Oficially a member of the "30+"club!

Happy Birthday Mom! (DO I need to say anything more?)

Eating a free Canolli @ Ippolitoes

I had a great birthday on Tuesday and I appreciate all the cards, notes on facebook and calls from so many of you! My email was flooded with notes and it was uplifting!

Looking back over the last year has been a treasure!

God has blessed me with so much and I could not ask for a better husband or son. Now, I am officially into the "30's" club and establishing the family. Someone said to me recently, that the "30's are the new 20's!" Hmm, I was still trying to figure out what God had in store for me then! I really don't want to be back in my 20's! I am excited to continue this journey and hopefully expand our family and complete it before the big 4-0 ! It is hard to believe that I was a brand-new mom for my 30th birthday, and 1 year later, seems like Parker has been with us forever.

Mike, & Parker took me out to dinner at Ippolitoes (one of my favorite Italian restaurants).

We had a great time eating their good 'ol garlic rolls and then did a little shopping!

Thanks for a sweet day Mike (& Parker)

I look forward to seeing what the new year will hold.

Jenn :)

Birthday Celebration

Friends who might just look like "sisters!"
(having chocolate fondue at the Melting Pot with the Hoeyes)
(posing with my "comedian" husband-we were just wired from all the chocolate)

It is almost that time of year again! Yes, another birthday and I stop counting after 30! Haha

Last night Mike and I got out to a movie and then the Melting Pot with our good friends and neighbors Rick & Lorelei! Lorelei is one of my closest friends and like a sister to me! I love spending time with her and Mike and Rick get along great, they love their Sports. Lorelei and Rick are a great "Aunt & Uncle" to Parker! They are usually our first pick to watch Parker at a moments notice/ or when we need a "date"...but we have to have some fun too with them! So, a special thanks to my good friend, Yvette for watching Parker! She is one of my teaching friends and also another awesome "Aunt!"

I LOVE Chocolate and I was convinced that The Melting Pot would be healthier then some cake! It was fabulous! We got a Dark Chocolate & Peanut butter dip & we also got a Turtle dip.

I am too blessed to have all that God has given me the past 31 years (yup-almost 31); godly parents, 3 wonderful sisters, godly in-laws, in-law brothers and sisters and of course my great friends, Lorelei, Joy, Samantha, Liz and Yvette! Of course I did not leave out the most wonderful man and friend in my life: Michael! I am so happy to be married to this true man of God ,wonderful husband and father. He has been my rock and my best supporter the last 9 years (married 6 1/2 and dated the rest...can't believe how long we've been together)! Each Birthday and Anniversary, makes me feel more loved and blessed by you ! I will be honest that there have been some really tough times, but you have been through it all with me and have loved me no matter what "mood" I have been in! Thank you for loving me and being the man you are to me (which is usually one of these roles); friend, daddy to Parker, my CFO (LOL), love of my life, & best friend!

Thanks again to 2 other great friends, Rick, Lorelei for a fun night of celebration!

Jenn :)

Here's what's cooking and crafting with Jenn!

I love the fall and there is nothing better then homemade soup or chili!
I found this recipe last year for New Years and it's been a favorite ever since!
White Chicken Chili If you ever get a rotisserie Chicken and have some leftovers this is perfect for those left-overs!

I also got around to making a Pumpkin Roll! There is something about having it in the fall that makes me love the season even more! The taste of the sweet cream-cheese filling is what makes it so good!

Now for the "crafty" side of me: My friend Samantha and I are taking on a new "project."

Here is what we call "Perky Pockets!"

Perky Pockets =for a nursery or room that needs a little more "organization with a little bit of perky style!"
We made this for a Baby shower gift .We had a blast and now we want to make more!
What do you think?

We can make one for you!

Boys =Buttons
Girls = Bows
Just tell us the colors and style of the room.

Email me at mjriese@hotmail.com and I can tell you the pricing for the size and style you choose.

Blessings,

Jenn :)

Where does he get that red hair?

Playing in Kayleigh's ball pit at her house!



I often get asked where Parker's red hair comes from! As you all know Mike and I = have brown hair. However, my Grandma Clark, and my dad's 2 sisters all had/have red hair! Mike's mom and grandma also have/ had strawberry blond hair! So, Parker got the recessive gene from both of us! It is funny to go out places with him and make people wonder! Somehow it is a common phrase if a couple doesn't have red hair and their child does, then the baby must be the "mailman's kid!"

