Back it up a bit...

While at my parents' house for Thanksgiving, we had a bridal shower for my sister, Marla, who is getting married in April. Have I mentioned that it's in Myrtle Beach? I'm pretty sure I have, but I wanted to throw that out there again. Considering the cold rain falling in O. today, a trip to the beach sounds pretty good. Anyway, I wanted to post a few pictures from that day. We had a great time!

My mom made this cake. Seriously, she's really good.

A nice portrait of the women of the family.

Kaylee and Great-Grandma playing in her room.

Props to my friend Julie for the pictures. She's really good too.

Time is scarce...

Wow. I am so far behind on this blogging thing. How in the world do people keep up with these things during the holidays? We just seem to be crazy busy right now. Christmas shopping will hopefully be finished tonight, except for stocking stuff. Then we have things going on at church the next four nights in a row. Weeks like these make me wish we lived a little closer than 20 minutes from church. At least gas is only $1.49/gallon today. I suppose what you really come to this blog to see are the pictures, not to hear me ramble about our busy schedule. So, here you go:

The Daily Grind

Kids can be so creative, you know? During her "nap time," Kaylee came up with these two surprises for me. Two Crayon banks plus some dress-up clothes makes for one fun afternoon.

Kaylee had lots of fun playing in the leaves while Chris and I were raking. Our trees aren't even the real cluprit, it's the neighbors' tree, but they don't seem to mind the grass-killing piles of leaves suffocating any chance of a green lawn next spring. So we had to rake halfway into their yard, too, to ensure the wind didn't undo all of our hard work. I considered it my workout for the day. I think that's only fair.

And this one, well, it's just cute. Two kids playing in a storage bin. It doesn't get any better.

Better Late Than Never

Happy Belated Halloween from Mulan and Piglet!

Last Respects

This morning was the funeral. It was nice seeing old friends from my working days, but unfortunate are the circumstances that brought us together. I suppose I should make a clarification on my previous blog about the death of my co-worker. It was not suicide but an accident. It doesn't really change anything, I guess. Maybe it will be easier for the daughter to know her dad didn't leave her on purpose. It still stinks.

A Family Tradition

I think I forgot to post pictures of our visit to the pumpkin patch. We always enjoy our trip out there, and the kids really had fun this year. If it weren't so expensive, we'd probably go more often, but at $12 a pop (Kaylee & Lauryn were free this year) plus a $6 bag of kettle corn, once is enough. Chris can't help but count people by 12's once inside, attempting to comprehend the mass amounts of cash raked in by the pumpkin patch each day of October.

What a Day...

I performed my American responsibility this morning and cast my vote at my local polling station. Much to my relief, the building was relatively empty. Of course, it was 10:30 am, the perfect time for stay-at-home moms to head out to the polls. After receiving three "I Voted" stickers, we headed back to the van only to realize that I had left the sliding door open the entire time. At least nothing important was missing, like the pop I bought last night.

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Later we met Chris for lunch at Taco Bell, and Kaylee immediately had to go to the bathroom. This really peeves me because it's disgusting in all fast food restaurant bathrooms, and everybody knows it. She proved that she really had to go by taking a very long time to finish, to which she said, "I'm really good at making potty, Mommy." Yes, honey, you are.

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Lastly, I heard some sad news today. A guy I worked with before I became a stay-at-home mom committed suicide on Sunday. Tragic. All the cliches are true - he was a nice guy, always smiling, and nobody saw it coming. Please pray for his family. He leaves a 6-year-old daughter behind.

Val Kilmer was my favorite until now...

** Disclaimer: If you didn't want to know one of the gifts our nephew Drew is getting for his birthday, you probably shouldn't have checked this blog today. **

I think we're going to have to invest in one of these. There's nothing like giving a slightly used toy for a birthday present. Sorry, Brenda, but it kept Kaylee occupied until lunchtime!

Mmmm.... Brownies

I called my friend Kim the other morning. The converstion went something like this:

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Me: Do you have a recipe for brownies?

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Kim: Um, go to the store, buy a brownie mix, bring it home, make it.

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Me: Hmmm, that sounds a lot like the recipe I have...

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Well, going to the store wasn't going to work for me that morning, so Kim suggested I try www.allrecipes.com. I did, and I found the best recipe for brownies. I had to share it with you all. They are rich and fudgy and oh-so-good. If I can make brownies from scratch, you can too. Trust me.

These Kids Are Too Cute

Weary Travellers

Yeah, yeah, I'm still here. My absence from the blogging world has been due to two things: my lack of being at home for the last week and my busyness since returning home on Sunday. The girls and I spent last week at my dad and mom's house, and we had a good visit. We got to spend some time with my grandma, who got out of the hospital on Sunday, praise the Lord! She is doing better, and I know my grandpa is glad to have her home. That is a really big answer to prayer.

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Chris met us in Kansas City on Saturday to see the Backyardigans Live show. Chris's mom, dad, sister, brother-in-law, and their 2 kids came down for the big show too. The kids really enjoyed it, and then we stayed overnight in St. Joe with the fam. We had a good time swimming and just hanging out. But, let me tell ya, it feels good to be home. The laundry, dishes, and dust have built up in my absence, but I don't mind. Waking up next to my husband in the morning is worth it.

