Spearing and Shopping

Two weekends ago Rustin and I parted ways for an extended weekend. He was invited to go up north on a 'men only' spearing trip. There's a reason why it's a men only thing. He took the camera, so unfortunately there are no cute pictures of Grace in the Cities. We left at noon on Saturday and met Michelle at our hotel. We stayed at the Embassy Suites by the Mall of America. I would recommend it, especially if you have kids. Grace slept the best she ever has at a motel because each room has two rooms in it. She felt like she was in her own little. As we arrived it started snowing and didn't quit until Monday evening. Thankfully not much accumulated, but it made for unfun traffic. We ate supper at TGIFridays and then went to the mall for the rest of the evening. On Sunday we arrived at church and met many old friends and quite a few surprise visitors. Grace did pretty good in the morning and was a crab in the afternoon. Pretty typical. She needs her sleep just like her mom. After church we hunted down a Target in the area. We went back to the mall in the evening. On Monday we had a full day planned, so we got up at 6 with Grace and started getting ready. I should comment on the complimentary breakfast they offer every day. There are about 6 different stations filled with fruit and breakfast food. They have a chef who will cook you an omelet to order or pancakes or whatever you want. In the evening they have a happy hour with a spread of snacks and veggies. We were well fed. There were 9 or 10 floors and our room was on the 5th floor. Grace loved to go into the hall. It overlooked the lobby, restaurant and tables set up for breakfast and happy hour. There were many trees and plants and ponds mixed in the setup also. The only negative was that Grace, if not watched closely, could slip through the bars, so she didn't get to spend as much time in the hall as she would've liked. It was nice to have Michelle along to help with Grace duty. After breakfast we went to Rosedale Shopping Center. It is located in northern Minneapolis. It was a nice, less crowded, mall. I was going to take Grace up to say hi to Santa, but when we were about 30 feet away, she was tensing up so I decided not to push it. We ate lunch at Ruby Tuesdays and then travelled to the Somali Mall. It is located in downtown Minneapolis, so we didn't want to get there too late in the day. We felt fairly safe as we entered the gated shopping area. It was very different than I had imagined. We wound through a long hallway and arrived at the store, greeted by an eager saleswoman. We looked through the many skirt racks as the women would hover around and speak to each other. Who knows what they were saying! We noticed that if you picked up a skirt that said size large, it actually looked like it would fit a size small person. When you wanted to try on a skirt they ushered you into their booth and pulled a flimsy curtain and sat and watched you commenting how good the skirt looked. After a half hour of looking around and being pestered, we left with one skirt. It was a neat experience for me, but I don't know if I will have to go again. We went to another shopping center on the west side of the Cities. By the time we were leaving the snow was falling harder and rush hour was starting. It took a little over an hour to get to our motel where usually it takes 20-30 minutes. I was tired so we decided to order in pizza. Tuesday morning we didn't get down to breakfast in time so we travelled around for a LONG time trying to find a Denny's. We finally found one and the breakfast was delicious. We were going to shop at IKEA but decided we didn't know how the roads would be, so we parted ways. Grace and I stopped in Willmar to pick up her 1 year photos and do some more Christmas shopping. (I'm almost done!) Michelle drove through rain and snow almost the whole way, so it's good we left when we did. Grace and I slept good that night.

Rustin didn't leave til Sunday after church. They drove through snow up to a resort. (I don't know which one.) They arrived late but stayed up late buying groceries and playing games.



This is Rustin's catch after a whole day of spearing. That's from 9 til 4 or 5. They set up these spear houses and each of them sits in his own house with a propane heater all day by hisself. I don't think too many women would want to torture themselves this way.




This is Rustin's catches for Tuesday. Two 7 pounders and one 5 pounder. It was a little more of an exciting day for him. Every night for supper they eat fish. They each brought a bunch home, so I get to try my hand at making fish.



In case you didn't know, this is what a spear hook looks like. They lure the fish into their hole with some sort of bait and then stab them with this hook.



Here's Rustin and the Guys.

