Addi

Florida 2010

2010-03-06T21:27:00.000-05:00

This was the first year that Brian got to go with me to Florida (other than the year we were married here). It was so nice to get away and have time for the two of us! We had colder weather than normal, but we still enjoyed it and actually had a few warmer days too! We went to Fort De Soto park one day and it was so beautiful there!

Family. Friday. Fish. Fun

2010-01-10T18:23:00.001-05:00

Friday night, I stopped by Uncle Fred and Aunt Marie's and picked up some fish. Anitra, April and all the kids were coming over for dinner and Brian wanted to use his new Fry Daddy. :) We had fish, fries, shrimp, chicken...you name it! After dinner the kids and I played on the Wii. Brenna and Senica did some hula-hooping and Janae wanted to run. Brian got in on the hula-hooping and Jacinda stood with him and did it too. Too cute! :)

I love nights like this!!

Wrestling

2009-11-09T21:33:00.001-05:00

Tonight after dinner the kids wanted to wrestle. Both Senica and Ty had BK and Seth working up a sweat! Well, Seth was probably just sweating at dinner....but they wrestled for quite awhile! It was fun to watch. :) The facial expressions were crackin' me up!

Lovin' Life!

2009-10-29T23:06:00.001-04:00

Janae, Brenna, Senica and Ty came over tonight to hang out. Brian was cleaning the yard and the kids had so much fun jumping into the leaf pile!! It was so fun to see them laughing and laughing! We played in the leaf pile, ate some Taco Bell....and of course.....watched Elf! :)

Finished!!

2009-10-27T20:00:00.000-04:00

Yeah!! After months....our floor is finished!! Whhoooo hhoooooo!!! Thank you to my hard-working husband and my wonderful brother-in-law for working so long and hard to get it done! It looks AWESOME!! :)

Fashion Farm

2009-10-21T22:43:00.001-04:00

Monday after work, Brian and I met Anitra, April and all the kids at the Fashion Farm for the annual trip. It was a beautiful day and the kids had a blast! Fall is my favorite time of the year and it was finally a nice fall day! Can you believe how tall all the kids are? I love days like this...with my favorite people! My husband, my sisters and the kids!! Life is good!

Eight is Great!!

2009-10-16T00:00:00.001-04:00

I was sitting at a cafe called the Bulldog. I was in Amsterdam. I was on my first trip to Europe by myself when I read my email...."I am pregnant!!! Brian and I are having a baby. We wanted to tell you before you left, but we hadn't told all the grandparents yet....congraulations, Addi...you are going to be an aunt!!!"

I cannot believe it has been 8 years since I got that email. I cannot believe how much you can love a child that is not your own. I cannot believe that Janae is 2 shoe sizes smaller than me and I really cannot believe that she is just about as tall as me!

What I CAN believe is how smart, FUNNY, caring, loving, artisitc and beautiful she is!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JANAE!! I love you bunches!

Where did it go??

2009-10-11T00:00:00.000-04:00

Where in the world did this last year go? I cannot believe that Jacinda is 1!! What a blessing she is! Her smile can make your saddest day bright! :)

I cannot wait to see what God has in store for her. I cannot wait to see how she develops into a toddler...to see which sister she teams up with to argue with the other two! ;) I cannot wait to hear her say my name. That is one of the most exciting times for me...the first time one of the nieces/nephew say my name! :)

Happy birthday Jacinda! I love you!

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-07T22:12:00.001-04:00

Ty and I headed to the Pumpkin Patch tonight so that Ty could pick out his own pumpkin. On Wednesday nights, Senica has Awana's at church and Anitra goes with her. School has started again for Seth...so he has lots of late nights...so I get some quality time with Ty! :)

Tonight Brian was planting the mums and getting the backyard ready for the colder weather, so Ty and I took a quick trip to get a pumpkin.

We had a lot of fun! Ty wanted a tiny one and that was kinda hard to find. He did find a lot of rotten ones that he thought were very interesting. We had a really good time....and ended the night with some hot cocoa. I love fall!

Chicago half marathon

2009-09-20T19:05:00.001-04:00

I went last weekend to watch Anitra run in the half-marathon race in Chicago. I was supposed to run in it with Anitra, but because of my hip, the Dr. said no running. I transferred my registration to next year. I don't know if Anitra will do it again, but if not, she can take the pics of me running. :)

We went with our friend Mary...who is amazing! We had some fun girls time together! Mary is quite the inspiration! She ran the race...came back to help us cheer Anitra on...and then ran the rest of the way with Anitra, encouraging her! What a blessing her friendship is! Dustin and Stacy were there too. Stacy ran the 1/2 and Dustin ran the 5k. I just realized that I have a pic of Stacy running in this collage, but not Dustin. Dustin finished before I was expecting him, so I didn't get a pic of him running...just right after he crossed the finish line. I will have to post that separately.

I am extremely proud of Anitra!! She trained hard and ran a good race! Way to go sis!! :)

Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Steven Seiler

2009-09-09T00:04:00.001-04:00

2009-09-09T00:03:00.000-04:00

Cute, Cute and CUTE!

2009-09-04T16:05:00.001-04:00

Just had to post some pics of some of the kids. Aren't they so ADORABLE? Love 'em bunches!!! Stay tuned for the other 3...

Jessica's Non-Shower

2009-08-29T22:39:00.001-04:00

This morning a group of us girls stopped by to pick Jessica up for a non-baby-shower-girl's-day-out! :) I love the top pic of the first collage where Jess is saying to Anitra nd Mary "What are all these people doing here??"

First stop - Dream Nails! Mary had called ahead to let them know that we were coming and when we got there, 3 people were working. One-by-one they trickled in until we had 7 people working on our feet. My guy didn't talk, Katie's lady was telling her about her friend dying and Jessica had a lady say to her "My friend had baby last week - very painful" niiiice. :) We did have fun though - lots of laughs!

Next stop - Olive Garden! YUMMY!! I never thought I was a fan of Olive Garden, but the last 2 times I have been there have been with this group of friends and I do have to say I love that soup that we can't pronounce! :) Jessica got some cute pink and purple girly clothes! So.much.fun!!

We had a great day and I feel so blessed to be surrounded by such great friends!! :)

Happy Birthday Leah

2009-08-28T22:26:00.000-04:00

Leah's birthday was this week, so we had a carry-in lunch for her. Instead of a cake, I made some chocolate-chip zuchinni bread...yum! I love the picture of Leah doing what the card is saying and Cheryl laughing so hard she can't even look at the camera. Fun times! :)

Happy Birthday Senica!

2009-08-22T14:21:00.000-04:00

Today Senica turns 5! I cannot believe how all my little nieces/nephew are growing up SO FAST! Senica is starting school and is already reading! She is such a sweet and caring child! Makes me so sad that pretty soon she will be like Janae - almost as tall as me! :( sniff, sniff.

Parker

2009-08-19T22:40:00.000-04:00

One of my best friends had her 2nd little boy on July 21st. I went over when Parker was about 2 weeks old and got some cute pictures of him and his big brother, Connor. Kim is an amazing mother and an equally amazing friend! Aren't these boys just adorable?!

Grace Reunion

2009-08-15T22:26:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago, when we still had summer weather, we had our 1st annual Grace Road Trip Reunion. Brian and I hosted the cookout and it was so good to get together with our friends! I cannot believe all the little ones running around!! Good times. :)

I'm back...

2009-07-26T22:50:00.001-04:00

So - I guess I took a longer break than I realized and I didn't really think that I had that many people follow my blog...but, apparently, I was wrong. :)

It's been too long to write everything that has been happening, but here are some hi-lights...

