North Carolina ~ Summer 2008

Emma and Nora baking cupcakes with Aunt Mindy

Meg lounging with the little 2 year old monkeys

I'm trying to backtrack with some of the events we've had within the last several months:)

Thankfully, our move gave us the extra benefit of spending more time with our NC family. Usually we get to see them once or twice a year, but not in 2008! These are pictures of this summer there. Meg and Michael rode Umpa's riding lawnmower all over the yard, Nora and Emma made cupcakes with Aunt Mindy, Michael and Nora went swimming at Emma's babysitter, Ms. Rhonda's house, and Meg was cousin Heather's Maid of Honor in her wedding to Tom. We took the children out to Bill and Sharon's house on the resavour to swim, ride jet skis and cookout. We don't get to see The Stephens' every time we're in NC, so it was a big plus for us to spend time with them. I could go on and on about everything we did while staying with The Matthews Clan. Luckily, we live closer to them now (7 hours!), but it's much better than 16...which is how far we are from The Kraus Clan:( Oh well...

Jamie leaves today for Hilton Head with some of his UNC boys. I suppose that I'll be on this blog to kill time at night. I'll post more photos from NC and of our 2008 adventures this weekend. Toodles...

Grandpa Kraus' Birthday

Our family was lucky enough to keep Grandpa and Grandma Kraus to ourselves on Grandpa's big day! They came to our house and we loved every minute of our time with them. We made fish tacos for his birthday dinner. I didn't know how they would take to them, but they LOVED THEM! I wanted to treat Grandma and Grandpa to something new and had hoped it would be a success...thankfully, it was. We also bought a beautiful carrot cake from our favorite bakery. (My Mom's favorite;) It was devine!

I'm glad that we had the privelage to spend this birthday with both Grandpa and Grandma. It was hard for us to get home to spend time with them, and we didn't know at the time that we would be moving away during the summer months. "Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa, for going the extra miles to be with our family. WE MISS YOU!"

Our New Dwelling

Well, we are finally settled into our new home! Even though we miss our old neighborhood, we love our new house. The curb appeal is amazing and WE HAVE A TREEHOUSE...w/electricity! LOL. The people are genuinely kind and the kids are...sit down for this one...actually respectful! Not that mine aren't, but they can certainly learn a few things from their new southern friends! WOW! The first time that a neighborhood boy greeted us, he actually initiated a conversation was interested in what this mom had to say. Then, he threw in a few "maam's". I wanted to kiss him on the forehead! I plan to use this opportunity to instill more good habits into my children:) Family up north will be so proud.

Now that we have a new computer (FINALLY!), we can update this blog more often. Please check back every now and then. I hope to be more faithful to this blog so that we can share our lives better with the many wonderful family and friends around the country. So, check back:)

P.S. People are always welcome!

XO, Melissa

Hola

Michael and I sit here together, bored OUT OF OUR MINDS! We have suffered from the flu, croup, colds....it's been a tough March in our household. It's Saturday, somewhat nice outside and yet, we sit here complaining that we either don't feel well or that we are bored to death. UGH! I want to go to a movie, but I don't think it would be a wise thing to do. We need to continue to quarantine our family. Again....UGH!

Not much for us to say. So, we will post a few pictures for WHOEVER to see. Enjoy!

XO, Melissa and Michael J.

I Fail To Blog, Again!

Once again, I have failed to blog. Our life is just so exhausting....it is hard for me to even think bout email. Yeah, it should be easier for me since I now have a laptop in the kitchen. Now that I am 1 less child to care for in the day time, and I have a little more time to spare, I will make yet another attempt to update this. I'm sure that I have plenty to share with all of you. (Or at least those of you that even check this blog. Is there anyone? LOL)

Here I go again.................

Here is Nora after playing hard in the sand.

Michael's Last Tball Game

Look at this little butt munch!

Myrtle Beach

MICHAEL LOST HIS FIRST TOOTH!

It took some time, but Michael FINALLY lost that little tooth! Thank God! I was getting tired of him wiggling it in front of his Mother. (That makes me sick to my stomach.)

Isn't he cute!
XO, Melissa

WHOA...forgot about this blog!

Well, it's been a mighty long time since I've been into this. I hope that I get better at keeping up with it. I want to share my family with our friends and family that are not near to us.

We recently flew to North Carolina to spend time with Jamie's side of the family. It was so wonderful seeing everyone again! Grandma, Umpa (what the Grandkids call Grandpa) and our family drove 4 hours to Myrtle Beach for a few days too. That was way cool. We didn't spend that much time in the sand, but we did get to relax and have good quality time together. It was really hot. A nasty crab bit Meg's foot, but she survived it okay:) Nora played in the ocean for the first time. Certainly will not be her last! We try to go the beach each year with The North Carolina Matthews Family. This year we plan to spend Thanksgiving there again. YAY!

We will be heading up north to my family in almost a week. My parents will have been married for 50 YEARS! I cannot believe that. Mom and Dad are so young to me. 50 years always seemed ANCIENT while growing up! I'm really proud that my parents are still together, much less for this length of time. Not many people can say that these days. I'm really looking forward to spending time with them. My Mom had her hip replaced and I haven't seen her since she did:( That makes me pretty sad. I have to make up for some lost time with them. I'll be sure to post some pictures from their party:)

My Aunt, Sister Marrietta is currently traveling Ireland. We got a postcard from her last week. I pray that she's safe and having a grand old time! We celebrated her 50th Jubilee last summer. (50 years as a Nun.) She deserves to have a vacation!

I'm off to help Jamie clean up our dinner. Hope everyone is well!

God Bless!
Melissa

Our Favorite Dogs

Hello!

Michael wanted me to post this picture of my friend Kim holding her dog, Bruiser and of Meg holding my friend Amy's dog, Cooper. My kids LOVE these dogs and hopefully they will pacify them long enough so that we don't have to get a dog of our own. As much as we would love to have a pet, this just is not the right time! Maybe mommy needs to babysit another baby part time. Am I ever going to lose the urge to procreate? LOL. Bruiser and Cooper have played hard at our house and, from what I hear, they will have their very first "playdate" together this weekend.

"Bruiser is a cute dog and I love him. Cooper is really, really, really good and nice. We get to take him out almost every day. We love to poop Coop out." ~ Michael

Xo, Melissa

Oh yes, of course our blog is in CAROLINA COLORS! What other colors exist, really?
Have a good day!
M

Welcome To Our Blog!

Hello and welcome to our very first blog entry! I've attempted to do this before, but I never succeeded at keeping up with it. I promise that I will make every effort to post pictures and to post family updates for you - family and friends throughout the world. So many of you are out of our reach and it makes me sad. We wish that we could share our lives with you in person! Thank God for resources, such as this. I pray that each and every one of you are having a safe and wonderful holiday season.

God Bless!
Melissa