some pictures of our kiddos. We are so thankful for her- she is so gifted at what she does. Her photos are always so amazing.

Michael met Jen in high school at a time when he was pretty much miserable for no good reason :)
She was determined to get him to lighten up so she used to sit next to him in class and pretend to smash his pb& j sandwiches and then draw hearts all over his book covers.. Somehow they became the best of friends. How funny is that? And after 10+ years, they are still great friends!

We just adore Jen and hope that she and Timmy (her husband) stay in our lives For-ev-er. (They are in the bottom picture with Ava when she was about Jesse's age.)

We love you Jen!! Thanks so so much for the pics!

Pieces of the Past

2008-07-29T11:28:00.000-07:00

Do to the fact that I seemed to have misplaced our USB cable, we haven't been able to load any of our pictures into the computer. Bummer. I keep forgetting to just buy one when we are at the store. So, pictures will be posted next time.

I've been thinking a lot about getting older... Maybe it's because Michael and I celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary a few months ago, or maybe because we have 2 kids now? Mostly, I think it is because it is time for my 10 year high school reunion.

I'm not able to go to the reunion do to other plans. To be honest, I am relieved. Is that horrible? It makes me feel nervous even to think about it. Why you may ask? I'll tell you -
That was a different time in my life and I am just a shadow of the person I was then, I don't even recognize myself when I look at old photographs. It's not the physical change that shocks me, but the change is within. Thankfully I had a level head in high school for the most part and avoided most trouble. Still, however, I get sad sometimes when I reflect on those days.
Did I have a completely awful high school experience? No
Did I have good friends- yes
Did I have a good home life? Of course.
Was I following God- Yes, but it was kinda a lame effort at times.
All in all... I felt lost in a lot of ways.

It wasn't until after high school that I truly found my purpose in life and I actually became the person that God had created me to be. So, to visit the past seems so torturous to me. Why would I want to do that to myself?
There are definitely friends that I would like to see, but I would rather just meet up with them on my own, you know?

I was recently cleaning our closet and found Michael's senior book- the one that people sign with- "good luck in college, stay the same- don't ever change, it was fun sitting next to you in math, stay in touch" yada yada yada. Flipping through the pages, I was reminded that he and I are so similar. I saw the small ghosts of his past in those pages and I quickely tossed it in the trash. Later, I told him that I skimmed it and tossed it and he said, "Good, why would I want to hold onto that book?" Most people know that Michael is in many ways very different today compared to then, just like me. Both of us wish we could go back and change things...Knowing that we can't- we just chose to forget the past and try to make up for wasted time. I sometimes look at Michael and hear the lines of this song (one of my favorites)over and over in my head-

You brought me back to that place in my heart
I thought was gone, oh so long
I was unhappy now it's gone
And I'm moving on, moving on
I went for so long
And I was so wrong
And then I met you
And now I can't live without you
And I don't want to
I've done that all my life up till now

All the time, darling now, oh
All the time, now we'll have to make it up
We'll make it up, oh
All the days, darling now, oh
All the days, now we'll have to make them up
We'll make them up somehow
We'll make them up

TN

2008-07-18T04:26:00.001-07:00

We went to visit my brother Dave and his family in Tennessee a few weeks ago and we forgot to post the pictures. Unfortunately Jesse and I didn't make it into any of the pics. :)
He moved into this new house over a year ago, but because I was pregnant we had to delay our visit for a while. It was great to see all of them and to just hang out and catch up. The kids loved playing (Ava had the time of her life!), and it was awesome to see their beautiful home and all the land that they now have. We're really happy for them! Michael and I love living in the city, but after visiting them I can totally see why so many people love the country life, too.

Happy Birthday and Congrats!

2008-07-10T04:41:00.000-07:00

Happy 27th Birthday Michael! I hope you had a fun birthday yesterday!

We had a fun time celebrating with some family and friends, and he had a really good time. Unfortunate timing- our AC broke and we got an estimate on Michael's B-day (not such a great gift.)

Most of you know by now that Michael got a new job at Clary Communications. He is really excited for this new opportunity and will begin there in a week and a half. I'm super proud of him... He's pretty much awesome :)

Also, as long as I'm bragging him up on his very own post, check out his website if you want to see some of his new work!

