The Samuels

Geneva Homecoming

2008-10-05T14:48:00.004-05:00

Even though I am officially a Geneva Alumnus, I rarely think of myself like that. This past Saturday however, I was proud to be a Geneva-ite as I celebrated with my family the dedication of the new Press Box at the stadium.

For many years my grandparents (pictured above with some kid named Matt...) have let us youngins' know that we would recieve no inheritance from them when they died, and that instead they would like to spend their money on us while they are alive. They have meant every word of this, as they have been more generous to us than than we could have ever imagined.

They announced to the family a few years ago that they were starting a partnership with Geneva (my grandfather is class of '43) in order to build a new press box for the stadium there. This came to fruition this past weekend during the dedication. All of the Pittsburgh Hughes' were there to celebrate and it was fantastic. Great weather, great food... you'll see below, and a great chance to see my grandparents smile a ton. The kids were well behaved (always a concern with my grandparents around) and had lots of fun together running around the field with noise makers, and all was well with the world.

I've posted these pictures a little backwards, but before the festivities at Geneva, we ate lunch at one of Grandpa's favorite resteraunts, Bernies. Aparently it's the only local place (if Beaver Falls is considered local) to get good BBQ according to him. So, BBQ, onion rings, and milk shakes were enjoyed by everyone! A great time was had by all...

And yes, this is a picture of my grandfather drinking a milkshake...

Rhys' First Birthday!

2008-09-30T15:29:00.003-05:00

Okay, I know... her birthday was in July, but I am just now taking the pictures off of the camera. It was a fun day, but I was lazy and piggy backed on a birthday party that my aunt was already throwing for my grandfather and my cousin Tim. It was fun, cake and all that jazz... Here are some pics!

Not a whole lot new is going on in our family... all is good. Church is going great, and if you haven't been around to check out Northbridge, please stop by and see what's going on. I spend most of my time in the nursery with the little ones, and Jayson is running around to make sure that everything is going well, but we would love to see all of you there!

Things at work have been interesting to say the least. It wasn't what I thought it was going to be like, but it will all work out. I work at Perry in the morning and Langley in the afternoon, which doesn't give me a ton of down time, but the day sure does go fast. I've been able to get into a nice routine of going early in the morning to exercise, so that's been nice. Not sure how long that will last though... waking up at 5:30 to go swimming is highly overrated.

The girls are fantastic, and a ton of fun to be around. Rhys is getting bigger by the minute, and it blows people's minds when they see her. She hasn't gained any weight, but she's gotten a lot taller. Walking is going to happen soon, but I'm not pushing it! NegleyAnne is a blast and makes Jayson and I laugh out loud on a daily basis. The other day she interrupted us to tell us that whatever we were talking about was "impressive". What? Do other 3 year olds say things like that? Crazy...

I am now officially a "Mustador" (Mustang & Commador)

2008-08-23T21:13:00.002-05:00

So the only real update going on in the Samuels household is where I am teaching. At the end of last school year, June 5th to be exact, I found out that my teaching position at Langley had been reduced to part-time. After a long summer of wondering, interviewing, and lots of worrying, I found out this past week that I will be working the other part of my day at Perry Traditional Academy.

This is kind of interesting. Obviously I'm not thrilled about having to travel between two schools everyday for the entire school year... but, if I have to do it, I'm thankful that it's with Perry. It's the closest high school to our house and most of the high school students from The Pittsburgh Project attend Perry.

I started this past Thursday, and well.... lets just say that I will need some prayer for the beginning of the year. I'm coming into a position that's not exactly ideal, but I'm sure that the time that I am there will be good in time. They have an awesome pool that I've been teaching my lifeguarding courses in for a couple of years, and I am super excited about that. This summer's olympics has inspired me to get back into a pool.

That's all for now... more pictures of the girls soon!

Go Steelers!

What?

2008-08-17T21:23:00.002-05:00

She was really this small? No way... it's got to be some fancy camera trick!

Cell Phone Part II

2008-08-15T14:44:00.002-05:00

Still finding pictures off of my camera... so these are kind of old, but I thought they were blog worthy. This first one of NegleyAnne was the day that we bought her dance outfit for dance class with AnnaKate. She was soooo excited to wear it around the house. I hope someday to get her back into those classes, it was so much fun!

Last November our family took a quick vacation down to Williamsburg VA. I left with the girls a few days early and was able to find lots of fun things to do at the resort. The very first event was tattoos. Too much fun.

Ahhhh, life with a mac. We try not to let the girls watch too much TV or videos, but this was such a cute picture. I'm surprised that Rhys was even able to hold herself up that long for me to get a picture of them. Now I can't keep up with her she's so fast crawling around... I image that walking is coming soon!

I'm hoping to have new(er) pictures up on the blog next week sometime after the Davis' go home and school has started. Stay tuned.

Pictures off of the cell phone

2008-08-14T22:45:00.003-05:00

So, I went today and got a new cell phone. I didn't think that my pictures would transfer to the new one, so for the past couple of days I have been emailing myself all sorts of pictures off of my phone. Lots of time spent doing the same thing over and over... got to verizon and all of them transferred with no cost. ughhhh. oh well it was fun looking at all of the pictures again.

This is a picture of Rhys' first plane trip last summer for Uncle Justin and Aunt Maria's wedding. She was so sweet and good on the trip, and on one leg she was able to get her own seat. I was very very thankful for that. If there are any flight attendants out there reading my blog - be nice and help out moms getting empty seats for their babies. You will make their trip, without a doubt.

Funny, my sister's family are all in town this week, so this picture could have been taken today and you probably wouldn't have noticed. This is waiting for a table at Eat n' Park last summer... Negley Anne and Isiah. We go all out when they come to town...

Last summer at Idlewild... we were sitting on the train and I happened to catch a picture right when the whistle was blowing. Pretty sure I just posted something like this a few weeks ago. I guess things never change. I'm sure there will be more pictures to come in a few days from our visit with the Davis'... if I ever get my camera out and take pictures. What would I do without my cell phone...

Back from surf city

2008-08-12T21:52:00.002-05:00

You would think with a title like that that there would be some pictures of camp, but no... sorry. I did not take a single picture the entire time that we were gone on vacation. I am a horrible mother. Maybe they will forgive me when they are older. On the trip, my cell phone started to slowly die. The battery is only staying charged for a few minutes and on top of that the phone has cracked from both of my girls playing with it. So, for the past couple of days I have been emailing myself the pictures from my phone so that I can go out and get a new one. Here are some cute ones of Rhys. This was the first time that I gave her a pony tail. She cried and cried and cried, but then somehow I got her to smile. It didn't last long though, Negley Anne likes taking out her pony tails, and not so gently. She's learning how to be a "caring" big sister.

I remember taking this in the doctor's office one week after she was born. She was asleep in my arms and I was completely overwhelmed with love. I still have this as the screen saver on my phone. Negley keeps asking me to change it, but I can't...

