instead of bells & whistles.....

.......we had lots of stomach pains, vomiting, chills, & fevers, followed by headaches, starting Monday, to bring in the New Year! Yay for 2009. Yes, that is sarchastic enthusiasm. However, on the bright side, the stomach virus that swept through our family, made it through all of us in under a week, which is much better than the last virus we had in Oct/Nov (a chest cough/cold) that dawdled & lingered for 8-9 weeks to get through all of us. BUT, my mom who visited us for the last 2 days is now sick in bed, having just vomited, waiting for her 8 am flight to Puerto Rico. We are trying to reschedule it.

Happy New Year everyone!

anyone up for dessert? :)=

update

Our new 'inn' (;

Our kids with their one Christmas gift from us....robes...they love them & are wearing them all the time!

Our precious little ones dressed for the Nativity Pageant.....They all played their parts perfectly!

Merry Christmas!

I just wanted to let you all know my new email is the same beginning as before, but instead of @comcast.net, it's @gmail.com.

Thank you to all who sent us Christmas cards to our new home! They are warm welcomes to this new place....... (:

Hope all is well with you all.....

More soon....I promise. Our house is almost completely unpacked & in place! Yay!

lv,

jen

Whew......

We're back online as of about 4:30 pm EST today! So, thanks for hanging in there & waiting so patiently for more news, updates, and info from us! More will come soon. We finally closed on our new house on December 12th....none other than the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Our Lady of Guadalupe (Patroness of the Americas & of pregnant women) has kept a close watch on John & I, & our family throughout the years: December 12th 1999 is when John & I 'officially' started dating, however, at the time, I did not really realize the significance. A year later on December 12th, 2000 my future mother-in-law sent me a dozen red roses to my apartment in Newport News,VA, as a beautifully kind gesture when I was pregnant with Olivia....if you read the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe, you'll understand even more why this was very meaningful! The following Dec. 12th 2001, John proposed to me after Wednesday night mass, in our beautifuly simple & quiet little A-frame Catholic church, St. Albert the Great, in our college town, where we got married the following August. Every December 12th since then, I have been either pregnant or nursing through her feast day. December 12th, 2008, was another monumental moment in our history as a couple/family because we closed on our new dwelling place in Concord, NC. So, here we are....whew. I'm still very very sad about leaving Knoxville. What a wonderful town that I grew to love so much. Now we'll be starting all over again.......I'm confident........with Our Lady at our side. I love you all, and I miss you so much,

Our Lady of Guadalupe, Pray for us

jennifer j. s.

Dove "Real Beauty" Campaign

A very long time ago a friend of mine forwarded a link to a video called "Evolution" on the Dove (soap) website. So, you've probably seen this video before, but if you haven't, it's worth a look. Here is the link. It's only 1 minute 14 seconds long. If you click on the link above & it doesn't upload the "Evolution" video, click on "Evolution" on the menu below the video screen. (I have not watched any of the other videos....so I do not know what they contain)

check this out

A great friend of mine from TN is a middle school counselor & has an great blog. She is truly an amazing person. If you have a chance.....check out one of her recent stories/posts.....