Happy Birthday Baby! I love you!

I've been in a picture taking mood recently :)

2008-06-25T19:17:00.001-07:00

Too Funny

2008-06-21T11:55:00.000-07:00

Ava: Is Jesse a real boy?
Me: Yes
Ava: Are you sure? He's not a doll, Is he?

Ava: Mommy, are you a giant?
(Michael laughed a little too much when Ava said this!)

Ava: Daddy is always "nakey!" (a.k.a naked)
Me: What??!!
Ava: Daddy swims nakey..haha.
Me: No he doesn't!
Ava: Yes he does, his belly is always nakey!
Me: Oh, yeah, boys don't wear a top when they swim"
(Michael and I hope that she isn't telling people in sunday school that he swims naked.)

Me: "What are you going to be when you grow up? A mommy like me?"
Ava: "I'd rather be a clown."

The other day I saw an ant on the living room floor and immediately killed it.
Ava: Can I see that ant?"
Me: No, I killed it.
Ava: "Oh, the ant is "in Jesus" now.
(I felt bad for a second) :)

June 17

2008-06-18T05:42:00.000-07:00

June Pics

2008-06-13T11:35:00.001-07:00

Playing together in the little pool

Ava with her best friend- Piggy

Concentrating on her lipstick application

This girl loves her makeup kit- Thanks Shana!

She drew a picture of Larry the Cucumber on her chalk board-
Michael and I were shocked at how good it was- she's only 2!!

Little Jesse LOVES to splash in the water!

He's so precious- look at those cheeks

5 year anniversary, may 31

2008-05-31T07:10:00.000-07:00

Michael,

Thank you for a wonderful five years. I made one of the best decisions of my life when I decided to walk through this life with you. I can't imagine life without you and I thank God everyday for allowing me to be your wife. It truly is an honor to get to spend everyday with you and serve you!

A lot has changed in five years, yet so many things are the same. I can't wait to celebrate our anniversaries for years to come -when we are old and wrinkly :) I love you, baby!!

I hope you (and everyone else) enjoys a short peak down memory lane, tracing all the way back to our first months dating- wow, we look like little kids :)

Beloved One- Ben Harper

We have both been here before

Knockin' upon love's door
Begging for someone to let us in
Knowing this we can agree to keep each other company
Never to go down that road again

My beloved one, my beloved one

Your eyes shine through me
You are so divine to me
Your heart has a home in mine
We won't have to say a word
With a touch all shall be heard
When I search my heart it's you I find

My beloved one, my beloved one, my beloved one

You were meant for me, I believe you were sent to me from a dream straight into to my heart
Hold your body and close to me
You mean the most to me
We will keep each other safe from harm

My beloved one, my beloved one, my beloved one

Reflections on Mothers Day

2008-05-15T11:57:00.000-07:00

I mentioned below that I wasn’t feeling great on Mother’s Day, so I didn’t really spend a lot of time thinking about being a mom and reflecting on my role with my kids. But, once I started feeling better (a couple days ago) I started getting these overwhelming feelings of thankfulness just out of the blue. I’ve literally been so emotional lately when I think about my children, and my responsibility to them. Ava and Jesse probably wondered this week if their mommy finally “lost it” when I found myself crying during an episode of Veggie Tales reminding me about “thankfulness.”

I’ve been thinking about how often mothers who have already raised their kids and grandmas constantly say, “cherish these times when they are little, because it flies by.”
It’s so true- I’ve found myself thinking about Ava and kindergarden in a couple of years....and I’m realizing that I won’t have her all to myself forever. I am so blessed to be home with my kids everyday all day, and to see each new thing they do,each new thing they say, and to teach them, well... about everything, I guess. Sometimes I take it for granted.

