Trip to Rockford

William's Tree Farm

Grandma and her favorite grandkids :)
Just kidding Ann-Marie she loves you too.

All of us at the tree farm
(Isabel stood in for Candice.)

We were able to spend two weeks in Rockford at Christmas time. We loved being able to see everyone and spending time with our family and getting to know Brielle even more.

The Gaglianos were able to come up to Rockford for a quick trip. Frank and Laurie were at the Christmas party so they were able to see everyone and spend time with Grandma. Frankie and Sarah and their four were in Rockford for a couple of days and were able to enjoy the snow at Dad's house.


The kids had a blast!


Aunt Laurie loved the snow...Uncle Frank not so much!

Frankie and his Dad threw the ball around and lost it a few times in the snow.

Aliya loved the snow... for a while.

UPDATE!!!

Hey all,
It is Charity again. Sorry it has been soooooo long! But I am going to try and do a couple of posts to get you updated on some of what has happened here in the last few months.
We took Isabel and Maddie out to the pumpkin patch in the fall. Here are a few pictures.

I will do some more posting this week!

New Baby

We would like to welcome little Maylen Collette Gagliano to our world!! Maylen was born on Friday, October 10, 2008. She weighed in at 8lbs. and 2oz.

Trevor Drew CRAWLS over to
see what the fuss is all about.

Momma and baby are doing fine.

Givonna says she already feels like an old woman
with a little one around! Just Kidding! I just had to
put this picture in it was too cute!

Grandma Rehfeldt's Orange Cookies

Since Ann-Marie's mention of orange cookies in her reading about Grandma some people have asked for the recipe. So here it is as given to me by Aunt Louise.

Cookies:
1 Cup Shortening
1 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
1 tsp. Vanilla
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 tsp Grated Orange Rind
2 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1/4 Cup Sour Cream
3 Cups Flour
Bake at 325 degrees 12-15 minutes

Frosting:
2 tsp. Butter
2 Cups Confectionery Sugar
3 tsp. Orange Juice
1 tsp. Lemon Juice
1 tsp. Grated Orange Rind

Hope you all enjoy!

Hey All,
Sorry it has been so long since I (we) have posted anything. School has gotten off to a great start and I am really enjoying this class of mine. Colleen is staying busy in the office and in the infant room at daycare. We just started a new singles class at church and Colleen and I are charter members (JOY). We had to write down goals for the future and I put MARRIAGE and MOTHERHOOD!!! Might as well be honest because really... GOALS!... I mean it's not like I am going to go back to college and get a degree. 1. Because I have no desire to do that and 2. It is too much work.
AuntJuliet tagged me in her last post on her blog so I thought that if I want to get a Christmas present from her I better respond!! So here goes.
- Four places that I go over and over: 1- South Haven Christian School 2-South Haven Baptist Church 3-Kroger 4-Big Lots - I know it's pathetic :)
- Four people that e-mail me: 1- Grandpa Boehm 2-Toinette Smith 3- Aaron Sturgill( not very often but he just did and it made my day! 4- E-Harmony ( Funny, I'm not sure why! or maybe it'sjust pathetic again. Oh, well.)
- Four favorite places to eat: 1-Aunt Lauries (cheap and good) 2- Rafferty's (Love. Love. Pricey. Pricey.) 3- Taco Bell(I can tell myself it's healthy, if I eat the taco SALAD) 4- Subway ( It really is healthy and good!)
- Four places I would rather be: 1-Rockford,IL 2-Bed 3- In my childhood again(I hope that makes sense) 4- Any place with fall colors and crisp air ( I am going to Gatlinburg this week for Teacher's Convention, maybe I'll get lucky)
-Four T.V. shows I love to watch: 1-Project Runway 2-Ugly Betty 3- Gilmore Girls(Re-runs) 4- Cosby Show(Re-runs)
I am suppose to choose four people to tag but I choose to end the madness!!
Gotta get to bed! I will try to blog again soon!

Disney World

Disney World
( Magic Kingdom)

On Monday we went to Disney World's Magic Kingdom. There were so many things to do and see that we were there from 10:00 in the morning until 10:00 at night.

Allen (Angela's "friend") Angela, Amy, and Colleen
On this day we spent some time with Angela, Allen and Amy but then we abandoned Amy and left her to chaperone while we went SHOPPING!!! Everyone met up again about 8:30 to wait for the 9:00 parade and fireworks.
It was a very nice day outside the weather was in the upper 80's and it didn't seem too humid.

When you are at Disney it is like you are on another planet. It is as if all of humanity has come together. There were so many different languages being spoken and thousands upon thousands of people there. It was a really neat experience.

Givonna watching the parade with her Dad.

All of us "single" girls!

Isabel and I pose for a picture.
You can tell Aunt Laurie has had along day!

Noel finds a comfy seat to watch
the parade from.

Sea World

( Shamu Show)

Hey, Everybody
This is Charity! We are just back from a great time in Orlando, FL.
We were able to go on vacation with the Gagliano Family and I wanted to post some pictures of everybody having a great time.



(Dolphin Show)

We went to Sea World on Friday and it was a hot and muggy day, but after the Shamu Show we were all wet and still muggy but also sticky! I guess when the sign says SOAK AREA they mean it! uncle Frank and Aunt Laurie spent most of their day with the little ones in the kiddie area while us young, single and free folk roamed around and saw all of the sights. We really enjoyed the Dolphin Show( we knew to avoid the SOAK AREA this time!) and the sharks and penguins.

(Trevor Drew Steinbrook)
All of the kids did very well and were overjoyed when Frankie and Drew
won them all giant (5ft) whales. You should have seen us all leaving the park with 4 huge stuffed animals on our backs! As you can tell we had a lot of fun.

Aliya, Isabel, and Amy!

Sea World