10 Things to Smile About for July

1.  Celebrating the 4th of July holiday over a great 4 day vacation that included Indiana, Pittsburgh, an Amusement Park, and lots of swimming.  It was so special and tons of fun!!

2. Going camping in a tent for the first time ever for me and LOVING it!  We have a great camping area about 1/2 hour from our home and we have had 2 great long weekends there.

3.  My hubby turned 34 years old ~ I love you so much!!

4.  A PERFECT week at the beach in our condo we enjoy every year.  Words can't express the special times and amazing memories we make on this annual trip.

5.  Giving my boys each a hermit crab that they have wanted for a long time and watching the enjoyment they express for having them.

6.  The job of my dreams, that I have wanted for about 8 years finally became available...and I GOT IT!

7.  Returning to work after 3 glorious months home with my boys.  It made the list because it is so bittersweet  (see 6 above), but it is nice to rejoin the workforce for the rewarding experiences, satisfaction, and the "me time" away from home.

8.  A special week home with just Adam as Ray and Nick went on a special fishing trip to Erie, Pa.  We try to give our boys individual time on occasion.  We really see a special side of them and they seem to appreciate each other so much more once the few days of seperation are over and we get a very special experience of one on one time with each of our children.

9.  Beautiful warm weather!

10.  Being extremely happy and appreciating that SO MUCH!!!!

Link up with Emmy at http://www.emmymom2.com/

10 Things to Smile About in April

1. An unexpected, unique opportunity to finally being a stay at home Mom!! :) It's not forever, but I am enjoying every moment for now!!

2. Nick lost his first tooth ~ I remember when he was 6 months old and got that tooth!

3. Spring cleaning!

4. WARM weather and playing outside

5. Planning summer vacations

6. The start of Nick's baseball season

7. I taught Adam to write and spell his name!

8. Easter egg hunts

9. Flowers poking through the ground and planting around my house

10. New neighbors with 2 little boys that happen to be the exact same age as my boys, endless play dates and new great friends to hang out with!!! :)

April was a great month and MUCH better than the last 3 months.

10 things to smile about in March

Visit Emmy Mom @ http://emmymom2.com/ and link up to 10 Things to Smile About at the end of each month.

Here's my list...

1. A great trip to the Washington D.C. zoo

2. A super fun skiing trip with no kids, my hubby and great friends!

3. A very positive parent/techer conference for Nick. He is doing so well in first grade!

4. Some greens poking through the ground to remind me warm weather is coming!

5. The first day of spring!!

6. 3 more months until my besties wedding :)

7. Making difficult decisions, and having the ability to smile and feel good about them.

8. Planning our summer vacation

9. Having some major, unexpected expenses, but being fortunate enough to be able to pay for them (it took some major sole searching to come to this "positive" thought on things).

10. Having a beautiful family, happy kids, and a loving husband!!

March was fairly crappy at our house. The kids were sick twice, Ray and I were sick, we had 2 appliances suddenly break without reason and our heat pump/central air unit went out and our house is only 8 yrs old!! So I've been absent from blogging, due to the above.

If I have any readers left, I hope to be back blogging now! April is a new month and so far, it's been a lot of fun!! :)

10 things for December

I'm joinging Emmy Mom for 10 things to Smile About in December.

See her blog at http://www.emmymom2.com

1. Christmas Lights!

2. Smiles and Joy!

3. Suprises!

4. A Little snow on Christmas morning!

5. Looking forward to family traditions!

6. Seeing the cute holiday projects the kids brought home from school!

7. A new commitment to keeping up with my blog better!

8. A low key new years eve with just the 4 of us, a steak dinner, jammies, and a movie night!

9. Anticipation of what 2011 will bring!

10. Whewww...taking down all the decor and having the "holiday rush" behind us!

What will January bring??

10 Things to Smile About in November ~ A little late!

1. I started a new job 10 minutes from home instead of the 45 min. one way I used to drive ~~~and I love it!!!!

2. I turned 34 years old!

3. Nicholas turned 7 years old 12 days after my birthday!

4. A wonderful Thanksgiving with my family. I am blessed.

5. Christmas shopping & decorating ... I love it!

6. Watching the Christmas parade and seeing my kids have fun.

7. A super Saturday with just me and the hubby...thank you Mom & Dad!

8. Being able to put Nick on the bus in the morning and having breakfast with him each day since I don't have to leave for work so early anymore (it's been wonderful).

9. Being able to turn the fire place on on a chilly evening.

10. MY VERY BEST FRIENDS LIZ FINALLY GOT ENGAGED!!!!!!

10 Things in June

Once a month a blogger, Emmy, lists 10 things that made her smile for that month and allows us to join in. What a fun idea! This is my first week participating, so here we go.....

1. Beautiful summer weather.

2. A suprise trip planned by my hubby.

3. My flowers are so pretty around the yard.

4. Lots of days off of work to enjoy time with the family.

5. A great, and hot, trip to Dutch Wonderland/Lancaster with my family and my parents.

6. Getting my new deck stained and beautified!

7. SWIMMING!!

8. Watching my children play and enjoy the outdoors.

9. Less laundry since hubby is a teacher and not wearing dress clothes right now.

10. Warm evenings to catch fireflies!