Suzanne’s Extended Family at Saturday Breakfast

Suzanne’s family is her Mom, Dad and two younger brothers, her sister in law and two nieces. Suzanne loves being a big sister; it is part of her caring nurturing heart. Her youngest brother is eighteen years younger than her. The age difference has allowed her to be a big sister and a mother figure at the same time. Her older younger brother is her closest friend. He has two young daughters, who adore "Aunt Suzy". We love getting together with them for days at the playground or amusement parks. Our girls love playing dolls, Barbie and school together. We are so glad that her parents, brothers, and her extended family all live within 30 minutes from us. It is wonderful for gatherings to have her grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, her parents and her siblings, together. We enjoy time with her family on a regular basis. We have fun getting together weekly for our Saturday morning breakfasts, weekly dinners at her brother's restaurant, play dates at the park, and shopping days at the mall. Holiday times, we all gather for delicious dinners, movies and playing games. It may be horseshoes, board games or video games. We just enjoy being together and having fun.

Suzanne's family is thrilled about us adopting another baby into our family. They are so excited about another child becoming part of our family. When we shared the news with them, we received the cutest congratulations call from her nieces, who are anxiously awaiting another cousin. They are all buzzing with excitement.

Bill’s Extended Family- Cousins Awaiting the Easter Egg Hunt

Bill’s family is his Mom, Dad, an older brother, sister in law, and two nephews. We are so happy to all be living in the same town together. We get to spend time together a few times a week. Both Bill's parents are retired, so they have so much time with their grandchildren. Our girls' favorite babysitters are Grandmom and Grandpop. We all go to church together and have Sunday dinner together, every week. The kids love going to Grandmom's and Grandpop's for dinner. Grandmom used to be a professional cook and makes the most delicious dinners. The grandchildren get to help her with the dessert. In the summer, we have Sunday dinner at Aunt Mary and Uncle David's pool. His nephews love to hang out with "Uncle Billy" since he is so fun.

Bill's family has a beach house, which has been in their family for more than 50 years. The beach house is nestled between the bay and the ocean. All his extended family comes from April to October to enjoy the beach. This includes aunts, uncles, cousins and their children. In the summer when school is done, Grandmom and Grandpop bring one of the grandchildren for their weekend at the "shore house". It is such a fun place. You can hear the laughter from outside the house. Together we love going to the beach, collecting seashells and sea glass or looking for sea life. We all come home covered with beach sand. We also enjoy playing kickball in the street, taking walks around the jetties or to the Diary Queen. The kids all love going on a fishing boat trip even if nothing is caught. We also get together through out the year with all of them for our family Christmas party, our Fourth of July pool party and birthdays.

Bill's family is overjoyed about another baby joining our family. All the little cousins can not wait to meet this new special baby.

Home Sweet Home

We live at what is known as "down the shore" in New Jersey. The beautiful sandy beach is just minutes from our home. The beach is our great big backyard. We love swimming in the ocean, building sandcastles and collecting seashells. We have many miniature golf courses, ice cream shops and goofy souvenir shops to visit; it's like always being on vacation.

Our neighborhood is a family neighborhood filled with many children. We are lucky to have the township's recreation center within our neighborhood. The recreation center is soccer, baseball, and football fields, a walking track and playgrounds. Some evenings, we walk or ride our bicycles over to see some of the games and enjoy the snack shop. Our town has an annual Founder's Day parade and Fourth of July firework show, our family enjoys.

Our Junglegym

Our home has four bedrooms, four bathrooms, living room, dining room, finished basement, family room and a playroom filled with toys. It is great that our children can all have their own rooms or share if they like. Our kitchen is where we all gather around to make dinner or where our girls love making cupcakes and cookies with Mommy.

Our house is located on a quiet cul- de -sac. Our yard is on over an acre, giving us plenty of room to play. We have a wonderful playground area with a fantastic jungle gym. It has swings, tunnels, three slides, and a playhouse. Around our yard is wooded. We enjoy the many birds, deer and rabbits that come over to eat.

Most importantly, our home is filled with love, laughter and celebration. We snuggle together for movie time in the family room and play princesses in the playroom. We spend dinnertime talking around the kitchen table. We spend bedtime tucking in our children with a story, prayer and kiss. In our yard at different times of the year, you will find us making snowmen and snow angels, planting our flowers and vegetable garden, playing on the playground, running through the sprinkler or in the driveway drawing with sidewalk chalk.