Priceless

Cory's cousin, AJ, is serving in the US Army and is current stationed overseas in Iraq. He is there on an 18 month tour and will most likely not be home until this time next year. So, we wanted to send him a few of the comforts of home:

Packing supplies: $7
Items for AJ: $99
Trip to Sam's Club on Saturday night: CrAzY!

The cost of sending some of the comforts of home to a US Serviceman: PRICELESS

My cousin, Jason

Just a quick note of "thanks" to all of our friends who helped support Cory and I through the unexpected loss of my cousin, Jason. He will be missed so much.

We found out late on Thursday night that he had passed away due to alcohol poisoning and possible "other" substances. He was only 19 years old and should not have died this death. It wasn't until after we found out about his death that we found out Jason had struggled with substance abuse for many years. So while it was a huge shock to us his immediate family had been aware of his struggles for awhile. I'm just so sad that we never knew until now and that all those times I/we were with him we were oblivious to his struggles and unable to talk with him & support him. I hope his friends learn from his death and don't suffer the same fate. I hope they go on to have healthy & productive lives...remembering the price that Jason paid to "party".

Jason was an amazing kid! He could seriously light up a room with his brilliant humor, warm smile and approachable personality. We would have the most amazing summers together growing up. He and his sister would come to IN to visit and we would spend so much time out on the lake, having sleep overs, watching movies and listening to music. I even remember the summer of '02 when I graduated from Purdue, he helped me celebrate my graduation by aiding me in "disposing" of my philosophy class work (which I hated so much!) and ex-boyfriend collections of pictures & notes.

His mom, my Aunt Susan, let me take a few flowers from the many bouquets they received so that I could press & dry them in order to put them in a frame with one of his pictures as a "memorial" photo that Cory and I can hang in our home. I'm so sad that our children won't get to know their wonderful "uncle" Jason.

Anyhow, just thank you again everyone for your kind words, support and prayers. It means the world to Cory and I.

New Pictures of Gwen!

Here is our darling niece, Gwen, at her 1 year birthday party. It was hosted by my parents at their home in Warsaw and the festivities were unbeatable! We had everything from bubbles, water balloons games, corn hole, boat rides, bubble gum blowing contests, and to top it off a huge BBQ and the best family & friends from all around. Cory and I were just speechless by how much Gwen has grown and learned in the past 6 months!

Here she is making her "fish face"

Here's her dad (my brother Scott). She's grinning b/c he just make his cricket sound!

Here she is *peeking* over her strawberry shortcake sippy cup at Auntie Julie!

Here she is "ooohh-ing" over something that Uncle Cory is showing her...don't mind the naked baby behind her, that's her cousin "Reed" showing off her big girl panties!

We moved her outside for the 1 year old birthday cake tradition...it didn't take long before she caught on. Here she is trying to share her "ducky" with Aunt Julie!

She had way more fun squishing her hands through the cake than eating it!

"Hmm, do I like the cake or the frosting better"?

She wanted to share with her ducky :)

Grandpa White and Gwen...both tired from eating too much cake, hehe :)

This past weekend

It's been a long 8 months since I last saw my parents. The last time I saw them was at our wedding, since we had to use all of our vacation time for our honeymoon. This past weekend my parents and my Aunt Linda came to visit us. It was so good to have them around! They all looked great and mom has lost over 50 pounds!

On Friday we took them to Chilis and showed them the changes we had made to the apartment since they were last here. On Saturday we got up early and headed up to Warsaw for their first visit there. We all ended up going to our niece Gwen's 1st birthday party. It was a lot of fun and my parents got to catch up with Julie's family. We took them around the lake on Rick and Becky's boat, showed them around town, and had dinner at the Boathouse. It went by way too quick. On Sunday we headed out and did some shopping, went and saw Pirates of the Carribean 3, and had dinner. Those 2 days went by so fast...

It was sad to see them go, but we're comforted in the fact that we'll get to see them again at the end of the month for a week. That's the one thing that stinks about living in Indiana - I don't get to see my family much. But I treasure the time we do get to spend together.

I love you guys!

PS, for my thoughts on Pirates 3, check out this Ask a Ninja review. He hits the nail right on the head :)

Gwennie-Pooh

Our dear sister-in-law sent us some lovely new pictures of our sweet niece, Gwennie-Pooh. We're so lucky to have the internet to be able to stay in touch and share pictures. Haley, David and Gwen are all settled into their new townhome in Cape May, NJ and are very happy. David's work with the Coast Guard is giving him new opportunities and different adventures compared to the Marines, which is a welcomed change of pace. Haley is a full time mom with Gwen and enjoying every minute of it! Here they are:

Gwen's sleep- over at Auntie Julie's & Uncle Cory's!

Our wonderful sister-in-law Haley, our niece Gwenine-Pooh and Haley's sister, Sheena came to visit Indy this weekend. As some of you may know, my brother David Scott is a Force Recon US Marine, who finished his four years in the Corps on 12-24-05. His love for our country has lead him to join the US Coast Guard to continue serving. He is currently in Cape May, NJ undergoing his orientation & training for the USCG...which by the way he says is a "breeze" compared to the USMC, and Haley & Gwen will be joining him very soon. We're so thankful that they will be able to stay together as a family during David's service! We know that they will be in Cape May for at least six months and then after, they will have the option to transfer & move. What is so wonderful about the USCG is that David will NOT have to return anywhere overseas. During his service in the USMC he was stationed in many places, all of which were far far away from home.

So, this weekend, Haley and Sheena wanted to spend some time with their Indy friends before the big move. Cory and I were able to spend the afternoon with the girls and Haley was so eager for some fun "grown-up" time with her friends (she and Gwen have had a lot of quality time together since David left)! Cory and I were so happy that Haley asked us to watch Gwen for the night! This was her first Indy sleep-over and we all had so much fun! At first, our friends were telling us "now you'll see what having kids is really like", well let me tell you, if all children were like Gwen, then sign us up, because she was wonderful! We played, read books, cuddled, watched slide shows of her "da-da", practiced our bouncing and blew bubbles in the mirror while giggling so hard we got tears! She is the most darling little girl and we love her so much.

"Thank-you" Haley for helping us cure our baby-fever for awhile...not sure how long Gwen's visit will tide us over, but we will cherish the special time that Auntie & Uncle were able to share with her. We hope to visit their new home in Cape May sometime this summer, but until then we wish them a safe journey and will be sending lots of love their way.

Here are some pictures of our weekend together.....

Here we are!

Here we are! It's official...as of October 21st, 2006 we are Mr. and Mrs. Cory Albert!