Christmas

Well (it's a deep subject), we had a good Christmas Day.  We went to church in T-town and then came home and opened our presents from each other.  Little miss surrounded by gifts... don't worry, they're not all for her.  *grin*

She got Christmas books, doesn't she look thrilled?

And then we headed to the farm.  Mom made cornish hens and all manner of good things to eat.  Jakey made us Apple Scrumptious for dessert.  I did not get to enjoy the food... Cecily was fussy so it got inhaled and then I got to take care of her.  She cheered up in time for presents. 

So... my parents did not make good lists this year.  They ended up with some interesting things... hehe.  One of the funnier moments of the night was when Dad opened the box with air holes.  Mom was extremely nervous... "is it a gerbil? or a cat? or a houseplant?"  O man.  And Dad was totally playing it up... this picture makes me laugh a lot.  Anyways... there was a toy puppy inside and they're getting a puppy when it's old enough.  *Grin*  This is what happens when you don't make lists. 

Cecily got a sled!  It's so cute!  Now we just need snow...

So I forgot to replenish the supply of diapers in the diaper bag after church... oops... and we used all of them and she made a mess on Bob.  Thankfully Grandma got her two more cloth diapers for Christmas and saved the day.  The pink one even matched her dress.  Very fortuitous.   

She had pretty much had it with Christmas by the time we got home... she cried for quite awhile until she fell asleep and then she was out for the rest of the night.  I woke her up in the morning and then she went back to sleep for a few more hours.  Hooray! 

Monday afternoon Bob had some guys over to play games.  Little miss and I did laundry and chilled where it was quiet.  Anytime they got loud her little lip would come out... so funny.  Jakey stayed for supper; I was lazy and ordered pizza.  

And now we've got a few days break before our last two Christmases.  Woot woot. Shelly left for India and I am so incredibly jealous.  Someday.  Although, they don't get to see the Taj Mahal so that makes it a little bit less enviable. 

Blessings. 



The Night Before Christmas

’Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

(We hope... so far so good, only spiders...)

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;

(She might be in bed, but there's no guarantee she'll stay sleeping for long...)

I don't own a kerchief and I'm pretty sure Bob doesn't have a cap.  hehe.  Last night we had Schlipf Christmas in Gridley and tonight we went to the Koch Christmas... good times.  Three down, three to go. 

Merry Christmas to All, and to All A Good Night!

Field trip

Yesterday Cecily and I invited ourselves to the farm for lunch and then we went to visit Aunt Freida at the home.  She's on hospice because, well, she's 95 and there's not really anything more they can do for her.  I hear people practically have her dead and buried already, but, to quote Monty Python, she's 'not dead yet.'  'I think I'll go for a walk...' 

Anyway. They were happy to meet Cecily and she got fussed over by everyone there.  She wouldn't move her hand away from her face though... 

I wish I would have tried harder to make the time to learn how to make her famous buns. 

Blessings.

Merry Birthday

So I'm 27 now.  I feel so old.  *grin*  I did something to me knee the other day and I'm starting to sound old with all my aches and pains... anyway.  I had a pretty good birthday.  Really low key.  We relaxed at home all day and met my family for supper at Firehouse pizza in W-ton.  Then we stopped at the farm for cake and presents.  I've decided that I like chocolate angel food cake better than regular, it was yummy. 

Bob wrapped my birthday present in Christmas wrapping paper.  I forgave him.

Mom and Dad got me a shirt with a Louisa May Alcott quote on it: "She is too fond of books, and it has addled her brain."  I haven't quite decided if I need to forgive them too.  hehe. 

Cecily enjoyed my birthday flowers...


Christmas started on Sunday with the Beutel Christmas.  Only five more to go.  woot woot.

One day!

Until my birthday!  Yippee! 

I made my birthday cake yesterday... chocolate angel food cake.  Angel food cake because I had 10 egg whites left over from making Lukovitch bread.  Chocolate because it was right under classic angel food cake in the Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook and I like chocolate.

Bob sent me roses today.  They're so pretty. 

And then on a whim and because the mess in the extra bedroom closet is starting to get to me... I tried on a bunch of my 'regular' skirts that were still a little bit snug a month ago.  Most of them fit again!  And are back in our closet!  Happy Birthday to Me!  *grin* 

I love birthdays.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

I've decided that since it's raining and dreary today I'm going to curl up and be lazy.  And maybe work on my quilt squares or wrapping presents or other cozy things.  *grin* 

Last night Cecily and I braved the drizzle to do something Christmasy- the W-ton Christmas Tour of Homes.  We met my mom and dad (I get my love of houses honestly, hehe) and went through three of the five houses on the tour. 

