Happy Birthday...Emily!!

Today is our sweet daughter-in-laws birthday! As you all know I feel very fortunate to have two wonderful children and equally as wonderful children in laws. Emily is in a 4 way tie for being one of my most favorite children! LOL...you know that corny line in the movie "Jerry McGuire"...where Tom Cruise tells Renee Zellweiger that she completes him OR is it Renee Zellweiger telling Tom Cruise...anyway you know what I mean...well, sappy as it may sound...Emily completes our family. I can't imagine life without her...she's been a part of our lives for over 10 years...she and our son met as sophomores in High School and we feel she has been a part of our family ever since. She just grew up right before our eyes into the totally awesome and beautiful woman she is today. I know my son counts himself extremely lucky and assuredly blessed to have her as his bride. I can assure you all of the rest of our family feels the same way, almost like we hit the "jackpot" with her as an added member to our family! She truly is a perfect match for our son and is such an added bonus to this crazy clan of ours.

I always have trouble poetically conveying just how much we love our family and most especially our children and children-in-laws...So I thought I would make a list of 26 things I/we love about Emily...what makes her so special. So here's to our sweet daughter in love...Emily...

1. She loves the Lord
2. She loves our son...her husband, unconditionally!
3. She is so very sweet and thoughtful
4. She's has a great sense of humor.
5. She loves life...and makes that feeling contagious when you're around her.
6. She loves her family and feels family is one of the most important things in life.
7. She is super athletic...I'm in awe of her abilities!!
8. She is creative beyond even her own beliefs.
9. She actually laughs at my jokes!
10. She loves our daughter and our daughter loves her...it's as though they are sisters and that warms my heart!
11. She makes us laugh.
12. She is a great wife, friend, daughter, daughter-in-law, grand-daughter, sister, sis-in-law and aunt!
13. She has the BEST laugh!
14. She is honest and sincere.
15. She is beautiful inside and out!
16. She loves to keep active and makes all of us want to do the same!
17. She cares about people and genuinely how they feel.
18. She is on her way to being the BEST Physical Therapist...EVER!
19. She is not afraid of hard work!
20. She is extremely organized...something I wish she could teach me!
21. She loves animals, children and older people...does it get any better than that?
22. She is NOT selfish at all!!
23. She loves me and my hubbin and she shows it in all that she does for us and our family.
24. She is compassionate!
25. She is very supportive of our son in all his endeavors, she is his BEST cheerleader!!
26. She is affectionate, caring and loving to all,

HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY...EMLS...we love you and hope you have a great day. As I've always said, I could not have hand-picked a more perfect young lady to marry Marcus...we are all thankful you guys fell in love and chose to spend the rest of your lives together. Have a GREAT birthday... WE LOVE YOU!!

Happy Birthday...Nathaniel!!

Today...is our son-in-laws 30th birthday...the man that we have prayed for since the day our daughter was born. The young man that was to be our daughters husband, father to their children and the best friend a person could ask for...was born unbeknownest to us...on this day 30 years ago....just 3 months before our daughter was born, her future HUSBAND was born...in a small town in Illinois!! We love this guy...look at that face, how can you not love him? Look at his smile...a smile that is bigger than life and that can light up a room from wherever he is...a young man that has made our daughter a very happy young lady...a man that is about to become a father himself... a young man that is just a pure joy to have in our lives...I know his parents are very proud of him...as they should be.

I thought I would just tell you a little about this young man...the man that we have all grown to love more with each passing day. Nathaniel or "Nat' as he is known to family and friends...is obviously a very handsome young man as is evident in all his pictures...but more than that he is a very smart young man, a man with a big heart and a very sweet nature about him...my daughter LOVES all of these attributes in him and why wouldn't she? He is also someone that lives life to it's fullest...not a day goes by that I think he waste any time just cruisin along. On the other hand, he works hard, he plays hard, but he always knows when it is time to re-charge. He loves the outdoors, he loves to ski, bike, camp and hike...not to mention fish, hunt and play any outdoor game or activity you can mention...AND he is one of the most entertaining "Guesstures" players I've ever seen! He has introduced our family to such a wide variety of fun things to do...from playing "hillbilly golf" and listening to all types of music to finding such beauty in the simplest of things. Nat is professionally a hydro-geologist...something I think he was born to do. I think he might have known very early on in his life that this was the job for him...geology of some sort was to be a part of his life. Nat is an eagle-scout...something that I think is a huge accomplishment and certainly a sign of how dedicated and determined he is...he achieved this at a very early age and I know this gave him great satisfaction in achieving. He is also a huge lover of animals...especially dogs (see how trustworthy he is, you can't be a dog-lover and not be trustworthy in my book)...I don't think I've ever seen someone that is so in-tune with their dog as Nat is with the current baby of the family...Corinna! One thing that always gives me such pleasure when I'm around Nat is that he loves to laugh...he has one of the best laughs and smiles I've ever had the privilege of knowing...but most of all one of the BEST things I can think of when I think of Nathaniel is that HE LOVES OUR DAUGHTER...and she LOVES him. What more could a mom hope for in a son-in-law.

Nat is about to become a father himself (we are so thrilled as they are, too)...and I know he's going to be a GREAT dad...he's going to show this child so much love, understanding and commitment to life and love that this child will not want for anything he/she may need. He will teach our future grand baby a lot about life and what is important...just through example of loving our daughter, loving life and showing him/her what God has in store for this sweet family. We are so thankful for this young man...the man that was to be our son-in-law from the day he was born...the young man that I had prayed about for so many years but never knew; until he walked into our daughters life about 6 years ago...the man that was to be the BEST son-in-law we could have ever dreamed of having.



The BEST smile...EVER...he's always so happy...he reminds me a lot of my own dad...in that he is always smiling and always happy. What an ideal kind of guy!!






This is a picture of Nat on the last hunting trip he and my guys took in October...hunting/hiking/backpacking/horseback riding into the Montana and Idaho wilderness. I think Nat would agree with me...in saying...it was a slice of HEAVEN and he enjoyed every minute of it!






HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! NATHANIEL BRUCE...WE LOVE YOU AND HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT DAY!!

SALE!!

For those of you that have viewed my daughters photo's and Etsy site, just a quick note to let you in on a sale she is having...Go here jacquelynlee.etsy.com and check it out...I love her wraps...and every picture and wrap is of great quality...I love the letters to use for bridal shower gifts or new baby gifts...everyone loves to see their initial placed in their home for all to see, it's a great gift with something a little different than your standard mixing bowl OR diaper bag! LOVE that!! You may also want to check out some of her vintage pictures or nature pics...she is currently working on more...but she has been quite busy with getting her new business up and running AND planning for our new grand baby (yea, I had to be a "Lollie" for a portion of this blog!). So check it out and if you see something you like, contact her or if you have something in mind you want...let her know, she's always open for suggestions! Enjoy browsing.




Next post I will get back to our road trip...it will include VEGAS and the HOOVER DAM...yippeee...then I'll post pics of our new home and all the nature that surrounds us!