- Brian's brother got married
- Brian is playing in the church softball league...and is the pitcher. I think this is the last week and they are still waiting on their first win
- I went to the Taste of Chicago with my cousin's Nanci and Mia
- We got a lot of swimming in
- Had a Pampered Chef party with the best consultant ever. :)
- Went to BlueGate with Adam and Mary and saw His Life
- Papa's birthday, April's birthday, Adria's birthday
- Brenna's graduation
- More swimming
- Oh yeah, and I signed up to run a 1/2 marathon with my sister and some friends from church :)

Annual Birthday trip

2009-05-20T17:52:00.001-04:00

Jacinda and I made our annual birthday trip to Chicago to watch the Cubbies. Her birthday is the 11th and mine, the 12th. Our last year of our 20's. The game was a blast!! ;) Anytime you get to sing Go Cubs Go at the end of the game it a good time! :)

Sleepovers & Prom

2009-05-03T22:48:00.001-04:00

Friday night April and I had a date at Red Lobster. :) Brian watched Jacinda and Anitra had the rest of the kids. We ate dinner and did a little shopping. When we got home, Brian and Jacinda were hanging out downstairs and both were happy! :) They both did a great job while we were out!

Janae and Brenna were spending the night at Senica's, so April came down with Adria and Jacinda spent the night at our house. :) Brian was up at 6:30 to go to work and I got up with Jacinda. She is so happy when she wakes up...not like me! So I made breakfast and then April went to pick up the kids.

After they left, I stated working on the tile by the front door and Brian came home shortly after that. We got all the carpet and padding pulled up and then I headed to Goshen to take Mia's prom pictures. Aren't Tony and Mia absolutely adorable?! :) It was such a gorgeous day and they were just so cute!! After pictures Brian and I went to dinner at the O with Uncle Fred and Aunt Marie, Aunt Marie's sister, and Nanci and Dawn. Then after dinner I made my first trip of the year to The Chief. :) Yummmy!!!

It was a GREAT weekend...and I'm beat!

Busy week!

2009-04-26T23:11:00.001-04:00

Monday night we hosted the Bethel baseball team at our house for dinner to give Anitra a break. Nelson had gotten tickets to the Cubs game on Wednesday night and since Bethel's game was rescheduled, he sold me his tickets. So Wednesday night, Jacinda and I drove to Chicago after work to go to the game! :) We had such great seats and it was a blast!! :)

Thursday night, we watched the kids so that Anitra could go to a spa party and get pampered. :)

Saturday Anitra dropped off Senica and Ty at 8:30 in the morning because she had a conference she had to go to, so Brian and I put them to work! :) We are changing the walls in the front room from green to a sand color and they helped to prime it. Since we are tearing up the carpet, it didn't matter if they got paint on it. Then, I gave them baths, because we had paint everywhere, and headed to Bethel for Senior Day.

It rained before the game started, but the sun came out and it was a gorgeous day! The big surprise of the day was Cam and Sam's engagement. Cam had it planned out so well and did a great job!! :) Sam had no idea about any of it and Cam had been planning it since last November. Isn't her ring beautiful?! Sam babysits Senica and Ty for Anitra and Seth and does a great job with them! :) They were high school sweethearts and it was fun to hear his grandma telling stories about when they first started dating. :)

Easter Continued...

2009-04-26T22:50:00.001-04:00

So I haven't been very good at keeping up-to-date on my blog. Sorry!

This was the second half of Easter. We went to mom's for dinner. The little kids had an egg hunt in the front yard and the bigger girls, in the backyard. I couldn't get a picture of Janae because she wouldn't stop long enough for me to take one. All my pics of her are from the backside as I was chasing behind her. ha!

Happy Easter!!

2009-04-12T14:28:00.002-04:00

Happy Easter!! We had a wonderful service this morning and what a beautiful day it is outside. A perfect day for lots of pictures!

After church, we had a brunch at our house and Brian's parents and Seth, Anitra and the kids came. It was so nice to have everyone over! :)

I was telling my in-laws how I would like to have some new floor in the front living room and kitchen this spring/summer. Brian and I have been talking about it and since they have done a lot of home repairs, I wanted their opinion too. I have been really wanting laminate flooring in both of the rooms. Talis said we need to see if there is hardwood under our carpet, so Brian tore up a section of our carpet and WWWHOOOOOO HOOOOOO, we have hardwood! I am ecstatic!! Another project for Brian! ha

Hope you all are having a wonderful day too!

Sunshine and Smiles!

2009-04-11T22:26:00.001-04:00

Today I went over to April's house to watch the girls. Janae had her first practice for t-ball and so I kept Jacinda and Brenna. Adria wanted to go with her mommy and it worked out perfect for her to nap at the park. :)

The girls were great for me! Jacinda drank a bottle, played and then took a 1 1/2 hour nap! Brenna, of course, was on the computer. When Jacinda woke up, I told the girls it was way to nice to be inside. So, out we went and it was a great day to get some pictures of them as well! :) Jacinda didn't feel like looking at the camera, but Brenna was ready to pose!

April dropped Janae off at a friends house and then she and Adria got groceries. When they got home, Adria wanted to get in on the pictures too. Aren't they all such dolls in their pink?!? :)

I am so glad they are home!!!

Fun at Anitra's

2009-04-10T22:15:00.000-04:00

These pics are from last week at Anitra's house. She saw an idea on TV to do Rice Krispie Easter Eggs...too cute! The kids loved it and even Anitra and I got to decorate some. :) Ty was more interested in just eating the frosting. ha

They came down for dinner and Anitra gave the kids baths at my house. Jacinda is such an angel. You can see in the top collage where she is wanting to hold the spoon and feed herself...and in the bottom where she holding the bottle on her own. She is growing so fast!

Terrific Tuesday!!

2009-04-07T22:50:00.002-04:00

Today I felt like I got quite a bit accomplished. I started going through all of my kitchen stuff and cleaning out what pots and pans I don't need. Like the one Anitra said is so old, she was sure it was Grandma Pauly's (from like 30+) years ago. I found a great buy at Hobby Lobby...the "Kitchen" sign in the above pics. I got it for 1/2 off = $5. It was black, so I spray painted it to match the kitchen and then hung it above the sink. I love it! :) Brian made dinner tonight, so Anitra and the kids chanted for him to stand under it and have his picture taken. :)

I called Seth and asked if he would watch the 3 little ones so that I could surprise Anitra with a pedicure. Not, I did not do it myself! Those who know me, know I don't do pedicures on other people (Unless you are 9 months pregnant and happen to be my sister). So I picked Anitra up, grabbed her flip flops and headed to Wal-Mart. It was a nice relaxing hour! :)

Then, we went home and Seth came down with the kids and my dear, sweet hubby cooked the majority of dinner. Yum, yum! :) Anitra, Seth and the kids posed for a pic for me and Graw managed to make it in there too.

It was a great day and I am so thankful for the wonderful family that God has blessed me with!!

A day at the Park

2009-04-06T20:39:00.001-04:00

Saturday was sunny and gorgeous! A great day for baseball!! Seth had a double-header at home and they won both! Now the team is 8-0 at home! Whoo hooo! :)

Kristi and Savannah came to the game along with Kristi's brother Alex, who was here on Spring Break. I asked Seth if it would be ok for Alex to sit in the dugout since he didn't get to go anywhere nice and warm for his break and Seth said that was fine. You can see Alex (in the red fleece) giving hi-fives to the players. The players were so nice to him and made him feel really like part of them for the day! :)

Seth's brother, Ethan, was here for the games too. I love the picture of him and the kids...too cute!

Phoenix

2009-04-06T20:08:00.001-04:00

It's been awhile since I have posted, huh!? Wow, it didn't really feel that long...

Last week I was in Phoenix for a Pain Management Symposium for work. My nurse, Randa, and I went and it was a quick-long 5 days. Does that make sense? I guess it seemed quick, because getting on 4 different airplanes in 5 days felt like A LOT of traveling and it seemed quick because it was all within 5 days...but then it seemed L..O..N..G because we were basically in conferences all day long! After 10 hours in seminars on Sunday, we decided to head to a Cubs game for a break! :)

We learned a lot, walked a lot and laughed a lot. I am so thankful for having great co-workers that I get along with so well, we can travel together! :)

We stayed at the Hilton - Squaw Peak Resort. It was really gorgeous and the staff was extremely friendly!! As a matter of fact, the first day there, I felt a cold sore coming on and I didn't have a car to go to the pharmacy to get Abreva. I didn't think the gift shop would have any, but I thought it was worth a shot to check. Well, I was right, they didn't, but the lady working said that she would go on her break and get me some. I was shocked and so THANKFUL! Apparently, she understood the urgency because she gets cold sores too!