LOL But our mail person is a lady!


The day he was born the nurses started joking about his hair-till they heard about the family!


Now that I have cleared that all up -it goes on about my story of the week!


I was in the garage playing with Parker & Kayleigh and Carol, our mail lady brought me up a package. (It was my new cell phone! YEAH!)


She was admiring how much Parker had grown. She said she remembered the day he was born!


I told her I had to clear up one thing with her:


The day we were coming home with Parker, my father-in-law was waiting for us in the garage. Carol (Our mail-lady) was delivering the mail and saw the blue bow on the mailbox. She shouted up "CONGRATULATIONS" to my Father-in-law said-"THANKS!"


Then she asked the name!


My F.I.L went blank. He forgot Parker's name and shouted out "DANIEL!"


So for 1 year she thought Parker was a "Daniel!"


I officially introduced Parker and cleared it up. She laughed and remembered it well. She got a funnier laugh when all say our baby is the mail-man's baby!


Nope, he is really ours!!!


We love our little red-head.





Jenn :)

Pumpkin Patch Adventure

Gas has been SO hard to get these days! I will not go into the long story, but if you hear it affecting the south it is true! We are at $4.29 a gallon right now and some days there is gas and some days you pass 12 -20 gas stations before it is available. If it is available, there might be a limit, 20-40 minute wait, or only good to get for an hour till it is all gone! So, I have been really trying to preserve my gas, and not just be "on the go" every day! Thankfully, I have 3/4 of a tank and hope it lasts a good week still.
I wanted to take Parker to a pumpkin patch (we went to 1 year ago with my sisters)however, it was a distance that was unecessary at this time. So, we went to a local Methodist Church that has a "pumpkin patch" that they create each fall! Afterall, I just wanted some cute photos and it was free! We went with Aunt Samantha, Marlee, Aunt Shawna & Luke!
I LOVE the fall! Some of my favorites about fall:
The smell of apple-cinnamon candles, freshbaked pies and breads, finally wearing longsleeves, OK, I'll admit I even like a few presents in October for my birthday , but I get really excited when all the pumpkins arrive and leaves start to change! One of the great things that our God does to bring change in the seasons and a time to reflect his beauty!
As Parker gets older, I hope he learns to love the beauty of the seasons!
Happy Fall to all of you!
Now, some homemade pumpkin pie would be perfect right now!

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Softball tournament Photos

Here are 2 scrapbooks of our time in Orlando!
It was wonderful having my mom with us! As I stated earlier, I could not have been able to attend the games and be with Mike if Mom hadn't come.
The weather was in the high 80's and that made it HOT for Parker. He was a great trooper when we did have him at the Ball-park (and that was only 1 game a day!)
My mom and I took him to down town Disney on Saturday night. He was enamored by all the people and the ducks we saw on the way out.
We had a blast taking him into the hot tub at the hotel. It was mild (not hot at all) and he loved it. But he really loved riding his bike all over! He was on a first name basis with the ladies at the front desk (it was a riot)!
Enjoy the photos,
Jenn

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And the winner is......

2008 PWC Softball Tournament Champions
ATLANTA

Wes (Senior Manager at PWC) getting the "victory water" poured on him!

Proudly holding up their well deserved trophy!

After competing in the tournament for 5 years, they finally won! They were estactic and completely speechless when they realized they won!

I was so thankful that I was able to be there for the win! Mom and Parker were back at the hotel napping. If Mom hadn't come I would have missed the championship win!

In my last blog I shared that they had won 2 out of 3 games on Friday's Round Robin. That night they got seeded 7 out of 30. Their first game was at 10:00 PM on Saturday. They played 4 games Saturday winning them all!

(Here is a photo of the bracket showing their seed on Friday night)

(Mike and I at the dinner Friday Night)

Sunday, they played for a spot in the winners bracket and got it! Their final game was against the defending champions, Tampa! (Who has won the last 3 years) ATL really wanted to beat them!) I am sure it was a huge dissappointment to Tampa, to lose. But, we are THRILLED for the Atlanta victory! I had nerves in my stomach the whole time of the championship game. I can only imagine how they were feeling!