A few weeks ago, I broke into my brother's house to help him out with some cleaning... yes I know you all wish that I was your sister. While I was cleaning I gave Rhys a snack and let her stay in the high chair so that she was contained. While doing laundry I could hear her cry, but didn't think much of it... she fell asleep in the chair. So cute.... and once again I'm a horrible mother... a good sister though.

Hello to Madelyn!

2008-07-16T20:02:00.002-05:00

I am proud to announce (at least on my blog) the arrival of my newest niece, Madelyn Lenore Samuels. She was born this afternoon and all are well. I can't quite remember how much she weighs... but that doesn't matter all that much. She's little. Anyway, congrats to the new parents - we can't wait to see you in a few weeks!

Fun with Photo Booth

2008-07-15T14:55:00.003-05:00

Nothing all that much to talk about today... just thought I would put up some fun pictures of the family. Jayson has this computer for work, but I have to admit I look forward to him coming home everyday so that I can play on it. I grew up with a Mac, and had never had a PC until I got married.... but I'm glad that we're back to having a Mac in the house.

Rhys got her first hair cut this past Saturday - It's kind of a tradition now that the kids get their first hair cut around their first birthday. She doesn't have as much hair as NegleyAnne did at that age, but it's still fun to get it cut and see her sit in a big chair. She even had a little kid cape. As soon as I get the pictures off the camera, I will get them on here.

I did forget to mention that Jayson's cousin Jenny had her first baby this past week. John James McClure. All seem to be doing well... and I can't wait to meet him!

Have a great day...

Oh my... she's one!

2008-07-13T20:43:00.003-05:00

So today was Rhys' birthday (observed) and she is now officially my one year old daughter. I tried to find some cute pictures to post from over the past year that I haven't used yet... not too hard since I've hardly posted at all this year. Anyway, here are some cute ones!

This is Rhys and I on the beach in Pawleys Island. We were there after Christmas this past year and a great time visiting with our friends Matt, Sayward, and Spencer (and Hagrid of course). I sat on the beach with Rhys for about an hour with her trying to "eat" the wind. It made me laugh out loud, and I had to capture it on the camera.

Ahh, the first time that Rhys ate cereal. If you've been in our kitchen you know that we have similar pictures of NegleyAnne framed on the wall. The plan has always been to frame these pictures of Rhys and hang them next to the others... but... well... it sucks to be the second child. Hopefully before we move out of this house someday they will be up on the wall.

I couldn't have in my wildest dreams that I could have had ANOTHER awesome baby after having NegleyAnne. Rhys has been sooooo much fun to spend time with and I love watching her grow up. Jayson and I are loving big time on our two little girls...

What, twice in one month?

2008-07-11T05:33:00.004-05:00

My mother-in-law stopped by yesterday and commented that my Aunt B. looks at this blog often to see pictures of the kids and is disappointed because I haven't been updating it. So this post is for you Aunt B. There's nothing really to talk about, just some cute pictures of the girls.

Rhys is now mobile, which is both good and bad. She loves it, but it means a lot more work for me. Last night we were playing our little game with Tillie's dog food (I set her down and she immediately goes for Tillie's dish) when in her quick escape from me managed to slip on the tile floor and bit her lip. There is nothing worse than a baby's cry when they are actually hurt. I can ignore almost any other kind of cry, but those are the worst!

On the Fourth of July the family head to Idlewild for a fun day at the park. Somehow I caught Negley Anne at the perfect time - just to see her expression when the train blew it's whistle. It was really loud... but I love those eyes. Wonder who she got those from...

Well, thank you Aunt B. for the motivation to keep blogging... hopefully there will be some more before the end of the summer!

Happy Birthday Rhys

2008-07-09T11:57:00.003-05:00

So Jayson and I have managed to do it again... we've kept a kid alive a whole year. Rhys turned One this morning, but it was pretty uneventful. Jayson is in Haiti, and it's raining here in Pittsburgh. As I told my friends last night, Rhys' birthday is being observed on Sunday. She will be celebrating with my cousin Tim and my Grandfather (Grandpa Carl) who is turning 87. The oldest and the youngest together - what a blast!

A quick shot of the Negs at Fowler Pool at The Pittsburgh Project. She's had such a blast this summer swimming, and I've loved having a summer job that involves lots and lots of water!

Hope all is well...

DRIVE 08

2008-05-06T06:44:00.003-05:00

I am back in Hotlanta for the Drive Conference at North Point Church. Last night I got to attend a gathering of bloggers, which was really cool. It made me realize that I needed to get back on the horse and get this going again.

I am also trying to build and Orphanage in Haiti with some friends and have come up with a little website to help raise some funds. Check it out when you have a chance and help us out if you can. You can also join the facebook group too.

www.clipafriend.com

thanksgiving

2008-01-23T13:03:00.000-05:00

with sayward's encouragement, i continue the updates. on we move to thanksgiving.

this isn't a fantastic picture of either rhys or i, but i like it because my hair is long in it. if you remember, i cut my hair off a year and a half ago for locks of love, and although i don't regret my decision, i still miss having my long hair. i've only cut it once since then, and i think by this summer i'll be ready to chop it off again. okay... back to thanksgiving.

the day before thanksgiving this year was jayson's mom's 60th birthday. jayson was able to arrange a surprise party for her with the whole family and some good friends. it was a fantastic time, and she obviously loved it. here is negleyanne and "mimaw".

the two uncles and the two cousins. uncle justin and ella (jarod's daughter... 1.5) and uncle jarod and negleyanne.

closer up photo of ella... not the cutest but it was a huge croud that night, and she only knew a couple of people well. to be honest this was exactly how i was feeling the whole night - social activities are not my thing.

thanksgiving was a blast, especially because the whole family was there. i felt better as an aunt because i finally got to meet ella, and had such a great time watching her and negleyanne play together for the weekend. other than the terrible sickness that plagued many of us the days after, it was a great time!

since kaboom

2008-01-17T15:59:00.000-05:00

i've decided that instead of worrying about doing a large meaningful blog, that i will do short ones every couple of days until i return to work to go through all of the pictures i've managed to take this past fall/winter.
i was determined to make good use of my maternity leave and having time to spend with jayson and the kids this fall, and that manifested itself in a trip to williamsburg. my mother was generous enough to let us use her time-share for a week and it was fantastic. i drove down with both the girls by myself... yes, supermom - and jayson came down a few days later.

jayson and i are lucky enough to have friends that not only like to hang out with us (why, i'm not sure), but also like spending time with negley anne and rhys. mark and courtney are awesome and we were so happy to spend that time away from pittsburgh with them. to make the trip even better, it was in the upper 60's low 70's and sunny almost everyday. we had such a great time!

one of the fun things that we did while we were down there was take a ferry ride to another little town close to williamsburg. somehow we ended up on this large plantation turned museum and we spent a good while walking around the grounds being jealous that things bloom there so late in the fall (this was the week before thanksgiving). mark and courtney showed their knowledge by knowing almost every living thing around us, and even negley anne got into the horticulture action (don't you want to go on vacation with us too?... we're so cool).

on the one day that we decided to go to historic williamsburg, negley anne was in a foul mood. as all parents know, that can ruin a day. we were able to do some walking around, but it wasn't what we hoped. funny thing is, negley takes really pretty pictures when she's angry. it doesn't help her mood though when i stick a camera in her face though, so i don't get many.

the one constant through the entire trip was rhys. i can't tell you how blessed we are to have such a chill baby. as long as she's fed and dry, we can always get a smile out of her. if i could, i would freeze her right now because she's so much fun to be with... but since i can't do that, i'll just take lots of pictures.

