FINALLY

Finally...I am able to post. For awhile now we've had some computer issues. It seemed to get worse and worse so we took it in to get fixed, now everything works like a champ! (That's for Mark). This past weekend, we visited the Brookfield zoo with some friends of ours. It was a perfect day, surprisingly cool, but in the midst of the hot and humid weather, a little cloudy, cool weather was welcomed with open arms. Emma enjoyed it all and we did too. We decided that we need to join, not only because it's cheaper, but because Emma had such a wonderful time. Here are some pictures of our trip to the zoo.

Happy Golden Birthday Jared

The 23rd will be my brother-in-laws golden birthday, but we celebrated it this past weekend. We had a great time visiting with Jared, even if it was just for a day. Emma always looks forward to seeing her Uncle Jared. She loves him so much, but is very shy with him at the same time. Anytime we have with Jared is a blessing. We always have wonderful memories banked away in our hearts that keep us anticipating the next visit. Here are some pictures of the party.

Luke Donald Leone is here

It's been awhile since I've blogged...my Internet has not been working, so today is the first day that I was able to get on. Well...on August 8, 2007, Luke Donald Leone was born. Everything went very well, Tara (my sister) did not feel a thing. Within 3 hours of being there, he was born. I can't believe how quickly the time has gone by, but we finally got to meet the new addition and we are so delighted to have him here. He weighed in at 8 lbs 1 oz, 20 inches long. Their big brothers (mostly Sam) is in love with him... Jonah is very sweet with him also. Every once in awhile when Luke is crying, Jonah will say, "baby sad." Overall, the arrival of Luke into the Leone home has been accepted with ease, thank you Lord. Everyone keeps asking me, does this make you want to have another baby? Without hesitation I answer...No. I'm still in that baby phase with Joshua and I want to enjoy him growing up a little bit more.

Luke, we are so blessed to have you here and I feel blessed to be a part of your life! Thank you Tara and Dan for allowing me to be a part of this miracle.

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.