and she's a WHOLE hand....

bet you can NEVER guess what kind of birthday party Alison had for turning '5' years old....

yes, that's right...a Rapunzel party!!!!!

I let her invite 5 friends for her first friend party. It was a success :) The girls did great, played well, and overall had a good time. Mommy had tons of fun planning it too.

The girls were enjoying snack time here...Chris was playing a little game of question and answer...
Alison had decided last minute that she wanted to go ahead and dress up as Cinderella for the party. We invited our friends to do the same. Cara played along and was Sleeping Beauty!

I let the girls decorate their own crown cookie...icing and all. They had a super time doing that and overall...it wasn't THAT messy :)

and the partygoers...Karis, Cara, Alison, Gabi and Izi!
Thanks for coming friends!

Our November in a nutshell....

Chris' mom's side of the family has a women-only weekend every year at the first of November in Minneapolis. They are super sweet to always invite and include me :) It is SUPER fun and I had to share this group shot of us beautiful women!!!Alison wanted to be a Native American for Thanksgiving this year...her wish is my command!
The little ladies for Thanksgiving brunch which included my brothers AmaZing chili!
Celebrating Thanksgiving....I'm so super thankful for these ladies in my life!

Halloween 2011

Chris was the lone carver this year, Alison and I took the easy way out...painting. I did try a Pinterest find and did make faces using tape and then painted over that...quick, cute, I like it :)Halloween night and we were blessed yet again with gorgeous weather..yay! We enjoyed a new recipe for tortilla soup for dinner and then we were out. Here's Carson and Tyler...our two littlest friends. Aren't they adorable?!
The rest of our trick or treat posse included Jordan, Lucy, and Lydia.
It was a great night with friends...the candy bowl was empty when we got home and Alison's bucket is still nearly over-flowing with goodies!

Sneak-Peak

Here's a little sneak-peak at this years Halloween costume! This is from Oct.1 when my parents took her to the Children's Museum Vampire Vacation.....cutest little Jesse I've ever seen!

Fall = Tailgate time

Not a fall comes and goes that we Bishops don't enjoy a full schedule of BSU tailgating! Both my parents and Chris' parents have joined us for almost every home game and it has been great! Lots of memories made :)

My dad and Chris--the two BIGGEST BSU fans!

Alison having a ball on the north end zone grassy hill. We make a pit-stop at this hill every single game...rolling, running--it's what a girl hasta do :)

"Hey"

Little poser!

Gorman-Wagoner Wedding 9-10-11

I know that I already uploaded quite a few photos to Facebook but I still wanted to do a quick blog blurb about my brother's wedding! It was a fantastic weekend. The Gorman family is super fun and nice. The rehearsal dinner at the Wabash County Museum was super fun and different. Saturday was actually a laid back day until wedding time. Aren't these three the cutest little flower girls/junior bridesmaid EVER!! I couldn't believe how grown up Alison looked with her hair done that way!

The ceremony was in the Rooftop Cloud Room of the Charley Creek Inn. It was a gorgeous day and made for a perfect backdrop. Here is the happy couple exchanging vows. I love that they are both looking at each other and smiling from ear to ear. Courtney was a beautiful bride!
We headed downstairs to the Ballroom for the reception and it was a Fantastic! time. The food, drink, and dancing were a party to be remembered! and Yes, I might have led the young folk in a friendly little round of 'The Hokey Pokey'!
I couldn't be more happy for my brother, he only deserves a lifetime of love with his best friend!

September 4, 2011

Glory baby you slipped away as fast as we could say baby…baby..
You were growing, what happened dear?
You disappeared on us baby…baby..
Heaven will hold you before we do
Heaven will keep you safe until we’re home with you…
Until we’re home with you…

Miss you everyday
Miss you in every way
But we know there’s a
day when we will hold you
We will hold you
You’ll kiss our tears away
When we’re home to stay
Can’t wait for the day when we will see you
We will see you
But baby let sweet Jesus hold you
‘till mom and dad can hold you…
You’ll just have heaven before we do
You’ll just have heaven before we do

Sweet little babies, it’s hard to
understand it ‘cause we’re hurting
We are hurting
But there is healing
And we know we’re stronger people through the growing
And in knowing-
That all things work together for our good
And God works His purposes just like He said He would…
Just like He said He would…

BRIDGE:
I can’t imagine heaven’s lullabies
and what they must sound like
But I will rest in knowing, heaven is your home
And it’s all you’ll ever know…all you’ll ever know…

Dearest Annie:

We went to your park today, it makes us feel closer to you.

We miss you oh so very much. Not one single day goes by

that we don't think about you or talk about you.

We sent you balloons, we hope you liked them.

Please keep watching over us

until we meet again!

