It is once again (almost) time to celebrate our wedding anniversary!! Every year we give a gift to each other that correspond to the traditional anniversary gifts and we have been pretty good about chronicling those gifts that we give. Here are the ones that are from June 17th's past and little about each one. 😊

2007 - The first anniversary gift is paper. We got a membership to the Missouri Botanical Gardens (paper membership cards), and had our baby Ann in toe. I cannot seem to find the pictures from that first visit to the Botanical Gardens, but I found this one that was close to the date and the MO Botanical Gardens Umbrella.

2008 - The two year anniversary gift is cotton, we bought each other cotton pajamas. This was also the year that we moved to St. Louis so that Beth could complete her student teaching. Beth still has these pajamas and Casey's PJ shorts are getting ready to hit the dumpster, finally, this year.

2009 - For our third anniversary, glass, we hit the thrift stores and each found a glass object for the other that would fit in our new apartment. Casey got Beth a glass candle stick; Beth got Casey a glass lamp. We still have both objects, but they are safely tucked away in storage.

2010 - For our 4th anniversary, fruit and flowers, we were in Washington D.C. on our way back from Beth's family reunion in Pennsylvania. We got fresh blueberries and flowers at a little vendor. This was also the day that Ann had an absolute meltdown in the morning on the Metro train. We had to get off and let her scream it out. She also insisted on smacking a large pole on the platform while she screamed. it was an anniversary to remember.

2011 - Our 5th anniversary, wood and leather, Casey got Beth a wooden picture frame. Beth got Casey some wooden and leather, hammers for his hammer dulcimer. We had just had Claire the week before, celebrated a wedding with fiends that previous week as well. So, Casey put together a sweet picnic (complete with battery powered candles and Vallergas sandwiches), they went to a little park and celebrated.

2012 - 6 years, iron and sweets, found us on the road once more. This time to San Diego to celebrate Beth's Grandmother's 75th Birthday. Beth got Casey some personalized M&M's as well as a heart made out of iron horseshoes; Casey got Beth an ironwood box filled with skittles (also a sweet homage to her high school days). Beth currently puts her jewelry in the box and Casey still has the horseshoe heart. The M&M's are still occupying their fridge as well. 😉

2013 - Our 7th Anniversary was a tough one because it was wool and copper. Wool is tricky during the summer! Casey got Beth copper infused turquoise earrings and a wool hoodie; Beth got Casey a keychain with pennies from the year they were married and from 2013 with a silver pick that says "Lucky Us" and a wool wallet.

On June 17th of this year Casey and Beth are taking the day off and going to paint plates for each other and for their three our three beautiful daughters! More pictures and updates to follow!

Finding a happy medium is almost impossible. The past 6 months have been a harrowing adventure of family time, crazy work schedules and constant reminders that our sweet babies are getting older. This is a sacred fact of life, but one that can be challenging for a parent. Let me catch you up!

Christmas and New Year's

We had a family fun adventure. We stayed in California for Christmas and New Year's. We got to spend time with Beth's extended family and did video calls with Casey's family!

New Year's we spent with Beth's immediate family and had a lot of fun, although Beth didn't quite make it to midnight. Ann and Casey were the troopers from the Collins Clan and stayed up until Midnight!!

Thea's Birthday and Epiphany

Thea turned one year old on January 3rd! We celebrated on January 5th with the rest of Beth's brothers and sisters during the Epiphany Celebration! We went bowling all together and opened a lot of fun, and some surprisingly disturbing presents (see Benjamin's two horse head masks...).

Lent 2014

The Collins' celebrated Lent this year by giving up various things. Beth gave up Starbucks and Facebook on Fridays. Casey gave up going out for lunch. The kids learned about why we make sacrifices during Lent and tried to give up little things, although it was challenging for them.

Casey took Holy Thursday and Good Friday off of work to spend it with the rest of the family in preparation for Easter. Beth, Casey and Beth's Mom sang in the Choir on Holy Thursday, and everyone went to confession on Good Friday. They also watched the entirety of the movie, 'Jesus of Nazareth' over the course of Holy Week.

Good Friday was spent abstaining from electronics until after 3:00, including TV. We prayed the Stations of the Cross at 3:00 at home and answered questions that Ann had about the Passion and Death of Jesus. Holy Saturday we made resurrection rolls and died eggs for the Easter Celebration.

Easter 2014


Beth and Casey were honored to sing the Paschal Proclamation at the Easter Vigil Mass. It is a 7 minute (short form) Gregorian Chant chronicling the Paschal Mystery, it is also considered the ringing in of the Easter Season. The kids also came to the Easter Vigil and were relatively good throughout the 2.5 hour mass!

On Easter, we all went and celebrated with Beth's Grammy and Aunt Karen and Uncle Donovan. We had a wonderfully delicious 'Thanksgiving Style' dinner that blew everyone away! We also celebrated Beth's Mom's Birthday which was on Easter Monday!

Beth's Mom's Birthday!


In honor of her 53rd Birthday, the whole family watched 'Herbie The Love Bug' (whose number is 53). We also had 'The Habit' for dinner, her Mom's favorite burger joint!

Well, that should get you all caught up! May will bring a variety of fun things including Ann's Baptismal Feast, Mother's Day, Memorial Day and the end of the year performance of Ann's School!

May God Bless You!

Claire's dental work went just fine. They ended up just pulling one of her front baby teeth instead of trying to give her a root canal (I'm not sure why they would have done that with a baby tooth in the first place), but she was a star! The fillings went off without a hitch and she was a wonderful little patient.

Beth slammed her thumb in our car door about three weeks ago. The swelling has gone way down, but it is still pretty black. Just waiting for the nail to come off (which feels like it is going to do any day now). She has been offering up any discomfort for the following intentions. If you could please join us in praying for these intentions, we would very much appreciate it.

1. A teacher friend of mine whose son is undergoing treatment for biphenotypical leukemia.
2. Casey's Uncle Albert lost his step son this past week when he was severely burned in a car accident and passed away from his injuries a few days later.
3. The Hughan Family, who is mourning the loss of Gram Howson, who had just turned 100 years old this year. My Dad lived with Gram Howson for a year when he had just finished college and she was very close to his heart, as is the whole Hughan family.
4. A parishioner at our Church just lost her husband very suddenly. 
5. A friend of mine from Elementary and Middle School just lost both of his Grandfathers within a few months of each other.

To all those who have intentions that you would like us to add to our prayer list, please let us know.

We are very thankful for all that we have and are preparing to celebrate Thanksgiving with our family.

Here are some updates to our 'Sugarfoot' Blog!

Casey
Working for Hertz as a full time Managing Associate, he finally received his Hertz ID (after about 2 years)! He works 45+ hours per week, which is tough on all of us, but he is such a present Dad and husband when he's home.

Our constant comfort and head of our family, he is a gourmet cook and a fabulous supporter of his wife and family!