2010 Holiday Card

Pretty Patterned Ornaments Holiday

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Mommy Group !Halloween Party

I posted a lot of pictures on my facebook page, but here are a few highlights! Today's amazing Halloween party had GREAT and YUMMY food, AMAZING friends, ADORABLE moments from our kiddos, and LOTS of sugar crashes on the way home :) I adore everyone one of our friends, and hope that this is a tradition we have for years to come!

Pumpkin is CARVED!!

Chris - as always - did an AMAZING job carving our pumpkin(s) this year! However, he wouldn't have been as successful if Grayson wasn't such an awesome little helper cleaning out all the pumpkin gutz to Daddy can create his masterpiece! Check it out!

My, oh my...how the time does fly!

Gray is an AMAZING big brother. Yes, he does push Molly down every once and a while, but that's his job, right? It's so wonderful watching these two interact with each other. Molly is crawling everywhere now, and is pulling herself up on furniture and standing by herself for a few seconds, so it's MY guess that she'll be walking by 10 months! The more mobile she is, the more fun Gray has with her.

You know...it's funny. Before Chris...I was SURE I was destined to be alone and heartbroken. Then he came into my life and we later got married on December 29, 2006. I never knew I could love someone so much until I fell in love with Chris. Then, 10 months after our wedding, we became pregnant with Grayson and he was born July 11, 2008. NOW, the feeling of love is SO intense...it scares the crap out of me. I literally became afraid of how much love I had for this little being and my husband. I later learned how to control that intensity, and enjoyed every minute with my son. When he was 10 months old, we learned we were pregnant again, and later found out we were having a GIRL!!

We decided to name her Molly Emberlyn Lucius...M.E.L., after my sister who died of SIDS back in 1985. It's kind of a subtle tribute. :)

On January 25, 2010, Molly was born and now I found out what it was like to have a heart big enough to love two amazing children and one incredible hubby. Wow. Words can't describe, nor can anyone truly prepare you for how amazing this feeling is.

It's funny...if I were to go back in time about 10 years to the Jen who was so hopeful that one day she would find out what true love REALLY feels like but felt hopeless enough to think it'd never happen, I'd give her a hug and tell her to hold on...the ride's about to get SO amazing in the next few years. :)

Well, my days now consist of "Monday Madness" where I get to run errands with the kiddos and do things around the house, Tuesday with Gym Class and Playground fun with our friends, Wednesday with Music class then an outing at a park with friends, Thursday play date with our friends, "Free for all Friday" which if it's not spent with our friends, is spent playing with my babies, and family weekends. Oh, my girlfriends and I have started this "Girls Night Out" one night every month that I REALLY enjoy! That's a lot of fun :)

Alright, I know I haven't posted details about Molly and Gray really...so those posts will come. I promise to try and do a better job at keeping up with this, since I know there are family members out there who aren't on facebook :)

Love ya'll!

Okay, I suck

I know, I know...A LOT HAS HAPPENED SINCE THE BLIZZARD OF '09! Between updating facebook for family, making albums for each month that goes by, AND raising two kids who are 18 1/2 months apart... I got "lazy". I'm sorry! :) Okay, so I've updated the right side of our blog, so you can see how much Molly and Gray have grown...and I'm going to start with trying to do the best I can at updating this thing from now on.

UPDATE:

Well, we had a baby girl on January 25, 2010. I was induced at 9:00 a.m. and at 3:33 p.m., Molly Emberlyn Lucius was born weighing 8 lbs 7 oz and 19 1/2 inches long! Since then, it's been feeding, diaper changing, dealing with screaming, cuddling, teaching, nurturing, kissing, pulling my hair out, zombie movements due to lack of sleep, and so on and so on...but it's been the best time of our lives!

Family Update:

I guess I should start by saying that my amazing Granddad Taylor passed away this year at the age of 89. The fortunate thing that I have to hold on to is that he got to know my babies before he left. I selfishly wish he were still here, but with every day that passes, I'm breathing a bit easier and can only hope my mom and her siblings are able to do the same.