It was very hard to be in meetings all day knowing it was 80-plus degrees outside and SUNNY, but we really learned a lot and it is always exciting to learn new things!

Favorites

2009-03-17T23:08:00.001-04:00

This series of pics were my favorite from the day. Looking at them, just makes me smile! Seth coached Ty the entire way..."Watch the ball...swing" and Seth's face when Ty hit that ball! Priceless!!! :)

Beautiful Weather!!

2009-03-17T23:01:00.001-04:00

Last night, we had such beautiful weather, we had to take advantage of it! We had out the hula hoop, the volleyball and of course the ball and bats! The kids had so much fun...and so did Anitra and I! Senica even got in on the volleyball action! :)

Season Opening!!

2009-03-17T22:54:00.001-04:00

I was so excited that my FAVORITE drive-in was opening again!! So, we picked up Anitra and the kids and headed for some chili dogs and pizza sticks!! Yumm...and oh so healthy!! ha! Brian volunteered to sit in the back seat between the two car seats. The top middle pic is of him once we got to the drive-in. It doesn't really justify how tightly he was packed in there, but you can get the idea. If you have never been to Dog 'n Mug...you gotta go!! :)

Saturday's Sunshine!

2009-03-17T22:46:00.001-04:00

Brenna spent the night at Anitra's Friday night, so Saturday afternoon, she came down to hang out with me for a little bit while Brian was at work. She showed off her new glasses...aren't they so cute!?!! Brian watched the 3 oldest girls so April and I could run to the store and when we got home....he had changed his FIRST EVER poopy diaper!! YEA!! :) Before they left, we got some pics outside because it was such nice weather! Such absolutely beautiful girls!!

Mini-Golf

2009-03-11T22:53:00.001-04:00

Senica and I had a great "date" at the putt-putt place. She is naturally athletic and the lady behind us told me that exact thing and couldn't believe she was only 4!. No, I didn't claim her as my own, but was so proud of her that I would have in a heart-beat! We had a lot of fun, but we were a little bummed that the alligators weren't hungry enough for us to feed them. :( Thanks Senica for the fun time!! :)

Florida

2009-03-11T22:47:00.001-04:00

Last Tuesday night, I flew down to Florida and met Anitra, Seth and the kids for a quick trip to sunny Florida! :) Wednesday we went to the beach. Thursday, we went to baseball games. Friday, Anitra and I stayed back at the hotel pool with the kids and then Senica and I went minature golfing. Saturday we a double-header, quick shower at the hotel and a 22-hour bus ride home.

It was a really quick trip, but fun and I was glad to be in the warm weather!! ;)

Happy Birthday Brenna!!

2009-02-28T00:00:00.000-05:00

Today little Brenna turns 5 years old! :)

It was so much fun trying to find pictures of her to post...she is such a fun girl!

Brenna is such a cuddle bug...I love that!

Some things I love about Brenna:

She loves her sisters
She loves her daddy
She REALLY loves her mom :)
She gives the best hugs
She in very entertaining and VERY funny (see bottom collage)
She is very smart and could teach you anything you want to know about Webkinz :)
She loves animals. Any animal...Webkinz or her kitty, Fluffy
She loves to feed her real cat (this is what Senica said)
She loves me to come to her house and spend the night (Senica again)
I love that she likes to chat with me on Webkinz (Senica)

We love you Brenna and hope that you have a Super-fantastic birthday today!!

2009-02-27T00:01:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday Hubby!!

2009-02-27T00:00:00.002-05:00

Happy 28th birthday to my hubby!!

Just a few of the things I love about my husband:

His generours heart
How funny he is!
How he loves my crazy family
The way he is with my nieces and nephew
How he loves me!
How handsome he is!!! (see pics above...the one with the gray t-shirt!! WOW)
How laid back he is
That he sits down and cuts coupons with me...and goes to the grocery store with me, simply so I don't have to carry the groceries. :)
How he 99.9% of the time does the dishes
How even when he's mad at me, he's so darn cute (like when he does the dishes and 2 seconds later, I dirty some more) ;)
How he is such a hard worker
That he makes the BEST ribs EVER!! (ask Grandma)

The list could go on and on....

I love you Brian and I hope you have a wonderful day today and an even better year to come!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Happy Anniversary to US!!

2009-02-25T08:00:00.000-05:00

Two years ago today, on a beach in Florida, I married my best friend!

I could have never imagined how my life would change after we said "I do." Over the past two years, Brian and I have loved, lived, learned and LAUGHED! I laugh every day with him. He is one of the funniest people I know...and even though I don't always like to admit it, he really is funny! :) We have been lucky enough to travel many fun places together. But, no matter if we are traveling or I am beating him at Sequence at home, we have fun! I am so lucky to be married to such a handsome, fun man! I can't wait to start a family with him and am excited to find out what path God takes us down next.

I love you Brian! Happy Anniversary!!

Happy Birthday Kari & Walt

2009-02-25T07:30:00.002-05:00

Today is my Uncle Walt's birthday AND my cousin, his daughter, Kari! HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the both of you!! :) I searched and searched for a picture of Uncle Walt and found this one from this past 4th of July. :)

Kari has always been very special to me! Thinking back over the years, I realized why I feel such a special bond with her. I was the flower girl in her wedding. She babysat Anitra, April and I when we were little. She was with me when we found out that Grandpa Carl had died. She counseled me through heartbreak in high school. When she had her kids, I then helped to babysit them. She has just always been there. :)

I love that we are close. I love that I can just stop by her house un-announced and we can talk for hours. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE how funny she is. Not just funny...hilarious! As in...laugh so hard my stomach hurts and tears roll down my face, funny! And she's thoughtful, caring and so warm-hearted!

So Happy Birthday Kari! Happy Birthday Uncle Walt! I hope you both have a wonderful day!!

Snow, Snow, SNOW!

2009-02-24T20:05:00.001-05:00

This weekend we took advantage of the snow took the kids out to play! April and Brian went to dinner for his birthday, Anitra was inside taking care of Jacinda and Seth and I had snow duty. :) Seth and I both realized how out of shape we are...that's hard work pulling sleds around!! We had fun...and the kids loved it!! :)

Happy Birthday Brian!!

2009-02-21T14:00:00.001-05:00

Today is my brother-in-law's birthday. Happy Birthday Brian!! I am so glad that you are part of our family...it's always fun when you are around. :) Thank you for taking such good care of my sister and all the girls!! I am so proud of you...finding out what you wanted to do and working so hard to accomplish your dreams! Love you!! Happy Birthday!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-14T22:04:00.000-05:00

My flowers...and newest Angel. :) Thanks honey!!

Uprising Valentine Party

2009-02-14T21:57:00.000-05:00

On Valentine's Day, we went over to Matt and Nicole's for a Fondue Night. We had cookie decorating for the kids and Valentine B-I-N-G-O! :) The kids had a lot of fun...and we did the adults! Thanks to Matt and Nicole for opening up their home. We had a great night!! :)

Madison's Soccer

2009-02-13T22:47:00.000-05:00

Tonight after work, Brian and I met at the indoor soccer place to watch Madison play. Now, I don't know much about soccer, but Brian was yelling like it was our child out there! I took pictures and he "coached" from under his breath. The game ended with Madison scoring a goal! :) Way to go Madison!! :)

My little Cubbie!

2009-02-08T22:55:00.001-05:00

The kids still aren't feeling well...so we took turns going to church today so someone could stay home and take care of them. I got the "shift" that included getting them dressed. Well, since it is a little warmer out, I couldn't wait to get Ty's Cubs outfit on him! :) I gave him my "cubbie" bear and my hat.

He loves Senica's baby dolls, so maybe he will start carrying Cubbie instead. You can see in the picture of him with Seth, his medicine was starting to wear off and he wasn't feeling so well again.

Get better soon buddy! Love you!

