BROOKLYN'S BEST VOLUME 2 HAS ARRIVED!!!!!!!!!!

Wow I actually did it! I made 2 cookbooks!!!

This is SUCH a huge sense of accomplishment for me right now...I just need to have a moment! :o)  LOL  Ok I'm done. But really, I never realized how proud of these books I really was until they were delivered today & I started unpacking them. I'm so incredibly proud of these books & how well they turned out. Not just because they're great cookbooks, but because SO many family & friends got together to help us make them. It's the biggest & best collaboration of recipes that I've seen & been a part of. Plus this is THE best keepsake for Brooklyn to have for the rest of her life! I'm so excited that she can look back on these books when she's a grandma & show her family all the people that came together for HER! So THANK YOU to every single person that helped out with these books. It truely means more to me than I can ever explain.

This is what was delivered today! 500 books in 19 boxes plus 2 boxes of tabs. 

AND HERE IS THE FINAL PRODUCT!! INTRODUCING BROOKLYN'S BEST VOLUME 2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To snag up your own copy (or copies) of Brooklyn's Best Volume 1 &/or Volume 2 see the left side of the blog. You can also write me at merilee@wonderfulworldofvance.com or give me a call to get copies!

Thanks, in advance, for your support. We have 3 surgery trips left to go so we really do appreciate all the support!

An amazing picture day!

First off...some important housekeeping information that I have posted a few other times:

(I do need to make a very quick side note...I need everyone to know that we're still living our lives as though Brooklyn didn't have a nevus. This means that we use our OWN money for anything and everything. We are BY NO MEANS using any of the donation/Brooklyn's Best money for our own personal use. I have said & I will always say, and mean, that that money is being used for insurance deductibles, anything that insurance doesn't pay, and for our trips to/from Chicago. So when I talk about getting Christmas pictures taken this is just like EVERY OTHER YEAR meaning that we save up for them & use our OWN money. I just wanted to make that clear, so that I don't have to repeat myself time after time!)

Click Here to refresh your memory on our Christmas pictures from last November. All-in-all, it was a horrible experience.

So needless to say, I was a little leery when I decided that I would go ahead & get pictures taken again this year. I decided to do them all together...meaning Cali's 3 year pictures, Brooklyn's 1 year pictures, & their late Easter pictures. I'm obviously not going back to the Billings Sears so we went to the Great Falls one.

We left home just after 9am & pulled into the mall at 11am, got out & walked around a bit, then got to Sears about 15 mins before our noon appt. We started right about noon & changed the girls into their first outfits. Cali went first & she was a little hesitant at first, but then quickly warmed up & did AMAZING. The lady at Sears was SOOOOO great. She got them both to smile, the girls looked so cute, & the pictures turned out perfect!!!

Sears takes 9 pictures in their sessions, but I had 3 outfits for each girl & the lady ended up taking 23 pictures!!! Holy canoly!!! :o)  Then with all the enhancements she did we ended up getting about 45 pictures. The package she gave us (with a coupon she found in her drawer) was cheaper than I usually pay. I ended up getting 2 10x13's, 12 sheets (in 8x10 & 5x7's), 3 collages, AND the full photo CD for less money than I've ever paid. I was soooo pleased. The girls were great, the lady was great, the price was great...it was just a great day! :o)

I'm not going to attach all 23, obviously, but here are a lot of them! Here's Cali first:

And here's Brooklyn:

And here are the girls together: