Christi Graduates From Law School!

My beautiful sister Christi graduated from George Mason University School of Law today! We now have a lawyer in the family! Yeah! Time to do our will. : ) Christi has accepted a great job with a wonderful law firm that she has been working for during school. They must have seen what we already knew... Christi is a smart lady and a hard worker too!

Congratulations Christi! We are so happy for you!

This is a picture of some magnets I made for Christi as a little gift. The pictures from the top left are Christi's dog Molly, Elvis, shoes from her graduation party invitation, my mom's dog Sadie, and Joshua who she calls "my boy." They look much better in person and I plan to make some more. Hey, maybe you'll get some for your next birthday!

Ethan's Birthday Party!

We had a party for Ethan on May 4th while we were in Virginia Beach. Grandma, Nana, Papa, Aunt Rebekah, Aunt Rachel, Uncle Geoff, and Cousin Jared were able to be there. Thanks for coming on such short notice everyone!!!

We started with birthday cake and icecream. Ethan doesn't seem to like cake very much but he made a mess anyway so that I could get some pictures. Isn't he sweet? For his actual birthday we picked up a Triple Chocolate Bundt Cake at Sam's Club for $6 and he actually liked that much better. Chocolate, now we know.

Then Ethan opened his presents. We asked everyone to please give him books instead of toys. We have so many toys and Ethan loves to read! So, he received a great variety of books with flaps which he LOVES! Thanks for the books everyone! There was one toy that I wanted him to have though so I had my mom get him this ride on toy. Joshua loves to ride his train around the house and Ethan tries to get on it but it is too high. Now he has his own! Thanks Nana!

While Daddy put it together, Ethan played in the box. Sometimes I wonder "Why didn't I think to just give him a box?"

Yummy Trifle!

John, Abby and I made a Strawberry Angel Trifle for Mother's Day. It looked so beautiful and tasted great! Of course, my children wouldn't touch it. Silly kids. Oh well, more for me and John!

A Tribute To My Mother

My mother is a special lady.

She is an amazing wife and mother of four children. She has raised us well and we all turned out to be great people ourselves because of her. She has 7 grandchildren who love her and are all smart as can be! She has one dog and one granddog that keep her company and bring her happiness during this empty nest stage of her life. She also has 4 other granddogs and a grandcat but I'm not sure how much happiness they bring because they make a mess when they visit!

She is a wonderful cook! Her kitchen has always been a hang out place for family and friends. I remember one of my friends in high school came over for dinner once and asked me why my mom had cooked a Sunday dinner on a school night. Before this, I had no clue that other mothers weren't cooking like this everyday! She likes to try new recipes and has even created a Niepraschk Family Cookbook full of recipes from the whole extended family! What a blessing it has been to have these recipes to use in my own home!

Everyone loves to talk to my mother so her phone is always ringing off the hook. One thing I've learned though that's interesting...she doesn't like to talk on the phone! When I am visiting her and she isn't home, the phone drives me nuts with all of that ringing. So, I've been calling her less than everyday now. : ) I hope it helps Mom!

My mother is an awesome teacher! She teaches second grade and was recently named "Teacher of the Year." She also teaches in Young Womens and has been since I was in Young Womens myself. She is so wonderful that bishop after bishop feels that they cannot replace her!

She is a wonderful grandmother and her grandchildren LOVE her! Joshua tells me almost every other day that we need to go to Nana's. We usually leave here after dark to go to her house. One day after it got dark, Joshua pointed out the window and said, "We need to go to Nana's house." He was so upset when we didn't take off for Nana's that I had trouble getting him to go to bed. When I left my children with Nana for a weekend vacation, Ethan was so good and she said he didn't even cry. He cries and whines several times a day when I'm watching him! Nana sends my children cards for Halloween, Easter, Valentines Day, and their birthdays. They love to get mail from Nana!

John calls Nana's house "The Plaza" because he also loves to visit her and be spoiled with her good cooking and hospitality!

My mother has always been there for me. She is a good example to me and my children and I feel so blessed to have her as my mom! I know that when I'm having a bad day I can call my mom and she will be able to tell me what I need to hear. My father, my siblings and I depend upon her and her wisdom. She is the one that makes our family strong! That is why I plan for her to live well past 100! Sorry, Mom.

I love you Mom! Happy Mother's Day!

Our Anniversary Trip!

John and I decided to do something really special for our 11th anniversary which was May 3, 2008. Last year we celebrated our 10th only 9 days before Ethan was born so we couldn't go on a trip like we wanted to. We haven't done a vacation without the children before so I didn't want to go too far with Ethan so little still. We decided to drop the children off at my mom's in Virginia Beach and head for a hotel on the beach. We stayed for two nights in an awesome room with a 2 person Jacuzzi tub right in the bedroom! It was so nice to not have to worry about taking care of the children for these two days and to be able to concentrate on each other!

