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	Hi! My name is Nicole. I've been happily married since September 1999 to my husband Thomas. We have two very sweet boys; Drew, born March 18, 2003 and Noah, born March 5, 2005. We live near Boulder, Colorado.

Tom is a wonderful husband and father. He spends a lot of time with Drew, Noah and I, and takes good care of us. Both Tom and I are Christian. What we believe to be true about Jesus serves as our compass and roadmap in life. Our faith is what gives us purpose and motivates us in all that we do. We believe marriage is "till death do you part," and Tom puts a lot of energy and effort into our marriage and family.

Tom and I October 2001

My Husband Tom on our Wedding Day

There are so many things I love about Tom. He values commitment, and this is reflected in many ways in his life. He is extremely loyal to his family and loves them dearly. He has many close friends that he knows from childhood and college. Tom attended James Madison University and did very well in school, graduating with honors in Computer Science, minoring in Math and Psychology. Tom is a giving, hard working and highly respected person.

Regarding Tom's career, he works for Sun Microsystems as a systems engineer. He is very good at what he does. He has worked for Sun since 1996, and has received a lot of recognition over the years for his talents. During the summer when the weather is nice he plays basketball during lunch with coworkers. He loves working for a computing company, and loves Sun's technology, especially when he gets cool "toys" to play with.

Drew and Dad Father's Day '04

Noah, Drew and I June 2005

As for me, I'm a stay at home mom. I read once that only 4-6% of US families fit our profile of having one spouse work, one spouse stay home with the kids, and no history of divorce in the immediate family. I love staying home with Drew and Noah. There's nothing in the world I would rather be doing.

Before becoming a wife and mom I graduated from the University of the Pacific with a BS in Computer Information Systems. I worked in this field for nine years before retiring. It was a good way to make a living but I was never passionate about it like Tom is. What drives me are the simple things in life - having a happy, peaceful home where visitors feel welcome, and delicious aromas flow from my kitchen. There is nothing I want more in life than for Drew and Noah to grow up feeling loved and accepted for who they are. I want them both to always feel mom and dad are there for them in all circumstances, and that they can talk to us about anything. It is important to me to learn how to parent effectively, to teach Drew and Noah right from wrong in a way that instills a strong moral compass and where they will make good decisions even when Tom and I are not around.

Our son Drew is our joy and laughter. It is so much fun watching a child grow up. Since day one, Drew has been a very sweet, loving baby. He is cautious and gentle as can be, and quiet like his mom. He carefully observes the world around him and takes it in like a sponge. He knows his ABC's, can count to 20, knows many colors, and is brilliant with shapes including pentagon, trapezoid, and parallelogram. He loves to help his dad wash the cars and is not shy about walking over to our neighbor's house to help Mr. Todd wash his cars. Drew is very detail oriented and loves things to be clean. He is careful as he walks, runs and goes up and down stairs. He also has quite a sense of humor. He loves to play hide-and-seek, and occasionally gives his Pooh a "time out" if Pooh misbehaves.

Drew June '05, 2 yrs

Noah, June '05 3 1/2 months

I always felt after Drew was born that I could never love another child as much as I love him, but when Noah came along I understand what other friends have told me, that God just gives you a greater measure of love to give to another child. Noah is a very easy, laid back baby. All you have to do is look at him and he will smile from ear to ear with the cutest crooked little smile. It just melts my heart! We have many days where he harldy cries at all. He goes down for naps easily, he eats well, he loves being held and talked to but he also is content sitting in his exer-saucer or his johnny jump-up. Noah loves to watch Drew, and Drew fusses over him like a little mother hen. Tom and I are so blessed by these two.

Although Tom is from Virginia and I am from California, there are some interesting similarities between our families: Both our parents have been married over 35 years. There is no history of divorce among our grandparents. Both of us grew up in the same house throughout our childhood. Both of us had pet poodles growing up. Both our moms stayed home with the kids. Both of us are extremely close to our dads. Both our dads were highly successful in their careers. Both our dads lost a sibling in their childhood. My dad and Tom's mom broke their neck/back respectively in car accidents, and lived. I know there are more wierd facts. If I think of them, I'll add them.