This past weekend church was cancelled because of the snowing and blowing. We called into Tremont and had a very relaxing day at home. I'm kind of holing up at home and trying not to go out if I don't have to. Yesterday the thermometer said -20. I'm looking forward to heading south next week. Hopefully we won't bring the snow and cold with us!

Thanksgiving

I just want to say to the commenters on my blog, Thank You for providing entertainment for the rest of us. I'm glad you enjoyed Grace's first birthday as much as I did. It's good to know my diary is being read, and I'm not doing this for naught.

My Mom and Dad came up the Sat. before Thanksgiving and stayed until the following Sat. It was very enjoyable to have them here for awhile. They were surprised to see how much Grace had grown. She was a ham for them which I was thankful for. When they walked in the door she went right to them with smiles and blabbering. On Monday, Mom and I took Grace to Willmar to get her one year px taken. She screamed and cried the entire time. You wouldn't be able to tell by the px, though, because the photographer was excellent with kids. She distracted Grace enough to snap a shot and then the crying would start back up. I was glad when it was finished and happy to see some good ones.

We did alot of relaxing, visiting Rustin's parents, house projects, sleeping, outdoor projects, just enjoying the time together.

My siblings arrived early Thur. morning. Grace welcomed them here at 2 am and proceeded to stay awake crying until 6 am. I honestly think this was the worst night I have ever had with her. She fell asleep until 9 am and woke up her cheerful self. I don't know if she had a stomach-ache or if she was teething. This is what I am blaming it on. She has 4 teeth coming in on top, so even her face is starting to change.

We celebrated Thanksgiving at Rustin's parents in the afternoon and evening. I always look forward to the scrumptious turkey dinner.

I worked Wed, Fri, and Sat at the store, so Mom came with on Wed to help out. I think she had fun, but you'd have to ask her. She was able to peruse the aisles anyway and fill up boxes to take home. Good thing they didn't have any passengers. Fri I took off some to spend more time with my siblings. Rustin put them and Dad to work trimming trees in our yard. One branch almost fell on our house during the last snowfall, so we decided it should go. Later in the evening he hung Christmas lights outside.

My family left on Sat so they could make it to work and school on Mon. They arrived to Tremont just in time for a 4 inch snow. I was glad that for once it was them and not us! Sat. evening we went to Rustin's parents for one last shindig before ReKeeta went home. She was here for two weeks and Eric came up for Thanksgiving and a ride home. Abbi and Grace had much fun together in the two weeks. Abbi is 6 months older than Grace, so there was definate tasks she could handle that Grace couldn't. After observing Grace crawling everywhere, Abbi started crawling sometimes. It was cute when Abbi would tell Grace 'no-no' for things she thought Grace shouldn't be doing.

This week has consisted of putting up the rest of the Christmas decor inside, cleaning up the house, and playing around with Grace. Jody came over on Mon and we made cookies for a cookie exchange we are both in. This weekend the Christmas gatherings are beginning! On Sat Grace and I are going to the Cities to meet Michelle for a few days. Rusting is going Spearing up north with a bunch of guys, so I thought it would be perfect timing for a girl's weekend.

One!

The eve of Grace's birthday brought snow to the great region of Hancock. I'm not sure I'm ready for it, but Rustin assures me this is normal November weather, the previous has been abnormally mild. Since he didn't have to work, we decided to go to St. Cloud overnight so Grace could swim. We didn't get there until 8:30 so she only swam a little bit. At first she was timid, but soon she was splashing and laughing. We unfortunately forgot the camera so there are no pictures. She slept better than the last time we were at a motel, but it wasn't perfect. That's what's hard about having such a good sleeper; the littlest changes can be dramatic. She fell asleep in our bed at about midnight and we transferred her to her crib. Other than Rustin not being able to sleep very well and a middle of the night unwanted, inebriated visitor, we had a good stay. We did some shopping on Saturday and then headed home. Sunday evening we had Grace's birthday party at our home. Trevor was sick, so his family didn't make it so it was Mom and Dad Schmidgall. We got pictures and videos, so here they are. This morning Grace got three shots and blood drawn. By the time they were drawing her blood, she was fit to be tied. I hope she'll nap this afternoon!