(Mike running to 1st)

Now they are responsible for the 2009 tournament. One of the rewards(but work) for winning the tournament is to run and host the next years tournament! Sounds like a blast to me!..All of a sudden, it is alot of work. (There are 30 teams and around 13 girls teams and each team has 12-13 ...so it is alot of people to host and plan an event for!) They will have to scout out great towns since next year is the 25th annual tournament!

I am already looking forward to the 2009 tournament!

I am proud of you Mike, and (your team) for winning!

Way to go ATL!

Jenn & Parker (a.k.a-your number 1 fans!)

Softball Tournament update #1

We made it to Orlando Thursday night around 12:30!
I got my mom picked up at 11:30, Thursday afternoon and we had to go and get the rental van after lunch. It wasn't ready at the place we requested, so that put us a few hours behind. Making us get to Orlando later then planned, but so thankful for a traveling trooper-Parker! He did great!We were glad to get here. I brought Parker's bike that we got him for his birthday and we let him ride it in the room and all around the hotel! He is having a blast. It has been wonderful to have my mom here,so I can come and go to the games.
Yesterday, Mike and his team played 3 games.
They lost the first game by 1 point. (However, that team were the champions 3 years ago-so to have a score that close helped their seeding.)
The second game they killed the other team-(25-3)
Third game they won (after coming up 10 runs in the 3rd inning, before they were losing 9-1) So they won that game, 18-15!
They got seeded 7th out of 30. The good news was that they did not have to play till 10AM today! The higher the seed that later you play!
Just got off the phone with Mike (Mom and I are waiting for Parker to get up from his AM nap so we can go to the ball park) and they are in the 6th inning and winning 13-4!

We will keep you posted and hopefully have great news later tonight.
Tonight we are taking Parker to Downtown Disney/ Disney village !

Pictures to come when we return.
Jenn :)

Annual PWC Softball Tournament

Fall has arrived and it is that time of year again for the annual PWC softball tournament!
Even though Mike is now a PWC Alumni , I have a feeling he will always be a part of this tournament! The company tournament allows each team 2 alumni! This will be his 6th year participating in the tournament! (I think it is in his blood). I have my moments where I "hate" softball (because of all the hours he is away practicing& playing in games) and then my moments where I do "like" it....such as this coming weekend! LOL!
Last year I was not able to attend. Parker was just 5 weeks old! It was to overwhelming to attend the tournament with a newborn and try and cheer Mike on.
This year I will be able to attend! It is in Orlando,FL (Friday-Sunday). I am so excited, because my mom is flying in Thursday morning to go with us! She is coming to watch Parker while we are BUSY at the ball park! It is a double blessing for me! We are renting a van and driving down there on Thursday! It is only a 6 hour drive and we are thankful for that. She & Parker can come and go~ or do more fun things like swim and play in downtown Orlando. I am really looking forward to the time together. This is one of our first vacations, since Parker has been with us. However, I am praying that my 2 week cold ends soon...I would hate to have it put a damper on this coming weekend!

Mike and I at the 2005 PWC Tournament

(Myrtle Beach,SC)

(They had a Hawaiian Luau Dinner that Friday night so Mike was taking it all in!)

We are praying that the guys get 1st this year! They have done really well each year . There were 32 teams last year and they placed 8. If they win, they are in charge and run the tournament next year!! We will keep you posted.
In the meantime we have a lot of packing to do!

Jenn, Mike (and Parker)

13 Months Old

Saturday, Parker will be 13 months old!
He looks like a little boy and the baby days are fleeting fast behind us.
He got this cute green vest for his birthday from his friend, Courtney and I love it! He looks like a little "dude!" I had to much fun getting him in action the other day.
Here are some of his favorites lately:

Favorite snack-Mini Ritz Cheese snacks

Favorite meal-Hot Dogs,Mac & Cheese (and he must feed himself)

Favorite book-Peek-A-Boo (from our neighbors)

Most quoted word-"Duh" (*He is trying to say "Dog" and says it ALL day!He does know that it means Dog and he points to Abbey all the time!")

Favorite game: Peek-A-Boo

Favorite toy: Wagon (and he throws all his toys in it to play with)

We are so glad that Fall is just around the corner! It is my favorite season and I can't wait to take him to a pumpkin patch.

Happy Fall to all of you,

Jenn, Mike & Parker :)

Girls Night Out ...

