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!