Homecoming. (By: Jess)

A glimpse of our new home. The place that will be our "forever home". The place Leo and Cece will grow up. The moments and memories that are in store for this house excite me beyond belief. I had every intention of doing "before and after" shots of the house, but...well.... that didn't happen. So, here are a few of the "after" picts that have been demanded by some. Hope you enjoy! I have to admit that I am pretty proud of the little touches I have put on our home that help make it ours!

                                                              Family picts collage

                                                                         Mantle

                                                                      I love "R"'s!!

                   My favorite spot! My cross wall! Crosses found at Hobby Lobby. (one was a gift)

                     Entrance hallway. Rugs found at kohls, lights at Lowe's, and my picture wall!!

                                LOVE these lights! I had my eye on them at Lowes for months!!!

                                                                         Little touch!

 I have always wanted to do a picture wall like this! I'm so proud of it!  Thanks to my sister and mom for helping me get everything straight! I still need to add 2 more 8x10's on the right side, then it will be complete!! Most frames were found at yard sales, some were found at thrift stores, a few were bought at Hobby Lobby and a couple were bought at Wal-Mart.

 The golf rood bookshelves. Passed down from my mom. Golf shadow box on left was bought at a yard sale and golf ball holder on right was made by my Grandpa Tony for Toby. Golfer statue on top of bookshelf was my Dad's.

 My Dad's desk and chair. Lamp found at Wal-Mart and table that printer is sitting on was found at a yard sale.

                                               Golf Room. Still need to put up curtains.

                                                                Some more "R"'s

                                               Wall hanging that we received as a wedding gift.

                                                                Leo's big boy room!

                                         My rocking horse my Dad bought me when I was little.

 Leo's shelves of trinkets. "Good Night Leo" book, "Leo the Lightening Bug" book, golfer bear from friend, Ryan, OSU football, tractors from Grandma and Grandpa, wooden memory block from friend, Kelly, and crosses that were received as gifts from baptism.

 Family picture wall of all Leo's favorite people! Aunt Jills, Uncle Casey, Grandpa, Grandma, and Nonnie.

                                                            Guess whose  room this is?

                          Hand-painted canvases that my sister and I made to match Cece's bedding.

                                 Wooden butterflies found at thrift store that my sister and I painted.

                   Wooden letters found at Hobby Lobby and flower candle holders found at thrift store.

 My old rocking chair, my old baby blanket, my old baby doll (on right), and my Grandma's Raggedy Ann doll.

 Leo's small collect of Raggedy Andy dolls...... top one found at an antique store and bottom one found at thrift store.

                                   Kids Mickey Bathroom..... walls will eventually be painted red.

                                                                   Mickey bathroom.

More of the picture wall.

 Living room. (still need to hang curtains)

 Living room

 Gertie's step stool

 living room

 Can't wait to fill up my wine rack and have a glass or two of Cab!

 Hanging spoon and fork found at thrift store! (Thanks to my sis!)

 Leo's fish bowl..... his name is "fishy"

 Some pineapple touches for my pineapple kitchen (pineapple box found at consignment store)

 green dish found at thrift store

 another pineapple touch!

 most important area of my kitchen!

 another pineapple touch! (thrift store find thanks to Jill!)

 hand towel from Wal-Mart

 picture that hangs about Leo's highchair!

 plate found at thrift store and candle stick holders found at a yard sale

 Can't wait to hang this on my front porch! (found at a consignment store)

 little touches above cabinets

 Pintrest project made my my sister!

 kitchen table (candle holder found at a yard sale)

 purple laundry room with my favorite rug!!

 key holder next to garage door

 above kitchen sink

 Front porch

 garden flag (found at dollar store)

pineapple touch!

*Areas not photographed- Master Bedroom, Master Bathroom, bonus room and bonus bathroom, back patio and yard**

It's still a work in progress and I'm sure over the years a few more touches will be added here and there!! For now..... Home Sweet Home!

Ain't Life Grand. (By: Jess)

I never realized the importance of Grandparents until Leo was born.

