LOST BUT FOUND

I owe my photographer Jessica an apology! When I uploaded the shower pictures, there were only a few and most were blurry. Well....I just up loaded some more pictures I took. While I was looking through them I was like...hey..I don't remember that shower picture...or that one...or that one...

I think there was an error the first time I uploaded! So...here are a few more pictures from our baby shower that were lost...but now there found!

Our travel swing!!! Yeah! Our baby can be rocked to sleep any where we go!......hopefully!

Is that not adorable?

And Booties to match!!!

As you all know Brian LOVES board games...before the shower he asked me..."hey, do you think we'll get any games"? In this cute excited voice...and I said..probably not honey...these will be gifts for the baby not you!

Well.....we did get a game! Our baby's first Board Game!

Knowing how much I love pirates...Jennifer made this Bib! It says:

"ARG, TIME TO WIPE ME BOOTY"
Brian's mom Carla, Brian, Me, and his sister Jennifer...just before the shower.

Jennifer and I just before the shower.

And the best for last...our good friend John and my adorable husband taking gifts to John's new jeep!

THE CAKE WAS BLUE!!!!

THE CAKE WAS BLUE!!!!!

The Mola Baby Shower was a Grand Success!

On August 1st 2009 at 1:00pm Brian and I celebrated at our first child's baby shower. A while back Brian and I had decided that we were going to keep the sex of the baby a secret until the day of the shower. I had come up with this idea....(that I thought was original)....to get the cake dyed pink if the baby was a girl and blue if it was a boy. Then, we'd have our mom's cut the cake in front of everyone. That way.....there was something exciting the guests had to look forward to!

My sisters, Kristy, Kira, Stacey, Connie, my mom Sandy,Brian's mom Carla, and Brian's Sister Jennifer all worked so hard to make this day possible! Here is a look at the awesome decorations!!!!

We spent hours gluing little Rubber Duckies to box's of candy...only for them to fall off!!! We had to hurry up and glue them back on the morning of the shower! They were so cute they all had different outfits on! We wrote Boy on the bottom of one and Girl at the bottom of another. After the cake was cut we announced to rip the ducks off the box's...whoever had the "Lucky Rubber Ducking" (meaning the one that had Boy written on it) Won a $25 Gift card to Target!

Kira put her creativity to work and made our center pieces! She alternated between these fabulous diaper cakes and the cutest elephants that she made from bath towels!

Kristy spent so much time planning the details of the shower...the colors...the invites...and...the most important thing....THE CAKE! Take a look at this! It was the MOST beautiful cake (and best tasting) that I have EVER seen! I can't believe it was at our shower!!!!

The way our shower worked was Brian and I and our gift helpers ate a head of time....and as people were coming in they were looking at our "baby board" (I tried to get a picture but it won't upload) I compiled 40 baby pictures of family, random babies I copied from the Internet, one of me and one of Brian. The guests had to secretly guess which babies they thought were us! Then...promptly at 1:30 we prayed and had our guests begin to feast! The food was soooo good! Fried Chicken, Meatballs, Taco Salad, Pasta Salad, Vegi's, Fruit, all kinds of goodies! As soon as every one sat down....we started opening our presents!

My mom still wasn't sure at this point if our baby was going to be a girl or a boy...so she wrapped up 2 homecoming outfits...one for a girl and one for a boy! They were cuddly fleecy outfits! So Cute! We have a picture of the girl outfit...the boy one was baby blue with little footballs on it...and booties to match!

Next, Brian opened up a gift "just for him" it was from my family....a tackle box filled with things that a new dad would need! (Doodie bags included!!) Now, how creative is that!

I was completely shocked by the generosity of everyone who attended. I honestly didn't think that in this economy and with us being the 3rd shower the church had seen this month that we'd get so much love and support. I sincerely wish I had pictures of everything so you could see first hand just how blessed we were! I am TRULY, TRULY grateful for all the love that was shown to us and our little bundle that day.... Here are some pictures that came out clear. (I moved alot...I was just so excited and squealy that most of the pictures came out blurry)

This was our gift from our friends John and Jessica! (yes, John was there) They were so kind as to get us our bedding set for the baby!

This was a thread! A promise of a blanket yet to come! What a good idea!

A friend of mine that I work with has been working away on this blanket....I got to see it...and then hand it over for her to finish! How beautiful!!!

I must say that out of all the wonderful gifts....one surprised me the most. I had NO idea that my friend Katy knew how to knit...or crochet...(I'm not quite sure how she did this) But, I was completely shocked when I opened the bag and saw a blanket....and TOYS!!! Can you believe that! Amazing!