Flu Shot

Grace really isn't walking yet without force. She does love it when we put her behind her cart and she can walk/run/get dragged. As you can see she is a little tipsy. Bob, Susan, and Matt got her a Kirby toy for her birthday. She is pushing it on her cart. They thought Kirby and Grace have the same roundness of face and are lookalikes. She is enjoying sleeping with Kirby. I think she sometimes uses it as a pillow.

The other day Grace and I went to the clinic for our flu shots. Because of her age, Grace has to go back for a booster. While registering there was a kid screaming for 5 minutes straight. I started getting nervous like maybe it was a painful shot. It's been a long time since I got a shot. Afterwards I realized he was just being a typical kid. I took mine first and then Grace got hers in her thigh. She took an audible breath, and then was fine. She is still too young to know any better. Thankfully, because she gets her one year shots next week and then the booster in December.

Yes, our baby turns one tomorrow! It's hard to believe. The last few months have went faster and easier than the first few months. Looking back I wouldn't want to trade any of it. We plan to have her birthday party on Sunday, so I'm sure there will be pictures and maybe videos to show.

The Leaves are Falling

Last year we let all the leaves pile up and 'raked' them all in one day. We decided that it would be to our advantage to gather them more frequently than that this year. Rustin bought a lawn mower with a bagger from the neighbor so he as been using that while I get them out of the flower beds. So far he as done it three times. There is a compost pile a few blocks away from our house so we have a convenient dumping place. One day I was watching Tiffany and she wanted a leaf pile to jump in so I told her we could rake up a pile. Grace loved it also, except she thought she would try the leaves for taste. This was also the day that Tiffany came into the house without Grace and all of a sudden I looked out the door and Grace was climbing our back, cement steps for the first time. Talk about heart stopping!

If you read Susan's blog you know I was in Tremont two weekends ago for a surprise visit. I had a nice time. A good amount of work and play! Mom seems to be healing well. Every day there is less pain and more mobility.

This past weekend I had the urge to go shopping so I convinced Rustin we should go to St. Cloud. The only reason he was able to go was the inches of rain we have been receiving. I decided we needed to buy a gun cabinet because one day Grace and I were in her room and I looked over and she was playing with one of her daddy's guns under the bed. I didn't think that was a good idea, so we found one this weekend. Grace did really well shopping. She's a woman after my own heart.

No, Grace still isn't walking, but I think her vocabulary is exceptional. (I might be a little bias.) Some new words are up, hello - with her hand (the phone) held up to her ear, Bob, baba - bottle, uh-oh, and of course mama and dada. She smacks her lips really loud if she wants to eat something. She's getting good at pointing at what she wants. It's hard to believe my baby is going to be one in a couple of weeks!

11 months

Grace turns 11 months today. My how time flies. She and I took a walk this morning and I just had to laugh. She was waving from her stroller like she was a queen in a parade. Then we arrived at the post office and she wouldn't wave at the postmaster for anything. She definitely brings much laughter to my day. (usually!)
Last Saturday we went to Keith and Lois' house in Alex. (They are the couple I worked for during my internship.) They had bought a large quantity of paint from Sherwin Williams and offered some to us for our new store. After loading that up we took them out to eat at Dolittles. It served great Italian food. Grace seemed to charm everyone around us. I sometimes think she is misbehaving but atleast they weren't upset. We played games at their house afterwards. It's always a good time with them.
Rustin does soil-sampling at work. I was at Meadowland on Sat. morning and he called not having a good soil-sampling day. The previous week a head-gasket was replaced. Then on Sat. the truck was making noise again. He felt like it was his fault. I had to reassure him of the fact that you can't expect an '88 truck that is driven through bumpy fields all day to be in perfect condition. He called back a little while later and said the truck was finished-he had blown it up. I don't totally understand engines but I think a rod went somewhere it wasn't supposed to. I personally was glad because nickeling and diming old vehicles can be a pain. This week he has been transforming one of their other trucks into the 'new' soil-sampling pick-up.
It has been a little rainy up here this week, but this is a good time to catch up on indoor work and organizing. Sometimes even a little book reading!
My mom is having her hip replaced this Thursday, so hopefully all goes well with the surgery.

