~Smiles from Ashlyn~

~Third born~Brown eyes~ Dark Brown hair~

 Ashlyn loves writing notes & letters to her daddy. She often tapes them to the front door, so he won't miss them when he comes home.  :) 

~Happy 40th Birthday, daddy! I love you.... from Ashlyn~



~Richard as Daddy~ :)

 

Richard couldn't be a better daddy to our three children!

In the above photo, Richard's holding Caleb~ our first little boy~  :) 

We were living in Rogersville, Missouri, and Richard was employed with the Postal Service. It was around this time that Richard decided to begin college classes and work toward his Accounting degree.

Antonin came along several months later (the boys are two years and two weeks apart).

Right after Ashlyn was born (literally), Richard got a job transfer within the Postal service, and we moved to Belleville, Illinois. The photo above was taken about a month after our move. It was our Anniversary, and we thought we'd try going out to Red Lobster in spite of the fact that Ashlyn was temperamental and colicky. :)    I can laugh about it now, but it was a challenging evening together.  I took Ashlyn while Richard ate, then he took Ashlyn while I ate. I was SO relieved when Ashlyn actually fell asleep, and took a picture to remember the moment.  LOL!    :)

 Thank God, colic does not last forever, and everyone survives!   :)  Here we are visiting family in Missouri a few months later~

 ~ Richard lending a helping hand~   :)

 Just had to include this funny photo... "Sun's in our eyes, mom!!"  :)

~Our first ocean experience~ :)