Now...on to some GOOD news!

Chris has added so much to his plate along with being a daddy to two gorgeous kids. He's the COO of Mount Vernon Internal Medicine and without going into too many details, he's buying up a lot of Northern Virginia and is a HUGE asset to his company!

His mom, Debra, is enjoying the retired life while John, his dad, continues to count down to his final day of working...though that date is still unknown :)

Doug is stationed in Korea for a year, and Raquel is SUPER MOM working as an Art teacher while Taylor and Maddy grow to fast for our liking :)

My mom Kathy is teaching English at Lake Braddock still, and my dad Ralph got a new job back in February doing...well, if I tell ya, I've gotta kill ya ;)

My sister Sandy bought her first house in Tampa with her boyfriend Sal...(I like him a lot and think he's a keeper!)

My brother Jason graduated from West Point(HOOAH!) and is now stationed at Ft. Benning, GA...sleeping under the stars and waking up with frost all over him...fun, fun, fun!! I couldn't be more proud!

Crystal has been married for a year now and is still in Kansas City, MO...though we've tried VERY hard to get her to move back here :)

Me? Well I'm an at home mommy to two of the best babies I could ever have asked for! It's hard, I miss sleep, I'm frustrated some of the time, but I wouldn't have it any other way! I have the best support system in my family and friends, and I KNOW how lucky I am to be able to raise my children!

Okay, so that's the update...now onto real blogging!!

Blizzard of 2009!

On Friday, December 18th, we had one HECK of a storm hit us!! After Chris's work holiday party, we "skated" home, relieved my parents who were WONDERFUL and watched Gray for us, and woke up the next morning to THIS!! It ended up snowing all day and almost the entire night...and our totals ended up being almost 2 feet!! Needless to say, Chris has VERY SORE ARMS from shoveling us out by himself, but was a trooper - to say the least! What a fun winter wonderland!! Now, as for Gray playing in it...timing wasn't on our side, and he had a cold (and still has one), so we had to remain indoors...but it SURE was pretty to look at!

Oh yeah!! It's up to my knees!! Sunday's picture...our kiddie play area is buried!!

We had to dig a small area for the doggies to go potty...as you can see, this snow is ridiculous!

The snow was above our front porch!!

Are there cars under there?

My handsome, amazing, strong, and MANLY hubby digs us out :)

We were able to venture out a bit and do some Christmas shopping Sunday afternoon!

What would I do without these two in my life?

Our amazing 17 month old

Army / Navy pics from December 12th

I have to tell you...I'm SO PROUD of my "little" brother, Jason. He's a Firstie at West Point, which in civilian terms means "senior and ready to go to the real world and play war" as well as the D-1 Company Commander! This is a big deal for many reasons, but one of the COOLEST reasons is...he gets his name announced at the Army vs. Navy football pregame as he leads his company proudly onto the field! Here are some pics (in backward order...this site's acting funny tonight...) In this pic, Jason's the one who just made the turn leading them off the field...

Okay, he's the company in the back..again, he's in front :)
There he is...marching in front of his company

He just made the turn and is in front!!!

Nice side profile of JC

Okay, these photos are from before the game...Gray's sporting his Army jersey that Jason gave him for his first birthday! He's cheesing it up for the camera!

I love family shots...we don't get too many of these! We're ready to brave the cold...and Gray reminds me of "Ralphie's" brother "Randy"..."I can't put my arms down!"

Waiting for the march on!!

Aunt Sandy and her little Monkey!My adorable little 17 month old!

Dadda gets some shoulder time with his boy!

After the march on, Jason joins us by our seats before the game starts!

From left to right, back to front:

Sal (Sandy's man), Sandy, Jason, Jen, Mom, Gray, and Dad

The D'Elosua Clan

Sandy hangs with Gray while we wait for the game to start...it did eventually start, but again...8th year in a row...we lost! Oh well...we're there to see Jason anyway!