Christmas...one last time

2009-02-08T22:35:00.001-05:00

Yes, on February 1st, we had our final Christmas! :) Thanks Bob for coming over and celebrating with us!

Please take me home!!!

2009-01-30T20:15:00.000-05:00

So Anitra called me today and said that there has been a cat in their backyard for the last 3 days. He was crying non-stop and cold and hungry and Anitra did not want him. They were going to take him to the shelter or I could have him. Hmmmm....well, I stopped on the way home to check him out. Sure enough, he was freezing, but not hungry anymore because Brian had gone down to Anitra's with some food for him. Senica's eyes were red because she had been crying because she wanted to keep him! Anitra told her that maybe I would keep him and Senica said that it could be her cat that just lived at my house. No pressure there, right??!! I told Senica we would see how Graw liked him and if they could get along, I would keep him.

Well, we loaded him up in the carrier and took him home and sure enough, Graw HATES him. No love at all!! I let the kitty be in the kitty room and locked Graw out, so the kitty could eat without getting growled at. He ate, drank water and even went into the little box and went potty. Obviously, this was someone's cat! Since he has been hanging out at Anitra's for so long, I am sure someone just dumped him off.

Well, we let them roam the house together and neither one would stop growling. So, we put a space heater in the garage with blankets, a kitty litter box and a food and water dish. That lasted for about 30 minutes. I couldn't stand to let him out there....so, we brought him back in. The kitty went upstairs with me and Graw stayed downstairs with Brian. He jumped up on the bed and curled up in a ball on the blanket and took a nap. He's so loving!!

The kitty went downstairs and we thought maybe they would get along...the kitty was sleeping on the couch and Graw crept up on him and swatted the kitty right on the head.

So......my heart is breaking, but we can't keep this kitty. Does anyone want him??? He is super sweet and responds to "here kitty, kitty, kitty" (awwwww) He is good with kids too because Ty was jumping and yelling and it didn't phase him at all!

If no one wants him, we are going to have to take him to Pet Refuge! :(

Happy Birthday Mom!!

2009-01-27T11:47:00.001-05:00

Today we are celebrating my mom's birthday! It's a lot harder to find pictures of her than it is the kids. She is usually cooking or
"behind the scenes" when we all get together. My mom is a wonderful mother and an amazing Grandma. She is full of life and is always, always making me laugh! I have been blessed with a wonderful family and it all started with my mom!

Happy Birthday Mom! I love you!

Happy Birthday Ty!!!

2009-01-24T14:24:00.001-05:00

Wow! I cannot believe that Ty is 2 already! It feels like it was not that long ago I was driving Senica to the hospital to meet her brother. I can remember how excited we both were! Excitement would be a good word to describe what he has brought to our lives!

Ty, we love you so much and we can't wait to see what new adventures you are going to take us on in the coming year!

Some of my favorite things about Ty:

They way he says "Addi"
How when he's really tired, he loves to cuddle with me
When he prays
Those blue, blue eyes
How he "growls" for no reason (none of the girls would do this)
How he calls Brian - "Bay" for BK
How when I walk in the door, he smiles and runs to me like he hasn't seen me in months!
His kisses! :)

Happy Birthday buddy!! We love you!

Visit to the ER

2009-01-18T18:39:00.001-05:00

Last night Brian was working on some of our pipes that have ice in them. He was sitting on the kitchen floor, hunched over, one leg out, one leg in...are you getting the picture? Not very good ergonomic working conditions. He had the kitchen snake, yes, THE snake and was shoving it through the pipes. He was using such force that felt something painful in his lower right back. He thought he would just take a break and go at it again in a few minutes. I was in the living room with Janae and Senica when we heard him crying out in pain. He was on the floor saying that he hurt his back!

I asked if we could get him anything or what we could do and he just wanted us to let him lay there. I got the kids in bed and by now he was on the couch. I asked if he needed anything and he said he was ok, but I put a little heat pack on his back. I went to bed and told him if he needed me to just call for me. His pain then was at a 7.

He woke me up a little before 6 telling me that yes, he did want me to take him to the ER. Now, my husband has a high pain tolerance and really hates hospitals...so for him to say this, I knew he was in pain! His pain then was at a 9.

So I called Anitra and asked her if she could come get the girls. Then, I woke up Janae, Brenna and Senica and told them what was going on. Janae said, "Well, we better start praying" Isn't that so sweet?! So I got the girls coats on and Seth came and picked them up. He also helped Brian to the car because I had no way of helping him myself. So thanks Seth!

We went to the Goshen ER because I wanted to know that he was getting good care. I was glad we decided that b/c one of his best friends dads was working in the ER and so that helped Brian a little. Then, when they came to take x-rays, it was someone that I used to work with and she said I could go back with him when she took his x-rays. I felt much better knowing he was going to be taken care of.

The doc said nothing showed on the x-rays, which I figured he would say. They gave Brian some Phenergan, Valium and Dilaudid. He was pretty loopy after that...yes, that is when I took his pics with my camera phone. They sent us home with some pain medicine and muscle relaxers and said to rest until Tues. and then follow up with the family doc, who should order an MRI at that point if Brian isn't feeling better. He said no work or physical labor at least on Mon/Tues.

When we got home, I got him upstairs and into bed. He's been there ever since.

Please keep him in your prayers. And me too...I am not used to my husband being laid up, and I still have pipes under the sink that have been taken apart and not put together. So, tomorrow I need a plumber to come to the house and fix it. Sigh...

Oh and please pray for Senica too....Anitra called me when we were at the hospital and said that Senica threw up before they made it out the door for church. ugh!

Sleepovers and Swim Meets

2009-01-18T17:51:00.003-05:00

Friday night I picked up Janae and Brenna for a sleepover. When we stopped to get Senica, Ty stood at the door saying "I go Addi's", so he came too! You know me...I couldn't leave him behind! We had a good time! The kids played and played.

Saturday morning we got up and had breakfast, the usual pancakes, eggs, sausage and has browns. After breakfast, Ty had a really yukky I'll-spare-you-the-details-diaper and so we called Anitra to come and pick up him. Then the girls and I got bundled up and headed to Goshen to watch our cousin, Mia, swim. We really enjoy watching her compete. She is such a good swimmer and it is so fun to hear the 3 little ones yelling "Go Mia!, Go, Mia!!" After the meet, we went down to the cafeteria to have some cake and punch with the team, b/c it was Senior Day. The girls got to hang out with Haylie, another cousin, and take some pics with Mia too. :) They had so much fun!!

When we were leaving, there was a wrestling match going on so we stopped and watched for a little bit. Our cousin's nephew was wrestling and we were going to try and stay to watch, but the girls were starting to get "wrest-less". :) At one point I turned around and Brenna was in a wrestling stance, trying to slap Senica like some of the boy-wreslters were doing and Senica was saying "Brenna, I don't think this is a really good idea!" ha!

So we got loaded back up in the car and stopped by my Aunt Jeannie's house. The girls call her Grandma Jeannie. :) She got out the coloring books, crayons, construction paper and scissors and glue so the girls to do some projects. Brenna of course, went in the computer room to play on her Webkinz. :) I laid down on her couch, and just like my Grandma Pauly's old couch, I was out! Thanks so much Aunt Jeannie for entertaining the girls and letting me have a cat nap!

Then we headed to Grandma Pottenger's for our Christmas with her. (bottom collage) We ate dinner, the kids played, the adults talked and then we exchanged gifts. We laughed so hard at Grandma trying to mimick Anitra doing excercises! ha!! We had a wonderful time...thanks Grandma!

It was decided at Christmas, that Janae, Brenna and Senica would come back and spend the night at our house because today we were supposed to have Christmas with Bob at our house after church. Brenna was asleep by the time we got home and I put her right into bed. Janae and Senica stayed up for a little while with Janae reading Junie B. Jones to Senica and teaching her how to spell and right new words. Just like both of their moms used to teach me whatever they were learning in school. :)

Boy's night/Girl's night

2009-01-11T15:00:00.000-05:00

Last night some guys got together to go to the ND Hockey game. The ladies headed over to the Grassman's house! We had salad, yummy lasagna, and rice krispie bars! For once, Senica was out numbered by all the boys!! We missed baby Addie, oh and you too Stacy! ;) Thanks Sarah for hosting!