We did bring the children to the hotel when we checked in because my mom was still at work and the children wanted to go to the beach with us. Looking at the three of them in the tub really shows how big the tub was! If I ever build a house and can afford one, I'm putting one of these babies in! I don't want an outdoor hottub because they require chemicals and are hard to keep clean. I would much rather have a jacuzzi tub I can fill when I want to take a nice relaxing bath and then empty away the water when I'm done.

John and I didnt' take many pictures but here is one I took of the two of us. When we looked at the picture we both laughed. It's kind of fun to take one of these pictures because you never know what you're going to get!

John is an amazing husband! So many people have told me how awesome he is and how they wish their husbands would do some of the things John does for me. I don't need other people to tell me how wonderful he is because I've known since we starting dating 12 1/2 years ago. He is so supportive of me and works hard to support our family. He spoils me rotten and I love every minute of it!

Don't Forget National Teacher Day!

National Teacher Day is tomorrow, May 6th.

I appreciate all of love and dedication my children's teachers give them!

Abby's teacher Mrs. Baggett is a wonderful, caring teacher. She was Jack's teacher too and will be retiring after this year. I am sad that my other children won't be able to be in her class. She is a teacher who continues to squeeze in a lot of fun activities even with the pressures of No Child Left Behind and the Virginia Standards of Learning. She is always teasing the children and making them laugh. Mrs. Baggett is the perfect teacher for getting Kindergarteners on track for loving school! Jack and Abby both love her and I love her too!

Jack's teacher Mr. Wills is a very hard-working, truly dedicated teacher. John and I were so happy to learn that Jack would have one teacher for all of his classes this year because Mr. Wills teaches all of the highest groups! Last year, it was hard for Jack to switch between teachers and get right back on task. It was also hard for me to communicate with so many teachers! (He had five teachers last year in second grade. Isn't that crazy!?!) John, Jack and I immediately loved Mr. Wills when we met him on Meet the Teacher Night and were so excited for this new year. Mr. Wills in one of those teacher who is often caught working in his classroom hours after his contract time. He also leads a drama club after school that Jack plans to join next year. He helps Jack stay on task and Jack has been completing all of his classwork on time. Yeah! I need to start praying now for another teacher like Mr. Wills next year. I told Jack to ask Mr. Wills if he will switch to fourth grade next year. : )

I plan to show my appreciation by giving them some very rich Frosted Brownies with a note of appreciation from me and one from my child. I also plan to give Frosted Brownies to various other teachers and assistants who work with my children--PE Teacher, Music Teacher, Mrs. Baggett's Assistant, etc.

Don't forget your child's teacher!

Today is National Scrapbook Day!

Be sure to dust off your scrapbooks and supplies. Today is National Scrapbook Day! I won't actually be scrappin' since I am on a romantic vacation with my husband because today is our 11th wedding anniversary. Anyway, I am more of a scrapbooking collector than an actual scraper. I tell people that I collect scrapbooking stuff since I can't actually say that I scrapbook. : ) I did buy some ribbon today!

For those of you who also see yourselves as "Scrapbooking Collectors", here is a spoof my great friend and fellow scrapbooking collector wrote and dedicated to "Scrapbooking Collectors" everywhere!

Scrapbooking Girl

(Maybe he's right. Maybe there is something the matter with me. I just don't see how a girl that makes such wonderful things could be bad.)

Look at this stuff
Isn't it neat?
Wouldn't you think my collection's complete?
Wouldn't you think I'm the girl
The girl who has everything?

Look at this trove
Treasures untold
How many wonders can one album hold?
Looking around here you'd think
Sure, she's got everything

I've got cardstock and stickers a plenty
I've got papers and punches galore
You want mono-adhesives?
I've got twenty!
But who cares?
No big deal
I want more!

I wanna be where my scrapbooks are
I wanna see...wanna see them instead of
Fiddlin' around with those--what do you call 'em?
Oh - kids! :)

Tendin' my kids, I don't get too far
Time is required for scrappin',
stampin'Strollin' along without going - what's that word again?
Insane

Oh, I would crop, I wouldn't stop
Until my pages were over the top
With time for me--wish I could be
Scrapbooking girl

What would I give if I could live without piles of laundry
What would I pay to spend one day free of demands
Bet'cha my man, he'd understand
Just why his wife is so exhausted
After a minute, he's sick of cleanin'
Ready to quit

I'd like him to know what I already know
Maybe by then he would finally get it
What's for dinner and why is mine - what's the word?
Burned?

When's it my turn?
Wouldn't I love
To actually use my scrapbooking stuff
My fantasy
Wish I could be
Scrapbooking girl

Thanks Robin!

Happy Scrappin'... or collecting!