Yesterday evening, I decided to take Ava out, just us girls. We went to McDonald's, got hot fudge Sundays and talked. I decided to let Ava direct the conversation, which she always willingly does. She mostly talked about firetrucks, birdies, Dora, and then went through a mental list of every girl/woman she knows and asked me if they were “mommies.” :)

Then, we went into the dreaded “play area.” I’ve never been much for these, especially not at McDonald's, since they seem to be germ magnets, but I thought that she would have a lot of fun, so we went in. She immediately ran to the bottom mats where you have to climb up to the tunnels that hang and curve about 10 feet up in the air. I could see that she really wanted to go up, but, for those of you that know Ava, you know that she is usually afraid to do anything where she’s “on her own” so to speak, she likes to look down and see Michael or I watching her, but unfortunately for her, these tunnels didn’t have windows.
She begged me to go up with her and I continued to say, “Sorry Ava- big people aren’t allowed to go on these- only kids. You’ll be fine yourself.” Just then, I looked over and saw a sign that said “Moms and Dads are welcome to play!” So, to Ava’s excitement, I climbed into these tunnels following behind her, trying my best to keep up with a 2 year old who has about 20 times more energy than I’ll ever have. Ava’s face made it all worth it, she had a huge cheesy smile from ear to ear.... but every few seconds, she would look back and say “Mom, are you with Ava?” (She still talks in 3rd person sometimes :) And I would say “yeah sweetie, I’m right here.” Another few seconds would go by and she would say, “Please don’t leave me, mommy.” And I found myself saying, “Don’t worry- I won’t leave you” over and over.
Eventually, saying those words over and over started to tug at my heartstrings. I found myself again thanking God for my kids, and reminding myself that Ava and Jesse won’t need me forever.
So, there I was trying to avoid touching the greasy french fry marks on the plastic, trying to squeeze through smelly tunnels, all the while with happy tears in my eyes, telling myself- “Treasure this!”

Jesse's Dedication

2008-05-15T11:48:00.000-07:00

This little guy was dedicated on Sunday- Mother’s day. Although I was super sick with the flu that day, I still enjoyed and apprieciated the opportunity to formally give him over to the Lord and dedicate him during the service. Thanks to everyone that came

Jesse

2008-05-15T11:44:00.000-07:00

Jesse is seriously my biggest fan. If I ever feel down, I just smile at this little buddy and he gives me the biggest smile back. I’ve told Michael many times that to Jesse, I’m a rockstar :) He sees my face ALL day, and I feed him, so that seems to be enough to make me the coolest person ever. He is soo sweet, I can’t imagine our family without him.

He is rolling over now and eating cereal, too.

Baby Plumbers Butt

2008-05-15T11:43:00.000-07:00

Ava

2008-05-15T11:39:00.000-07:00

Were did my baby Ava go? She’s becoming this little beauty before our eyes.

Yesterday before Michael came home from work she told me very seriously, “I’m gonna marry my daddy when I get big!”
That was the first time she’s ever said anything like that and it melted my heart immediately. I silently prayed, “Oh Lord, Please let her marry someone just like her daddy one day!”

Jesse- 3 months

2008-04-09T20:08:00.001-07:00

Conversations with a two year old, part 2

2008-04-08T05:12:00.000-07:00

First Conversation of the morning- I'm realising that maybe I've been trying to teach her too many things at once lately. :)

Ava- "What's your name?"
Me- "Mary Elizabeth Iles..... What's your name?"
Ava- "My name is Ava Grace Iles."
Me- "Do you remember what daddy's name is?"
Ava- "His name is Cincinnati"
Me- "No, Actually, it's Michael"
Ava- "Can I call him Cincinnati?"
Me- "Ummmm.. I guess?"
-----------------------------------------------------

Yesterday while watching "Winnie the Pooh" for one of the first times. I had to laugh to myself. I remember having the same thoughts when I was a kid.

Ava- "Can I go in there?"
Me- "In where?"
Ava- "In there" (pointing to the tv)
Ava- "I want to go play with that guy"(pointing to Tigger)
Me- "Oh, no, we can't go into the tv... sorry sweetie, it doesn't work like that."
Ava- "When the tv breaks, then I can go play with that guy."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

A couple of days ago we decided to use the reward of a "pet fish" to entice Ava to get potty trained.