Quick Post

2008-01-15T15:22:00.000-05:00

In case you happened to forget who we are and what we all look like because i've been so horrible at posting this year... here's a quick catch up: NegleyAnne (now 2.5) wearing her sunglasses at night "to keep the dark out".
Rhys (6 months) smiles at everyone that she comes in contact with.
Tillie, happy and hairless... quite possibly the greatest dog ever.

There you have it. More to come - maybe.

Kaboom!

2007-10-23T08:38:00.000-05:00

Last month people from all over the city of Pittsburgh came together to help build a new playground in Fowler Park, across the street from The Pittsburgh Project. Friends from Northbridge helped out building and the Samuels have had fun playing there a few times since it's been built. It looks awesome and it feels even better playing there because we took part in building it.

Negley was going for the 1993 look... she smells like teen spirit.

A rare glimps of Katy on the blog.

Jayson never let go of the grunge look... he wishes it was still 1993.

Poor Rhys... she misses out on everything.

Fun at the Mall

2007-10-23T08:30:00.000-05:00

In the quest to find out how to loose weight while taking care of my girls, the mall has become one of the top choices. I walk around like an idiot (the second floor doesn't have any kiosk people to ask you annoying questions) and then the Negs gets to play in the playground when I'm done. The trick is that I don't take my purse in, so there are no shopping opportunities. The only sad part of going to the mall is that Tillie doesn't get to come along... so sad.

Negley Anne pleading with me to stop walking.

Rhys happy like always!

Negley Anne swinging around like a little monkey.

Fun on the Farm

2007-10-15T15:28:00.000-05:00

On Friday we went to go visit our good friend Jerry on the farm. Alta (tillie's mom) just had her third litter of puppies and we wanted Negley to have a chance to play with them. There was one there that looked a lot like Willie, and that made me very sad, but Negley Anne had a blast. Going to the farm is always a blast!

Jerry made sure that Negley understood that she could only sit in the swing if she was happy... this was her response.

This was Rhys' first trip out to the farm... lots of puppy kisses.

Sorry for the delay

2007-10-02T16:21:00.000-05:00

So we haven't blogged in quite a while... anyone having their second child will understand this. I thought that I would have all this time to do fun stuff like this... oh well, I was wrong.

A little update on the Samuels...

Jayson is now full time working at Northbridge Community Church as the Family Pastor. Northbridge is the church that he started with our good friend Jame Price and it is located in Cranberry. It is also a "partner" church of Northpoint Church in Atlanta. If you are in town, please come check it out! All the info is on the church's website: Northbridge.org

Katy (me) has taken the first semester off of work to try this stay at home thing. As of now the plan is to go back to Langley at the end of January. I love being home spending all this time with the girls, but I do look forward to getting back into the fun of being a gym teacher.

Negley Anne now speaks in complete sentences and surprises us everyday by how much she knows. She also makes us laugh out loud a ton.

Rhys has found her hands.

Tillie is doing well, but misses Willie, as do I.

So there you have it! Hopefully it won't be this long again inbetween posts.

Peace

Dropped the "E"

2007-07-18T18:55:00.000-05:00

For the record we decided that we were going to drop the "E" from the name and go with the traditional Welsh spelling Rhys.

Ms Rhyse Samuels is Here

2007-07-10T13:39:00.000-05:00

Katy and I are the proud parents of another little girl. Ms Rhyse Corinne was born Monday July 9 at 9:14am. She was 20 inches long and 7lb 8oz. She came very quickly but we did manage to make it to the delivery room with about 3 or 4 minutes to spare.

Some Pics From This Last Week

2007-07-10T13:34:00.000-05:00

Sorry I've been gone a while

2007-03-31T09:46:00.000-05:00

I know that I haven't personally posted since October... how horrible. Things have been up and down in my life for the past few months, but I'm begining to see the end of the tunnel. I will finish up Geneva in May, finish up school at the end of June (thanks to snow days), and welcome the new Samuels baby in July. Crazy. Luckily through all of this Negley Anne and Jayson have been wonderful fun. Here are some pictures that I just took off of my phone. They aren't necessarily new, but new to you! Happy Weekend Everyone!

New Pictures

2007-03-21T14:36:00.000-05:00

SNOW DAY3!!!!

2007-02-16T14:19:00.000-05:00

SNOW DAY 2!!!!

2007-02-16T14:17:00.000-05:00

SNOW DAY!!!

2007-02-16T14:13:00.000-05:00

Some More Pics

2006-12-27T09:50:00.000-05:00

New Pictures

2006-12-27T09:45:00.000-05:00

Negley Anne getting her workout on

2006-11-21T19:50:00.000-05:00

I sent this picture to my sister to think her for all the wonderful hand me downs that she has given to Negley Anne... I don't know what I would do without them! Out of many pictures though, this was the only one that I could get her shoes in. She's either pooping or doing squats... you make the call. My little girl does have some pretty beasty quads.

Last Weekend

2006-11-16T08:12:00.000-05:00

This past weekend we had an old friend from Michigan, Steve Carter, come in to speak at Laurelville. After the weekend we were lucky enough to get tickets to the Steelers game and ended up seeing a big win, as well as seeing Anthony get his first action at cornerback. Throughout the game we were luck enough to be graced with the presence of one of his friends who was in town too. Lajan has more energy than anyone else I can think of, and it was a blast cheering with her.

Everyone

2006-11-16T08:09:00.000-05:00

LaJon, Anthony, Jayson and Steve all hanging out in the parking lot eating some food from a ramdom tailgate.

Reunion

2006-11-16T08:07:00.000-05:00

After the gameSteve Carter got to see his old friend Scott Fujita who plays for the saints. (He is their leading tackler so far this year)

Last Weenend

2006-11-16T08:01:00.000-05:00

Jayson and Steve at the game

Fall in the 'Burgh

2006-11-13T20:57:00.000-05:00

There's not a whole lot to say in the Samuels household these days. We are back from traveling, and although there are still a few more Laurelville weekends to go, things seem to be back to normal. That is of course except for the weather here in Pittsburgh. A few days ago it hit 60 degrees and that means lots of fun outside for both the dogs and Negley Anne. Jayson had fun blowing the leaves into a big pile and throwing our little girl in them. She had fun too...

