Hope this doesn't happen to Elder Toney

Dear Elder Leake,

Beating around the bush has never been my specialty, but I can't believe how hard this letter has been for me to write. I've never had to or even thought of writing a letter like this before and I have no idea how to properly go about writing it or what I should say, but this comes from my heart.

The last letter I wrote to you, I told you a little bit about a guy I was dating. Well, its turned into a little bit more than that now. There is no formal engagement announcement yet, but you need to know that I love him and marriage is in the plans. His name is (name omitted), he's a great guy, and I'm happy. It's been a hard decision that I've prayed so much over, but I know I need to let you know it's over.

You have played such an amazing role in my life and have made the last 2 ½ years of my life so great. I love your ability to make me laugh and the deep desires in your heart to be righteous. You always seem to be able to find the humor in every situation (even if its a little dry humor at times!!) You will reap eternal blessings from the decision you made to serve a mission and the happiness you have found the last couple of months will stay with you throughout your life. Heavenly Father has a unique plan for you and that doesn't include me anymore. I know that, but I feel so honored and blessed to have been a part of your life the last few years. You have the potential to go far in life you've been blessed with so many talents and abilities.

Thanks for sharing part of your life with me. Good luck in all you do. I sincerely wish you the best.

Love,
(REDACTED)

***Note from Jenny: Oh my goodness, I come home from work and I see that besides Richard taking care of our two children he has managed to type up his entire "Dear John" letter. I have no idea what possessed him to do this, but know this...he laminated this letter ten years ago.

Marshall's Imagination

Marshall has always had a great imagination, but since Bridget was born his imagination has exploded. I'm sure this is because he doesn't get as much attention and I'm glad that he can entertain himself in such a positive way.

For Christmas Richard's parents gave him this Bat Cave. He has always liked it, but in just the last couple of weeks it has become his main toy. He has pretty much taken over this corner of the living room with the Bat Cave, his trucks, and his whole little set up.

I just love how he has everything set up. I love how he has positioned the ladders, the trucks, and the people. The other night when I was up feeding Bridget and sitting on the couch I looked down at his little creation and just smiled. This boy makes me so happy and gives me something to laugh about every single day. I'm glad he's ours.

Visit From Uncle Jordan

My youngest brother, Jordan, is 15 and Marshall absolutely adores him. Jordan's Spring Break was a couple of weeks ago so he came out to spend a few days with us. We loved having him here, especially Marshall, and he was a big help with Bridget too.

Thanks to Jordan we were able to get out of the house every morning and go do something fun. Jordan was a champ and just followed Marshall around while I would nurse Bridget and take care of her. We entertained ourselves at Monkey Joe's, the park, the Kids in Motion.

Thanks for a great visit Uncle Jordan! Hope you enjoyed your Spring Break with a two year old and a newborn!




Love this picture...good photography job Jordan!




And, just because I want to remember this, I have to write it down. The last time my brother was here was the summer of 2008. My family all flew here to visit us and they arrived during a week of torrential downpours. Their flight was extremely delayed, they had problems getting their rental car, and finally made it to a very flooded Milwaukee at about 2:00 am. Well, when my parents suggested to Jordan that he come visit us he quickly remembered the horrible ordeal they had getting here in 2008. But, he decided to come anyway. Well, the day he arrived was a very rainy and stormy one. He was supposed to land at 9:00 pm in Milwaukee, but his flight was again delayed due to the storm. Well, as it turns out, his plane had to land in Green Bay! He called me at about 9:30 and told me they were in Green Bay, sitting on the plane, and the pilot had not told them anything! I felt SO bad for him! They ended up sitting in Green Bay for a quite a while and finally took off again and landed in Milwaukee at about 11:30. Jordan said it was a terrifying landing and once they were finally on the ground the whole cabin erupted in applause. What a story!

Big Boy Bed

Well, we took the plunge and have given Marshall some freedom by moving him into a bed! He was really doing great in his crib and had never attempted to climb out, but we couldn't keep him in there forever! Richard and I had talked about moving him into a bed soon, sometime before Richard started residency, but on Saturday morning Richard woke up and decided to go shopping. He found this fantastic bed at Steinhafel's in the clearance section and it was on sale too, perfect.


We love the drawers and cupboard at the bottom because we are using it as his dresser. We were just using a plastic tote for Bridget's clothes so now she can use his and we don't have to buy another one!

So far Marshall has done quite well with his new bed. He sleeps great at night and he's never fallen out, whew! However, his naps are another story, but today he finally took his first nap and slept for three hours!

Man, this kid sure is growing up fast! The next step is potty-training!

Baby Bridget

As I noted in my earlier post, Bridget has been neglected by the camera in comparison to Marshall, so I am trying to make up for it here. :)

Just some photos of this little girl (mostly for the grandparents) from the last couple of weeks.

Please excuse her goopy eyes. She had pink eye and was on an antibiotic ointment for a week.


Bridget's first Sunday at church and first time wearing a dress. I obviously took this picture at the wrong time though, the poor little girl was quite hungry.


Sleeping through tummy-time, not so effective.


Bridget's second Sunday going to church. This was taken before we went to church and this is a dress that I wore when I was a baby. When I was a little girl I had such high hopes of having a sister one day. My mom would let me dress my dolls up in some of my baby clothes and this dress was one of my favorites. I never got a sister, just four wonderful brothers, but now I have a daughter and I'm happy she can wear this cute little dress. :)


I have to throw this picture in just because it makes me laugh; it really is quite awkward looking. This is just about the closest Marshall has ever gotten to Bridget. Marshall's nervous little face makes me chuckle, and of course, you can't miss his bright Easter tie that he insisted on wearing to church outside of his vest.


And here we are again on the same Sunday, but in a new dress. Right as Richard was putting Bridget in her carseat to leave for church she threw up all over everything. We quickly changed dresses and rushed out the door.


A sleepy little girl. I just like how she managed to get one arm out of her blanket. Marshall did that all the time.



And now some things I want to remember about Bridget at just about six weeks.

*She likes to go to bed around 9:30 and only wakes up once a night to eat (hooray!).
*During tummy time she either screams or falls asleep.
*She has started to smile and Richard has gotten way more smiles than me. I must admit I'm a tad bit jealous about this, but I guess she knows she needs to work extra hard to win him over because she's a girl. :)
*Her hair is still dark and her eyes are looking blue. She still has her patch of thick, long hair at the back of her neck. However, she is starting to loose her hair in the back where all babies do. Soon, she will look quite interesting with a bald spot followed by a mullet.
*Nicknames she hears frequently: Miss Bridget, Little Miss, and Baby B.

We sure love this little one and we're so happy she's here.

New Sleep Record

Just wanted to say that last night Bridget had an amazing night and I am on Cloud Nine!

I fed her at 9:20 and by 10:00 she was snoozing and all swaddled up in her bed.

She woke up at 5:15 to eat. 5:15 am. Glorious!

She ate, didn't spit up at all, and we were both back in bed at 6:15.

I then had to wake her up at 9:00 to feed her because we had to be out the door by 9:45.

I am so happy! Marshall didn't start having these long stretches until he was 2 1/2 -3 months old. Bridget is five weeks old today. I am a happy, happy mama!

And speaking of Bridget, we have a serious lack of pictures of our darling little girl. I plan to start correcting that, so get ready for some pictures of our most adorable daughter. :)

Bridget's Birth Announcement

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