Sorry Matt...another post, but how cute are your boys?? :)

Blue-eyed boys!

2009-01-10T16:57:00.001-05:00

Last night on my way home from work, as I was driving by Seth and Anitra's, there was Ty and his daddy shoveling the driveway. I stopped to say hi because I was having Ty withdrawal. I hadn't seen him in 3 days!! Well, when I bent down to see him, he was shivering...a constant shiver! Anitra and Senica were taking a nap and so I told Seth I would take him down to our house to warm him up! :) We had hot chocolate and watched Uncle "Bay" (That is how Ty says B-K) from inside the front window where it was warm! :)

Please ignore Ty's runny nose, no matter how many times I wiped it before a picture, it was back before I could snap the shot! ugh! Anyway, I still love that middle pic with my blue eyed-boys! Brian's tinted glasses kinda hide his. :(

**Update

2009-01-09T11:35:00.002-05:00

Brian just got off of the phone with his dad and he said that they ended up amputating his pinky toe and most of the toe next to it. It seems like they got the infection out, but are going to run labs in the coming days to make sure. They are looking at next Tuesday for a discharge date. He is getting a PICC line inserted today so that he can continue his antibiotics at home.

Thank you for your prayers so far, please keep them coming. :)

PRAYER REQUEST

2009-01-08T11:08:00.002-05:00

Brian's dad has recently been having problems with his foot. This week, he agreed to go to the dr. and they admitted him to the VA hospital in Indy. He has an infection in the bone in his foot and a broken toe. To make matters worse, his blood sugars are running extremely high. He is scheduled for surgery today at 3:00pm. They are going to try and scrape out the infection. Please keep him and Brian's mom and brother in your prayers as well as Brian. He is having a very hard time with all of this...it's hard to see your parents hurting.

Thanks for the prayers!! I will keep you update!

Overnight guests

2009-01-05T23:11:00.001-05:00

Seth had to go to San Diego for a baseball deal, so Brian and I had overnight guests, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. We loved having Anitra, Senica and Ty over during our break. Senica slept downstairs with me every night and we had a lot of fun! She likes to watch all the wedding shows on WE with me! :) I loved it! Ty was very entertaining for Brian too. I don't know how many times he said to me...I love that kid!! Ty is in a very funny stage right now. He had us laughing non-stop!!

Senica can't stop singing "I'm getting nuttin' for Christmas" and Ty couldn't stop singing "Santa Claus is coming to Town" Each of them only sang pretty much one-line from each song, so this morning I woke up with both those songs in my head.

I can still hear Senica...."I tied a knot is Susie's hair, somebody snitched on me....I tied a knot in Susie's hair, somebody snitched on me....over and over. :)

Miss you guys already! :)

Pizza and game night

2009-01-03T22:49:00.000-05:00

Our friends, Mike and Sarah, had some people over for a game night this weekend. We had so much fun and a LOT of laughs. My sister is crazy and sometimes, on rare occasions, still shocks me! :) The kids had a great time playing and Senica and Ty really enjoyed getting "tossed" into the bean bag! Little Luke is on the move. That top, middle pic is of him, soooo close to taking off!! :) Senica Loves holding baby Addie too! :)

I love the bottom collage of the adults playing. Anitra looks like she is directing the planes on the runway...and Dustin's facial expressions are still making me laugh! The wives really enjoyed buzzing their husbands too! Great night!!! Thanks Mike, Sarah and Luke for having us over.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T19:41:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year everyone! Brian and I had April and the girls and Anitra, Seth and the kids over for New Year's Eve. The kids played in the play room and then watched a movie (1/2 of it). Brian and Seth went to the store to run errands. It gave us sisters time to hang out and talk. I love days like that...just spending time with my sisters. :)

Seth had to leave early in the morning, so Anitra, Seth, April, Ty, Adria and Jacinda left before mid-night to spend the night at Anitra's house. Brian and I kept Janae, Brenna and Senica. The girls and I slept downstairs. They all made it to mid-night. Then the fireworks started. We opened up the window so the girls could try and see them. We couldn't see them, but we sure could hear them! :)

The next morning, everyone came back down for breakfast. We had a wonderful night/morning! :)

Missing this...

2008-12-29T20:27:00.001-05:00

Was our last full day in Mexico really a week ago?? I miss this!

Fun with the Girls!

2008-12-28T22:14:00.001-05:00

Yesterday morning, April called to see if I would watch the girls so she could go shopping. Well...of course!! I didn't get to see them on Christmas, so I was happy to spend the morning/afternoon with them! :)

It's a little hard to take pictures with four kids 7 and younger, so I let Janae take some for me! Didn't she do a good job? She took all of these pics, except the one of her. Isn't she talented!?? :)

We had a lot of fun and they were so good for me!! Adria is quite busy and into everything...she is very quick too. Jacinda is so sweet and fell asleep right in my arm. Janae and Brenna each got a Nintendo DS for Christmas, so they played with those for a while. We also printed some pictures for Janae for her new scrapbook.

April found some good buys....great day for everyone!! :)

Thanks girls for coming over...I had so much fun with you!

Christmas & Birthday

2008-12-27T22:39:00.001-05:00

Tonight we had Christmas with Brian's side of the family. Talis & Linda and Andrew and Katie came to our house for dinner and presents. Today is also Talis' birthday, so I made him a cake to celebrate too! :)

Brian and I got Red Lobster gift certificates from Andrew and Katie. Brian also got a real nice shirt..and his favorite...a Wii, WWII game! I got two different Willow Trees. One is a figurine and one was a Memory box! :) I also got a tart burner, but it's electric, not by candles. I love it....it is literally smelling our whole house with the scent of Mulberry as I type! Mmmmmm!! :)

See where Graw is laying on Linda?? It should be noted that she is NOT a cat person!! Doesn't like their tails. :) I told her she could put him on the ground, but she just let him lay. She's too sweet!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

2008-12-25T23:50:00.000-05:00

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!! Happy Birthday Jesus!! :)

Christmas morning...

2008-12-25T11:46:00.000-05:00

Anitra and Seth had us down for Christmas morning. They always have a birthday party for Jesus with pancakes and we read the Christmas story. Then we get to watch the kids open gifts...Always fun! :) Senica got a hair salon and Ty got a dump truck.

2008-12-25T11:45:00.000-05:00

Christmas Eve Christmas

2008-12-24T00:03:00.000-05:00

April had all of us over for our annual Christmas on Christmas Eve! :) I will just let the pictures tell the story...the kids got lots of gifts and I think they all were very happy!! :) Somehow, I missed Papa...he was holding the trash bag for all the wrapping paper.

Super powers

2008-12-23T23:59:00.000-05:00

The resort we stayed at had many different colors of bracelets. Different colors with different meanings...Pink = honeymoon, Purple = Children, Silver = Palace Premier Member and Black = Palace VIP member. There were many other colors and meanings, but that was what we saw the most of. Anyway, we were black thanks to Dr. P!! :)

We loved the hotel and the service was amazing! We have mandatory customer service hours that we have to get every year at work and I told Brian, I think they should send everyone who has worked 5 or more years at the hospital here to learn about customer service. :) We were treated so great we felt like we had super powers! :)

The only negative thing we had was upon check-out...after the band was cutoff our wrist. Apparently, when we arrived, our guy who gave us the welcome packet was supposed to also give us a time to be at the front desk for our ride to take us back to the airport upon departure. I saved everything he gave us and nothing had any time on it, except that check-out was at noon. So, at 11:40, we get a phone call saying that the shuttle service is there to take us to the airport and will only wait another 5 minutes. So Brian and I hurry and get downstairs and they have already left. So we went to the customer relations desk (our bands are now cut off) and explained that the shuttle left, but we were never told a time to be there...at this point, it is still before noon. After a few phone calls he tells me, sorry, nothing I can do for you. Take a taxi to the airport....it's $25 us dollars. Well, we had left all our money in tips for the maid service, so we had to go to the ATM, which charged us $9 just to use the service. UGGHHH! I was really upset. But, we took a taxi to the airport...and I calmed down.