Can you say Party?

2006-11-08T20:44:00.000-05:00

Last weekend Jayson, Negley Anne and I had the great fun of flying down to Florida for a sort of Family Reunion. It was my Aunt Carol's birthday and my Uncle Bill had arranged for a large gathering of the Rosemeyers and good friends down at Disney. Never to pass up an amusement park, the Pittsburgh Rosemeyers made their way down. Here is Negley Anne on the ride down.

The birthday girl... Aunt Carol!

The man that planned it all... Uncle Bill! Thanks for all the hard work - it was worth it!

Fun in the sun

2006-11-08T20:38:00.000-05:00

These are some more pictures from our time in Florida, but they are not necessarily in order. This first one is of the Florida version of the Rosemeyer family (all of them still have the last name). From left to right is : Jason and Abby holding Toby, Uncle Bill (doesn't everyone have an Uncle Bill?), Billy and his wife Michelle, and Aunt Carol (the birthday girl) down in front. What a blast it was to see all of them!

The extended picture of all the Rosemeyers... wow.

This is the picture that isn't quite in order... the morning after the big party (as if we hadn't eaten enough) we decided to go to Waffle House (it's not a house it's a home). Lib felt at home with her sweat tea, grits, and dry raisin bread. Go Lib!

Disney or Bust

2006-11-08T20:32:00.000-05:00

Here is a picture of my cousin Jason (it's hard to write that without the 'Y') and his son Toby. Toby is only a few months older than Negley Anne... he is awesome. He lasted just as well as Negley did for a late night. We need more Rosemeyer cousins!

Matt and Lib with Negley Anne... after a very large meal.

Another Rosemeyer cousin, David and his girlfriend Amy... we have to get them up to Pittsburgh sometime soon.

So many pictures, not enough time to blog

2006-11-06T20:20:00.000-05:00

I have so many pictures that I would like to post, but sadly not enough time or energy in the day to get it done. I will try to get them up here and there, but you'll have to be patient. Jayson is out of town for the next few days, so with Negley Anne by myself I don't quite have the desire to sit at the computer after a long day. These are fun pictures though, so enjoy!

Our good friends Mark and Courtney needed to use our camera in order to send a photo of themselves to their nephew... this is what happens when you borrow our camera. The silliest picture we can find we put on the world wide web. Love you guys! Hugs and kisses right back at you!

Nutella... enough said.

When I find a decent picture of Negley Anne and I, I feel somewhat obligated to put it up. There's not many of the two of us because I take most of the pictures in the family ( If there's one thing I know, it's photo composition...) On top of that, in most of the pictures of us I look like poo. I thought this was cute. I almost lost an eye to her that day though...

Fun with Curlers Part II

2006-11-02T18:20:00.000-05:00

Last weekend Negley Anne and I had the weekend to ourselves due to Laurelville. I thought it would be fun to put curlers in her hair since I haven't done it in a long time. If you check this blog often, I put a picture up a long time ago of Negs with the rollers in that might possibly be the cutest picture I've ever taken of her. These aren't quite as good... mostly because I took the flash off, but they are cute just the same. After doing her hair, she proceeded to take everything out of her diaper bag. And then put it all back in. Out, in. Out, in. A fun evening it was. I might need to get the girl some new toys... The airial shot.
Up close with the Negs. Along with Tillie's pink neck in the background... oh to have a puppy in the house. It never ends.
I've gotten a couple of comments about Negley Anne in her halloween costume. Pictures will come... it just might take a couple of days to get them up. They won't disapoint!

Laurelville is here!

2006-10-29T20:16:00.000-05:00

Well, the first Laurelville weekend is now over, and it was a sucess. Negley Anne and I traveled up on Saturday morning for a few hours to check everything out. Jayson was the speaker, as well as running the show with Mark Steffey. All seemed to go well, which is good because there are four more to go this fall.

Tommy and Negley Anne getting their groove on in the club room.

Searching for the perfect pumpkin

2006-10-26T19:36:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, Jayson, Negley Anne and I traveled to the pumpkin patch close to our house to find some good pumpkins for halloween. Even though no one comes to our house for trick or treating (3 years and running without a single doorbell ring), we thought it would be fun to carve them out and let Negley Anne play with the innerds. Sadly, it's been two weeks now since we did this, and they are still sitting on our kitchen sink... whole. A very concerned Negley Anne. Maybe it was because she was the only kid there without mittons, a hat, or a big old winter coat. Nahhh. (Sayward, do you like how the binky matches the vest?)
Jayson and Negley Anne walking around the pumpkin patch (hayride in the back that took us there).
She found the perfect Negley sized pumpkin!

Random pictures from last weekend

2006-10-25T19:49:00.000-05:00

I'm not necessarily convinced that this is the cutest picture of Negley Anne that i've taken, but I thought it was funny. The girl loves her rice and beans... and what would a meal be if she didn't have grahm crackers and some form of fruit. Sounds odd, looks nasty, but she loves it. Better pictures of the Negs to come...

Last weekend Jay and I were able to get tickets to the Steelers game... it was a blast. They had not been doing too well and this made everything a little better. While we were at the game we found our friends Jame and Christa - also away from their kids. Go Steelers!

Jayson and I were lucky enough to get some tickets from a new friend of ours... Anthony Madison. He just moved to Pittsburgh and started playing for the Steelers this fall. It was a blast to be able to see him play at Heinz Field and for the team to win. I thought I'd send a little love to him on the blog. Go Madison!

Negley Anne's First Oreo

2006-10-19T18:44:00.000-05:00

I wouldn't go so far to say that I've gotten hate mail in the past week or so... but I know that my good blogging friends out there are a little disapointed in me and my posts lately. All this talk I gave about being better was just a lie. Like everyone, life just got busy and blogging took a back seat to trying to relax after working all day. If I had the ability to do it at work, you would have an update everyday - but as it is, I can't. For all my students out there, that's probably a good thing.
Things at school have been okay, but a little more stressful than usual. If you live in Pittsburgh and have read the news about recent shootings, you'll know what I'm talking about. Anyway, to get on to the pictures - Negley Anne has made out with my "bad day at work" in terms of chocolate. On my way home with her while stoping at the store it was hard for me to pass up the oreos when I'm feeling blue. She didn't seem to mind.

I've turned my daughter into a chocoholic like her mom.

New Pictures

2006-10-02T19:17:00.000-05:00

These aren't really new pictures... but I haven't gotten around to taking what I have on our camera off and onto the computer. If any of you are like me and check people's blogs almost everyday to see if they've updated it, I'm sorry that I haven't been to good at it lately. I even check my own blog to see if by some chance Jayson has updated it... I think those days are over. Here are some new pictures to tide everyone over until the camera gets cleaned out.

