Philadelphia

What a great day we had roaming the City of Brotherly Love! It has so much to offer. Oh, how I love quality time with Dustin.

An Anniversary of Sorts

I suppose at some point in your love life, you have to give up the anniversary date you and your spouse celebrated as the date you were "official" or the date that you met. It may simply be out of necessity because there are so many other milestones to celebrate: birthdays, wedding day, eventually children's birthdays and so on. There is only so much room in our brains, especially the male brain, to remember these significant dates. Despite all of this, I find it hard, each year, to let January 27th go by without any recognition. Dustin and I went on a blind date that night and it changed our lives forever. (I wrote this blog a week prior to posting it. The day I completed writing it Dustin asked over dinner "What was the exact date we met? It was this week, right? I want to be sure to acknowledge it." Wow... he really is perfect!). 

In the past six years, I have fallen totally head over heels for Dustin. Through the early days of dating, we enjoyed spending countless hours together whether it was shopping, eating out, vacationing or listening to music. Our relationship evolved into something more serious as we moved in together, added our two furry kids to our family, became engaged, got married and experienced everything in between. Each year, I truly feel we have grown closer together. We've become such an amazing team. Through all of the ups and downs we've faced together and with our families in the past six years, I cannot imagine having had these moments with any other person.

Dustin, you truly are my other half and have made me whole. Thank you. I can't wait to see what comes next.

What's in a Year?

Meet Sophia Rose.

Sophia just celebrated her 1st birthday last weekend. As we all gathered and celebrated her first year, I believe it would be safe to assume we all were thinking "where did the year go?". It feels like yesterday that we got the phone call that Dustin's sister, Lori, was in labor and we were about to meet our sweet Goddaughter. And now, here she is. In 12 months, she has grown to be this beautiful, charming little person. So what's in a year?

In the first 12 months of a baby's development, they hit so many milestones. Lifting their head, rolling over, graduating to foods, sitting up, reaching for toys, their first smile, their first tooth, their first laugh, standing, sometimes their first steps and their first Christmas. There are so many firsts. It's amazing to see a child grow and develop as they experience all their beginnings in life.

It seems that through most of our early years, we naturally grow and experience milestones. This can continue through high school with all of our many firsts. Then, the growing becomes more labored, more unnatural. It becomes a decision to grow.

If you look at my first post, it's clear that Dustin and I had a growing year in 2011. However, none of those changes happened by accident; some may argue that fate played a role, but each change was made with full intention. So what happens if we lose that intent? Do we stop growing?

It's a question I challenge all of you to answer. How are you going to change this year? How will you grow? Will you set new goals, big and small? Never become stagnant. We get one life. Use each year to grow and develop to your fullest. Never lose the passion, purpose and drive.

Happy Birthday to our sweet Sophia Rose. We love you!


Love, Uncle Dustin & Aunt Erin

[Twenty]11 in Review

2011... what a whirlwind. 

January
Erin officially finished grad school.
Erin began some awesome part-time work with great families and children.
Scholl Ave. was put on the market. We <3 Wesley Works
Dozens of showings began.
1/15/11 Dustin's sister gave birth to Sophia Rose, our Goddaughter.

February
Showings continued. .... and continued.

March
Showings continued.
Erin's family threw her mom a successful 60th surprise party. 
3/15/11 Dustin's brother's wife gave birth to Alexander Dean.
Scholl Ave. was officially sold.
Dustin & Erin rented Scholl from the new owner for a month with hopes to find a new home before the end of April.
Dustin & Erin's offer was accepted on a big foreclosure.

April
Packing slowly began.
A lot of phone calls between Realtors, banks and contractors for the foreclosure persisted.
Frustration began.

May
Dustin & Erin still did not have a house to move into.
Dustin & Erin moved into Dustin's parents' house.
Erin graduated from Holy Family University with a Master's Degree in School Counseling. 
Dustin & Erin looked at another modest foreclosure to keep their options open. They fell in love.
An offer was made; an offer was accepted.
Erin applied to two counseling positions posted in the district she interned.

June
Erin went on 2 interviews.
Erin got a job offer.
Erin accepted an elementary school counseling position.
Dustin & Erin closed on their new home.... the same day of Erin's 2nd interview.
Kitchen demolition began.

July
The new kitchen was finished in 6 weeks. All by the hands of Dustin, his dad and Erin's step - dad
Dustin & Erin moved into their new home.
Erin turned 28.

August 
Dustin turned 26.
Dustin & Erin unpacked and began to get settled in.
Hurricane Irene hit. Dustin worked a lot. 
Erin started her new job.

September
Dustin & Erin had a pig roast house warming party.

October
Dustin & Erin are officially feeling "at home" in their new house.
Dustin & Erin went on 3 weekend camping trips.
Brenda, Megan and Erin walked for Breast Cancer Awareness.
The October blizzard hit. Dustin worked 120+ hours in one week. Erin sat at home with no power or work for 5 days.

November
We celebrated 2 years of marriage with a weekend trip to NYC.

December
Dustin & Erin got mad at Erin's Mazda SPEED6 because it got another flat tire and bent wheel from a pot hole.
Dustin found a 4Runner for Erin.
Dustin sold the Mazda.
Erin now drives a truck.
We spent Christmas with both of our amazing families.
We rung in the New Year with a few great friends.


2012 may prove to be just as busy....