Fall is here!

For one entire day our phone and internet was down. I hardly knew what to do with myself. Isn't that pathetic. It's crazy how that works. (I'm really just making poor excuses why the blog hasn't been updated.)

Two weekends ago Grace and I along with my in-laws went to IL for an extended weekend. I had a very nice time although away from Rustin. Absence makes the heart grow fonder and the phone calls more often!

We visited Grandpa and Grandma. Grace loved fiddling around with Grandpa's wheelchair. Then Mom, Grace, and I went shopping in Peoria. We found lots of goodies (mainly for Grace.) Michelle met Grace and I for supper at Carlos O Kelley's. Good Mexican food. Afterwards we went to Carol's for brownies and ice cream. On Sat. I went to my first web-cam shower for Steph. It was neat to see everyone there and especially Steph. We just hung out as a family in the afternoon and then Matt had a Madrigal event at 5 that we listened to. He had to sing in the park. Thankfully it was under the shelter since it was pouring buckets. We went to the new Avanti's on Knoxville for supper. Some man who had been observing Grace from his table came up to us as he was leaving and said that she looked like trouble. Grace hasn't learned her restaurant ettiquite yet.

Sunday was the dedication of the new church. We went to Grandma and Grandpa's afterwards like usual.

Sam was riding his scooter and it looks like Grace was pushing him. (or trying to push him off) Every time Sam goes to my parent's house he says he's going to Grace's house. I find that cute because he has only seen her there a few times. Sunday evening Mom and I went to listen to Matt at ACYF in Tremont. We left Grace with Dad and Bob. They did great except they weren't too impressed when she messed her pants.

On Monday before Mom took me to ReKeeta's we went to Laura's for lunch. It took Bryce a little while to warm up to us but soon he was laughing at us. Too bad for him he couldn't crawl.

I thought this picture was cute. At ReKeeta's we relaxed all afternoon and then she and I went to get Monicals for supper. Delish! We gave Grace and Abbi a bath together. There was much water all over but I think they had a good time!

Grace always has her tongue hanging out!

It looks like Abbi is teaching Grace one of her tricks. Monkey see, Monkey do!

We traveled home on Tuesday. Grace was a trooper. 10 hours in the car is rough on a kid. She only fussed for about the last hour and a half. She was excited to see her Daddy when we got home. I was too!

This week we got a load on Tuesday. It is all banana boxes except for 3 bins of dog food and 1 bin of cat food. Back to the grind!

Here's Grace saying Bye-Bye!

Mid-September?

For those of you who have told me that it has been one month since I've updated, you are partially wrong. Today is Sept 13 and I updated on Aug 18. I kind of get stuck in ruts and this time it was that I was trying to create a photo gallery and couldn't figure it out. Until I did this I just couldn't get myself to update. My experienced cousin Steph helped me figure it out and I think I am learning a new more efficient way to post pictures. Hopefully this is enjoyable to you viewers. The first set is our trip to Duluth which we made on Labor Day weekend. Rustin, Grace, and I went camping for Grace's first time. It was quite an experience. We were in his parent's pop-up atleast. Grace did ok the first couple of nights and the last night she was a bear.

Rustin is at the beginning of his busy season. Fehrs are chopping silage for their dairies, so during the day he soil samples all of their fields and some evenings he drives truck for them. Grace and I rode with him one Sat. Grace soon got bored with trucking and wanted to play with all the buttons and gadgets on the truck so we didn't stay too long.