Tillie and Willie relaxing together.

This picture was taken in Michigan to show the Bishop family how much we love this back-pack. We take it everywhere! Negley loves being in it so much sometimes I wear it around the house just to cheer her up. Thanks again!

This picture I put on here just to freak my mother out. Mary Lou had the chance to come up to Surf City this year to check things out, and told me repeatedly not to take Negley out on the boat. I love you mom... but this was just too much fun. Anyway, this picture captures Surf City for this summer to me. Courtney, Negley Anne and I out on the boat while Jayson drove. It doesn't get much better than that.

Hopefully updated pictures soon!

Are you ready for some football!

2006-09-24T13:42:00.000-05:00

Yes, it's football season here in Western PA... what a time of year. Jayson, Negley Anne and I had the chance to go watch my cousin play last weekend for the East End Crusaders. Sadly, they didn't win the game, but it still was nice to watch a game with family and have Negley Anne run wild in the stands. (She's learning from her mom) Here is Timmy - he's in 8th grade at Sacred Heart.

Negley Anne and Aunt Lynn watching the game.

Uncle Jimmy (he can't stand still) walking around during the game.

Negley Anne in KiddieLand!

2006-09-10T20:02:00.000-05:00

After talking to my good friend Erin on the phone yesterday I realized that we had never actually taken Negley Anne to Kennywood to ride for herself. Can you beleive it? Of all families, we forgot that now that she is an "independent walker" she can go on rides herself! Luckily Kennywood was open another night - so we went out just for her. To our surprise she didn't cry, but then again, she didn't really smile either. The pictures turned out cute...

The first ride of the night was the swing. This was about as excited as she got on the ride.

If only I knew someone that worked at Kennywood... this would be a great photo for a brochure... don't you think?

What would a trip be to Kennywood without the airplane. Sadly they put a little boy in front of her, so neither of them could reach the stick to pull the plane up in the air. A good time was had by all at America's Finest Traditional Amusement Park.

My little ones

2006-09-08T20:52:00.000-05:00

After having a not-so-great day at work, I came home to a sweet baby, dinner with my brother, and an evening of great music by Mark and Brad. I thought I would share some cute pictures in case anyone else had a day at work like me.
These pictures were taken before leaving for Surf City (so about a month and a half ago) - so both Negley Anne & Willie have aged quite a bit... but I still think they are cute enough for the blog. The two of them are quite a pair. Willie goes where she goes and she LOVES it! Luckily she is mobile enough to get away from him when she needs a break.

Waiting for Jayson to come home.

Yes, my dog does really have blue eyes. Creepy.

I'm sure this is a scene in many households with little kids & dogs. Willie & Tillie know exactly where to hang out when Negley Anne is eating. They aren't stupid!

Random Pictures From This Summer

2006-09-05T15:15:00.000-05:00

These aren't necessarily in order of events... but they were sitting on my phone and I wanted more space to take more pictures. I love the camera phone. What a wonderful invention. Unless you use it in my gym class... then you will get a detention. I love detentions too.

This was taken at West Park on the North Side of Pittsburgh, at a Pittsburgh Project picnic. Negs and her dad.

I went to Surf City a good 10 days before Jayson arrived and everyday had to send him pictures of Negley. This picture reminded Jayson of a Cure album cover. I love The Cure too.

One of the highlights of Surf City is the creamery. A dairy farm about 15 minutes from camp that makes their own Milk, Cheese, and Ice Cream. This was one of the first nights at camp, I posed Negley Anne under the cow. She's hard to see... but I think it's cute. Negley Anne and Ice Cream, it doesn't get better than that!

2006-09-02T10:00:00.000-05:00

Negley and Charlie Joe at the race.

Some shots from the zoo.

2006-08-31T11:02:00.000-05:00

Beach

2006-08-31T11:00:00.000-05:00

Bath Duck

2006-08-31T10:58:00.000-05:00

Negley Loves Her Rocking Chair

2006-08-31T10:53:00.000-05:00

Surf City on the Boat

Cutting Off The Hair

2006-07-12T20:54:00.000-05:00

As you can tell from the pictures, or if you have seen me since last Sunday... I got my hair cut. Not usually something that is blog worthy, but I had 10 inches cut off this time. A big change for me. I haven't had my hair this short since I was 18 and a freshman in college. It was a huge mistake that time around (never cut your hair for a boy unless you are married to them), but this time feels pretty good. I miss my hair being long, but I was able to give it to Locks of Love so some kid out there is going to have a pretty awsome wig (if I do say so myself).

My good friend Courtney had the honor.

Right when she made the first cut I could hear Jayson saying, "Oh no, this was a huge mistake." What a way to support your wife.

This picture frightens me. Mom if you happen to see this blog, doesn't my hair style remind you of preschool at Shadyside? Crazy. If you want to see another picture of me with short hair... feel free to go over to the Pauli's blog... a nice picture of me and Greta Polo when we were in 7th grade. I have to find those shorts somewhere...

Super Doula's Wedding!

2006-07-02T20:28:00.000-05:00

Like always, it's been pretty busy around the Samuels' house... Jayson managed to get Mark and Courtney married! The wedding was a blast, everyone had so much fun! Negley got a chance to hang out with some of her favorite people that night, even though they were the busiest. Our entire family cried during the service... Courtney, then Mark, Negley seemed to cry all day, then me... then Jayson, while he was trying to marry them. Good thing the service only lasted about ten minutes. They should be coming home sometime this week from their honeymoon - and as happy as we are that they are married, it's hard to get used to the fact that Mark doesn't live with us anymore. Good thing they didn't go far!

Super Doula & The Negs

Uncle Mark & The Negs

I had to get Brad Yodder on my blog somehow... We've tried to get Negley Anne to say Yodder as her first word with no luck... sorry Brad.

Life in Pawleys

2006-06-21T21:24:00.000-05:00

So sorry about the lack of new stuff on the blog. It doesn't make much sense, but things are actually a little busier now that I'm out of school for the summer. I'm going a little bit back in time with these pictures, but I never got to show any from our trip down south. Jayson, Negley Anne, Tillie and I were able to spend 5 wonderful days in South Carolina with our friends Matt, Sayward, Spencer, and Hagrid. We had a blast... I just wish it wasn't so far away so we could visit more often. Jayson was awsome on the way down, spending a good chunk of time sitting in the back with Negley. She did a great job though... and did her best to look like a rock star!
This picture is a little frightning on many levels.
Certainly the highlight of the weekend was the time spent with Spencer. I felt like I had already known her from all the pictures on Sayward's blog... but there's nothing like the real thing. She was so happy and content, all the time. Both Sayward and I lucked out with our easy babies! I'm not sure when we will actually "see" each other again though... their next trip to Pittsburgh the Samuels will be in Michigan livin' it up on the beach. We'll figure something out though, I'm sure of it.