Leo Beck is so blessed to have AMAZING grandparents. Toby and I are blessed that Leo has AMAZING grandparents. Ceceilia Grace will be equally as blessed to have AMAZING grandparents.

Growing up, my relationship with my grandparents was...... average. One set lived about 30 minutes away and the other set lived out of state. First in Indiana, then in Flordia, then in Nevada, and finally in Arizona. I was never really "close" with either set, nor did I see any of them on a regular basis. Obviously I saw the set who lived closer more often, but there was still a distance emotionally as well as physically. I saw the "out of state grandparents" MAYBE once a year, and as I got older (and probably less cuter and less fun to play with or buy toys for) I saw them about once every 4 or 5 years. They all played a part in my life.... always remembered my birthday, never forgot me at Christmas, and a hug and kiss everytime I saw them came natural. One set is still alive and kickin. I see them when I go home to Ohio.....sometimes. The other set is with my Dad....in Heaven. I miss them a lot and still can't believe they are gone. I was blessed to be able to say "good-bye" to both of them over the phone and tell them 1,000 times how much I love/loved them. There was no service for either one of them, so I never got a chance to see them and say goob-bye, which was sad. I have a few items to remember them by, and a head-ful of wonderful memories.

Toby's relationship with his grandparents is one I envy! It is beautiful and loving and caring and respectful and comfortable. When I met Toby, it wasn't long before I met his grandparents. They are as important to Toby as his parents are. I was immediately impressed and jealous of how close Toby was with them. One set lives about 2 minutes from him and the other lived about 3 minutes from him. He saw and talked to them all on a daily basis. They were present at every holiday and birthday party and were involved in every aspect of Toby's life. That amazes me, but to Toby it's perfectly normal. I love Toby's grandparents as if they were my own......and they let me. Toby still continues to talk on the phone to all of them. Not daily, or even weekly, but monthly for sure. They call him and he calls them and a trip home is NEVER complete without visiting them, chatting, laughing, eating, and maybe having a drink or two. They all have been to visit us in SC  more than once and when they come we love showing them around the town!!

Leo's relationship with his grandparents is one I am extremely proud of! He LOOOOOVES his Nonnie (na-na as he calls her) so much! She plays with him, talks to him, laughs with him, kisses his ears, gives him baths, rocks him, and spoils him rotten! I am confident that Nonnie will always make sure that Leo is stylin in the cutest clothes, always has clean ears and clipped fingernails, and that he knows that SHE loves him MORE!  Leo equally LOOOOOVES his pa-pa and grandma. His eyes light up whenever Pa-Pa enters the room and constantly walks around the house whispering his name. When grandma is around, Leo is in total control and she is at his beckon call! (and he knows it!) He will play outside for hours and hours with grandma, wearing her out I'm sure, but she doesn't care! She will do anything for her Leo Beck! Grandma will always be sure Leo is constantly learning......something...., always has a strong love for Mickey, and has every beach toy known to man! Pa-Pa will be there to teach him the correct way to hold a golf club, how to correctly bet on the horses, and the difference between a screwdriver and a wrench.

Leo and Cece are pretty lucky kido-s!

 ~Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do. Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little children.

 ~ Grandparents are similar to a piece of string - handy to have around and easily wrapped around the fingers of their grandchildren.

~The simplest toy, one which even the youngest child can operate, is called a grandparent.

High Five (By: Jess)

This coming Saturday marks the Husband and I's 5 year anniversary.

Sometimes I think, "we've only been married 5 years?!?!"

Then sometimes I think, "wow..... 5 years already!"

Whether it feels like 5 years or not, I can honestly say I've never been happier. I know for a fact that my life truly began that day I met Toby.  I knew right away that this was the type of guy that I needed, wanted, and was destined to be with. I just never in a million years thought that he would pick me. I remember when I first met him I was immediately jealous of the girl that was gonna one day snag him. Whodathunk?

Toby moved to SC to be with me about 2 years after we started dating. We lived (in sin, yes I'm aware...moving on...) in a tiny apartment off Pelham Rd for about a year and a half, where we were the only people in the complex who spoke English. It was a cute little place, where we grew as a couple and learned to live with one another.  We learned to be each other's best friend, since we didn't really have any friends right in the beginning. We knew no one and no one really knew us. It was a while before we made some really good friends, so for the time in between each other was all we had...... and we were perfectly content with that.