On my side of the family, I have a younger brother and sister. My brother, Mike Pennings, lives in Ridgeway, CO (about a six hour drive from us). He has two undergraduate degrees from the University of CO; one in Geology and one in Mechanical Engineering. He recently bought a plot of land and is taking time off from work to build his own house. Once he is done he will return to building fine furniture.

Michael and Sylvia September 1999

Michael is an amazing rock climber, and has had numerous articles written about his adventures. A great picture of him graces the cover of the 2001 "American Alpine Journal," a book published annually on climber's adventures for that year. Michael was married for a short time but unfortunately is divorced. He does not have any children. When we were growing up, Michael was always the family clown. Whenever we went out to eat, he would tell these "Belgium Jokes" he learned from my dad and have an audience of tables around him laughing. Michael is adored by just about everyone who knows him. My sister Sylvia lives in Lakewood, CO (about a one hour drive from us). She is very bright. She went to high school in Salzburg, Austria and graduated salutatorian. For a while she studied Chemical Engineering at the University of Colorado and did very well in school. She decided she didn't want to pursue CE though, and is still not sure what she wants to do. She currently works for a global company that makes cooling towers.

My Happy Parents

My parents live in San Jose, CA. My dad is is a retired business owner. He is from Eindhoven, Holland. His educational background is in Mechanical Engineering. In 1982 he started a business selling diamond dicing saws (they cut silicon wafers - he sold to numerous semicondcutor companies worldwide). My dad amazes me in a lot of ways. If there is something he wants to learn,

he'll buy books on it and study them methodically until he masters the subject. For example, when he started his own business he knew little about accounting, but bought some books on accounting, studied them and set up a very well organized accounting system complete with computer programs he wrote himself (that is after buying a computer, reading the manual from front to back, buying software, reading books in their entirety, etc...)

My mom is from Vienna, Austria. Both my parents moved to the States before I was born. Prior to them getting married, my mom was a flight attendant for Pan Am. My parents met in Kitzbuehl, Austria at an "apres" ski restaurant. My mom was vacationing with some girlfriends and my dad was there vacationing with his parents. When my mom and her friend returned from the dance floor, she found the waiter had formed her destiny by putting my dad and his parents at their table. My parents have a picture of them together on this night. Anyway, they danced and had a lot of fun. They spent 2 or 3 days together in Kitzbuehl, met in Salzburg a few weeks later, then got married in New York 16 months after that.

On Tom's side of the family he has one brother, Rusty. Rusty and his wife Rose Mary have been happily married since 1995. They have a daughter Jessica, born January 13, 2000 and a son Jack, born May 17, 2004. Rusty works for CarMax doing something technical/managerial (Rusty has a degree in Computer Information Systems from JMU). Rose Mary used to teach elementary school children (she is a reading specialist and also graduated from JMU), but she retired when Jessica was on the way. They live near Richmond, VA in a very cute, family friendly neighborhood.

Jessica and Jack Easter 2005

Tom's parents, Russ and Andy, are from Richmond, VA. Prior to retiring, Russ worked for LandAmerica Financial Group as the Executive VP, General Counsel. He worked for this company since he graduated law school. Russ' father also worked for this company most of his life and was the CEO.

Tom's Parents September 2003

I cannot say enough nice things about Tom's parents. They are such a sweet, typically Southern, hospitable couple. I loved them the minute I met them. From the time Tom and I told them we are engaged (which was also the first day that I met them in person!), they have treated me like I was their own daughter.

In May 2002 we got the unfortunate news that Tom's dad was diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer. April 19, 2004 he passed away. We miss him dearly. My heart breaks for Drew and Noah, that they will grow up not knowing him. Tom's whole family has been an inspiration to me in going through all that though. They are so supportive of one another and this experience has drawn us all closer together. Well, that paints a small picture of what my family is like. Thank you for stopping by.