Willie's Home!

2006-06-15T20:57:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I know what you're thinking. Katy & Jayson are crazy. Jayson would be quick to correct you - it's Katy that is the crazy one. I have managed to convince my husband to get another dog. Not that our life needs to be any more hectic or out of control, but I thought another dog - especially a puppie would be perfect for us. Anyway, here he is: Wilbur Samuels, otherwise known as Willie or Weep. This picture was taken the day that Negley Anne and I picked him up from Jerry's house. It was an emotional goodbye.
We'll say that this is Tillie embracing her younger half-brother, but we all know the truth. Tillile had to make sure that Willie knew who was boss in the house pretty quickly. You could feel the love in the air. Actually, the two have been getting along great, and I can't wait until Willie is a little bigger so he can play around with Tillie more. For now, Tillie is just dropping huge sticks on his little head. They'll figure it out.
Negley Anne is having a hard time figuring Willie out so far. She either thinks that he is funny and is laughing out of control, or is crying because her heels are fun to nip at. This is just the first of many Negley and Willie pictures to come I'm sure. If you haven't seen it yet, you should watch the video below... You'll notice that I'm the greatest mother ever who continues to tape her daughter while she's crying instead of helping her. I'm an idiot. It helps build Negley's character, right? Don't answer...

Attack of the Puppies

2006-06-15T20:48:00.000-05:00

This past Sunday Negley Anne and I took a trip out to Grandpa Jerry's Farm to get the newest addition to the Samuels family, Willie. Fun was had by all in the short visit, but sadly it didn't last all that long for Negley. There were three puppies left that afternoon when we got there (poor Alta... loosing all her puppies in one day), and they seemed to have their way with my little girl. All was okay though, Negley has been having fun with Willie ever since. She'll figure out how to get her revenge on him, i'm sure of it. Here's a cute little video.

Changes

2006-06-04T20:06:00.000-05:00

As many of you know, for the past two years our friend Mark Williams has lived with us in our home. He and his girlfriend and their two dogs have become part of our family and we are excited that they are getting married three weeks from today! Sadly though, their dog Charlie (Charles Linwood III) died last week. This is video that I took of Negley that sums up her love for that dog. Well, either it's her love for him, or she just thinks that she's a dog. Either way, we miss you Charlie! (just click on the word video)

A visit with the Belgies

2006-05-13T20:01:00.000-05:00

Two weekends ago Jayson, Negley, and I got the chance to go down to West Virginia and spend some time with our friends the Belgies. They live pretty much in the middle of nowhere, which was perfect for us. Things have been busy here in Pittsburgh, sometimes too busy, so a couple of days away from everything was perfect. They live right next to a creek where Tillie and Indie got to play for hours together. Tillie isn't much of a swimmer, but she still loved the water. Jayson was ready to dive in after her if he had to. Luckily, she made it back to Pittsburgh with us. It was as much of a vacation for her as it was for us.The wondeful thing about friends like the Belgies is that distance and time don't make a big difference in our relationship. They've lived down in WV for a year now, but it didn't seem like it when we were down there. We've been able to see them a few times over the year, not as much as we would like, but still - it was like we started right where we left off. It was neat to see the work that they are doing down there... I just wish that it wasn't that far away. I have yet to find pictures of Negley's birthday, but they are out there somewhere... soon they will be up - promise!

Nelgley Anne's First Haircut

2006-05-09T20:57:00.000-05:00

Well, today was big time in the history of our one-year old. Negley Anne received her first haircut today, and I didn't cry. Our friend Michelle Mancini from Orchard Hill had the honors and she did a great job! We only trimmed around so that it was all one length, but it look so great! She's so awesome, she sat in the seat on her own and enjoyed a cookie when she was done.
Yeah Negley!

In case you were wondering, the blog skipped over some pretty big events lately in the Samuels family - big trip to Haiti, Negley Anne turned one... I promise that more pictures will come, I just don't know how soon. I'm hoping that we will be able to get our lives together before the summer begins and we both start working at the Pittsburgh Project, but where would be the fun in that?!

Love me, never shake me

2006-05-07T14:16:00.000-05:00

So sorry that it's taken so long to post since Jayson's been back from Haiti. Things are good but pretty busy. Here is just a taste of our life... this is a PSA that Mark and Negley Anne did for us the other night. They need to show it to all the parents leaving the hospital with their newborns. We are going to miss having Mark around here!

The Snuggly

2006-04-17T12:44:00.000-05:00

Hello all. This will probably be the last post for a while. Jayson comes home tomorrow night - 34 hours and counting. When he gets back I'm sure that there will be many pictures of haiti to put on here as well as some new ones of Negley Anne. This is a cute one from back in the day when I used to carry her in her snuggly. We now have a very nice back-pack for her (thanks to the Bishops) that we love to carry her around in. Happy Easter everyone!

The Sneeze

2006-04-15T09:50:00.000-05:00

If you know Jayson, you know that he has terrible allergies. He has to take a Clariton everyday or he is misserable. There is a chance that Negley has allergies too. She sneezes like no baby i've ever seen before. Every day I am amazed at this little girl when she sneezes two, three, and even four times in row. While searching through some old pictures to post I found this sequence of pictures that I never noticed before. I wish that I had video of it because she usually cracks herself up afterward. For some reason she thinks they are hilarious. Someday I will post all of our mess-up pictures. We have a ton... Love you jayson...

Looking back over the past year

2006-04-14T09:03:00.000-05:00

As I wrote before, the next few blogs are going to be showcasing old pictures of Negley Anne because Jayson has the camera with him on his trip. We've also decided that it was time to take the pictures off of our computer and put them on cds for back up. This is a picture that my mom took in the hospital and I just looked at it for the first time today. I guess cleaning your room is a good thing. Anyway, it's funny looking at it and seeing what huge cheeks she had right when she was born. Within four days of this picture they were gone, as she dropped about a pound and a half. All is good now on the weight front. Look at all that hair! Go Negley...

Blast from the past

2006-04-13T17:03:00.000-05:00

This is an old picture, it was taken on October 8th... Tillie's first birthday at Jerry's house. Since Jayson is gone, he asked me to update the blog everyday so that he could see pictures of Negley Anne while he gone. What we didn't think through is that he took our camera to Haiti with him. So, for the next week you will all have to live through all pictures of our little girl. If you saw Negley when she was 4 months or younger than you will get this picture. Her hair stuck up straight all the time and we loved it. The longer it has gotten though, the more tame it has become. Her first haircut will happen on her first birthday in a few weeks. How sad. Jayson if you're reading this... happy Haiti! Negley and I miss you!

2006-04-10T21:39:00.000-05:00

The sweet sweet mullet that lasted for less than five minutes - Go Jagr! My personal favorite, the mohawk. We tried to get it to stand up with some gel, but there's just too much curl in that hair to tame! The back of the mohawk - what a piece of art!
Sadly, it was time to take it all off... except for the side burns of course.