Our engagement was such a surprise to me! I totally didn't see it coming! Toby and I had went to dinner at Red Lobster with some of my friends from work and when we got home..... BAM!..... all of a sudden her was on one knee in the living room and holding a black box that came out of nowhere! I was so taken back that I ran into the other room! Toby still teases me about "running away" from him, but obviously I came back, said YES, put the ring on, and hugged him for what seemed like hours! I totally didn't cry, but instead laughed! I'm not surprised I didn't cry, I'm not a crier, but why did I bust out in laughter? Who knows! But I did, and it was contagious cause Toby started in too! We held each other, giggling and laughing in the living room with the apartment door still wide open, and then immediately called our parents who were awaiting out call!

The wedding planning was fun. I really don't remember it being as stressful as people make it out to be. I am a very laid back person, so I kinda just went with the flow. I remember that most stressful thing about planning the wedding was picking out flowers. They were asking me what specific flowers I wanted and what shades of colors I wanted and how I wanted them arranged and where I wanted them placed and sizes of bouquets and boutiners and corsage's and how much greenery I wanted and if I wanted any embellishments and so on and so on and so on. That was the most stressful cause I really didn't care, nor did I have all the answers to all the florist's questions. I felt like a rambling idiot, attempting to answer their questions, and finally just told them, "Just make it look pretty please. Here are the colors of the bridesmaids dresses and my dress. Do what you want. I trust you" and we left.  Other than that,  the wedding planning went smooth and all was good in the world!

The wedding day was wonderful! The weather was beautiful and I felt so loved by so many people! I remember my heart hurting so bad because my Dad wasn't there, but I knew he was there in spirit and saw the whole thing! Everyone who was important to Toby and I were there to celebrate with us and wish us the best! My favorite memories from the wedding were my new found Southern friends making the trip from SC to attend, Gene Wood almost getting stuck in Canada, Whitney taking care of all of us and making sure we always had a drink in our hands, Marcia helping fluff my dress seconds before I walked down the isle and crying with her cause we both missed dad, seeing Rosie sitting in the church pew and smiling at me with complete joy as I walked down the isle, blubbering like a baby and trying so hard to keep it together while I walked down the isle, sweat running down my legs as we took pictures outside after the wedding, staring at a zit on Toby's chin throughout the entire ceremony, seeing Melanie cry as I came down the isle, seeing Kim, Shannon, and Tara in the pews,Mark's tux shredding, smiling at Dr. Biery as I walked down the isle, seeing my sister drunk and thinking it was so funny, a friend of Toby's grabbing the mic from the DJ and singing "Amazing Grace",  dancing with my new father-in-law and my uncle Matt, my sister and brother-in-laws speeches, the amazing slide show that Brent made us, Melanie telling me that the "dinner music" sounded like porn music, Dave Bingley's heartfelt (drunken) speech to me with tears in his eyes, and not wanting the party to end but knowing it eventually had to. Such a memorial, magical, love-filled night that I would go back to in a hot minute!

After the wedding we went to Ft. Lauderdale Fl for our honeymoom.  Why we didn't go to a more tropical location, I don't know. I wish we had, cause now we are aching to go somewhere like that, but owell. We had a great time, drank great drinks, ate at some great restaurants, relaxed, shopped, and enjoyed being together.

When we returned home to our newly purchased home on Byswick Ct we took some of our wedding money and bought our 1st child, Gertrude "Gertie" Louise.

From then on, we were just newlyweds! Looking back, all I can do is smile at how much fun we had! Now, life seems cRaZy!! with Leo now part of our world and Cece soon to be, it's safe to say the newlywed stage is....well.....O-V-E-R.

I don't love Toby the same way I loved him when we got married 5 years ago. I love him so much more. More than I have ever loved anyone in my life. I look at him and think, "Wow, I'm lucky."

Marring Toby Rolfes was the best decision I ever made.