Painting with Daddy

I thought it was sweet how Emma and daddy were spending quality time together painting. Mark was trying to teach her how to draw a face. It was beautiful out last night so we decided to take the painting outside on the porch. We spent about an hour outside painting different things (I had a chance to sit down and paint with Emma also). We bought the paints yesterday and I think that I already have to go back to the store and buy some more. It's funny though, when Emma paints she has no concern when it comes to mixing the colors. I was cringing inside thinking about how the colors will not be the true color, now it's tainted with a different color, what to do! After the initial shock, I got over it and let her do whatever she wanted.

DuPage County Fair

So, this past Sunday we went with Ann and Doug to the DuPage County Fair. I must say that I believe this is the first time I've ever gone to a county fair. It was interesting, not really what I thought, but then again, I really didn't know what to expect. They had at ton of each type of animal...how they judge them, I don't know, but I saw no difference between the first pig and the 15th pig. We walked around each animal tent except for the C.O.W....we can't say the word in front of Emma or she will get extremely nervous and scared. For some odd reason, she is afraid of cows and the sound they make. We never made it to the "carnival" side, which is fine with me, it didn't look like there were any rides for Emma, plus, I'm sure the rides were expensive. Emma rode the ponies ($4 for about 2 minutes!) and played with Lego's in one of the buildings(we hung out in there for a bit to cool off). She also enjoyed waiting for the chicks to hatch, but we never actually saw it happen, but we did check back a couple of times to make sure nothing happened while we were gone. Overall, it was a great event for Emma to experience.

Way to Go Jordan- We are proud of You!

Tonight we had a little party for my nephew Jordan. He's an incredible athlete, usually he plays basketball, but for, I think a couple years now, he's picked up the sport of Golf. Well, this past weekend, he was in a Springer Cup tournament through a program called Hook a kid on golf Foundation. Most of the time he played at Cantigny Golf Course and that was where the tournament occurred. He won the greatest award that the tournament or a single player can be awarded, the ALBATROSS award. A-Attitude L-Leadership B-Benevolence A-Achievement T-Teamwork R-Respect O-Optimism S-Spirit S-Sportsmanship. This award demonstrates excellent character and exemplifies the spirit that is essential to the event. Albatross is a golf term referring to a player shooting three strokes under par for a given hole, also known as shooting a double eagle. Okay, now that I've given you the background information, maybe you will understand how proud we are of him and what he has accomplished. Out of the 24 kids that were a part of the tournament, Jordan was awarded the highest award. Great job Jordan...We Love you!!! (My brother looks proud of his oldest son)

Emma and Kode were making cheezy smiles (Emma was imitating what Kode was doing) so I had to add that in there.

Rainy Day

Today is a little rainy, but I love it. The practical side of me is happy that it's raining, it's water my flowers and the grass for me, saves on me having to do it. Anyway, I was in the family room and Joshua was roaming around in the kitchen. He was a little too quiet so I decided to find out where or what he was doing. My sweet little angel was staring out the window watching the rain fall. It was the sweetest picture, of course, I didn't have the camera. I had to make a mad dash upstairs into the bedroom to get it. By the time I got it, the excitement of watching the rain fall was gone, but I still got a cute picture of him.

Joshua's Dedication/Birthday celebration

So, I'm a little behind...Joshua was dedicated on July 21st, last Saturday night. It was very special, seeing as we had 4 generations standing together, Grampy Chatfield, Doug Chatfield, Mark and Joshua Chatfield. It was also special having a good, long time friend holding Joshua, Jason Robinson. My parents were also able to be a part of this special event, we are blessed to have our families here to take part in our children's lives, not only in the physical sense, but the spiritual sense also.

After church, we came back to our house to celebrate my birthday. It was nice, we ate, opened presents and had cake...yummy (chocolate cake from Portillo's). By the end of the night, I was dead tired, I can't remember, but hopefully I had a good nights rest.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today is my birthday. I can't believe it, but I'm actually 30! I certainly don't feel 30...well sometimes I do, hopefully, I don't look it. I remember when I was in my teenage years (ahh...that's so sad to say, I'm not a teenager, duh?!) and my mom would always make noises when she was trying to get up from the floor and I thought to myself "how can it be that hard to get off of the floor?" Well, I'm definitely paying for that comment, sadly enough, I do the same thing. Well, I have issues with my knees...no excuses Laura. It's true though, after having Joshua it seems like my body has deteriorated, my knees hurt, my feet hurt, my back hurts, hopefully nothing else falls apart. Anyway, I am grateful and truly thankful for the many blessings in my life. My wonderful family, my loving husband Mark and my two angels, Emma and Joshua. I love them dearly and that love grows daily. I am blessed to have my family close to me, my parents, Mark's parents, my sister and brother and their families, cousins, great-grandparents, they all play a part in my happiness. Thank you Lord for your constant Love and Faithfulness to me and my family. You are my closest confidant and supporter. What more could I ask for.

BP Summer picnic

This past weekend we went to BP's Summer picnic...destination....Six Flags. I remember why it's been 10 years since I went...it was CRAZY. Granted, I'm not big on crowds, but I can deal with it. Just getting into the park took at least 30 + minutes. Doesn't seem that long, but when you have a 10 month old that is crying and a three year old saying "are we there, I want to go to Six Flags," things get a little hairy. An exciting thing did happen, Emma went on her first roller coaster. As we stood in line I thought to myself, she has no idea what it about to happen. We climbed into the seat, put our straps on and waited. I tried to keep the conversation positive, "This is going to be fun, this is your first ride, etc..." Well, the ride started and I still think she had no idea what it was all about. The entire time she did not scream cry or anything, her face looked scared, eyes wide open and teethe clenched, but when the ride was over she looked at me and said "I want to do that again." Success! She liked it, she had no fear and was willing to go again. Unfortunately, we never did, but at least she had a chance to try it. Overall, it was fairly good, besides the hot weather. We ended up going to their water park, which was crazier than the park itself. Unfortunately, we had an extremely tired 3 year old and the water was cold. At least Joshua, our 10 month old enjoyed himself. It was funny though, at one point I was looking for Mark and I thought I found him, but when I looked more closely, it was not him, just a look alike, same bathing suit and same WHITE body. After Mark got out, he told me how there was a guy in the same bathing suit that seemed to be following him. He spent some of the time just trying to get away from him. Well, it was a long day and even with it being free, I don't think I will go back any time soon. By the way, the last picture is of Emma and I on the roller coaster, we are the third cart.

Everyone else is doing it

Okay, so almost everyone I know has a blog, it's I guess, the hottest thing out there. Can you tell, I'm not that computer savvy when it comes to technology. I'm sure the concept has been around for many years, it's just taken me this long to realize it. So, I thought, if everyone is doing it, so should I. It's a little weird though, I write down my thoughts and anyone in the world can read them. Well, we shall see how this all goes. I hope you all enjoy this new journey I'm about to embark on, writing about my life and the little sunshines in them