Right now Grace and I are at my parents house and Rustin is in Hancock. We came down with his parents who are visiting Eric and ReKeeta. I am enjoying myself but do miss Rustin. It's good to get away from the busy life sometimes. So far it has happened about once a month. I suspect that will come to a halt when winter arrives. I can hardly wait!!! (not)

Where has August gone?

I think August has went by faster than July. Hardly seems possible! The first weekend in August we spent in the Cities for Dale and Meg's wedding. It was so nice to see many friends and family. My family and us stayed down there until Wed. sightseeing. We saw Minnehaha Falls, went to Como Zoo, and of course we went to the Mall of America.

Matt, Susan, and I at Minnehaha Falls.

The Four Ladies

Grace and I at the zoo.

We took Grace to an Old Fashioned Studio in the mall. She cooperated quite well as long as money was in her hands!

On Wed. we all came back to our house. They decided since they were so close and hadn't seen the remodeling, they would like to see it. I think they had fun watching Grace while Rustin and I worked. Dad got in on a truck unload. It is quite an operation. They left Sat. morning to head home. The next weekend was the Stevens County Fair. It is similar to the Turkey Festival and the 4-H fair combined. Rustin really enjoys the fair because he sees all sorts of people he hasn't seen in a while. I, on the other hand, could spend one night at the fair and be happy. (We compromised for a night and a day.) Rustin took Grace on the Merry-Go-Round and she loved it. That ride spins faster than I remember it spinning. I could hardly watch without getting dizzy.

This past weekend we watched Luke and Tiffany so Trevor, Jody, and Tory could go to the state fair. Rustin keeps saying that someday we'll go. I've heard it's one of the top three in the nation.

Grace received this hat and sunglasses from one of our friends. The glasses wrap around her head so it's much harder for her to get them off.

This is our experimental garden. On the left is carrots and on the right is kolarabi. We had to tear out the radishes because they were too leggy and there wasn't enough room for all three. They are producing quite well.

The latest is that Grace has a tooth. This explains some of her unexpainable crabbiness the past week. Labor Day weekend we are going camping near Duluth. I am ready for another get-a-way!

Grace is CRAWLING!

Yes, it has finally happened. My life will never be the same. On Tuesday Grace took her first forward crawls. I think she somewhat surprised herself. As I watch her move around and explore I realize how baby proof our house isn't. I suppose there will be some changes made. The first one will be moving the refrigerator over a few inches. The cord sticks out somewhat and she is pretty interested in that one. I think from this moment forward I will be losing weight as well as Grace. She is already starting to lose some of her cute chubbiness. It is so amazing as to all that happens in 8.5 months. Last week I took Grace into the doctor because she had fevers and she wasn't eating anything. (Thankfully she would drink bottles.) She was diagnosed with tonsilitis and put on amoxicillin. I can tell by her facial expressions and her willingness to eat it that the stuff tastes so good! (not) I think the meds are working because she is back to her cheerful self. She sleeps for 3-4 hours at a time so they must be strong! Now I am looking for teeth so maybe she can eat more solids. During her sick time I did find one food she would eat and that was pudding. Too bad they don't make pudding flavor with veggies. This weekend we are going to Detroit Lakes with Rustin's parents. The following weekend and part of week we are going to the Cities for Dale and Meg's wedding. On Wed. my family is coming back to Hancock with us. I am so ready for a little R&R, so this should be just the ticket.

