Me & My Precious Ones

I am lucky to be married to a wonderful man.  I met my husband, Andy, in 7th grade and fell for him hard, permed blond locks and all.  Alas, he was totally uninterested (though he admits he liked the attention).  He was a year older, so my intense crush continued when I entered High School 2 year later.  I joined the Debate Team and had my first debate with him as my partner (sigh).  I was on the Science Olympiad with him as well (we were a little...ahem..geeky).  I thought he was amazing.  He was my unattainable, pie-in-the-sky crush.  I actually read a letter (years later) where I was advising my best friend about the futility of her crush and actually said, "Let face it, _____ is not your type, just like Andy is not and never will be my type". Giggle.  My unrequited longing continued for him throughout my High School career and ended only when I was anticipating all the fun of dating in college.  That, of course, is when he decided he liked me, too.  I never did get to date around in college (thank the Lord) and that, as they say, was that.  I was engaged at 20, married at 21 and headed off to Minnesota for his Law School career.  We moved back to Michigan in 1998 and had our first child, Rachael in 2001. We have had three more children since then and I have been happily at home ever since.

Here we are!  Cute couple, no?

This is our beautiful daughter, Rachael.  She is 9 years old, going into 5th grade and is big sister to 3.  She is sweet, funny, smart, caring and just a little bit sassy.  She loves to read, draw and write.  She is an adventurous eater, a big help around the house and (her favorite role) a dedicated big sister to Katherine.  She adores her baby sister:  "Mom, I waited my whole life to have a baby sister!".

My handsome, first-born son Alexander.  He is impish, funny, bright and our "vegetable" boy.  He will eat vegetables and fruit before anything else on his plate.  He is affectionate and loves to have his back "tickled" (it's more like scratching).  He can be a bit sneaky...he LOVES to push his little brother's buttons and sit back as he explodes.  He is a Star Wars fanatic and is currently obsessed with his Lego Star Wars computer game.

Ah, my boisterous 4 year old Drew.  He is full of energy from morning until night.  He can usually be found following his big brother around or giving his baby sister over-zealous hugs.  He is smart as a whip (at 4 1/2 he can read quite well already).  He is funny and is actually known in our family for side-splitting quips we call "Drewisms".  He is also our miracle boy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41Io4r0hRBQ

My sweet Katherine (Kate).  She's almost 14 months and the joy of our lives.  She is remarkably easy and sweet.  She loves to greet friends and newcomers alike with a cheery "Hi!".  It's nearly impossible to not coo "Hi" right back to her.  She adores her big sister and likes her brothers, too...when they're not mauling her.  She continues to give us trouble at night.  She likes the company, I guess.  We're really working on it!  Hopefully she'll be on track soon, as she shares a room with her sister and school starts soon!

That's our little family!  Thanks for getting to know us!