The first house was about a year old and was nice but not fabulous... it had a very large master bathroom with a big walk in shower with two shower heads.  Really pretty, but it felt like a locker room.  *grin* 

Then we went through one of the big old Victorians on Main.  It was originally built by the Denhart's in 1884. (They were bankers... now there's a Bakery with their name...)  It was a funeral home from the 30's until the current owners bought it.  It. Was. Gorgeous.  The ceilings were so high, and there was beautiful wood and wallpaper everywhere.  The paper on the ceiling was super cool, at least two or three different patterns on each.  Two of the closets still have original wall paper- they were so rich they even papered the closet ceilings! So cool, although the lady that owns it said when they moved in they had to take out a lift that had been used to move caskets and bodies in it's funeral home days.  Um. Weird.  hehe.

Our last stop was just down the street at a cool little Bungalow.  It was in the paper a few weeks ago and I was super excited to see inside.  Way more my style house.  So much more functional, but still architecturally cool.  It had awesome built-ins all over. The coolest was the whole wall of built-in bookcase with leaded glass doors.  *sigh*  The kitchen even had the original dining nook.  And to top it all off, there was a beautiful sun porch.  Sometimes it's hard not to covet... haha.   

The two houses we didn't go through were big, new, look-at-my-garage houses which I'm sure were cool, but it was getting late.  Cecily was quite popular on the tours... we told them we were teaching her to love old houses early.  Good times.

And then I went home looked up Stickley chairs.  Because after seeing them on the tour I think they're exactly what would work in front of our fireplace. 

Blessings.

O Come, O Come

I love Christmas time.  I love decorating the house... and the smell of baking springerli...packages in the mail... and Christmas shopping.  *grin*  Although, since I do more than half of it online, I don't know if it really counts as "shopping."  More like I love finding/getting cool things to give to all the people on our list. 

Anyway, it's been quiet around here.  We didn't go Christmas caroling anywhere this year.  Sad news... next year.  Matt came over on Friday night to avoid a girl party at the farm.  He's lucky he didn't come Thursday... Thursday was curry night... hehe.  Saturday I ran off to Walmart and the Quilt store for a little bit while Bob watched little miss and we chilled for the rest of the day. 

Sunday evening we went to the Christmas program at church.  Grace was in it this year, and I'm starting to know who some of the kids are which makes it more fun! 

Cecily and I went to the mall today to buy Christmas presents.  We're down to two gift cards to get yet,  woot woot,  and waiting for a few things to be delivered.  Poor UPS and Fedex trucks that have to turn around on our tight street full of vehicles... at least the boat is in storage now!  Hehe.

Randomly, I decided that I don't like any of my Christmas CD's so I haven't been listening to any of them.   What I want to listen to and sing along with is plain old Christmas Hymns.  The old ones.  Like 'O Come, O Come Emanuel' and  'Lo How a Rose.'  (Katie, why didn't we ever make that CD we talked about?! I'm sure it would be exactly what I want to listen to right now!)

Blessings.

Abby and Tyler

Well, we survived the weekend.  Little miss traveled like a champ! 

She may have been worn out from this:

Saturday morning we went to Jamie's and tried to get a picture of all the Koch great-grands. Then we high tailed it to Leo.   She slept the entire way... woke up just as we pulled into the hotel and demanded food.  And then she made a terrible mess all over me... *sigh*  it's a good thing I packed lots of extra clothes.

We met Will and Joanna and boys for supper at Cracker Barrel.  It was great fun and so good to see them again!  Probably the highlight of my weekend, since I was the least stressed.  New things are just hard, and trying to figure out how to deal with a baby at a different church and a reception is not my idea of fun. 

The rest of the evening we chilled at the hotel... and spent a little bit of time with the rest of the family.  Little miss Cecily is still a night owl, it's usually at least 10:30- 11ish before she decides she's sleepy, so with losing an hour on Indiana time we were up until midnight.   This picture cracks me up; wide awake and chilling watching a western with Bob...



Sunday we were late to church... but hey, I've never been on time to Leo, so why start now?  haha.  I tried to get a picture for Christmas cards that morning... she was happy, but she moves her arms so much it's hard to catch a smile.  O well.  