The 4th

Sometimes I feel like a broken record when I post. Still busy at Meadowland, Grace is eating better and still can't crawl, etc. We had a short but sweet visit to Tremont a few weeks ago. We visited the grandparents and just took it easy most of the weekend. Eric and ReKeeta came up for the 4th. Hancock has our big celebration which starts off with the firemen serving breakfast. The parade starts at 1:30. Afternoon activities include Bingo and a tractor pull. And then of course there's fireworks that start at 10. We went to the breakfast and then I went home to clean while Rustin stayed and help serve pancakes. This year we decided to have a float in the parade. Jody and some of her sisters made two 'can' costumes which then her nieces wore, and we also decorated a float. When we bought the store we acquired 3 boxes of princess crowns, so we crowned little girls on the sidelines and also threw out candy. Jody and I handed out our magnets and pens. Gotta use free advertisement when you can! After the parade we were open for a crazy two hours. We didn't know how it would go, but we decided it was worth it. Supper was held at Grandma Schmidgall's with most of the family there. Afterwards Rustin and I were tired so we went home with the intentions of going to bed early. He got a fire call around 8:00. Luckily it was only a grass fire, and they were able to contain it pretty easily. We still got to bed relatively early and had the fireworks put us to sleep. On Saturday we headed to South Dakota to buy fireworks half off. We stopped in Ortonville on the way home and played on the playground that Rustin and ReKeeta played on in fourth grade. They lived there until that age and then moved back to Morris. It is neat to see where Rustin grew up.

Grace's first slide ride

Grandma and her grandkids

What a cutie!!!

Grace and Abbi playing so well together.

Just an Update

Sorry no pictures this time. Grace still looks the same - cute as a button. She is napping right now so I have some quiet time to update. Two Fridays ago we got in another truckload for the store. We bought through a different broker and so far we are very impressed with this guy. We have thrown away less bad merchandise and most of the product looks as though it will sell quickly. We are getting ready for the big 4th of July festival. There will be a parade and fireworks. I told Rustin he could be with me and Grace this year and let the other firefighters set the fireworks off. We'll see if he listens to me. Meadowland Market is creating a float for the parade. I'll have to show pictures later. We are hoping to involve a few bent and dent cans that will walk through the parade. Grace is doing a little better in eating food and lets us know when she's full by spitting at us. (Rustin is really impressed with this.) We planted a garden of carrots, kolarabi, radishes, and cucumbers. Hopefully it will be very fruitful. After hearing of all the flooding south of us, we can't complain of all the rain we've got. We are prayerful for all those who have lost so much. I never made it to Boluxi but it hits home more when two neighboring states have so much devastation. Hopefully we will be able to find a route home this weekend !!!

I can't believe June is almost here!

Of course it still feels like March up north! Rustin's busy season is coming to a close. I am excited for this. It wouldn't be so bad if Grace could talk to me. I guess I shouldn't wish that upon me too soon! We mowed our grass for the first time last week. We waited a little too long though, because it needed to be raked. The store is going well. Grace is crawling backwards, which is great except for when she runs into something and gets stuck. She doesn't like this very well. She is aquiring more of a Koch/Schmidgall tempermant which is both a good thing and a bad thing. Her adaptation to real food is going extremely slow. She is more content to drink her bottle. I guess when she' s ready she'll let me know. If you have any good advice in this department let me know!






We watched Emerson the other night so Greg and Sheila could go out to eat in peace for their anniversary. He was a lot of fun and a good fortaste as to what Grace will be getting in to. Grace looks like she isn't enjoying herself, but actually she likes 'playing' with other kids. She likes playing with her tongue also. Sheila and I took the two of them shopping the other day and it was quite interesting. Shopping went well, it was the eating out that was interesting. The two of them generally wanted the same menu or toy. After puking and screaming both Sheila and I were ready to leave. It was a fun day though.

On Memorial Day Weekend the three of us went to the Cities for the weekend. We stayed near the Mall of America and IKEA so we shuttled alot. Including us there was 20 people at church so they were glad to see us. This is Grace in her cute little bikini. She is still at the cute stage for bikini wearing. Unfortunately the pool was too cold for her so we didn't stay there long. We are hoping to make it to Tremont sometime in June. Happy Beginning of Summer!

Eating Peaches

Sorry for the weird background noises but I thought this video was too cute to pass up. Yes, this was the first time Grace ate real food besides rice cereal. I'm not sure she is fond of it yet. But judging by her eating habits thus far, I think she will adapt quickly.

She and I had a great start to the week last week. We decided to fall down the entire set of 12 stairs. Since I was on the bottom she was spared alot. She did, however, puke up her breakfast after it happened. And then she puked the entire following day. I took her into the doctor but he said she probably was just shook up and didn't have a concussion. I was thankful to hear that. Parenting is stressful at times! This week we are hoping for a less exciting week.