All our love, XOXO

Mommy, Daddy, and Alison

Happy Birthday Chris!

Well this post is long over due (approx one month) but I wanted to make sure and shout out to my wonderfully fabulous husband for his Birthday!

Lots of help from Alison during gift opening!

Our colts themed birthday party!

I can't tell you enough how much I love you, adore you, need you, admire you, crave you, and thank you for being you! You are a fantastic man, husband, and daddy! We are so blessed that you are ours. We hope YOUR day was GREAT!

Run 4 Everett

As many of you know I started running this past February to help loose weight and get in better shape. It has become a nice little hobby of mine. I have enjoyed the benefits it has given me and it has been fun to set goals and reach them. When I saw Run 4 Everett I knew it was something I had to do and I asked Chris to do it with me. It was a 10K, which is 6.2 miles..the longest I've done and it was at Fort Ben which I had heard was hilly..and that rumor is true:) A little background information: Everett was born still in August 2010 and his parents organized this run to benefit stillborn research through Katie Cares.This run was calling my name because it was one day and one year after our little angel left us. I had to do it for me and I had to do it for her.

We each got a running bib that we got to decorate in memory of Annie.

Here are our three balloons going to our girl, one from Mommy, one from Daddy, and one from big sister Alison...notice all the balloons floating in the sky...clearly God is surrounded by beautiful baby angels! It was a moving experience but heart aching, I miss her so much!!

Pounding the pavement!

And crossing the finish line...don't be jealous of my thighs{grin}!

I am so proud of myself for finishing and I was thanking Annie each and every step for making me faster, stronger, healthier, and determined! ~Hugs my angel, hugs~

Rounding out our summer days....

Chris competed in multiple triathlons this summer and did AMAZING but this one was special because it was his first Olympic length tri....he again rocked it out and Alison even got to cross the finish line with him!

The girl is a cheerleading, dance, and gymnastics fool...here we are working on some form of skill.....she would do this all day/everyday if she could (oh wait, we do)~grin!

Playing in the sprinkler/pool, we even tried something different this year...pool at the end of the slide = LOTS of fun!!!

Is there anything better than State Fair rides?! Doubtful!

Oh wait, I think there is....having Daddy win you a GIANT stuffed pig...she already has a name Pretty Pink Ballerina Pig, envious?! One proud moment for Daddy and one happy little girl!

Alway's playing catch-up

A little photo montage for how we enjoyed the month of July....

the playground

Running through the sprinkler at home: I adore this photo! She looks so happy, carefree, and athletic.

Jumping in the swimming pool. Alison became quite the little fish this summer and has hopefully progressed up to the next level of swim lessons by the time we start in winter. She is super brave.

Mommy got to help host a bachelorette party for her soon to be sister-in-law at the very end of July. Courtney is directly behind me in the photo. She is an amazing addition to our family and I very priviliged to be able to call her family!

It was a super great month!

She is my little firecracker!

Happy Father's Day 2011

Love ya Dad!

Chris and Bobby

The sweetest two I know!

I am so blessed to have a wonderful father, great father-in-law, and amazing husband to be our children's Daddy! Each of you could not be more patient, kind, caring, funny, and loving! I hope you enjoyed your day!

Soccer Star

Alison finished up the spring and early summer by playing all girls soccer through the YMCA. She did a wonderful job. She even scored her very first goal!!!! She was on the Rapids! As you can see from the picture below she even had a style all her own.....shirt so long you couldn't tell she was wearing shorts and socks under her shinguards...she wanted EVERYONE to see those pink shinguards!
Chris and I were both quite impressed with her agility, speed, and aggressive nature. Don't get me wrong though...there were plenty 'stop to pick up a dandelion' or 'stop to scan the crowd' moments!!!
Coach Casey did a great job with the girls. Here he was describing Alison as a 'nuclear reactor about to go off ' AKA....Alison is one energetic girl!!! Her first trophy!
For one mama who LOVED soccer growing up and played all the way through early college...I'm so proud of her, glad she tried it, and hope she wants to play for years to come.

Vacation Day 5

Wrapping up our vacation, I know...finally, right?!

No visit is complete to Walt Disney World without a visit with the Princesses and Mickey Mouse!!

Belle

Cinderella

Not sure what is going on here, but it looks as if she is holding her nose?! HA

and the long awaited hug with Rapunzel...yes folks, we stood in line 2 hrs and 15 min. so she could obtain that hug!!!! But the expression on her face is worth every.minute!

Our last surprise of this visit...a trip to Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo Boutique. She chose Diva-Princess!

Checking out those freshly painted nails

and our final character visit included Belle and Beast....we were so excited to see Beast. His visits are few and short!

Good-bye Walt Disney World!