Me- "Daddy and I think that if you are a Big Girl and start going potty all of the time, we could get you a little pet... Maybe a fish could come live at our house. What do you think?"
Ava- "How about a baby tiger?"

happy boy, sad girl

2008-04-06T19:23:00.000-07:00

Easter

2008-03-26T10:56:00.001-07:00

Conversations with a two year old

2008-03-26T05:46:00.000-07:00

Those of you who know Ava know that she is a TALKER! She often says, "You wanna talk about somethin?"
A couple of days ago when she was in one of those "talky moods" before bed, we started talking about when she was a little baby like Jesse. I told her that she was in my belly, too, just like he was. I asked her if she remembered living in my belly. She said, "Yeah, I do remember. It was pink in there. I cried." When I asked her why she cried in my belly, she said, "I cried for Jesus." :)

She says so many funny things that I decided to write them down, so I can show her when she is older. I thought that I would post a few:

"I wanna sing about the devil"
(Referring to the song "Joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart"......"If the devil doesn't like it he can sit on a tack..ouch")

"Good Morning- Is it Christmas?!"
(First thing she said when I walked into her room today- March 26)

"I love you as big as lotion, too!"
(Her response when I told her that I love her "as big as the ocean!")

"Why is daddy always at his other house? Does he sleep there?"
(Her response when I told her that daddy was at work again..she asks where he is everyday)

JESSE

2008-03-17T18:54:00.001-07:00

AVA

2008-03-17T18:52:00.001-07:00

Hanging out at Home

2008-03-12T11:07:00.001-07:00

Under the Weather

2008-03-05T04:33:00.000-08:00

Our family has been battling this bug that's been going around for about a week. Ava was sick first and still is to some degree, but is on the mend (I think?) Michael started showing symptoms next (but surprisingly only felt sick for about a day. ) Now Jesse and I have it and it's so sad to see such a little baby cough and be miserable.

The last couple of days have been difficult. I think this is the first time that we've all been sick, especially since having Jesse. It's actually made me realize something important.... I struggle with selfishness every day of my life. It's so difficult to care for your sick kids, when you feel horrible yourself.... Or to get up in the middle of the night to feed a baby when you are burning up with fever. (thanks Michael for taking both shifts last night!)

I am realizing that you can't take sick days when you're a mom (or a dad).

I definitely think God is trying to bring to my attention my weakness of selfishness and to remind me that it didn't magically disappear when I became a mom.... To remind me that I have long way to go :)

No pictures taken lately for obvious reasons- everyone's been in their jammies for most of the day& kiddos with snotty noses :) Hopefully I can get some on this weekend.

Updates:

Jesse's a little brute, he's getting so big! He went for his 2 month check-up and weighed in at
13 1/2 lbs. He loves his swing and he's smiling a lot these days.

Ava is still talking our ears off. She is really into Dora these days. She now has an imaginary friend- "Little Monster." She tells me that Little Monster is blue and that he is really nice. She definitely has a big imagination.

For Kerri and Steph

2008-02-27T10:58:00.000-08:00

Since they both asked, I am supposed to list random stuff about myself .. random things, facts, habits or goals. They tagged me weeks ago, but blogging hasn't been happening much lately with a newborn :)

Here goes:

I like art.. I was actually pretty good at it in school and had considered taking that route in college (teaching art or art therapy), but changed my mind. Now..since Michael is an artist, I find myself not doing anything with it since he is the "professional" :) Usually if we do something at our house that is creative, people immediately think it's his idea, when at least half the time it's mine.

It drives me crazy when metal scrapes metal... Such as stirring brownie mix in a metal bowl with a metal spoon. Yikes, just the thought makes me feel ill. Michael thinks this is the strangest quirk, but I just can't help it.

I sometimes put katsup in spagghetti or rigatoni.. do other people do that?

Arrogance is my pet peeve.. It absolutely drives me crazy.

I don't mind folding laundry, but for some reason I dread putting it away...which is weird because it only takes like 5 minutes?

I love hanging out with my hubby. Even when he sends me out to spend time for myself, I usually rush home, so I can still have time to hang out with him. Thankfully, after almost 5 years married, he's completely my best friend.

I can be overly protective of my kids... I'm always worried about about them getting hurt. Ava is 2 1/2 and and I still watch her go up and down the steps. Maybe that's normal? I just love them a lot and try to protect them as much as I can.

I love Lost- the show so much that I usually have a difficult time falling asleep afterwards because I am trying to guess what's going to happen on next week's episode. Wow, I'm a dork.

This is the first time that I can remember that I am not really excited about any candidate running for president..what a bummer.

Ava and Jesse

2008-02-06T11:45:00.000-08:00

Christmas 07

2008-02-06T11:40:00.000-08:00

I am way behind in posting our Christmas pictures, but I figured that it was better late than never, right?

