Happy Birthday Ceil!

Last night we went out with the neighbors for Ceil's birthday. Despite the snow, we headed out to RedStone anyway. We had some drinks at the bar and then sat down for a very yummy dinner. We had a blast, as we usually do when we are all together. Jen and I were talking about how we call each other "the neighbors" but we are much more than that. We have all gotten so close and we are very good friends. We are there for each other weather we need a cup of sugar, someone to watch our house while we are away, a safe ride home from the bar, a beer & conversation after a long day, or simply a friend. Brian and I are very fortunate to have such great friends that live so close.

Dinner with Dana & Anthony

Friday night we went to a really good BYOB in Collingswood w/Dana & Anthony. As always, we had a blast and closed the restaurant. We have a habit of sitting at the table way too long, drinking wine, and then realizing that the restaurant is closing. Ha! We chatted about everything from work to kids to vacation spots to future plans. Dana and Anthony have been like a sister and a brother to me for most of my life and it just warms my heart to know that they welcome Brian into our circle and Brian is as equally willing to be a part of it. Dana and Anthony know just about everything there is to know about me....sometimes that's a good thing and sometimes that's a bad thing....haha! We did have an awesome time and we look forward to our next time together.

Watching Dora

Whenever we go out we leave Nickelodeon on for Jadie to watch. She loves to watch cartoons. Here is a picture to prove that she does actually watch TV. She watches Dora every day....I wonder if we started to speak Spanish if she would understand?

Happy 90th Ida!

Ida, Brian & Rob's Grandmother, turns 90 tomorrow! Rob put together a very nice party at their house. There was lots of yummy food, cake, and of course the cheeseball. (It's Rob's favorite and he requested that I bring it....I challenged him asking if it was his birthday or Ida's...LOL!) We played about 5 rounds of bingo and I won one round. We also watched the football game. Ida looked pretty and very happy today. She seemed to be delighted that Brian and I were there. It was the 1st time I'd been to the house and I met Shamrock (Brian's cat that he gave to Ida a few years back to keep her company) for the first time. She's a sweet cat. Wow! Ida will be 90 tmr....that's amazing! I can only imagine the things she has seen in her lifetime. She has told me many stories but I'm sure there is so much more to tell. She is as healthy as a horse...I can only hope that I'll be able to live as much of a full-filling life as she has. Happy Birthday Ida! We love you!

A season, a reason, or a lifetime

They say that people come into your life for a season, a reason, or a lifetime. This couldn't be any more true. Some people come into your life and you think you will be friends forever and then something happens and you don't talk to or see that person anymore. But if you look back on that relationship you will realize there was a reason that person was in your life at the time and for the time period that they were. Then you have people that come into your life and they are truely lifetime friends. These are the people that you can turn to for anything or everything. These are the people that are with you through lifes ups and downs, are there to love and support you. You can laugh with and cry with these people. They truely care about you and what life is throwing at you. These are the people that you could go a few days without talking and then pick up the phone or go to their house and they are there for you to listen. As Brian and I venture down the path of starting our family we have learned that we have a lot of people that love us and send us lots of thoughts and prayers. We feel so extremely lucky to have so many friends and family surrounding us. We know that we have had people in our lives for a season, a reason, or a lifetime and we are thankful for that. Thankful because each of those people have touched us in their own way and we are the people we are today because of each friend that has passed through our lives. Friends are so important to have and we love each and every one of you.

Weekend at the shore

Friday night we went to the shore. No one else was down...poor Jadie was so sad that Pacie wasn't there. We went out to dinner and have some drinks. Saturday Jen & Joe came down to visit. We hung at the house for a couple hours and then went to Flip Flops to watch football. We got there are 4ish and didn't leave until around 1am. All of us were struggling today when we woke up. Too much fun last night. We had a great time with them! Joel & Ceil weren't able to come down so we kept text messaging them from the bar. I read through the texts today and was laughing. We look forward to another weekend that we can all go down there again.

Fun and relaxing weekend

We haven't been to Stone Harbor since Thanksgiving so we couldn't wait to get down there on Friday! Jadie was super excited too. (she knows when we pack her bed in the car that she's going to the shore.) We spent the weekend with John, Jeanna, Allison, Kevin, and Steph. Steph has been in LA the past year working as a travel nurse but is now home. I haven't seen her in over a year so it was so much fun to hang out again. All of us stayed in sweats the whole time and only ventured out for a TJ Max trip and to pick up food and alcoholic beverages. We stayed up late both nights playing Cranium, Taboo, and Scattergories and slept in both mornings. We were so excited for our Coffee Talk fix but we were completely let down when we pulled up and saw that they are closed until mid-Feb. What? How could that be? We settled for the diner instead. All of us had a blast lounging around and doing nothing. Brian and I just love the shore this time of year. It's so quite down there and completely relaxing. As we were driving home we didn't talk much...we were sad to be leaving and realizing we have to go to work tmr.