After a half an hour of opening presents we had our moms cut the cake and reveal the sex to everyone! It was so dramatic! First we took a vote; and then the room got really quiet.....in anticipation....all eyes were on my mom and Carla....we even had my dad on speaker phone!

Then...when the moment arrived my mom held up the cake! (Brian's Idea) right away I screamed..."Oh no! they made it the wrong color!"....My mom gave me the look of death and I said I was kidding! It was funny!!!

After that we announced the winners of all the games and gave out gift cards to various places as prizes...(which I think went over pretty well!!!)

The day flew by so quickly....but I am eternally grateful for all the hard work, money and time spent, effort, and all the love that was bestowed upon us that day and the days leading up to the big event!

Thank you all!

Love,

Brian, Christie, and Joshua Mola

THE BIRTHDAY BOY

Sunday was Brian's 33rd birthday!

To celebrate we had our good friends Chip and Katy over.

We don't get to see them as often since they moved to Chicago; but when we get together it's always a great time!

We started the day off with our Sunday church service. (perfect way to start the day!!!) Then I taught Sunday School for him so he could have the day off.

After service we all came back to our new house and Katy helped me make an awesome dinner if I may say so my self. Glazed ham, mashed potatoes, glazed carrots, and corn on the Cob! (Brian's favorite!)

It was Mmmm Mmmm Good!

Then we cleared the table and played a game called Shadow of the Emperor. It was really fun! It didn't look great; by looking at the box....but boy was I wrong.

(you really can't judge a board game by it's cover)

Near the end of the game we paused for PRESENT TIME!!!! Brian's parents came over and we all watched as Brian opened'm up!

I decided to trick him.....see...for more than a month Brian had been pestering me to "buy him a game" for his b-day. Over and over and over he would "remind" me that he wanted a game. He made a wish list of games and everything. So....I got him some other things and had him open all that and I hid his game in the bathroom.

Look how he anxiously digs in the box; and then pulls out.....Jeans....what a sincere smile!

It was great to watch him grin and squirm as he opened his packages from me....trying to put on a nice face as to not upset me....hee hee...First he opened 2 Colt's hats; then a belt, then a pair of new jean shorts....and there were no more box's from me! He smiled and said thank you....and moved on to his parents gift.

They got him a seriously cool leaf blower/sucker upper!

Now THAT'S a happy Brian Smile!

Monday was Chip's b-day so Brian got him a game....of course...and a very fun one at that; it's called Jambo.

After presents we moved on to more good food! Brian's favorite birthday treat: Grasshopper pie. (no...it's not made of bugs) It's mint chocolate chip ice cream pie from Baskin Robins!

About 2 hours later....(after we played another game called 10 Days in Africa)...I finally gave Brian his "real" present. I was tired of waiting for him to discover it in the bathroom. (Surely if it were me...I would had been in the bathroom 5 times by now!!!) I should have hid it in the fridge.
I didn't get any pictures of him opening it....but he was really excited to get.....ta da....a game called Small World. The new released game from Days of Wonder.

We got to play it last night. GREAT GAME!!!! The birthday boy won and I lost...but it didn't matter...I had fun!

The day turned out to be a success! Happy Birthday to Brian and Chip!

MOVING DAY!!!!

MOVING DAY finally arrived this past Saturday....here are some highlights from our adventure!

First of all we had been feverishly working to get it all packed up in time. We were up until 1:30 in the morning trying to finish up. Then..Brian got up at 5am and I got up at 6:30am and we continued to get ready!

The moment finally arrived when the truck pulled up at 8:45am! How HUGE I thought to my self.....little did I know......

The first thing you do is take the movers on a tour of your home and show them all that needs to be taken. I showed them the house first and they were pretty pleased at how organized everything was. All the boxes were labeled with color coded tabs on multiple sides stating what room they were to go into. I also told them that we had a garage full......they said...ok, no biggy, we'll pull the truck around back and start there.

When I met them back there and opened the door.....both of their jaws hit the floor! You see...I really meant it when I said that garage was "FULL". Allow me to show you....

This side of the garage is filled with all my things that I never got to open or put away from my old house.

And this side is all of Brian's things.....From over the years......

So....yes....it was pretty much full from wall to wall......They guys just laughed at themselves and said "this is going to be a long day" But, they joked and laughed and made the best of it. When they finally finished clearing out the garage; that "huge" truck was nearly HALF FULL!!!! They told me there was no way they were going to get it all in one load like they quoted us over the phone. They proceeded to load all the boxes from the house...