The wedding was lovely... I got teary when she walked in.  And then I spent the rest of the service paranoid that Cecily would get fussy and I'd have to take her out.  Anyway.  They got married and we headed for the reception, which was at the Alan County Courthouse.  The historic Alan County Courthouse. Which is still in use so we had to go through security to get in.   It. Was. Gorgeous.  The food was fabulous.  I took all of three pictures, not sure what I was thinking.

Kendra, Shelly, Lys

 

Lys did not know I was taking her picture.  hehe.

The only picture of Abby and I is blurry.  Sad news.  But she was a beautiful bride and her dress was super cool.

I stole some pictures from somebody else who was there:

 So yeah, it was quite the doings.  *grin*  We left from the reception after hauling our luggage in through the metal detector and scanner to change clothes... so weird.  We had a pretty good trip home- Cecily cried a little bit until we could stop to feed her and me.  (Convenient.)  She was really happy to get out of her car seat when we got home though, so funny. 

This week we've been laying low... I've been baking cookies and not doing a whole lot else.  We listened to services with Grandpa and Grandma Beutel tonight because Cecily got her shots today and I was afraid she'd be super fussy.  But she wasn't.  O well, it's good to spend time with them and we delivered some Springerli. 

Blessings.

O Cannon ball

Guess who's excited for Christmas?  *grin* 

So my plans to have a cool mantle by Christmas hit an unexpected snag... so for now I put up a sort of mantle-like shelf that was on clearance at Menards.  It was super cheap for a reason... the edges are dinged up bad and it was missing hardware... but, the greens hide the bad spots, it's temporary, and did I mention it was cheap?  Hooray for having someplace to decorate and hang Cecily's stocking! 

Yesterday my Mom and I went Christmas tree shopping.  It's always good to have a second pair of eyes to point out bad spots and crooked trunks.  hehe.  I think we did good.  Ours didn't get drilled perfectly straight, but it's not too obvious... and it's an otherwise gorgeous tree.  It makes me smile.  I realized this year that most of my ornaments are gold, silver, or white... and white lights... it might need a little more color. 

I've been having lots of fun decorating our new house. 

Oh, and I took Cecily to the Doc today for her two month checkup... she weighs 13.3 pounds... which is the 96th percentile or something like that.  Bob started calling her Chubby Hugs... hehe, poor girl.  And I panzed on getting her shots until next week.  I have no desire to deal with an extra fussy baby all the way to Leo and back.
Blessings.

Amen

Cecily got a baby gift and a card from a dear older couple today...

Dear Cecily,
May you someday sit at the King's table.
Our Love-



amen.

Thanksgiving

We had a busy Thanksgiving week.  With a little bit of the house chaos that seems to follow me... :)

When I got up to feed Cecily at 7 on Tuesday morning, all was well in the kitchen.  When Bob got out of the shower shortly thereafter, this was our kitchen light. It pulled the screws and anchors right out of the ceiling.   And of course, Bob had to go to work.  So I shut off the breaker and called my Dad and he came and rescued us.  Apparently, this light is heavier than the old one.  We won't mention who hung it with the old anchors.  hehe.

Tuesday night we went to the farm for supper with Steve and Renee's family.  Wednesday we were bums.  Thursday we took Cecily to W-ton for the first time... everyone in Tremont says she looks like Bob, everyone in Washington said she looks like me... so funny.  I love Washington on the holidays, mostly because we get to stand up and sing at the end of the service.  After church we were singing Thanksgiving songs and Matt was singing bass and holding little miss... she looked very unsure of all that reverberation... hehe. We went to Lori's for good food and more singing and more passing Cecily around. *grin*

Sprout was home so she came over for a little bit on Friday, and we went there for supper that night.  Saturday was nasty and rainy so we didn't do much until  the Beutel Thanksgiving that night and more good food.  Sunday evening we went to Rustin and Sharon's for supper.  And I'm ready to be home now for a while...

A few gratuitous pictures of Cecily:

 Her sweet hat from Zoe... and a random cup Bob thought she might like to play with.. hehe.

 Aw... happy baby... too bad I can't get her to smile while looking straight at the camera.  I was informed by a great-grandparent that they want a picture of her not looking to the side... um... yeah... I do try.

Blessings.

Lazy Days

Hm... I feel like I don't have much to blog about, but we've been keeping ourselves occupied... 