Fun with Hair - The time has come for a change...

2006-04-10T21:29:00.000-05:00

One last family photo with Jayson's long hair... Look who we found in his hair! A little sad, a little scared, but mostly excited to see his neck again.
First we went for the "Flock of Seagulls" look. More pictures to come...

Silly Pictures of Friends

2006-04-07T21:18:00.000-05:00

Last weekend Jayson, Negley, and I got the chance to spend some time with our good friends out in Penn Hills. We don't get to see them very often because they're always cutting grass... but they pulled themselves away from the lawn mowers long enough to go out to dinner with us. I took some pictures so that we don't forget what they look like because who knows when the next time we'll see them. (No pictures of Alta this time, she wasn't quite photogetic that evening)

Jerry, Joe, and Jayson... sounds like relatives of Jayson.

Barrett and Carrie... and the soon to be baby (hiding). Don't know exactly what Barrett was doing in this picture, but I do know it involved ice. Love the neck hair!

My favorite picture of the night... Grandpa Jerry and Negley Anne. Yeah!

"Little Kids"

2006-04-03T17:59:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday I was able to spend the afternoon with my good friend Laurel who was watching the son of some other friends of ours Beth and Alex. Laurel, Jack, Negley, and I headed to the Center for Creative Play to get some play on. Much fun was had by everyone...

Negley had a good time, but give her a few months until she's walking, and she'll own the place. The rocking horse was pretty awesome!

Laurel, enjoying the spirit of the whole place, acted like a little kid too.

This is Jack, Beth and Alex's son...Negley Anne and I will spend the afternoon playing with him anytime!

Last but certainly not least, here is Negley Anne and Jamie. Jamie is the son of one of my closest friends, Erin. They are only something like 4 days apart from each other, but boy are they different. He is definetly a boy, and quite a bit bigger. We had the chance to spend an evening together, where once again... they got their play on.

2006-03-23T20:36:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to send out a congrats to my sister-in-law Lib for her new job at The Pittsburgh Project. She started this past Monday and we are all so excited for her! I (Katy) will also be working there this coming summer running their brand new swimming pool... so if you know any lifeguards that need a good summer job - let me know. (In this picture she's playing football with Charlie Joe... the tea cozy is supposed to be a helmet) Yeah Lib!
And of course... what would be a posting without a picture of Negley Anne. Here's another cute one from our time at the beach.

miss florida already...

2006-03-15T17:07:00.000-05:00

a fun weekend was had by the samuels family in florida. while we were there, we were able to catch up with the rest of the rosemeyer clan. we don't see them often enough, but it sure was a lot of fun to spend a little time with them on this trip.

it wasn't exactly her first time on the beach - i mean we did live at surf city for almost a month last summer, but mobility on negley anne's part certainly did change things. most importantly, she loves sand. sand everywhere. elliotts... watch out, we're coming your way soon!

one other highlight of the trip was meeting the newest rosemeyer, tobie. we had a great evening when everyone could get together and hang. negley, not like herself, cried the entire night - but other than that it was a blast. i hope we can do it again soon... kennywood opens soon - come on up to the 'burgh!

Uncle Justin Finally Comes to Visit

2006-03-06T16:48:00.000-05:00

After giving Justin a hard time about not seeing Negley Anne until she was ten months old, he finally got his butt out to Pittsburgh. He and his girlfriend (yes we like her a lot...) came in for a long weekend and got to know Negley - it's about time. At first Negley wasn't quite sure what she thought of her uncle...
She eventually warmed up to him, and all was good. If you've met Negley, you know that I'm just kidding. She has yet to meet a person (or dog for that matter) that she doesn't like. I think we just caught her at a bad moment in this picture.
On Sunday before Justin and Maria left the 'burgh we stoped to get some wings... Negley tried hard to look like her dad in this picture. She did a good job. A great time was had by all!

Learning How To Crawl...

2006-02-25T17:42:00.000-05:00

This first picture is of Negley's first trip crawling. I came home from work and Courtney and I watched as she scooted across the floor (with socks in hand). She was so excited!
This is in honor of Grandma Zeiders... a woman who put curlers in my hair all growing up so that I would have curls. The tradition is passed down to Negley Anne...
After looking at Saywards' Blog (on the right - The Elliotts) and realizing how cute her picture was with her and Spencer, I tried the same idea. Even though she had cute curly hair, she wasn't down with it. Oh well... another day.

Super Steelers

2006-02-06T15:11:00.000-05:00

What a weekend. Can't quite put into words how wonderful last night was. A lot of fun was had by all watching the superbowl. Negley was awesome, and almost made it through the entire game. Of course, she woke up everytime something amazing happened from Betsy Belgie screaming....
Hope that everyone can go to the parade tomorrow. I will be with the three students who's parents make them go to school tomorrow. So sad.
Have a great week everyone!

Food!

2006-01-30T16:40:00.000-05:00

Sorry that I haven't updated the blog in a couple of weeks. I like to put on something new every weekend, but it just didn't happen this time. Here are some fun pictures of Negley eating some big kid food for the first time... (and Tillie enjoying it as well). Go Steelers!

Super Doula, Dogs, and Grandpa Jerry

2006-01-18T17:02:00.000-05:00

As hard as I tried... I couldn't get these pictures up yesterday. Here they are for you all to enjoy - have a great week!

What a wonderful weekend

2006-01-17T21:15:00.000-05:00

Even though Jayson had to work everyday over the three-day weekend (not such a surprise in the world of youth ministry), we really did have a wondeful time. Courtney and Mark spent much of the weekend with us and it made me very thankful to have such good friends so close. It was very hard going back to work today (as it is every week), but it makes coming home that much better. Here are some fun pictures from the weekend...

Super Doula, Dogs, and Grandpa Jerry - it doesn't get better than that!

Hola

2006-01-07T21:49:00.000-05:00

We're back on east-coast time thankfully, but still not thrilled about being back at work. We both really like our jobs, but there is something wonderful about having a week where all you have to do is spend time with family. Even though most of my family lives in Pittsburgh, we don't get to spend as much time together as we'd all like - life just gets in the way. Holidays are wonderful though... can't wait for the next one!
Here are some fun pictures of the trip out west. One note about the nails... my christmas gift from my neice Megan was to get my nails done, but we ran out of time while in Washington. The last night that we were there she set up all of her polishes and gave both her mom and I manicures.... I still have mine on!

Happy New Year

2006-01-01T21:58:00.000-05:00

The Samuels clan is back at home, all together and slowly recovering from a great vacation to the Northwest. We had a great time spending the holiday with my family all under one roof, but are very glad to be home. Pittsburgh is wonderful as ever (I can say that because the Steelers won today) and we are thankful to to have family here as well.
I will write more when I have totally changed to east coast time. Have a great new year...