Once we got to the airport, we had 2 1/2 hours to kill. Then, we checked the flight board...and yup, delay! :( So, we went to Bubba Gump's and had a late lunch. It was a really nice airport...and clean! :) The nicest airport bathrooms I have ever seen!

The was our only real flight delay. We were a little late leaving Minneapolis, but got to Chicago at our scheduled time. By the time we got our luggage, found our car, dug out our car, and drove home....it was 5am Christmas Eve.

The collage shows you how our day started...to how it ended! :)

Overall, we had a WONDERFUL trip!! It was a beautiful resort...with amazing food, awesome accommodations...and really, for all but the last day at check-out, AWESOME customer service!! One day by the pool, Brian and I planned how we could come back with my family! They had really, really neat things for kids to do too! :)

I asked Brian if it was better than our honeymoon?? He said, he liked the location of the USVI better, but hotel, service, food...WAY BETTER! Snorkeling in the USVI was better, but I think it was because we didn't go on the snorkeling excursion.

Thank you, thank you, thank you Dr. P!! We had such an amazing time!!!

Last Day...sniff, sniff!

2008-12-22T23:27:00.002-05:00

Today was our last full day in Mexico! I'm a little sad to leave this beautiful place and wonderful weather...but I miss my family, and really want to be home for Christmas. :)

So today, Brian went and played in the waves...and played and played! The red flag was up every day we were here, but today they let you go out a little further. Brian was so excited...but he did get the whistle a few times.

Aren't those rope swings so cool? I just loved them! I sat there and watched Brian in the waves. It was so much fun. After the big day at the beach, I decided to treat myself to a pedicure. :) I had a 80-minute, hot rock pedicure. It was AMAZING! I was so relaxed, I almost fell asleep! She did the normal pedicure stuff and then she rubbed my legs with oil, then took the hot rocks and rubbed them up and down my legs. She put them on the bottom of my feet too! I had one of those bean things that you heat up and put on your neck or back...yeah, I had one on my neck. After the massage, she wrapped my legs in warm towels and my feet too! It was so nice!! :)

Mexican Dinner

2008-12-21T23:58:00.000-05:00

Tonight was the first night that we actually ate Mexican food. Brian had the habit of putting "Mexican" in front of EVERYTHING!! "Addi, did you taste those Mexican french fries?" "Addi, did you see that Mexican this or Mexican that?" Hence the title of this blog. :)

Our waiter made our guacamole right at our table and it was DELICIOUS and I don't like quacamole! I had fajitas and they were WONDERFUL!! There was a lady at a table behind us hand making every single fajita. She had a little hamburger press and then a little fire with a pan on it. They were so good!!

Tulum and Xpu-Ha

2008-12-21T23:38:00.001-05:00

Today we went on a tour to the Mayan ruins of Tulum. The ruins are located on a 40-foot cliff right next to the Carribean Sea. They said that the ruins were created between 1200 and 1450. The walls were built as protection again invasions. The pictures don't really do it justice...they are so beautiful! Our tour guide (in the white) is Mayan and had so much knowledge. On one of the walls, they built the stairs and then at the top, a window...that on the first day of winter, at 6am, the Sun is perfectlly center in the window!

After we went to the ruins, we stopped at another Palace Resort. Xpu-Ha...my husband was singing all day....Shooo-Paaaa don't bother me! Ugh! They had a place that you could snorkel and kayak. We didn't kayak, but we both wanted to snorkel. The water wasn't as clear because it was a man-made pond...but with salt water. Anyway, all of the sudden, there was this massive manatee! He had to have been about 5 feet long! The guy snorkeling next to us when down and touched him and the manatee could have cared less! It was so cool. The top right pic is of him, but obviously, our under water camera didn't work out to well! :( So, here is a pic of what we really saw...just couldn't capture it ourselves. :)

Theme of the night: Fire

2008-12-20T23:53:00.000-05:00

Tonight we ate dinner at the Hibachi bar. :) Brian really wanted to go for the food and I really wanted to go to just watch them cook. I think it's so neat how they toss and flip all that stuff while they are cooking. I knew from going to Hani Yori's that the volcano was going to have a fire, but wasn't expecting the fire to get as big as the one in the top right pic. Yikes! You could definitely feel the heat! As you can see from the pics, the food was just as good!

After dinner they had a fire and drums show by the pool. It was really neat and put on by some very talented people! That top right picture, those girls are hula-hooping while doing a heal stretch. They never dropped the hula hoop! The guy in the bottom middle picture sang and had an amazing voice and then did a bunch of gymnastics. I was very impressed!!

Hungry??

2008-12-20T16:27:00.001-05:00

Every night when we get back from dinner, there is some kind of food waiting in our room. One night, we had this note for a Honeymoon dinner with a plate of chocolates. I didn't feel right going since we really aren't honeymooners, although, I was very curious as to what the dinner would be. We were honest though and took the card down and told them, we weren't on our honeymoon.

Another night, they brought us those olives in the top left and some kind of creme-puff dessert with strawberries in the middle...as you can see in the pic right below that, they were really good. :)

We did order room service one night because we were tired and didn't feel like "going out". Brian had that rice plate with chicken, beef and octopus in it and the sushi plate and I had that delicious steak, mahi mahi and veggies.

Glad I brought my sweats to travel home in...I don't think anything else is going to fit! :)

Beach time

2008-12-20T01:46:00.001-05:00

While Brian went golfing, I went to the beach. :) The waves were so huge, so the red flag was up again. No one was really at the beach, so I had to whole deck to myself. It was so quiet and relaxing...another great day!

Golf day!

2008-12-19T22:12:00.001-05:00

Brian had his golf day today. A van picked him and some others up at our hotel this morning drove them about 20 minutes away to the Moon Palace where the golf course was at. Brian golfed with a couple from England and another man from Nebraska. Brian said they saw a bunch of wildlife on the course...the alligator, lizards, Mexican raccoon and lots of different kinds of birds.

He said he didn't golf too bad and that he had a fun time with his new "friend", Lee. (The guy from Nebraska) After dinner tonight we went to the gift shop and this guy in the store says - "don't let that guy in here"! I held out my hand and said "you must be Lee" He just started laughing. I am glad that Brian had so much fun. Thanks Dr. Poovendran!!! :)

Didn't Brian do a good job taking pictures? I was so proud of him! :) Look at that clubhouse! Beautiful!!

Isla Mujeres

2008-12-18T22:04:00.001-05:00

Are you sick of me yet? I know it's cold and snowy at home, I hope this pictures can bring you some warmth just by looking at them! :)

This morning we boarded a bus to go to the ferry to take us to Isla Mujeres. The boat ride over was very entertaining! Dr. Poovendran had warned me about them taking our picture and then telling us to kiss and taking our picture and then trying to sell it to us. So I was prepared! :) When we got on the ferry, they were playing the theme song to Titanic. The guys dressed up and re-enacted the scenes from the movie. They had everyone laughing! They had optional tours or you could just relax at the hotel. We chose to relax. I am so glad we did...it was VERY relaxing! ;) The top collage is all pictures of the Isla Mujeres Palace resort. :)

I LOVED laying in the hammock and taking in the scenery. Isn't that such a cute picture of Brian too? I took that from the comfort of my hammock. :) The bottom pic of me is giving a thumbs up for my ice cream! It was so delicious!! :)

After relaxing at the hotel, we got back onto the ferry and they took us down to the flea markets. We got some souveniors, but didn't shop too long. It was a great day! We both had a lot of fun. Brian and I would definitly do it again! :)

Tomorrow is Brian's big golf day! :) Dr. Poovendran got him all setup for a round of golf and he is thrilled to say the least! He said that he is kinda nervous, but I am sure that he will do great! Thanks to Seth who is letting Brian borrow his clubs and golf bag. Brian said this is the first time that he will golf where he doesn't have to lay down his golf bag and pick it up because his doesn't have a stand. So Thank you Seth!