Forget about reality

My hubby is so sweet. I was having a pretty bad day today and he knew it. He hugged me and smiled at me all morning, called me multiple times during the day, and treated me to a dinner out tonight. He had called me around 2ish and asked me on a date. He said "let's grab a bottle of wine and go to Collingswood for dinner." I happily accepted. We had a wonderful evening. I love my husband. He knows what I need and tonight I just needed a date night where we could forget about reality and be silly together.

Is it Friday yet?

Back to work today. Back to counting points and running on the elliptical. Ugh! Work was so busy. This morning I had so many phone calls and this afternoon I had to present 3 sessions of a seminar at one of my clients office. Why did my vacation end so quickly? I wish I could still be on vaca and spending time with my hubby and eating/drinking anything we want. But, no, it's back to reality and a healthy lifestyle. Friday can't get here fast enough!

Grace-Camarote Christmas

Yesterday we had our annual Christmas visit with the Camarote's. This year Scotty & Kim hosted it. We had SO much food! Brian and I said it was our last day of eating/drinking too much...we have to get back on the healthy band-wagon. We had a blast though, as usual. Livi & Hannah had fun playing dress up, Scotty & Charlotte pretty much played with the boxes and wrapping paper, and Connor & Collin followed anyone around that would pick them up. We opened gifts and had a good 'ole time. It so nice that we have this get-together one a different day, other than Christmas Eve, because we get to spend lots of time with them. I remember the years, when we were kids, that we'd go to Aunt Rita's on xmas eve and had to be in and out in like an hour and a 1/2. This is so much more enjoyable. We always have fun with the Camarote's!

New Years Day at the Carey's

Melissa & Jimmy had us all over on New Years Day for brunch, which lead into ordering pizza for dinner 4 hours later...because we were having fun and didn't want to leave. We had fun sitting around the table chatting and drinking Jimmy's famous Bloody Mary's. Yum! They kids all had fun opening up their Christmas gifts and playing with the new toys. It was a nice, relaxing day with friends.

Staying on blogger

We will be staying on blogger. We've decided that switching over to a private blog is too much work and we've enjoyed blogger thus-far. So, to our faithful readers - no worries we will be staying at the same location. We do have faithful readers, readers that care for us and love us. We love those readers too....because we know they will support us throughout lifes ups and downs. So....now on to a FRESH NEW YEAR! Loves to all!

Private blog

Brian and I started the blog back in Aug '08, when we got engaged, in order to journal our life together. We thought that our future children may want to read about how the McFadyen family started and grew. At first we had the blog for ourselves but then started to tell people about it so that they could follow along, if they wanted, with our wedding plans. This site was created for Brian and I and for anyone that truely loves and cares about us. Due to the way the world is today and the stalkers in it we've decided to make our blog private. We will be sending out invites to our friends and family members in the next day or so. If you don't receive an email from us in the next couple days, please contact us, as I'm sure it was just an over-sight. See you soon.....

New Years Eve

We woke up on New Years Eve and it was snowing. It looked like it was almost 2 inches or so, but I'm not really sure. I needed to food shop so I ran out right away. The roads were slick so thank goodness I didn't have to go anywhere the rest of the day. I did have to clean the house but when I found out Allison & Kevin weren't coming over (they are both sick!) I decided to veg out on the couch. Ah! What bliss was that? I relaxed for about 3 or 4 hours! It was wonderful....finally the relaxing vacation that I was hoping for. While I was being a couch potato Brian was in the garage putting together our new grill that we got for Christmas. It's so nice and we can't wait to use it!

Later on in the night we headed over to Jen & Joe's house for NYE festivities. It was just us neighbors (4 couples) and it was great. We had lots of munchies and drinks. We played pool and LCR. It was such a great night. We didn't have to get all dressed up, actually we all wore sweats. :) We didn't have to drive anywhere and we were in the comfort of our own neighborhood. Tyler, Ryleigh, and Emma had a ball. They tried to stay up but only Tyler lasted until midnight. We ran outside and made all kinds of noise and then went back in to play another round of LCR. It was another great night with our friends.

When I look back at 2009, it's been a wonderful year. We got married! Now we are just hoping that 2010 will top 2009....maybe God will bless us with an addition to the family? Here's to hope!