John’s Family at Our Wedding

John is the product of two Irish immigrants who met and fell in love in America. John grew up in a humble home in the city and grew to appreciate all that family life offered. His father deceased when he was age 15 which left a strong sense of loyalty and devotion to family in his heart. Granny Mary held the family together and instilled a strong sense of work and family in her crew. All the grandkids love her accent and even try to copy it. He and his twin brother David, broke the record at the hospital for being delivered as the largest twins! David and his wife, Vicki have two, little girls, Ashley and Kayla, and a toddler boy, named Colin. All the cousins recently danced their way with our daughter, Jillian all over The Big Piano at FAO Schwartz, a famous toy store, and then roared back at the animals at Central Park Zoo in Manhattan. John also has an older sister, Elizabeth, who is a reading teacher and is the best baby sitter in the world!

Our Families at Jillian’s Baptism

Monica grew up in a traditional home in the suburbs of New York in an Italian American household. She has one older sister, Juliana, who is her best friend. As children, they played in the backyard for hours and as adults love to shop for hours! The two even taught at the same elementary school for a few years. Aunt Julie and Uncle Matt have two energetic children named Matthew and Brooke. Matthew and our daughter Jillian are three months apart in age and love showing little Brooke the ropes. We love to get together for John's barbecues and the kids have fun playing hide and seek, swimming to 'Go, Diego, Go' in the pool, and walking to the park. Every Autumn we visit a nearby farm and the whole family goes pumpkin picking and for a hayride. The children enjoy feeding and petting all of the farm animals. When Grandma Rose and Pop Pop Tony visit our home they enjoy showing Jillian how to grow fresh vegetables and flowers in the garden. Jillie was so proud when her first tomato came up!

Jillian Hope is an energetic three year old little girl with a huge interest in her world. She loves her mommy and daddy very much, probably just a little bit more than her Beanie Babies! Jillian also loves ducks and kittens. She and Mom have fun doing just about everything- taking walks and practicing on the balance beams (the curbs), singing lots of songs, especially nursery rhymes, and playing pretend with everything from Dora Beauty Salon to Cinderella Princesses. Each night Jillie watches out the window and waits for Daddy's car to pull up the driveway, so that she can receive her kisses, which she calls "kiddies." Dad and she run around the new playroom and play hide and seek. Jillian is very excited about becoming a big sister and has promised to help with everything from reading the baby books, and helping to feed the baby-to changing smelly diapers! She is an absolute love and can not wait to share that with a sibling. As you can hopefully tell, we are enthusiastic about our child and would be crazy in love with another child, too.

Our Home

If we had to describe our home in one word we word we would say that it is peaceful. There are two large maple trees on our front lawn that allow the perfect amount of sunlight to filter through the large windows. We enjoy reading each afternoon as the light trickles on the "Big chair" and enjoy a good book, a glass of milk, and a snuggle. The leaves turn fantastic hues of red and yellow in the Autumn and are great to jump into when they settle to the lawn. Our home is a calm and well organized Center Hall Colonial style home located in a family oriented neighborhood. Our home includes a spacious kitchen, three bedrooms and three bathrooms, as well as, a warm family room and playroom. We have spent many hours in our backyard playing in the "Clubhouse", climbing on the jungle gym, and jumping on the garden stones.

Local Swimming Hole!

While we make chalk drawings on our driveway we talk with the many families that enjoy walking with both their children and pets in our town. The children in our community attend a Blue Ribbon School system and frequent several parks. Also, there are community swimming pools, lakes and duck ponds to visit on bicycle rides and walks. Among the many events that our town hosts are parades, fireworks, and Easter egg hunts each year. We attend a Catholic Church weekly which has both a supportive Mother's Group and a Cornerstone group. We have made many friends at our Library where we attend Story and Craft Time.