So Proud

I have to brag about Jake a little.

Some of you know his past, some of you don't.

Education hasn't been the easiest road he's traveled and he has worked so hard to get to where he's at.

He was recognized in March for all of his hard work and for how far he's come.  He received an award/scholarship from the Student Support Center at SUU.  Out of the over 100 students that are involved in the Student Support Center, the professors chose only four to recognize and Jake was one of them.

We are so proud of him and his accomplishments!

They held a luncheon to honor the recipients of the awards.

Here are a few pictures of the event:

{He let me tag along :) }

 {Jake receiving his award - presented by Mark Leavitt}

 {Saying a few words . . .}

 {The recipients of the awards and the Professors who nominated them}

{The man himself!}

Happy Father's Day!!!

I love this pic. From the big smile on Jake's face, you can see how much joy he gets out of being a dad!

Happy Father's Day to a wonderful husband and father! Jake is so involved in Emmy's life, she just adores her daddy. He is such a great dad, seriously the best. He doesn't hesitate to change diapers, do dishes, vacuum, dust, clean the kitchen floor, this man does it all. I just want to thank him for all the help he has given me throughout this pregnancy. I love you so much, honey!!! Thanks for all you do!!!

Here are some recent pics of daddy and daughter:

Flying a kite

Fishing

And of course I have to give a shout out to my own dad. He is seriously the best. If you don't know him, believe me, you wish you did! He never fails to make me smile and make me laugh. He is a genuinely great person. When I was dating, the guys I brought home had to compete with this guy - I had to marry someone that was just as good as my dad (lucky for me, I married someone just as great!). He was a great example growing up of the way a man should respect and treat his wife. When I met Jake, I knew he had many of the great qualities my dad had. Thanks, dad, for helping me pick such a great husband, even if you didn't know that's what you were doing! You have been a wonderful dad! I love you!

My dad and Emmy. She adores him just as much, if not more, than I do :)

5K

Jake ran his first 5K today! They had a raffle for two free entries at his work and he won one of them. He wasn't too excited about it, but I think he caught the running bug. He did great! He came in 3rd place in his age division! Emmy and I waited at the finish line for him and we were so proud! Emmy was so excited to see her daddy running toward us. And not only did Jake get a medal, he also won a $25 gift card to WalMart in a raffle! Yes! I guess it was Jake's lucky day :) He thinks he wants to run some more 5K's, and with some training (that's right, he didn't really train, just ran a couple of miles for a couple of days) he might come in first in his age division next time. I told him I'd run it with him next year. That gives me a whole year to prepare :)

Here are some highlights:

We brought Emmy's camera so she could take pictures of daddy. She's taking pic's of some other runners here while we wait for daddy to come.

Here comes Jake! Emmy seriously got SO excited when she saw him!

He was happy to see us routing for him at the finish line :)

Daddy and proud Emmy, still holding her camera :)

Jake holding his medal

Our little fam :) That belly of mine is getting big! See post below for an updated belly pic

Citizenship!

Jake FINALLY found out that he will become a citizen on May 21st!!! Hip hip hooray! It's been such a long process, we are both just so excited. Emmy and I get to go and see him get sworn in. It will be a great day! I'm already planning a trip to Mexico . . . (:

Citizenship!

Some of you know that a year and a half ago, we found out that Jake was not a US citizen. That's right, total shocker! The weird part is that he's voted, he has a social security number, everything.

Here's the story: He was adopted from Chile when he was 6 months old and just assumed he's been a citizen his whole life. We applied for passports in 2006 and that's when we found out Jake wasn't a citizen. It turns out his parents didn't take all the steps they were supposed to for him to become a citizen when he was adopted (his brother is also not a citizen but one of his sisters is in the process of becoming a citizen, too). So, since that time, we've been taking all the steps that need to be taken for him to become a citizen. Today he had his final interview/test and . . . he passed! Now he just has to be sworn in. What a relief to almost have this behind us! Now we can go to Mexico together - finally!!! If we can just find the money to go . . .

Congrats, Jake!!! Here's to becoming a US Citizen!

Leave it to dad

This is what happens when dad changes the diapers! He changed her diaper when we were out to dinner, so she had her pants like this until we noticed when we got home. In Jake's defense, there are no pockets on the bum of these pants so we really couldn't tell. It was just hillarious!