Things quickly became busy with the arrival of Jesse, so blogging hasn't been quite as eay these days. :)

We had fun early Christmas get-togethers with both families. We also had a really good time on Christmas day, just the 3 of us. (It was Ava's last year to get all of the attention.)

Announcing Jesse Michael

2008-01-08T12:25:00.000-08:00

We made a video of Jesse's first week and a half in the world....Enjoy!

Go Bucks!!

2008-01-07T11:56:00.001-08:00

Jesse Michael is here!

2007-12-29T17:28:00.000-08:00

For those of you who haven't heard yet, Jesse Michael was born via c-section on Dec. 27 at 1:28 in the afternoon. He is 20 inches long, 7 lbs, 6 oz. Thanks to all of you who prayed for us. Mary and Jesse are doing great. Hopefully we will be coming home from the hospital tomorrow if all continues to go well. Ava has come to the hospital 3 times and has seemed pretty interested in her little brother...We are excited to all be under one roof soon.
We are so thankful for our little family!

Ava's Christmas Cheer

2007-12-10T18:35:00.001-08:00

Say "CHEESE"

2007-11-14T11:36:00.001-08:00

Date to Eisley

2007-11-06T18:56:00.000-08:00

Michael and I went on a date to go see my favorite band, Eisley!! It was almost a disaster as we got lost, were late, didn't have any cash and it was "cash only." Thankfully Michael worked it all out and we ended up seeing the whole set. I think we were the only one's there that weren't OSU students and I was definitely the only pregnant lady there. I was so proud of myself for standing for almost 3 hours, since there were no seats (Standing room only.)

We love going out on dates. I love hanging with Ava, but sometimes it's so nice to get a break and hang out with my hubby... He's pretty great!

Thanks Amber for babysitting- you're awesome!

Grandma's visit and Debra's cheerleading

2007-11-06T18:48:00.000-08:00

Recently Michael went to see his sister cheer at Cumberland. She is a sophomore there this year. Michael and his cousin Anthony spent the day with Debra (Ava and I stayed home.)
Since I am getting pretty pregnant, we thought it was for the best that we stay back, but we missed you, Debra.

Last week Michael's mom came to visit for a couple of days. Ava was loving it and taking full advantage of the extra attention. We all had a really good time.

Minnie Mouse

2007-11-06T18:44:00.000-08:00

This year Ava dressed as Minnie Mouse. She had a lot of fun trick or treating at the zoo before Halloween and going to a Harvest Party.

She still doesn't seem to notice when we eat some of her candy... I have a feeling that we won't be able to get away with that next year. :)

2 year old pictures

2007-10-27T16:08:00.000-07:00

Ava's 2nd Birthday Party

2007-10-06T11:11:00.000-07:00

We had a really fun day last weekend celebrating Ava's Birthday with family. Michael's family- Amy&Jake, Mom&Dad, Philip, and Grandma Iles all came out. And my family- My Mom& Dad, Julie, Jason, Noah, Abbey, and Hannah were there, too! ( Sorry dad, we forgot to take a picture of you! :)

We went to the pumpkin patch for a hayride, then back to our house for the "Wiggles Party."
Ava enjoyed hanging with family, eating cake, opening presents,and getting spoiled with all of the attention. :)

Ava's 2nd Birthday!!!

2007-09-24T11:25:00.000-07:00

Ava turned 2 years old on Saturday! Since we were in the wedding all day, we decided to tell her that Sunday was her B-day (I know we won't be able to trick her into things like that for much longer!) :)
We spent the morning at Chuckie Cheese's where Ava enjoyed playing games, and getting tickets. She was so excited when she redeemed her tickets for a "junk toy." It's amazing -even though she has a ton of really nice toys at home, she was super excited about a tiny rubber lizard prize!! Oh, well, we were just thankful that she was having fun.

After that, we "treated" her to a kid's meal at Wendy's. Then, we took her to Build-a-Bear where she picked out a doggie and an outfit for it, and named it "ruff ruff" and went through the whole experience there. I think she really enjoyed it.

We finished out the day with Brownies and ice-cream with her cousins and Aunt and Uncle.
I think she had a blast...which is what we were hoping for!
Happy Birthday Baby!! We love you sooo much! We are so thankful for you!