Dang came for supper last Thursday.  Saturday morning we raked the rest of our leaves.  It wasn't very cold, but it felt like winter it was so still and quiet...  There weren't many leaves still in the yard, but the alley was full... thankfully Rustin and Sharon and the girls came and helped or we would have been out there all day long.  We also discovered that the monitor reaches all the way to the end of the lane... I could still hear Cecily grunting and singing in her sleep... hehe. 

We went to potluck at Brent and Janelle's Saturday night.  Sunday we went to Tremont in the morning and Morton for Brent and Whitney's wedding in the afternoon... we ended up leaving right after the service and skipping the reception because she was getting fussy so it doesn't hardly feel like we were even there. 

Amber and Sarah came to visit Sunday night.  I maybe kind of miss the days when I could run off to Champaign spur of the moment.  It was really good to see them. 

Yesterday evening Cecily and I got to eat pizza and hang out with the old W-ton girls.  So weird to have two babies along this time... and weird how our conversations have changed over the years.  *grin* Good times. 

Oh, and I haven't really been all that lazy.  I've got plenty to do keeping Cecily alive, our clothes washed, house clean-ish, food made...  yesterday I even got some Christmas cookie dough in the freezer.  And today I need to pick up my car from the shop and the kitchen light fell out of the ceiling... you know, normal day.  :P

Blessings.

Beautiful Blue Bathroom

Last night we finally got the medicine cabinet hung, and I finished spackle and paint touch ups today.  I love it.  This is what we started with:  pink and very incongruous floors.

And the awful, small fluorescent medicine cabinet that was giving us fits.

Then it went to blue and a pretty new floor.

Matt started working his magic and we had one sconce...

Two sconces and a new outlet. (The tape is marking where the studs are and where the wires are, you know, so we wouldn't accidentally drill through anything important...)

Pretty new medicine cabinet.  I love it, it's so much bigger!  Lots of room for things we need to keep out of the reach of little hands.  *grin*

And the new bath fan that doesn't look like a fan.  It's great.  And not centered in the ceiling because whoever designed the house put a joist right smack dab down the center of the bathroom.  O well, form follows function, right? 

Three cheers for Matt and TSM234!  Hip, hip, Hooray!  It looks awesome and I smile every time I go in there. 

I think I'm going to do something different for curtains... but I'm not sure yet.  And I don't know what, if anything, to hang on the walls.  Eh, it'll come.  Next on the list is a fresh coat of paint on the vanity; it's way more obvious that it needs it with everything else so fresh and new!  *grin*  Poor Bob...

Oh, and if anybody needs a medicine cabinet... it's just sitting here.  I'm not sure what we'll do with it.

Blessings.

Let there be light

So last Thursday I ventured out shopping with my mom and Cecily.  I dislike new things... so I was glad she came with us.  I think I can be brave and go all by myself next time.  I think.  Now that I know where the "Mother's Room" is at Toys R Us...  I had to get wedding gifts and personal shower gifts, Mom had to buy Cecily lots of clothes.  O man, when there are all kinds of pre-Veterans Day sales and Grandma wants to buy her a dress and Great-Grandma wants to buy her a dress... we came home with no less than four.  (In different sizes, don't worry, I'm not that crazy.  Two per size is plenty, hehe.) 


On Veteran's Day Matt came over to work on our bathroom.  For the record, bankers have just as many holidays as government employees.  So we're all wired up now and have two sconces and a fan with a light.  We didn't have the right size light bulbs though, and the medicine cabinet still isn't hung, so it's not quite finished yet.  Getting there.  I got new tires that day too.  I decided to take my car to the dealer this time because it also has an electrical problem and I figured they would be more likely to have the right parts in stock... um... they don't.  So I paid them a ridiculous amount for them to tell me what was wrong (which I already knew).  Ugh.  Anyway, I think I'll take it here in town.... it's way too much trouble to drop cars off with Cecily, and I don't want to sit in waiting rooms all day with her.


Saturday Bob helped Rustin and Sharon move in the morning, and then Jakey came over and we raked the front yard.  They spent the rest of the evening playing the much anticipated, long awaited Skyrim.  Our back yard needs raking again badly, but there are too many leaves to haul away with garbage cans and a tarp stuffed in the trunk of my car... Cecily and I did a load today and barely made a dent.  O well, it's a start. 


Blessings.

Blustery

Have I mentioned that I'm not a fan of fall?  Especially these cold, rainy, blustery days...

