With Tom's Parents at Their Home

Tom is fortunate to have both his Mom and Dad still with us. They live only five miles away which is even better. Tom is the middle child. He has an older sister and a younger brother. Tom's sister is married with one daughter. Tom's brother is married and has two sons. Everyone lives within fifteen miles of one another.

Lisa is also fortunate to have both her Mom and Dad close by. They live fifteen miles away. Lisa is the fourth of five children. She has two brothers and two sisters. All are married and all have children, seven total. Everyone is within twenty miles of one another.

Family Trip to Disney World and EPCOT

Holidays are special times for us. Being the whole family is so close; we all get together for the holidays. The dinner table seems to be getting bigger and bigger with more additions. We now have to put three tables together that extend out into the living room. Our newest addition to the family came in March when Lisa's niece gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. Our most special holiday would have to be Christmas morning. The whole family gathers at Lisa's Mom and Dad's house for breakfast. Her Mom does all of the cooking. Three dozen eggs, three pounds of bacon and sausage and, three pounds of potatoes, etc. etc. etc…. The whole house smells so wonderful. Then we all gather around the Christmas tree to exchange gifts. Then it is off to Tom's Mom and Dad's house for our gathering there. It's time to eat again, this time it's lunch. After lunch we all sit around the tree and exchange our gifts. We truly are blessed with our families.

We have another happy event coming up in June when Lisa's nephew / god-child will be getting married. We also have a very special relationship with our thirteen year old nephew, Anthony. He is like a son to us. He has asked Lisa to be his sponsor for his upcoming Confirmation in November. He had to perform thirty hours of community service in preparing for his confirmation. Lisa's company of employment is very big in the communities and does a lot of volunteer work. Together we walked for breast cancer, walked for heart disease, wrapped toys for the Salvation Army, and packed food baskets for the needy. All were very rewarding experiences.

Our Home

We live in New Jersey in a small town about five miles from the ocean. We both grew up and went to school and graduated in the town that we now live in. The school system is superior and is one of the reasons that we chose to live here. We live in a quiet little neighborhood that consists of four streets. There are a lot of young families with children that live in our neighborhood. Everyone takes pride in their homes and their yards. Everyone can be seen in their yards planting flowers and landscaping in the warmer months and out hanging Christmas lights in the winter. We all look out for each other and help each other out which really makes it nice. The ice cream truck comes through our neighborhood in the warmer weather which is a nice treat for the kids. We are within walking distance to several stores and we have a wonderful park less than a mile away.

Sitting on Our Front Steps

Our three bedroom two bath ranch is the last house on a dead-end street. It makes it nice because there is no through traffic on our street. It is a perfect neighborhood and street for raising children. Our home is very comfortable and homey and is definitely kid friendly - no breakables sitting around. We have a big old tree in our back yard that we just can't wait to tie a wooden swing to. It is the perfect tree for it. Last summer we built a deck on the back of our house and enjoyed having cook outs with family and friends. We have a nice size yard that is partially fenced in. We must admit that our house has the nicest landscaping on the block thanks to the help of Lisa's Dad who has been a landscaper his whole life.