My other kids spent the night . . .

I watched my niece and nephew for the day and night so Jess and Jer could spend some time with Arielle before she moves to New York. :( I wanted to give them a good amount of time to really have fun and enjoy themselves; so I took the four munchkins. They are such good friends! The boys have so much fun and so do the girls. They didn't even fight once! I love that even though my son only has a sister and vice versa, they have cousins of the same sex to enjoy that sister/sister and brother/brother bond. Love their friendship!

Look at them all snugly and warm . . .


Love is definitely in the air!

The Farmer's Annual Thanksgiving Party

For the past few years, Mark and I have attended the annual Farmer day after Thanksgiving party. We always have pizza, games and lots of alcohol! It really is the perfect time to have a party; all the people that live out of town, are in town visiting. It's a great time for me to catch up with old friends from high school. And the Farmer family keeps Mark entertained. It's been something we really enjoy doing each year.

Here is Mark and Mr. Farmer


My bestie, Sara, and her husband, Chance


Farms and I


Chance and Marky


Me and my Baby!

Thanksgiving 2009

We had a nice Thanksgiving this year. We spent the afternoon/evening at my Grandparents' house. Most of the Gleason clan was there, with the exception of my sister and my auntie Kim and her family. We had a full bar, tons of food, illegal golfing and lots of laughter! I couldn't think of anything more to be thankful for!

The Yori Family


My Mama and I


Rich and Mark


Hey Handsome Buddy!


The Kids Table (I was sitting there too.)


Babies! We've had a few new additions to our family . . .

Shauna's Baby, Jon


Danielle's Baby, Brady


And I will leave you with this picture of Isabella . . . she's quite a little character! Love her! (This one is Shauna's too.)


Hope you all had a joy filled Thanksgiving also! xoxo

Why I am thankful . . .

By Wednesday night of any week, I am usually exhausted; the last three days have been almost completely devoted to my job, long hours and super busy! This was one of those Wednesdays, Marky was working late, I'm home late with the kids and trying to get all of my chores done for the evening and the next day. I was unpacking the car and backpacks, putting stuff away when I turned the corner of the hall and found this:

My kids were dressing up as "shooter guys" and I was cracking up! How could I possibly ignore such a fantastic moment as this?! So I joined in and we had so much fun posing for the camera.















































































I am so incredibly lucky to have these wonderful little souls in my life. They bring me joy and happiness when I am tired and worn out. They make me laugh when I want to cry. They are truly amazing. Thank you to my family for helping when I'm down and sharing all of my "up" moments. I love you!

Rose Mountain Magic

I'm sure most of you know how much I love photography! I collect pictures like some people collect paintings. And I am amazed every time I meet a new photographer who has such a unique style and vision. I came across one of these fantastic people through my good friend, Candace. She has friend in Chicago who works a lot with bands, taking pictures of them in concert. She had edited a photo of Candace's little girl, Hannah which was truly fab! So I had to have her edit some pictures of my family! Julie is really great, she has a style I've never seen before. I am so happy with what she created. I can't wait to send her more!

Fun Run

Karsten's school has this thing called Fun Run. A couple of Fridays each month, the kids gather in the field for a run around the school. The Kindergarten kids' parents were asked to run with them, so they didn't get left behind. There was also a shorter course for the Kinders; that course just went around the field. Karsten was so excited and I figured it couldn't hurt for me to get my lazy butt out there. Of course my insane running man wanted to take the long course and was PASSING kids left and right. He was actually sad because he couldn't get past some slower kids on the sidewalk. His running ability amazes me! We had a really good time and I almost died, but he had a lot of fun!