People We Love

In honor of this week full of candy, hearts, and talk of love, I thought I'd take some time to honor some of the people we love.



One person we love . . . Aunt Julie.



Jim's sister. Aunt JuJu is always lots of fun to be around, and she spoils the girls like crazy. Case in point: Our Mani/Pedi party last weekend . . .

Who else but Fun Aunt JuJu would volunteer to paint ten tiny little fingers and ten tiny little toes? And smile the whole time -- and actually enjoy every minute of it?!

We love Aunt Julie and all that she brings to our family. Hooray for JuJu!

Another light in our lives -- our neighbor, Ms. Denise.

Denise, her husband, and 1 of her 3 children live across the street from us. From the first moment she met us, Denise has been the best neighbor we could have ever (EVER!) dreamed of. She's about my dad's age, she is a homemaker, and she is simply one of THE nicest people I will ever meet. Denise and her husband have helped Jim and me -- well, mostly ME -- out of some real pickles.

Denise and her 1st granddaughter, Addie. Her 2nd granddaughter, Taryn, was born in Iowa just this week!

Remember when I locked myself out of the house with Meg inside, and the local fire station came to rescue me? Denise and Paul were the ones that saved me that morning -- and helped me keep my sanity.

Remember when I had to take Kate to the ER for her stomach virus back a few months ago? Denise was who I called to come and help me get myself together enough to go to the ER with Kate. I was totally freaking out, so I called her to come just sit and hold Kate while I got my mind straight and made arrangements for Meg's care while we were gone. Denise came right over and was there to ground me while I hurried around and worried about Kate.

Denise found my HOUSE PHONE in the middle of our street one day, retrieved it, and left it for me on my front porch. How it got in street we are still not sure . . . but I think I probably left it on the bumper of my car while parked in the garage, then drove off sometime later with the phone still hanging out on the bumper. Thanks to Denise, we did not have to replace our house phones.

And she is so thoughtful. Ever single holiday throughout the year, Denise marches herself across the street with a gift in tow for our girls. A new DVD that she saw and thought of Meg, or a book and a t-shirt that she knew Kate would love. This week for Valentine's Day, Denise brought over two Disney Princess sleeping bags. If you could pick a gift MORE perfect for a three year old girl to have for her very own (and for her little sister, too), I would like to hear about it. Meg has slept in her bed in her sleeping bag for the past 3 nights. Denise's thoughtful gift is a huge hit around here.

Denise told me once that she had a neighbor growing up that took good care of her family -- that always brought her treats and spoiled her like a grandma would. She said that -- all of the time she was growing up -- she wanted to be that lady for another child and family one day.

She has succeeded . . . and I don't know what we would have done without her!

There are many, many more people we love . . . I'll be sure to add to our list as we get closer to Valentine's Day.