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And... last but certainly not least... my sister is getting married! Congratulations to Marla and Jeremy. They got engaged last Saturday. No date has been set yet, but we're looking forward to spending some time on the East Coast for the big celebration!

Updates

You know, sometimes I'm in a blogging mood, and sometimes I'm not. I have not been this week, but it isn't for lack of things going on. In fact, we've been incredibly busy lately. Let me update you...

*** My grandma's in the hospital. To keep it short, she has a bowel obstruction that is making her very sick. She's fighting a massive infection and is really agitated and confused right now. Please pray for her. The girls and I are probably going to head down to Kansas to see her next week. Chris will meet us in KC the next Saturday to go see "The Backyardigans Live!" and we'll ride back home with him then.

*** Lauryn's birthday is tomorrow! I can't believe my baby's going to be a year old. Time truly does fly. I turned her car seat around this afternoon and am looking forward to her reaction tonight when we drive to church.

*** We recently got a swing set for FREE from a guy Chris was working for (you could call it Lauryn's birthday present). That's exciting, people. It needed new swings. I just happened to see brand new swings at a garage sale the day before. I stopped back by. She still had them. I got two new swings for $10 total. That's exciting too.

*** I hosted a Tastefully Simple party at my house last night for my neighbor. If my upstairs hasn't been sparkling clean before, let me tell you, it was last night. It lasted for about 10 hours, until my kids got up.

It feels like there must be more, but that's all I can come up with right now. If you think of us, say a little prayer because we'll be doing lots of travelling in the next week.

Just life...

Nothing too exciting to blog about, so I'll just share a few pictures. Enjoy!

The Excitement Builds...

I hope everyone will be watching the Republican National Convention tonight for the big speech. Sarah Palin is great and is, in my opinion, the perfect VP pick for John McCain. I don't think I've watched FOX news this much in the last three years.

29 Sets In

Thanks to everyone for the cards, emails, phone calls, posts, etc. wishing me a happy birthday. It was happy, indeed. A few friends came over for supper last night, so now my celebration is officially over until next year.

And now, a picture of a mess made by my little trash can raider. (I know the amount of crumbs can't be completely seen in this picture, but trust me, there were a lot.) She took the old raspberry bars that I had just thrown away out of the trash can and was chowing down before I even noticed. Is that interest in trash hereditary I wonder?

Happy Birthday to Me

Well, today's the day. Goodbye 28, hello 29. You know, 30 used to seem so old...

Reality Sets In

Man, I love the Olympics. For two weeks once every four years I soak up as much television coverage as is humanly possible. And then it's over. And now I have nothing to do.

Six degrees of separation? Try two.

Want to hear a funny story? I have a friend, Sheila, who is a teacher over in the Czech Republic. We met in college at Grace. A few weeks ago she was in the states visiting, came through Omaha, and had lunch with me, the girls, and another friend. She is now in Baltimore visiting her sister. This past Sunday she and her sister attended church in Baltimore and were invited to lunch at the home of a member of that church. The inviters just happened to be Chris's cousin Kim and her husband Shane! (They figured out the connection while discussing where they had gone to college.) What are the odds? I'd say slim to none. Don't you just love stories that remind us just how small the world really is?

On the Move

There are multiple forms of transportation that take place in this house - running, jumping, skipping, etc. Here are two other examples.

Home Sweet Home

We had a great time in the Dells, as you can see. Jason, Brenda, Ally & Drew joined us for a couple days, and the kids had lots of fun together riding rides and playing mini-golf. Stay tuned for more pictures to come...

See Ya on the Flip Side

This mama's in need of a vacation! We're heading to Wisconsin for the rest of the week. How could you resist taking these precious babies anywhere they want to go?

Thanks for the pictures, Christi, and thanks for the bow, Julie!

More Pictures

We had a fun time on both of our trips to Kansas last month. The girls liked playing with Aunt Marla.

Marla missed out on the family reunion, but the rest of us had a good time. Especially Kaylee. Can you tell by her face? And here she is, the other new addition to our family. Sarah just came home from Guatemala to join her mommy, daddy, two big brothers, and baby sister. Congratulations on finally bringing her home, David & Marianne!

Let the Picture-Posting Commence

I have a lot of updating to do since we've travelled the month of July away! I'll try to spread out the picture-posting so as not to wear any of you out. And here we go... `

On 4th of July weekend, Chris's parents came into town to welcome Charlie's aunt and cousin (along with her two boys) to the U.S. from France. It was the first time I've met his cousins, and we had a fun time eating BBQ and playing at the park along with Chris's aunt, uncle, and cousin from Arizona. Here's a family pic of us at the park and one of Chris's cousins from France. In the picture below, Stephanie's youngest son has a giant cut on his forhead after smacking it on a coffee table while visiting in South Dakota. Three stitches later, he's got a nice souvenir to take home from the United States, huh?

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Also, I would like you all to meet the newest addition to the family. Chris's cousin, Nathan and his wife, Kari welcomed baby girl #6 on Friday, July 18th. Her name is Della Nadean, and she has five (yes, five) big sisters (yes, all sisters) at home who are lovin' her to pieces! Stay tuned for another new family member coming home to her mommy, daddy, brothers, and sister very soon!