*** on a side note- we finally moved into our new house last week and we are trying to get settled. It will take a while, there are lots of projects to finish, especially before the baby comes... I am 26 weeks along now :)

Kerri's Wedding

2007-09-24T11:11:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, Ava and I had the privilege of being in Kerri and Seth's wedding. Kerri is one of my best friends ever and we were so, so, so happy for her and her new husband on their big day. Ava was a flower girl and I was honored to be the matron of honor. It was a beautiful wedding! Ava even walked down the aisle with me and did it successfully- Yay Ava!

Kerri was beautiful, as always, and I couldn't be any happier for her!!!

I wish we would have gotten more pictures, but Michael was a busy man trying to take care of Ava during the wedding.

I should mention that Kerri requested Michael's Napoleon Dynamite dancing skills at the reception, and he actually did a dance solo..... Michael has never been one to be shy.

Also, it seems as though Ava is taking after her dad as she danced the night away, as well...

Congrats Kerri and Seth!!! We love you!!

We found out....

2007-08-23T17:52:00.000-07:00

We're having a boy!

Wiggles Concert

2007-08-17T10:13:00.000-07:00

This week was the big "Wiggles Concert"! We had been looking forward to this all summer. Anyone who knows Ava knows that she is a HUGE Wiggles fan.
It started a bit shakey when Ava decided that she wanted nothing to do with her "Dorthy the Dinosaur" hat. She really hated that hat, and the first couple of pictures affirm that!
Once we took off the hat she was fine. She loved the concert and enjoyed dancing and clapping to the songs.
Her grandma and grandpa Johnson bought her the ticket and Grandma Johnson even came too, along with Michael and I, and Julie and Hannah.
I think Ava and Hannah should win the cutest dinosaur awards. :)
I've got to admit, as a parent, there are shows that I prefer and ones that I don't so much prefer. I am somewhat embarrassed to admit that I like the Wiggles, and I actually thought to myself, "wow, I wish we could meet them." Unfortunately, we didn't meet them, but it was good fun for everyone.

Pool Time

2007-08-13T11:19:00.001-07:00

BFF's- Hannah and Ava! They are sooo cute together!

READY

SET

GO!!!!!

SHE'S OKAY AND BACK FOR MORE!

Amish Country with G&G Johnson

2007-08-13T11:14:00.000-07:00

We had a fun day in Berlin, Ohio with my (mary's) mom and dad. It is beautiful Amish country, so we took a buggy ride, went to cute shops, ate great food, and took in all of the scenery. Thanks mom and dad...it was so fun!

Long Time, No Blog

2007-07-24T17:54:00.001-07:00

We haven't posted in a while because Michael completely filled the computer's hard drive up so much so that we couldn't load anymore pictures on until he got rid of some stuff to open up some room. Thankfully everything is fine now.

It's been a pretty busy summer, but a fun one. We've enjoyed the weather, going to the pool as often as possible. Ava's been loving to play outside in the nice weather. We bought her a little plastic pool and a sandbox and she loves them!

Update on what we've been doing:
We went to Doylestown to visit my grandma while she was in-town, which was great. Ava got to spend time with cousins and enjoyed her great-grandma.

We also took a long weekend to Chicago which was lots and lots of fun. We went shopping on Michigan Ave, hit up IKEA, relaxed at the Lake Michigan beaches, and introduced Ava to her first slice of Chicago deep dish pizza. (She didn't like it as much as we did :) She was such a good girl the entire time and even seemed to enjoy the hustle and bustle of the city!

We went camping for the day with Michael's family in southern Indiana. Everyone had a lot of fun playing in the creek and hanging out. Going to the creek is one of Michael's all time favorite things to do.
In addition, both sets of our parents have been in town to visit, which has been really fun.

At this point I'm 16 weeks pregnant and I'm starting to remember all the weird feelings and tiredness that I felt with Ava. (Normal pregnancy stuff that you somehow forget in a short amount of time.) I'm not a huge fan of the pregnancy part.... I just like the part where you get the baby at the end... If only baby's were really delivered by stork...that would be great!

Our house is in "in contract" now to be sold, so we are hoping everything will go through fine and we will be closing at the end of August. If so, we will be closing on the home that we are hoping to buy on the same day...

