{Remembering, Celebrating & Home Improvement!}

Hi everyone! It's been a long time since I last posted a little something so this one will be long and full of pictures. Life has been a tad bit hectic. This past week and weekend, in particular, was a doozy. Some of you know that my dad passed away 8 years ago from cancer. Two years prior to that, his sister Kathleen died of breast cancer. Well, last week, Kathleen's husband (my Uncle Jim) lost his battle with lung cancer. The Horan Clan (5 siblings and their spouses and 4 of their children) put their father/grandfather to rest on Friday with a nice ceremony, followed by a reception at the house in Westchester, PA. Here is a picture of the Horan Clan at my sister's wedding many years ago (from left, Jenny, Tim, Uncle Jim, Aunt Kathleen, Jim, David, Pat & his wife Suzanne and first daughter Courtney):

While saying goodbye to my Uncle, I couldn't help but to remember my Aunt Kathleen (who was my favorite Aunt), and my Dad, whom I miss dearly. I hope they are all together somewhere watching over us. Here are pictures of my Aunt Kathleen and my dad, Bill:

The day after the funeral, my cousin Tim (one of the Horan Clan) got married at the Golden Inn in Avalon, NJ. It was nice to see all of my cousins and their kids celebrating, even after the unfortunate loss of their father the previous week. What an emotional roller coaster they have all been through. The weather didn't allow Tim & Kelly to have the waves and sand as a backdrop for their vows, but it was sweet nonetheless. Here is a picture of my sister, Tracy, and I having fun with the camera...she's got food in her mouth:

The next day was Mother's Day, my very first! Cooper wore an adorable little sweatshirt embroidered with the words "I LOVE MOMMY", which was made by his Grammy (Jeff's mom). Here's a couple pics:

We all went out to a nice Mother's Day Brunch where we stuffed our faces with everything from french toast to seafood. Jeff has a "secret" Etsy account and he bought me a wonderful picture frame made out of reclaimed wood and other found objects by Reart.


I can't go onto her shop to browse because I don't want to be tempted to look at her feedback to see what Jeff's username is. He says if I peek, I'll never get another Etsy gift again! Big meany! I'll fill the frame with a nice picture of Cooper for my desk when I go back to work. He also got me a beautiful photo necklace from Simply U Boutique, another Etsy seller. Both gifts had a "key to my heart" theme, and that is definitely fitting since Cooper is, well, just that!

Both Jeff and Cooper gave me cards, and if you can believe it, Cooper signed his own name...interesting. That kid sure is talented. My sister gave me a funny card and a pretty nightie...we don't like to call them night gowns due to the images of ugly flannel ruffles and lace that the word evokes. It's feminine, but not too old fashioned or too sexy. Not posting a pic of me in it, sorry. :) My sister is the best and she's made me a better mom to Cooper. I've learned a lot from her these last 9 months. I am so glad she had two boys before Cooper came along.

In the middle of all of this remembering and celebrating we are having every single window in our house replaced with brand spankin' new ones. The workmen were here last Thursday and then the rain came. So they resumed work yesterday, and hopefully they'll finish up today.

Cooper is napping upstairs among the sawing, hammering, and drilling. Don't know how that kid does it but I'm sure thankful he's such a good sleeper. Also, we had brand new master bedroom furniture delivered on Friday. I personally, have never in my life had new furniture, even as a kid. My mom bought a used crib that she sanded and refinished because, apparently, the previous owner was a beaver and gnawed on the wooden posts! Then I had a white four poster bed handed down to me from my sister, and then after that, I had an antique looking set that we got from an elderly person that knew my grandmother, if I remember correctly. Then, I got my grandmother's old set and that is now in the garage waiting for one lucky Craigslist browser to claim! If I can't sell it, it's going on freecycle.org for sure! Here's the new dresser and end table. I got an armoire, which I absolutely love!

Well, today is another beautiful spring day so hopefully Cooper and I can get out and go for a nice walk to enjoy it. After the windows are done, I can finally get my house back in order by moving the furniture back into place and pressing my drapes and hanging them up. The windows look awesome so far. I chose to have the bottom window clear with the top having the panes. I think I am only one of two houses in the neighborhood that did them that way but a lot of the older homes that I love in Moorestown have windows in that style so I wanted to mimic that look. It really opens up the rooms and it's nice to have an unobstructed view of my yard, especially the bird feeders and flowers.

Whew, that was a long post...thanks for checking out my blog. Take care everyone, and have a great day!