Last weekend we got our snow and are hoping this is the end of that. Today has been sunny and 50 so alot of it has melted. The store is busy and going well. We are waiting on another load so we can keep busy! My days off consist of cleaning, laundry, and doing dishes pretty much, so I better get back to the grind.

April 26, 2008

10 inches, need I say more!!!

Mid-April Update

Isn't she so cute???? I am finding out that children are alot of work but also alot of fun. Grace is 5.5 months. She can almost sit up by herself. She rolls from her stomach to her back, but only because she hates being on her stomach. She is constantly grabbing at anything in sight and putting it in her mouth. I'm excited for her to crawl but also nervous cause then I will have to watch her like a hawk.


Bent and Dent is going great. We are keeping very busy. We hired Jody's sister to help us so each of us can have a day off a week. This seems to be working out well. Grace goes to Kara Messner's on the days I work and she seems to like it there better than at the store. (Something about the needing attention business!)


I left ahead of a snow storm to make it Brett and Lauras' baptisms. I had rain most of the way but atleast I got out of the snow. It was a nice but short weekend. I was ready to see Rustin though.


This past weekend we had baptisms and communion. It was a long but very encouraging weekend. Since it is actually warming up and staying relatively dry, Rustin is starting to put in longer hours. I'd say in the next week or two I won't hardly see him except to sleep. I don't particularly care for these hours but it only lasts about a month.


Well it's 8:30 and it's not dark yet. I love MN spring and summer!!!





As I said, Grace grabs anything in sight!



Grace and her twin Darcy. Still the same size and hairless!

Dent and Bent

I guess you could say my life in the last few weeks has been crazy. Rustin and I and Trevor and Jody bought a store called Meadowland Market. It is more commonly referred to as Dent and Bent. It was started about 2 years ago by a family in Hancock and they sold so they could go on tour. The type of things we sell are non-perishable items that are overstock or a little less than perfect. After weeks of legalities, running around, advertising, and so on and so forth we are going to open on Tues. the 11th. This week we have been stocking some very bare shelves. It was neat to see the variety of items that came on the load. Warehouses fill banana boxes full of a hodge podge of stuff - some things you can make money on and some things not. Right now I have been run rugged, but I am looking forward to opening day.

We made it home to Tremont for Easter. Everyone exclaimed how much Grace had grown since the last time she was down. I think the most exciting thing with Grace is that she responds to anyone. All you have to do is look at her and she smiles. She is good for me, because I can be really mad and she will smile, and I can't help but perk up. Matt especially enjoyed making her giggle. She has found her fingers and her voice ( at loud decibles) so life is interesting.

If you ever come to Hancock, you'll have to check out Dent and Bent!

Is March going to come in like a Lion or out like a Lamb?

I don't know if this question applies in Minnesota because winter seems to linger on through the entire month. It is still neat to observe weather patterns. I have major cabin fever if you can't tell. Two weekends ago, as I previously stated, we were Trevor and Jody's invite-a-couple. During the supper prayer there was so much hacking going on, you could hardly hear the speaker. I mentioned to Rustin that if we didn't all get sick, it would be a miracle. Famous last words! I got sick. Tuesday afternoon I had a fever so I took many naps. Wednesday I felt fine so we babysat 5 girls like we were going to. Me and the girls made chocolate chip cookies for Rustin and their family. It was fun to see how 5 girls take turns. They did a good job. Thursday I woke up and knew that it was going to be difficult taking care of Grace. Thankfully Rustin came home from work at 10 and took her up to visit Grandpa Fehr at the hospital. I laid on the couch the entire day. Friday wasn't much better with the fever, sinuses, sore throat, etc., and on top of it all Grandpa Fehr died that day. The visitation was on Sunday night and the funeral was yesterday. Although there is always sorrow when a loved one dies, we could rejoice because Grandpa was I think 94 and had wanted to go Home for many years. The sad part for me was I knew him the least of anyone because when I first met him last year, his mind was already going as far as short term memory. When we took Grace into see him when she was born, we told him her name is Grace Anna. He looked at us and said, "Anna is my wife's name." We knew his longer ago memory was better. Back to the funeral, we took Grace up to the front with the family and she did the best she has ever done in church. She did so good that I didn't want to even hold her in case I moved wrong. However as it usually goes when things are going so well, she decided she needed to mess her pants so I went out to change her. Upon going back into church she started fussing, so unfortunately that was the last of her being in church. I didn't miss too much of the service, and someone held her while we had the last viewing. Grandpa always had a smile on his face which is something we can all strive for. Rustin worked for a couple hours in the afternoon and then we ate a Pizza Ranch for supper. Hopefully this week will be a healthier, sunnier week than last!