Which...as you can see....was a lot more boxes and "stuff". The Moving truck reached maximum capacity just as the last box was moved in.....and off we went!
After lunch they off loaded everything and had to come back for all the furniture (which...some had to be taken a part to move) By 5:30pm we were on the road again!

FINALLY by 8:45pm all was in the new house....put back together....and put in it's correct room.
So...if you've been keeping track of the times that was a full 12 HOUR MOVE!!!!!!
Needless to say the 2 men who moved everything were tired and soar...and so was our credit card! OUCH! But....at least our backs were saved along with those of our friends and family who offered to help us. I mean come on....if it took the pro's 12 hours...can you imagine how long it would take us???? with no pro equipment...and no big truck?????? NO WAY!!!

I'm soooooo thankful we were able to hire movers!!!! WHAT A BLESSING!!!!

All in all even though it was a long day, it was a huge success.....which, by the way, would not have been possible if it wasn't for my fabulous parents! They were there for us when ever we needed them....we borrowed things, they brought us food....and they helped us get our bed ready and our shower set up so we could go to bed clean and happy! Ah....what would we have done without them!

So...for your viewing pleasure....here is a before and after!

Now the fun begins as we unpack and organize our new home......

And sell the old one!

MY BROTHER THE SOLDIER!

My brother Thomas graduated from the Army on 29th of May in Fort Benning Georgia.
On the 28th there was a "Turning Blue" Ceremony.....Sort of like a right of passage type thing; to signify they were ready to be called Soldiers of the United States Infantry. It was something I will never forget!

They all marched in from the woods divided into their platoons. As they came in they were all saying one of their cadences. It sounded majestic! I tried to video record it on my camera but it didn't work. I wanted to remember that sound!

Thomas was apart of the Echo company. I spotted him out of the crowd even when he was far away. He's 4th from the right....in the front row!

This is a closer shot!



At one point in the service they had one member of the soldier's family come and pin on the blue chord. (I snuck up there too to take a picture!!!!) We couldn't miss this! Look how proud my dad looks!
Yeah us! We all took turns taking a photo with our brother....Our nation's next Hero!
After the service Thomas had a few hours to where he could leave the base and hang out with his family. We all went to Applebee's for lunch. It was so cool to see the brother I knew as a goofy, slouching, all around fun guy turn into someone who opened doors, stood up straight, say yes mam and no sir....but still that funny goofy guy I love. He had a different way about him. One that showed respect and demanded it in return. It's hard to explain....All I can say is I was proud! After a few hours of story telling and pool time he headed back to the base....Tomorrow was GRADUATION!

The ceremony started off with a band; when they left the field you heard all kinds of gun shots and what sounded like bombs going off. The field before us filled with green and purple smoke. Out from the smoke soldiers appeared....they were equally spread through out the whole field. Eventually they made their way up to us....It was a demonstration of all the different weapons they had learned to use. Riffles, grenade launchers, and I can't remember all their names...but one was used to blow up a tank!

(Thomas said that was really fun to shoot!!!)

Next, they had the drill Sargent's come together with men who carried the flags for the National Anthem.
Here is a closer shot of Thomas standing behind and to the right of his drill Sargent. He really had a lot of respect for this man; Drill Sargent Larson.
After they repeated the Soldier's creed and sang the Infantry song each platoon marched by us so we could see our soldier up close. Unfortunately, I didn't get a good shot of this.

Afterward we all got to go out on the field....which by the way, was made from soil that was collected from every battle ground the U.S. has ever fought on. (cool huh!)



While Thomas went back to get his gear....for he now had a weekend pass....All of us sisters took turns taking photo's together. For whatever reason; this one of Connie and I was the only one that would upload. Don't we look cool in our sunglasses?
Once our free weekend with Thomas began....the fun never ended. Unfortunately once the fun started.....the photo taking stopped! I'm not the type to stop and remember to pull out my camera! We did get some shot's by the pool....but I'll spare you having to see us all in swimsuits! Besides swimming we did a lot of shopping at the PX (a giant military mall where they don't have to pay taxes!!!!) And lots of eating out! We also had a game night by the pool and got to hear many funny stories about Thomas's adventure!
This was the only "fun" picture I got. It was our last day when we were all hanging out; Dad, Me, Connie, Mom, Thomas, and Trisha.


It was hard to say goodbye....but it wasn't that bad since we know he gets to have leave to come home sometime in July! I can't wait! From there.....it will be a little more difficult for he will be moving to Italy for sometime and serving over in Afghanistan. But for now....he is in Airborne Training! I know he'll have a blast with that! It was a much needed vacation with much needed family time! I'm sooooo thankful my wonderful husband was ok with me going!