I hope everyone else is having a fun summer, too! :)

Scroll down for lots more pictures of our summer :)

Ava discovers lipstick

2007-07-24T17:46:00.001-07:00

Great-Grandma

2007-07-24T17:45:00.001-07:00

Chicago

2007-07-24T17:44:00.001-07:00

The Creek

2007-07-24T17:42:00.000-07:00

4th of July with G&G Johnson

2007-07-24T17:41:00.000-07:00

Grandma and Grandpa Iles visit

2007-07-24T17:39:00.001-07:00

Exciting news (You've Probably Already Heard)

2007-06-23T10:42:00.000-07:00

Pictures from this week

2007-06-07T10:41:00.000-07:00

Things are going well here. There isn't anything to new and exciting to report.

Michael and I are kind of getting tired of our house being for sale. I guess it's only been up for a few months, but it's getting old, quick! Lately there have been possibly leads, so hopefully something pans out. I guess it's not urgent that we move, but, we are feeling like we are ready to start something new, you know?

Here are some cute pictures that I wanted to share.
The first one is simply Ava being crazy, I'm pretty sure we will see that picture in her wedding slideshow one day.. classic!
The second one shows Ava's new love- Coloring! She would color all day if I let her. On this particular day I put her in her highchair and let her color while I got a few things done around the house. When I wasn't looking she decided to color her face.
The third is of me and my sis with our baby girls. Hannah and Ava are the best of friends!
We took the last 2 at the Park of Roses here in Columbus.

We hope everyone is doing great!

Crazy Times

2007-06-01T11:09:00.000-07:00

It's been a crazy 2 weeks around here with illness. Unfortunately we all had some sort of the flu over that time period. Poor Michael caught it first with a nasty stomach flu, and then Ava got the same thing. Fortunately I only carried a fever for a couple of days and felt tired, but I definitely got the lesser side of it. Michael and Ava were both out of commission for quite a few days. Thank goodness I didn't get it worse.. I was busy taking care of them.

Unfortunately, we had to miss the Iles memorial day picnic... And some other things that we were hoping to do over the last couple of weeks. We knew that the family was sad that we couldn't come, so as a consolation, we are posting video of Ava. It's not the same, but, hey... It's something! We took it a couple of weeks ago, right before all the sickness set in. :) She's a cutie and if I can just brag on my baby for a minute.... she's so smart! She picks things up so fast, I am usually shocked a some of the things I hear her saying when she's playing by herself. The other day she dropped a bowl of snacks and she immediately said, "Aw, Man!" She must have heard us say that at some point. :)
Anyway... she gets a little camera shy when she sees the camera, but I think we got some good stuff on the video.

In other news, Michael and I celebrated 4 years of marriage yesterday! Definitely the best 4 years of my life!!!

Chicago

2007-05-15T10:51:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Michael and I went to Chicago. We left Ava behind to stay with here grandma and grandpa (Mary's parents.) I definitely don't think that she minded at all because every time we called to talk to her she was "too busy." We barely got a hi and bye-bye. But, we were glad that she wasn't missing us a ton, because it makes it easier to enjoy being away when we know she's having a blast without us. :)
Michael and I used to go to Chicago pretty often in college since it was only a 3 hour drive from IWU.. It always made for a fun day trip back then.. and even after we got married and lived in Indy, we used to go to Chicago for random weekend trips. I remember being so glad that we could finally go for more than just the day, after we got married. :)
We started off by staying at Michael's sister Amy, and our brother-in-law Jake's house. They are on our way to Chicago, so we had a place to stay for free. We got to see their new house for the first time and it's so, so cute! Michael loved playing their new Nintendo Wii.
When we got to the city the next morning, we went to our favorite pizza place, Gino's East (seriously the best pizza in the entire world) Michael and I could do a commercial for that place, we love it so much! We walked up and down Michigan Avenue, window shopping and people watching. That's always a good time. Then we went on a boat ride out on the Lake, it was chilly, but still very nice.
Saturday evening we went to Michael's cousin, Jon's wedding, who married his college sweetheart Krista. The wedding was just a half hour south of the city. They seem really happy, which is great to see.
Finally, on Sunday we met up with our friends, Sarah and Shawn, who live in Chicago. Sarah was in our wedding. It was great seeing them, even though it was a pretty short visit since we were starting to get anxious to get home to see little Ava.
She definitely survived without us for the weekend. We are still working at getting her off the sugar high and grandma and grandpa's spoiling, though. :)