Saying Goodbye

2005-12-18T21:13:00.000-05:00

This morning at Student Worship, our good friend Christina Shaffer announced that she is leaving St. Stephens and going to work for the PYN full-time. She will start in January doing all of the "event coordinating" but continue to volunteer at the church and stay with her small group. We are thrilled for her, because as many of you know, this is a perfect job for her. She will love it and really be able to use all the gifts God has given her while doing it. Selfishly, it will be really hard to see her go and not be a part of our day-to-day lives anymore but we wish her good luck.
And what would a post be without a picture of Negley Anne (she wants to grow up to be like Christina in this picture...)

Merry Christmas!

2005-12-11T14:57:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone, sorry for the big gap between posts... the fall caught up with both Jayson and I. Things have been going okay here in Pittsburgh - but to be honest we're both already a little tired of the grey weather. We do have some fun news to share. The Samuels' house has a new addition. Charles Linwood III has come to stay here part of the time, and at Courtney's part of the time. He found Mark about a month ago and we have been blessed with his presence ever since. As far as we know he's a brown dog that makes strange noises and likes to bite on Tillie's neck. We love him... and glad that he found his way to our home.
Here are some fun pictures from November. Jayson's brother Jared and his girlfriend Vicky came to the east coast to vist for a long weekend and they were able to see Negley for the first time. We had thanksgiving up in Northeast PA this winter and it was a blast. We were pretty close to being snowed in on the lake, and there was no where else we wanted to be.
For the first time in some 14 years, the Rosemeyer clan will be together in Washington state and we are all looking forward to that. Negley's a little more independant now than she was in July, so the long plane ride should be interesting. At least there will be two other adults there to share in the joy of holding her for a four hour flight.
In case we don't get to post again before the holiday - Merry Christmas!

Can't Wait for Thanksgiving!

2005-11-19T16:02:00.000-05:00

Negley's sad in this picture because she's not going to get to meet Spencer Elliott for quite a while...
Sorry it's been a while since I've written. Not a whole lot new going on in the Samuels family. We did get a new car, and are mourning the loss of the Explorer. It was a sad day to get a minivan, but it's really nice and much easier to get Negley Anne in and out of. I know you will all be lined up to see it... and to borrow it whenever you want. Especially if you have a convertable to trade us with. Anyway, hope you all have nice Thanksgivings and get to see some family. Congrats to Matt and Sayward on their little girl... go see their blog for pictures!

Video Link

2005-10-29T21:27:00.000-05:00

Thnaks to our friend Sayward I think we now have the capacity to upload some video images. Here is Negley playing in her "Excersaucer"

October 23, 2005

2005-10-23T19:07:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the long delay in a new post. Between school and the Youth Workers Convention things have been pretty hectic around here. All in all things are good, but way to busy. We've enjoyed seeing lots of old friends in the past two weeks though and seeing our favorite group in concert (last night we saw U2 at Mellon Arena) so it's been worth it. Things won't slow down for a while, but I'll try to be better about posting some pictures so everyone can see how big Negley is getting. She's a blast to be around, and her new thing is spitting. It's really cute and funny, but by the end of the night she's totally wet all over her chest from drool. Awesome. If I can figure out how to post video on this thing - I'll put some cool slober on for everyone to enjoy. And yes, that is a picture of Jason Pauli feeding his 8 month old son a toquito.

No Longer a Puppy

2005-10-08T18:17:00.000-05:00

October 8th, 2004 came the birth of seven little puppies in Penn Hills. Jayson and I were the lucky ones who were able to bring home Tillie, the smallest of the litter. She is the greatest dog ever, and today we were able to celebrate her birthday with her mom, Alta and her brother, Copper. The dogs enjoyed running around the farm, eating birthday cake (at first Tillie wasn't so sure about this whole cake eating thing...) and being with family. A good time was had by all. Negley wasn't too thrilled that we had to leave the farm and made sure that everyone knew that and Tillie had so much fun that when we came home she spent most of the evening taking a nap under the couch.

Eating Cereal for the First Time!

2005-10-08T18:09:00.000-05:00

Today was a huge day in our house... another first for Negley - Cereal. Not sure if any actually made it to her stomach, but she did look really cute with it all over her. For the rest of the day Jayson was finding it behind her ears, on her forhead, and just about anywhere you can imagine. She seemed to like it, at least she opened her mouth everytime... Tillie seemed to enjoy it as well.

Friday Night

2005-10-08T18:01:00.000-05:00

After working with middle school kids all last night, Jayson and Jono came back to watch a movie and hang out - something we haven't done in way too long. Jono, Midnight, and Cool Ranch Doritos... it doesn't get much better than that!

Happy Birthday Lib!

2005-10-04T14:54:00.000-05:00

Today is Lib's real birthday, even though we celebrated it on Sunday night with a great surprise party at the Rugby Field. Matt throws a great party... everyone had such a great time. I did forget our camera, so you'll have to settle for a picture of Negley and one of Tillie just for kicks. Not a whole lot has changed this week - this evening we have Geneva for me (can't wait to be done...) and a high school soccer game for Jayson and Negley Anne. Fun for everyone! Enjoy the great Pittsburgh weather today, it won't last much longer.

Welcome October

2005-10-01T12:02:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the delay in a new update. If you know the two of us, you know that September is a very busy month both for school and ministry. It was a good month though, and we seem to be getting into a good routine. Negley and I are looking forward to Sayward's baby shower, and Jayson is looking forward to next week's Steeler game. This weekend seems pretty boring not having a game to watch. Hope all is going well to everyone who reads this!

Negley's First Game

2005-09-18T19:54:00.000-05:00

Negley's first Steelers game.

Fall Has Arrived

2005-09-18T19:33:00.000-05:00

Well fall has finally arrived here in western PA and with it all the familiar things: changing leaves, shorter days, steeler games and the daily routine of work, sleep, work, sleep. It may sound boring, but in a strange way Katy and I are happy to be getting back into more of a schedueled life. Katy is enjoying her new job at Langely High School and I am excited about thing this fall at St. Stephen's. We have also been enjoying the Steeler season so far. We are forutante enough to get ticket to the opener (Thanks Uncle Jimmy) and we took Negley to her first game. We don't have any pictures of the game yet. They are in Katy's phone and we have not figured out how to get them off yet.

2005-09-18T19:32:00.000-05:00

Happy Baby

2005-09-18T19:31:00.001-05:00

Smile

2005-09-18T19:31:00.000-05:00

Big Eyes

2005-09-18T19:30:00.000-05:00

Cousin James

We're Back

2005-08-22T13:21:00.000-05:00

We just got home from 3+ weeks in Michigan at Surf City. God blessed us with and incredible time there. I've posted some pictures below.

2005-08-22T13:12:00.000-05:00

Negley at the Beach