Last week we spent a few days helping Rustin and Sharon paint and move things into their new house.  I love painting.  It's great fun.  And, it wasn't my house so I didn't have the mess... hehe.  I'm also really glad we moved when we did, it looks to be ten times more complicated with little kids. 

Sunday we made it to church (although a little bit late...).  We stopped at Grandpa and Grandma Koch's afterwards, and then went to Grandpa and Grandma Beutel's 60th anniversary party that evening.  Big day!  Little miss Cecily did pretty good... but she was markedly more fussy that night.  No surprise there.  And since the time changed and she didn't get the memo, she goes to sleep an hour earlier!  Hooray!  Which is great, except that now I have to get up twice in the dark instead of just once.  O well. 

This week has been quiet so far.  We went to Menards and got the right kind of electrical boxes so last night Matt came over and cut a few more holes.  And now there are two new sconces and a hole for a new outlet and a hole into the attic. Woot woot.  I'm excited. 

Blessings.

Why is it...

...that when Matt comes to visit we end up with holes in our walls?

It's so much brighter and looks ten times better already, even though I bought all the wrong boxes... (I just plain don't understand electricity...)

I never did get a good before picture, but this is what we started with.

Blessings.

Social Butterflies

So yesterday I took Cecily to the lab to meet my coworkers.  My old coworkers.  *mur*  Yup, I'm officially unemployed.  She wore her future scientist onesie...

It was good to see them all and be back at the lab. I don't really miss work; and yet. I basically spent three years of my life in that building with those people. It's weird that it's just over.

And then that evening Aunt Joanne and Sharon hosted a baby shower for her.  So she got passed around by lots of people yesterday.  I think it wore her out, she slept for 3 and 4 hour stretches last night!  Yay!  There was great rejoicing... or something.  Anyway, and then I took her to the grocery store today and now we're just chilling... in cloth...  I figured it was about time I tried them, even though they still seem kinda big on her.

Blessings.

All Hallows Eve

Apparently we're the grinches on our street... we don't have our light on tonight.  Mostly because we maybe have eaten most of the candy I had bought to hand out to trick-or-treaters... hehe. 

We had a fairly quiet weekend.  I escaped long enough on Saturday to go to the grocery store and get my hair cut.  Crazy hormones are making it grow so fast! And it was just long enough that when I'd lean over to lay Cecily in her crib in the middle of the night it would fall right in her face and startle her.  Not good.  *grin*  While I was gone Bob got to deal with a mess, which I love.  It's good for him. 

Sunday we made it to church all day and she was really good.  Overall it just felt really good to be back...  We went to the farm for supper.  Pretty much spent the evening watching the baby and laughing at the faces she makes.  They're such grandparents... positively elderly... hehe.  Troy and Trent came down to hold her too.  It amuses me to watch boys hold babies for the first time. 

It's Reformation Day.  I sang "A Mighty Fortress is Our God" to Cecily in honor of the occasion.
Blessings.

Lazy...

It's how I felt while watching John and Bryce remove our leaves. *grin*  Yeah, we were panzes and got somebody else to do it.  At least the somebody elses were Brad's Lawn Care... guys I grew up with... because realistically, the logistics of me trying to rake with Cecily are impossible, and Bob is busy at work and allergic to the outdoors right now.  So it was worth it and our yard looks lovely and leaf free until the last four trees lose their leaves.  I'm hoping it'll get really windy and blow them all out of our yard. 

Today I ventured out to Kmart and then stopped at DJ's Pumpkin Patch on the way home.  Cecily got to sit in the warm cabin while I picked out pumpkins and talked to Jeanne... good times. 

Matt stopped by this evening to see Cecily and check out some electrical stuff.  He's going to help put in a new light and medicine cabinet to replace the worlds most annoying fluorescent fixture.  Seriously, you flip the switch, wait five seconds, *flicker*, five seconds, one light comes on, few more seconds, other side comes on.  So hopefully one of these days he won't be busy or traveling and can come do some wiring.

Blessings.  

Happenings

We ended up having a sort of busy weekend.  We didn't go anywhere... but we had people coming to us.  And church. 

So Amber and Sarah made these awesome science onesies for Cecily... they crack me up. 



And here she's modeling her present from Uncle Jakey... it says "Panzer Division" on it... 

My brothers make me laugh a lot.  This is what Cecily has gotten from them:  a stuffed hedgehog, two panzer division shirts, a John Deere onesie, and a heartland bank bib. 