Natural Bridge, KY

2007-05-15T10:26:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago my (Mary's) family met up for a weekend in Natural Bridge, KY. We've been trying to meet somewhere every spring for a mini vacation. Since we are coming from northern and central Ohio as well as my brother and his family coming from Tennessee.... Kentucky and Gatlinburg, seem to be the most convenient locations.
We rented a chalet with plenty of room, which is a good thing since our immediate family has grown to 8 adults and 7 kids.

We had a really fun time hanging out. Unfortunately the weather was pretty rainy, so we didn't get to do as much of the outdoor stuff as we had hoped, but, the kids and the men went fishing one afternoon, so they were glad for that.
Ava had a blast playing with her cousins and we had fun catching up with everyone. Fun times.

Grandma and Grandpa visit

2007-04-30T12:10:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, Michael's mom and dad came up for the day. It was a lot of fun. Ava loved the extra attention and enjoyed showing off her skills at the park. She even started saying Me-Maw and P-paw, when we say grandma and grandpa... so cute.

Funny Face

2007-04-17T12:21:00.000-07:00

For the last 2 weeks Ava's been acting super crabby. I'm not sure if it had to do with immunizations or teething or something else. It seemed like she was a totally different kid. But recently she's been back to her happy self. Sometimes during the day we look in the mirror and make silly faces together... She loves it and she can really come up with some cute funny faces! Last night she even made her faces for the camera (which definitely surprised me.) So you can enjoy them, too.

My mom was here this past weekend which was fun. Ava enjoyed every minute of it! She loves company, and anyone who will give her attention. My mom helped a lot with Ava and babysat so we could go out on a date. We had fun hanging out together and going to dinner and a movie.

Happy Easter!

2007-04-08T16:13:00.000-07:00

Nikos & Ava

2007-04-02T18:31:00.000-07:00

Our friends Michael and Ally came to visit this weekend, and they brought their son, Nikos, for his first out of town experience. We were so glad that he did so well at our house! He is a cutie, as you can see. He and Ava are almost a year apart in age, but soon they won't even notice. Hopefully next year at this time they will be running around together, but for now, they just look at each other:) Ava and Nikos even gave each other a goodnight kiss as you can see from the picture! :)
Michael went to high school with Michael and Ally back in Cincinnati. We got married around the same time and have stayed close friends!

We had fun! Thanks for coming to visit us!

2007-03-19T17:32:00.000-07:00

We had a fun weekend visiting Michael's side of the family this past weekend. Unfortunately, we forgot to snap any pictures. We celebrated Michael's sister Debra's 19th Birthday.

I wanted to post this picture because we thought that it turned out so cute. We took it last week on that random day that we had 70 degree weather. She's growing up! It's hard to believe!

Visit to see Kerri

2007-03-11T11:04:00.000-07:00

This weekend my wonderful hubby took care of Ava so that I could go to Indiana to visit one of my best friends, Kerri. It was so much fun! We had a blast laughing and catching up on each other's lives...and we of course went shopping, as usual! Thanks so much Kerri for a really fun time! I wish we didn't live 3 hours away from one another! Love you!

Michael and Ava had a good time, too. They went "on a date" to Wendy's for dinner and then to the mall to play at the play-land. He said that she was good the entire time and that he didn't have any trouble, so I was glad to hear that. Michael said he also had a good time relaxing and reading.
I'm glad to know that they can manage without me and that they weren't crying the whole time I was gone. :) They both seemed happy to have me back, though, so I felt good about that.
Thanks Michael! You are such a great husband! ! I'm blessed to have you! xoxo

happy girl

2007-03-02T10:17:00.000-08:00

We've been having a lot of fun in the evenings. Ava loves to run around in her diaper before bed. (Its probably not the best idea since she seems to get super hyper) But, we have a lot of fun chasing her around and having fun family time. She's super ticklish, too, as you can see from the picture. Michael tried to take a picture of of the two of them and it turned out so funny that I just had to post it.
She is such a good girl! Like all kids, she has her days, but sometimes we can't believe how sweet she is, even at such a young age.