Merry Christmas from Illinois!

Tonight we celebrated Christmas in Illinois with our bestest friend Julie and her three kids... We had a full Christmas dinner with rice pudding for dessert and they even joined us for our wacky Danish tradition of dancing around the Christmas tree!!! Now, that, is how you know they are truly great friends! What a fun night! Amazingly enough we almost got all 4 of our kids to cooperate for a picture.....the smiles you see on mine and Julie's faces are almost real!!!! Ha! These particular 4 kids can be a bit crazy at times....but it wouldn't be Christmas without a bit of "family" chaos!

They Could Be Twins!!!!

Nothing better than a secret between friends....especially when it has something to do with how to torment the girls!!!

Above and below they are both laughing about their next plan!

My favorite picture is the one above!!!

This one is my second favorite! ^

Jeremy & Patrick......These boys could seriously pass for twins sometimes!!! Today I was taking pictures of them from afar and they had no idea. They were plotting together on how to torment the girls. You can tell in some of these pictures that they are definitely up to no good!!

Who he is today!

"We worry about what a child will become tomorrow,

yet we forget that he is someone today."


~Stacia Tauscher~



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TODAY, Jeremy is seven. He is a second grader. He is the love of my life. Jeremy is an only child, he likes to be the boss and be in charge of everything and everyone around him. Jeremy is so funny and he makes me laugh every day! He is a goof ball, a joker, a class clown...he loves attention...especially when he is causing others around him to laugh. He is a worrier. He is stubborn & strong willed. He is a great artist and loves to draw. He is a perfectionist! His favorite color is blue. He will eat almost anything but prefers his food to have lots of sugar in it! Ice cream is one of his favorites! He likes to drink diet coke. Jeremy finds an interest and is passionate about that one thing 24/7! But just as fast as you can turn on a light with a switch he will change that one interest to something completely different and then back again. He loves Star Wars, Harry Potter, Angry Birds, GoGo's, Legos, Pokemon and Halloween. He loves music. He loves God & Jesus (He told me, "I love them the most in the universe!"). He loves his Mom & Dad ("I love you the most on Earth!" he says.) He has so much energy and is a night owl. Jeremy loves to run and play but is not so excited about organized sports. He is smart and really good at math. However, school is not his favorite thing. Jeremy loves when I read to him! He is also getting better and better at reading to me every day! He loves to be outside. He just learned to ride his bike on two wheels (thanks to Pa!). Jeremy is a cub scout and a good friend. He has a fondness for one little girl. Jeremy loves his dogs...especially Bandit who keeps him safe when he plays in the basement by himself. He has an amazing imagination and can keep himself occupied for hours with that imagination. He has the cutest little grin, the biggest eyes and the craziest hair!!! He is a tiny little thing with a huge heart! He gives the best hugs and is the must cozy snuggler I know! There is so much that I love about my seven year old Jeremy! I look forward to meeting Jeremy the man but for now I will keep the quote above in the forefront of my mind and remember to enjoy the little boy that he is today!

2011 - 24th Annual Autumn Drive - 2nd Annual for us!

On Sunday, Jeff, Jeremy and I headed out in the brisk fall weather to enjoy the 24th Annual Autumn Drive.
Signs of Autumn were, of course, everywhere!!
Follow along with us on our journey!

We saw over 15 of these kind of cars out enjoying the drive as well!

We ran, hopped and jumped among the pumpkins!

Our first stop was at Cody's for peppers, apple cider donuts, white pumpkins and more!

I LOVE the white pumpkins! They are so much fun! I didn't get one this year but one of these times I am going to have to give in a buy one for myself!!!

This is my favorite little pumpkin!!!

Jeremy did a great job as photographer and captured this picture of Jeff and I.

Can anyone spot Jeremy in this picture!!?!

Time to find our perfect Jack-O-Lantern!!

They were heavy but Jeremy was able to get the one he wanted into the wagon all by himself!

We are ready to buy our two!

Next stop.....Kettle Corn!!!! One of the main reasons that we make our way to the Autumn Drive and will continue to do so every year!!! This is the BEST Kettle Corn I have EVER tasted!!!!

Next...on to my next FAVORITE place in McHenry County!

Grace Farm!

After I took this picture I was talking to Mike, the owner of the farm, and he said that was the closest that Gulliver has ever gotten to taking food out of someones hand. He is a very shy and skittish llama but there must be something about Jeff that he liked! (-:

Gulliver, enjoying the hay Jeff fed him!

We had an awesome day on the Autumn Drive and are still enjoying our Kettle Corn...a little every day.....I hope you enjoyed following us in pictures on the Autumn Drive....

The Piano is Here!

It fits him perfectly!

It fits our home perfectly!

This is how excited we are!!!

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Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! To my wonderful friend Jayne! Without her generosity we would still be in need a piano for Jeremy so he could start piano lessons! In a conversation almost a year ago with Jayne about Jeremy's music love and our need for a piano...she said, "Well, I have a piano he can have!" This weekend we were finally able to go and pick up that piano and bring it home. I went to get it having never seen it and oh.my.goodness! It fits our home, our family and most importantly, Jeremy, like a glove! It is PERFECT! We are so excited and can not wait to see where this will take him! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, Jayne! I hope that you can tell from the pictures above that your childhood piano will be very much loved!

Fall Hike at Marengo Ridge

BFFs! What a cute couple!
BBF! Best Buds Forever!

A bunch of Jedi going for a hike!

Can anyone find the Jedi in this picture!?

I just love that sweet face!!!

A rare moment of cooperation for a picture by all 4 at the same time!

Does that face look like trouble to you???!!!?

There are no words for his picture except maybe

Peaceful!

Me and my Jer Ber!

Best Buds!

I love these two! One of the best pictures of the day!

Julie and her kiddos! There is always one fish face in the bunch!

The Thinker!

BFFs! Yes, this picture really was taken in Illinois!

We do have some pretty places among the corn fields!

Sisters!

EEEKKK!!! Darth Vader made an appearance at the end of our hike!!!

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We chose to go on a hike yesterday on a beautiful, crisp, fall day!

We invited our best buds, grabbed our light sabers, and off we went!

Marengo Ridge in Marengo, IL, is Jeremy and my favorite place to hike so we decided to share that spot with some of our favorite friends. What a perfect day! There really are no words at all...the pictures above will have to speak for themselves!