So Friday night Dang came for supper, but he left fairly early and then Jakey came over for a little bit.  Saturday we were lazy bums all day and young Matt came for supper and the evening (we weren't about to attempt to go to testimonies with Cecily, though I'm sad we missed them).   Rustin and Sharon and girls showed up a little bit later.

And then Cecily had about the worst night so far... she woke up hungry every. single. hour.  Half the time I hadn't even gotten back to sleep yet.  We finally gave her a bottle at 9am so I could get a full hour of sleep and still try and make it to church at noon.   

She looks so sweet and innocent in her new church dress.... not like she was up all night long... so deceptive.... haha.

  



 We on the other hand.... haha.  O man.

We cut out right after the baptisms and came home and all took a nap.  So wonderful.  And then later we got milkshakes and Cecily had a pretty good night.  Huzzah! 

Blessings.



A rose by any other name...

... would smell as sweet. 

Or not.  Sometimes we call Cecily 'miss stinky-buns'.  We're terrible, I know.  *grin* 

Anyway... speaking of names... it's kind of cracking me up how people are having trouble with her name!  It's Sess-ah-lee.  (Sicily is a Mediterranean island and therefore a noun, which we are not fond of.)   Granted, it's not a common name- I only know one other Cecily.  But still- it's an old name.  A very, very old name. So funny, because I kind of figured that our criteria of gender-specific and slightly old fashioned would be easy for people.  Guess not!  *sigh*  We picked a weird name for our daughter and didn't even know it.... woe is us!    

So last night we took her to church for the first time.  I was a wimp and sat by Bob just in case.  (Since, you know, if she cried he would have been able to do something about it.)  She had the hiccups for a little bit, but then she slept pretty peacefully through the rest of the service.  *phew*  Ahhh... I have no idea what I'm doing!  What if she would have been fussy?  At what noise level do you take them out?? 

The rest of the night was not so good... third night in a row... ugh.  And then today some of my coworkers came to visit us, which was fun and slightly weird.  Colliding worlds...   

Blessings.

Weekend

We didn't do much this weekend.  Lots of relaxing and looking out at all the leaves in our yard that we just don't want to start raking.  Haha.  I'm thinking we should borrow a mower with a bagger... or bribe some people...

It was college weekend so Uncle Jakey actually came home and stopped by for a little bit.  He doesn't have much experience holding babies.... *grin* 

Cecily and I went for a short walk.  I feel back to normal, but a short walk is about all I can handle before I start to feel really tired and hungry.

Saturday is pizza night at our house and on a whim we decided to order Firehouse Pizza because it's our favorite.  Their sauce is the best and they deliver to T-town... well, this was the last weekend they were open.  So sad!!  We had to take a picture of the pizza and Cecily because she'll never get to experience the goodness of Firehouse... ok, maybe that's a little melodramatic since there are a few other locations in the area.  :)

Bob's aunt and uncle had a wiener roast on Sunday night.  The weather was great, but we didn't stay very long.  I need to ease into things slowly, and smoke makes Bob's allergies ten times worse.

Blessings.

She rules the night...

..and the nights, seem to last as long as six weeks...

*grin*  Billy Joel was really singing about newborns, right? 

Yeah, it's still pretty quiet around here.  Except that little miss Cecily has decided she wants to nurse for three solid hours in the evenings and then wakes up every hour or so during the night.  ugh.  So I'm tired, and Bob's tired, and this too shall pass right?!? 

We are getting the house clean today... Sally is here vacuuming and I gave the bathrooms a good 'christina clean'. 

One of these days I need to work up the courage to go someplace with her by myself... aahhh... maybe next week.

Blessings.

Quiet

Well, we made it through the first week.  And now Bob's back at work.  We miss him. And it's awful quiet around here... and I'm starting to get bored because I don't have a lot to do.  Since I'm supposed to be resting, and my Mom's been over a few times and done the little bit of work that needed doing, and I don't really need to cook. 

Pretty much all I've done today is read blogs and go for a short walk.  Boring, I know.  :) 

We've had lots of visitors... that helps break up the time a little bit.  And I feel like we have more food than I know what to do with already!  Aaahh.  People are too generous.  :P 

Mom tells me I won't be bored for long...

Blessings.

More pictures

We're home and surviving so far.  I'd appreciate your prayers for us adjusting...