Cleaning

Cleaning...What a project! I feel like I need a second brain that does all the projecting and planning in order to get and keep a house clean. Being a single person for so long and used to my sister's reminders on what needs to be done in our apartments, I, as a married woman and new mother, can now truly understand why she would get SO frustrated about how I just "couldn't see" the mess. It's right there... RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME!!! I see, Jana!! I can finally see!!!

I do have to say that when I can get organized enough to give out tasks and chores, Gabe and I have the BEST assistants and helpers and it helps that they each have their favorite chore to do. Theron prefers to clean the bedroom, put away his clothes and vacuum. Josh is a kitchen helper and Courtney is pretty good about doing whatever we ask and, even though she probably hates it, she is the official pooper scooper.

Looks just like her momma!

When I saw this picture, I thought that I was looking at a picture of Katrina! She looks just like her, especially with that goreous blong (I guess that means blond and long) hair. Now, it's shorter and a little easier to manage since she is styling her hair like a typical tween queen. We'll have to get a picture out, scan and do a side by side comparison in case I am just smokin' something.

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck

Seriously....take off about 30 years from both those guys and wouldn't you totally agree that Josh and Theron are spitting images? Theron is all about the hair gel, you need to appreciate how much it takes to get a shine like that.

Andy Griffith has the power to mesmorize

I was quite impressed to hear that when the kids (Courtney and Joshua) spent a few days at the cabin during Spring Break, my parents entertained the kids with a couple of episodes of the Andy Griffith show and they LOVED it. Good 'ol Andy with his clean humor, hilarious plots and family lovin'. Even the dog was hooked.

Cabin adventures

(See the snow in the background!!)

My parents own a sweet cabin an hour West of Colorado Springs and sometimes we all head up for a little entertainment, relaxation and family time.

There's even a small hill in the back that's a perfect "green" run. So the kids can navigate without trees in the way.

Sometimes, however, we run into this crazy mountain man who likes to smoke pipes and talk to the black squirrels that populate this rural area. He seems like a friendly enough guy.

Cottonwood Center of the Arts

Today, my mother, Josh, Courtney and I went to the grand opening of the Cottonwood Center for the Arts building. Artists rent studio space and have a place to work on their stuff as well as host gallery events, lessons and parties. The kids were amazing AND they were almost the only ones there during the 3 hours we were there wandering around and meeting all the artists (all 60 of them!) and looking at their work. The center was brilliant and hosted an artist hunt which kept the kids focused and entertained. Besides, everyone loves two outgoing and friendly kids! Courtney even had one of the artists hand draw a portrait of her. Who knows?! Perhaps one of their filled out form will win us a nice piece of art from a Colorado Springs based artist. The facility is incredibly decorated and the lighting was beautiful. They even had a couple of bands playing in the center rooms that can convert into meeting and banquet rooms.

If interested, they open up the building to peruse every last Friday of the month.

Time for a Cuteness Break...sugar-free love

Introducing The PineCone Gang

These swarmy creatures call themselves The PineCone Gang. They hunt for treasure and wreck havoc among the village people. Thanks to an extremely creative grandpa and some killer face paint, these vagabonds looked the part. Seriously though, this past H-ween was definitely an enjoyable new adventure for me. My family and I never really did anything for H-ween when we were younger, considering it was the devil's holiday. So, the excitement in which my dad carried out his new persona was awe-inspiring.

Matt and Jana came out for the festivities and Matt walked the neighborhood with them as the ladies passed out candy in the cul-de-sac...trying to not eat more than what's acceptable. After H-ween the costumes were brought out a couple of more times for dress-up but the swords have been broken, the fabric has pretty much dissolved in the wash and the wads of fake pirate hair on the floor cause plenty of freak outs when I happened upon them. ick.

Engaged

It was inevitable really, Gabe and I got engaged in...oh geez, I can't remember. Late July? Anyway, whenever it was, it was just ONE week before Matt asked my sister to be his wife. Yikes. A race to the ALTER!!!

The beginning of us

Gabe and I met in '08....on eharmony. I know. I know. Why in the world would I, a sexy, crazy gorgeous and brilliant person, need the Internet to meet another sexy, crazy gorgeous and brilliant person...it's easy. We are lone creatures, unique..um, rare? Seriously though, it's hard out there for almost normal people. It's nice that Colorado banned smoking from the bars so one doesn't have to earn lung cancer in order to find love but that scene and even the church scene is blech. I, Christina, had been on before. To be honest, I would go on every time there was a reasonable coupon available, however, I was almost at the end of the subscription and not interestd in EVER getting back on. Gabe, on the other hand, had lost his wife and thought to give it a chance. Neither of us, at that time, knew that God had timed this so carefully and that we would cross paths.

This picture was taken during one of Gabe's first visits with my parents. Notice, my hand was clenched. I wasn't used to being so close to a guy before and it was all very new to me. For those who know me, understand the intensity of this newness. This wasn't a random undertaking... the relationship, before we even physically met, was put through a series of tests, questions, interviews that would have overwhelmed anyone.

I think back on it now and realize that only in God could someone go/grow through that experience.

I had no experience with guys. God kept me naive, innocent and idealist. Gabe had experience with heartache and loss like no man should ever go through. The death of a spouse is like cutting out your heart and watching the beating stop. in essence, He chose to piece two people together from opposite ends of experience.

Intano Family

It's a couple of days before Easter and we thought it would be fun to create an online blog that will allow everyone important to us a peek into what's going on with our Family.