Friday Night I had G.N.O with the girls from our Church Sunday School class!

It is always great to get together with the girls and vent as moms! Most of us are stay at home moms, so we love our time together. We met at my friend Heather's house and had some good snacks and made hair bows!! Hairbows? Yes, bows for little girls! I was so excited to get out, and even though I am not the mother of a little girl, I had a great excuse to go! I babysit a little girl and I can make them for her! So here are some bows that I leared how to make for Kayleigh!


In the last photo we are being goofy and wearing the bows in our hair. We had too much fun as you can see.


Maybe my "bow-making" will come in hand one day if God gives us a little girl?!


In the meantime, we are having fun with our sweet boy who will be 13 months on Saturday!

Goodtimes with Kayleigh

We have been back into our Monday/Tuesady routine with Kayleigh. Parker LOVES having her around. I think more so because, he can pull these colorful things out of her hair, or take her paci out and wonder what it is in there for ? (Since he lost interest in it-he can't remember its purpose!)
So these two are inseperable when they are together!

I have loved getting to know Liz, Kayleigh's Mom. We have almost to much in common. Just that we are 3rd grade teachers says enough. We try to do lunch each month and are always finding fun adventures to take them too! I take them to MOPS everyother Tuesday, and the newest adventure is Story & Mucic time at a Gymnastics center.
Parker got a new wagon from Grammy & Big Poppy for his Birthday and Kayleigh loves it too! If the weather is decent, I try to take them each day for a ride in it! Kayleigh has grown to love it so much ~she cried on her way out, when she had to leave it ! I am happy to report that she is now an owner of one too!

This past Thursday we went to Story/Music time. (It is free in the month of Sept. so we are all about "freebies"!) Parker and Kayleigh both have the interest in music! The interesting thing is that Parker was not into the story so much. However, he occasionally got into a song but he was really into crawling through the "fort!" (Fort= a rolled up piece of foam) After Liz and I showed him how to get in, we could not keep him out. It was neat to see him explore this "new" place. Kayleigh was constantly looking to see that Parker was still in sight when she was getting into the class. We got a free CD and he LOVES the songs! We are looking forward to next Thursday.

FYI: (Yes, that would be a little red-head boy! Who would have ever guessed that Mike and Jenn would have a red head boy! Well the roots are on boths sides.)

We are looking forward to class this Thursday, Kayleigh!

Yeah!

Parker and Mommy :)

"Dice Divas"Getaway!

Many of you know that I play Bunko each month in the neighborhood. The name of our group is "Dice Diva's". (There is another group in the neighborhood as well-so we had to come up with a name. ) We actually play at each of our homes 1 x a year and with 12 members it works out perfectly. But we decided to do something different and bond a little more... For the first time, we decided to play Bunko on a Friday night up at one of the girl's cabins! We had a BLAST!

It was my first night away from Parker. Mike and Parker got to have some good bonding. Of course I was only gone about 18 hours. The time, laughter, adventure, and "no husbands or kids allowed" was great thearapy for all 10 of us!

We were only about 1 hour away and Jeane's cabin was more like a resort. We went 4 wheeling, ate pizza, had a bon-fire, made smores,talked-talked-talked, laughed a tone, stayed up late, laughed (did I mention that already?), had to much to eat & (we did find time to actually play Bunko, and I won the prize for having a Bunko!) And of course it was an adventure to sleep in rooms with each other. (Of Course me and Lorelei, got texted in the middle of the night- to "go to sleep" because of all of laughter!!) It was just like the days of girls sleepovers!

A note about the cross photo; At the top of the hill that we were 4-wheeling on, was this cross. The previous owner had placed it there so Jeane's family left it there. I got a breath-taking photo of it, just before sunset! It made me reflect on how good our God is and all that he has done for me!
Thanks Mike for letting me go and have such an awesome time with my "Dice-Diva's."

It was awesome!

Jenn :)
Here are some more photos that show(just a little) how much fun we had...!

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Time with Gramma Riese

I finally had time to put a slide show together of Parker's time with Gramma Riese!
Happy Grandparents Day (by the way to all 4 of you wonderful grandparents)! This slideshow is especially for you, Gramma Riese! We loved having you here and I want to thank you publically for all the help you gave for Parker's party!
You are the best!
LOVE,
Parker

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