Day 2

2008-12-17T23:58:00.001-05:00

This morning we got up and had breakfast and spent most of the day at the pool. It was pretty busy and we have some good laughs just watching other people. It rained for a short time yesterday and this beautiful rainbow came out.

Tonight we went down and had dinner at the Steak house. Last night when we ate dinner, it was raining so we ate inside at the Steak house. I had surf and turf and Brian had Prime Rib. Both were delicious!! So, tonight we ate at the steak place again...but we sat outside. It was buffet style and then you just tell them what meat you want and they grill it for you. Tonight we both had T-bone. Yummy! Anitra said we were gonna gain weight this trip....and she's probably right! :)

After dinner we went for a walk on the beach. We were surprised that we were the only two on the beach. Not one other person. VERY peaceful!

Tomorrow we are going on a day trip to Isla Mujeres. We take a boat to the island and then we will spend the morning at a sister resort there and the second part of the day, they take you to the flea market. They say it's one of the best tours...I'll post about it tomorrow night. :)

Hope all is well back home...we miss everyone, but not the snow!

Footprints

2008-12-16T21:24:00.002-05:00

Brian and I went for a walk on the beach today when we got here. They have almost no beach because of the huricanes that have come through. Still, the beach that is still left is like powder. It's so nice!! The waves are so high that they have the red flag up...no swimming, but most people don't listen. Brian included!

They have a snack bar right on the beach with these rope swings. I think they are so cool. They were closed when we were there, but I still wanted to swing. :)

We are here!!

2008-12-16T15:51:00.001-05:00

Hello from SUNNY Mexico!!!

We are finally here! Brian wanted to leave bright and early, so we got to O'hare 1 1/2 hours BEFORE the check-in stations even opened. So today started off with me sleeping on the hard, cold floor at O'Hare! Yuk! Then, we got boarded and everything was covered in ice, it took them 45 minutes to de-ice our plane, which put us late into Atlanta. Then b/c we were late, we missed our connecting flight! Ugh!! They got us on the next flight, we made it through customs and found our shuttle (thanks to Dr. Poovendran's great directions)! They greeted us at the front entrance, took our luggage, gave us towels to clean our hands, a glass of some kind of fruity drink and they only call us Mr. and Mrs. Kaminskis. :)

Here are the pics of our room and the view from our room. It is the most beautiful place we have EVER stayed at!! Well, worth sleeping on the hard ground this morning.

Well, I better get...Brian is saying..."You're blogging already!!????" he he

Uprising Christmas Party

2008-12-14T22:42:00.001-05:00

Saturday night we had our Christmas party with our Sunday School class. Our class is so big now, we couldn't have it at anyone's house, so we had it in the cafeteria at church. We made ornaments (top pic), had dinner and played games (middle pic) and exchanged white elephant gifts (bottom pic). I think a wonderful time was had by all! Some of the college kids came and watched the little kids so that us big kids could play our games too! We were very thankful for them too! :)

Engagement Pics!

2008-12-11T23:12:00.001-05:00

Sarah & Steve

2008-12-11T23:08:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving weekend I got to take some engagement pictures for my cousin Sarah and her fiance Steve. They are getting married September 5, 2009. They were so much fun...we took some serious pictures and then got to have fun at Tommy's castle! Thanks Sarah for asking me to take your pictures!

Moving Day

2008-12-06T22:41:00.001-05:00

Today was cold and snowy! And COLD!! Our friends Dustin, Stacy and Addie were moving this weekend and we went over to help!! They had a lot of people show up to help. I carried some stuff, but with my shoulders, I mostly took pictures! We agreed it was much better to move in the cold and snow than in the heat of the summer!

Senica and Ty were great helpers too! They are always good helpers...and Ty had a fit when all the light stuff had been taken out of the house and he had nothing to carry. The kids had fun catching snowflakes too!

Dustin and Stacy treated us to lunch for helping them move...which was nice, but not at all expected! We were just glad to help! :) It was a fun day...felt good to get out and use some of our muscles. :)

T-14 days

2008-12-02T21:17:00.001-05:00

Did I mention in 14 days, this is where Brian and I will be??? Mexico here we come!!! :) Isn't this hotel amazing?! Dr. P let me buy a week from him from his vacation package. Isn't that so great? We are truly blessed....and thankful!!!

Cocoa and Coffee

2008-12-02T20:40:00.002-05:00

Senica called us last night to tell us that we were invited down to their house for coffee, hot cocoa and a fire! :) She knows how I can't pass up a good fire and a hot cup of coffee on a cold snowy night! I hung up the phone, went to get my boots on and she called back. She had to tell me that if we wanted cocoa and coffee, we had to bring it . They would have the fire though. :) So, Brian and I headed down with coffee and cocoa in hand! :) It was such a nice relaxing night! As you can see, I even got some services from Senica's Salon! Ty did some "grilling" for us, shirtless even. The big news though...Ty showed us his brand new big boy bed! He's doing a great job in it!

O Christmas Tree

2008-11-29T17:54:00.001-05:00

It was so nice out today, so Brian and I headed to Goshen to Wilfong's to get our Christmas tree. It took us less time to pick out our tree that it did at Meijer to pick out what ornaments we wanted for the tree! :)

Thankful!

2008-11-28T20:25:00.001-05:00

I have so many things to be thankful for this year! Actually, every year, but this year, I think I am more aware of it.

First, I am thankful I have such a loving God that always provides! I am thankful for such a wonderful husband. To name a few...he runs to Goshen at 11:00pm at night when I realize my pump is empty and my insulin is waiting at the pharmacy, when I get home from the grocery store, he meets me in the garage to help carry stuff in, he does the dishes 98% of the time! Need I say more...the dishes! :)

I am thankful for my family! I am thankful for my parents, my sisters and their husbands, and my ADORABLE nieces and nephews! No matter what my mood is, they always make me smile!

I am thankful for our jobs. There are so many people that have lost their jobs and Brian has had to deal with this first-hand, so we both realize how fortunate we are that we are still employed.

Thursday, my family came over and we celebrated Thanksgiving. We had lots of food and fun! Grandma came over and brought Floy. It was wonderful to have her join our family celebration.

Tonight, Brian's parents came over and we had dinner and a nice time with them. Lots of laughs!! :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T17:16:00.001-05:00

I got this picture in a text message today from my brother. My caption for this is..."Yuk! No turkey for me!" :)

Flower girl

2008-11-22T19:53:00.001-05:00

Today Senica got to be a flower girl in a wedding for one of Seth's coaches. She went and had her hair done and it looked beautiful! I stopped by to take some pictures and did her nails and toes too! :) We asked her mommy and she even let Senica wear a little bit of make-up. Just a little eye shadow, blush and lip gloss. That is the top right pic...see, it wasn't much! :) Also, in big news of the day....drumroll....Anitra spent money on herself, and it was on CLOTHES!!! Wowzars!!! Doesn't she look great too?!? :)

The whole time I was taking pictures of Senica, Ty was saying "Cheeeeeeeeesse" so I threw in a pic of him too!

Third Day!

2008-11-18T22:41:00.001-05:00

For Anitra's birthday, she wanted to go to the Third Day/Need To Breathe/Revive concert at the Morris. I was lucky enough for her to ask me to go with her! Yeah for me! :) Seth stayed home with the kids so we could go...thanks Seth!

It was such an amazing time! Now, anyone who knows me knows I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Tim McGraw...and I have seen him quite a few times in concert. And when I saw him at his debut at the Grand Ole Opry, I screamed like a teenage girl at a Jonas Brothers concert. Yes, it's true! Anyway, my point is...as exciting as that was, I had bigger goosebumps standing next to my sister and praising God!

It was so awesome to stand there and sing and dance and listen to the whole crowd singing...no music, just us singing. It gives me goosebumps now just thinking about it!

So, thank you Anitra for asking me to go with you. Thank you Anitra for challenging me everyday in my walk with God. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I hope you had as good of a time as I did!

Happy Birthday Billy!

2008-11-16T20:42:00.001-05:00

My nephew's birthday was yesterday...Happy Birthday Billy!! I was looking for some pictures of him, and don't have any on this computer, so I used an old collage I had.