Remodel Px

I will attempt to show some before, during, and after px of our remodel job.








This is the livingroom before.





This is the office before.




In the bathroom video, this is the hallway I am talking about. Rustin should've been a carpenter. (Actually it isn't his most favorite past-time.














Rustin reaching from the bathroom into the office. Now we have insulated rooms!











This is what I lived with for 2 months.

I am very thankful to be done with the project. Now I have more Grace time. This weekend we are Trevor and Jody's invite-a-couple. Not much else is new.

Weekend in the Cities

Saturday morning we left in a blizzard to meet Susan in the cities. She and others from the UofI young group came up for the weekend. They went tubing in the morning and we met them at the FH for lunch. After lunch we broadened Susan's horizons by taking her to our favorite store, IKEA. I don't think she was as impressed as we always are. We didn't have enough room in our car for what we wanted so we will have to make another trip down. After checking in to our motel, we went to Dewayne and Larae Dill's for supper and the evening. It was a nice time of food fun and singing. Sunday we arrived at church, and not 15 minutes into the service Grace puked all over Susan's skirt and her own blouse. With much wiping we cleaned both of them up pretty good. After church we said our good-byes and went our separate ways.

Last week I have been helping Jody paint an older couple's house. It hadn't been touched in about 30 years so the walls and cupboards are pretty disgusting. We are hoping to finish up this week. I was supposed to help her today, but I had to take Grace into the doctor's. She has a nasty cough and I wanted to make sure it wasn't RSV. It turns out she just has a nasty cold but also found out she has an ear infection. This is the second one in her life. Hopefully she will be feeling better in a few days. You just feel so helpless in helping these little guys that can't tell you what's wrong. Fully clothed Grace weighed 14.2 #, so I'm guessing she is between 13 and 13.5 #. I think right now it's all in her head!

We're Almost Done!!!

After two months of remodeling, our project is almost done. I am so excited! We lengthened and widened the bathroom and knocked out the wall between the office and the living room. It seems as though there is more room. I have never been through this (that I clearly remember) - where you live in your remodel job with nowhere to put things so you have to cover everything and not use most of it. It has been somewhat stressful but it's looking up. I've decided if we ever buy another house that needs remodeled, we will hopefully remodel before we move in. I don't have new px yet, so you will have to wait for a later blog. I do however, have px of Grace. She is fastly growing. At her two month appointment which was 2.5 weeks ago she weighed 11#12oz. and was 23 3/4 in. long. That puts her in the 75 % for weight and 90 % for height. She is starting to sleep through the night until anywhere from 6-9 almost all the time. I am excited for that. Now that I have written it she will probably revert back to her once a night wake-up, but that is just babies. She is a real smiley baby. It really warms my heart when she smiles at me or whoever. She seems more human now! She went through a fussy bout with her formula, but thankfully she seems to have grown out of that and now just eats all the time! Here are some px of her around Christmas time.





Grace and her TWIN 2nd cousin Darcy Wiegand








Grace's first swim with her Daddy. Her swim diaper was
so big that she had to wear a regular one underneath it.



I'll have to keep updating px of Grace, or many of you won't recognize her when you see her!