Uncle BK and I hope that you had a WONDERFUL birthday! We love you!

Visitors!! :)

2008-11-16T20:34:00.001-05:00

What's the common theme here? Oh yes, Senica and babies! She is such a good little helper. She loves the little ones so much! Oh - and Dave bowling with Senica. :)

Full House

2008-11-16T19:34:00.001-05:00

This weekend was a busy one, so I am gonna just do it in one post. Bear with me...

Thursday night April and her girls came over and Anitra and her kids too. We had dinner and then the girls and Ty played and then we all watched the Wizard of Oz. April and I hadn't seen it in a long time and we forgot how bad we felt for the scarecrow, tin man and lion. Too funny!

Friday I had 2 dr. appointments in the morning. At my second appointment, my Dr. wanted me to go over to the hospital and have some x-rays and labs done. I have been having some problems with my shoulders for quite awhile and we are trying to figure out what is causing all the pain. By the time I got home, it was almost 3pm. So, Cheryl said I didn't need to come into work.

Friday night April and Brian dropped the girls off so that they could have a date. Anitra came down with Senica and Ty so they could all play together. The kids played really nice together and it was a wonderful evening. April's Brian put up a new porch light for us and it looks wonderful! Thanks Brian! April and Brian took the 3 youngest girls home and Janae spent the night with us. We stayed up watching Jon and Kate plus 8 and playing on the Webkinz. I am now addicted to Webkinz too! :) Sorry to Anitra who I was making fun of for playing Webkinz all the time! :)

Friday night, Janae and I slept on the blow-up mattress in the basement and we woke up to breakfast in bed. Thanks honey...that was a nice surprise! After we got around, Janae and I went and got groceries and then I met April at mom's to drop Janae off.

Saturday night, our friends Jim and Keia came over with their little girl, Kaeleigh. Anitra, Sencia and Ty came down too and we had dinner and the kids played in the toy room while the adults played on the Wii. I think everyone had a great time!

This morning after church, Kristi and Dave and their little girl, Savannah came over for lunch. Anitra, Seth, Senica and Ty came over for lunch too and Senica and Ty were loving on Savannah. Ty was rubbing her belly and Senica was telling him "gentle, gentle". :) We had a nice time and Dave amused Senica by bowling with her on the Wii.

The weekends always seem to go so fast!!

I am so thankful for my family and all my friends. Thank you God for blessing me with these special relationships!

Fall Pictures

2008-11-14T22:31:00.001-05:00

The other week, we tried to get some pictures for Anitra and Seth's family picture. Janae wanted to have a "photo shoot" too. :) She is quite the little model!

WARNING!! Bambi lovers beware!

2008-11-09T00:43:00.001-05:00

April called today and said that Brian got his buck...a 10-pointer and one of the biggest ones he has ever gotten! She wanted to know if I wanted to come and take some pictures. I was at Kari and Don's house so BK came over and the four of us headed to April and Brian's. We ordered pizza and made a night of it! :)

Janae was so proud of her dad...she even went with the guys when they went to gut it. The rest of us stayed home with the babies. :)

Tagged!

2008-11-09T00:11:00.002-05:00

I've been tagged.

Share 7 facts about yourself. Some random and some weird.

Tag 7 people at the end of your post. By leaving their names.Let them know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Let us know who tagged you.

1. I'm a pack rat. My husband tries to throw away stuff of mine and I get upset. I have my 6th grade 8-pocket folder. I don't know...I might need it some day. Maybe to burn and provide heat for our home this winter. :)

2. I'm diabetic. 12 years this December. It's hard and frustrating at times, but I am thankful that it's treatable. I try not to whine too much about it, but it sucks!

3. I love Chili...without the beans. Kinda weird, but the texture of beans is gross to me. The same with the texture of Tapioca pudding and cottage cheese. Yuk!

4. I hate turkey. Even on Thanksgiving. I'm spoiled because mom always makes me ham too! :)

5. I talk with my sisters...on average, between the 2 of them...probably 5-6 times a day! Yes, a day. A lot of the time about nothing real important...but it's comforting for me to hear their voices.

6. I'm a Diet Coke addict. People joke with me about having an IV with it, but I don't think I would like that because I honestly love the taste of it. 12 years ago before diabetes, I wouldn't touch diet soda.

7. I'm a night owl. I H.A.T.E. mornings. My husband hates waking me up in the morning...I'm a little grouchy!

I don't know how random or weird these were, but thanks to Rene for tagging me!

Now I'm tagging:

Anitra
Jessica
Peggy
Leah
Cheryl
Jess
Tracy

Senior Pics - Kaytie

2008-11-07T21:39:00.001-05:00

Today after work, I met my cousin for some Senior pics. She is so beautiful that we ended up getting a lot of good shots! The sun was gorgeous and made it a really nice fall day!

Here's a little sample. Thanks Kaytie! You did awesome!

3 or 33?

2008-11-04T23:33:00.000-05:00

Tonight we had Anitra, the kids and Mom and Bobby over for Anitra's birthday dinner. We had steak...since we bought steak, we couldn't afford a big cake. We did get her a mini-cupcake. And since, we didn't have money for a big cake, we just bought her one "3" candle. If you look at the middle picture and cross your eyes, you will see her real age. :)

Ok, so the real story is this...

Anitra wanted steak, rice, broccoli & cheese and rolls for her birthday dinner. I told her for her dessert, she could have anything she wanted...cake, cookies, brownies. She wanted to make sure that I really meant anything and when I told her yeah, she told me, "in that case, I want Apple Dumplings...and can you make them taste just like mom's?" PRESSURE!! So, I tried. She liked them. They didn't taste like mom's...but they passed the test. :) But that's why the candle is in the cupcake. Much easier than sticking it in an Apple Dumpling. ;)

Happy Birthday Anitra!!

2008-11-04T22:06:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday to my favorite 33-year-old!!

Today is my oldest sister's birthday. I was trying to find some pictures of just her to post, but there are very few of just her alone.

I am lucky enough to live down the street from Anitra. I am also lucky enough to have 2 of my very best friends be my sisters. The older we get, the closer we get. I am so grateful for the relationships that I have with them.

Anitra has been a wonderful sister! I have watched her in recent years not only be a wonderful sister, but an incredible mother. She has guided me in so many ways. She has helped me in my walk with Christ, taught me too many things to count...probably the most important, the act of forgiveness.

She makes me laugh! If we are really honest, sometimes she makes me mad too. She supports me. She encourages me. She pushes me...when I think I can't do it. But most importantly, she loves me. Unconditionally. And for that, I am forever thankful!

I love you Anitra!!

Picture Time!

2008-11-02T22:15:00.001-05:00

Saturday morning I headed over to Jessica and Corey's house to take some pictures of Ethan. Isn't his little giraffe outfit so cute? I really enjoyed getting to take pictures of him! He's such a cutie!

After I went and took Ethan's pictures, I picked up Brian at home and we headed to North Webster to take engagement pictures for Andrew and Katie. Katie's parents have a house on the lake and that is where they are getting married next June! We also went and took some pictures where they are having their reception. It's this beautiful place that overlooks the lake. We are so excited and happy for them! We love you guys!

When we were done taking Andrew and Katie's pictures, we headed over to April's house. Anitra, Seth, Senica and Ty came to Syracuse too and we all met at the church down the road from them for a fish fry! It was delicious and the kids did really good behaving while we ate. From there, we went to the Syracuse Community Center for the Fall Carnival. They had games for the kids, a cake walk and a costume contest. None of our kids won in the costume contest, although I think they should have! :) While I was taking pictures of the kids, the lady in charge asked me if I was from the paper. I told her no and that I was just the proud aunt! :) Well, the paper was supposed to come and they never showed up, so she asked me if I would take pictures of the contest winners. So, keep an eye out in the Mail Journal. You might see some of my pictures in there! :)

It was a really busy day, but I am so thankful to be able to spend the day with my family and friends! :)

Downtown Trick-or-Treating

2008-10-31T22:59:00.001-04:00