Merry Christmas Everyone!

This Christmas was different than any one I have experienced ever in my life. First of all Rustin's sister hasn't made it up from IL due to the weather. Secondly church was cancelled due to the weather. Third, Rustin's Mom was a little under the weather, so we didn't go to their house. But this is all okay because there will be another day to get together with family and friends. It was a good time to reflect on the True Meaning of the Season of Jesus and his birth and sacrifice for all of us. Merry Christmas to you all!

How can it be December already?

We arrived back in cold, somewhat wintery Minnesota on Sunday night. (I saw a few snowflakes today!) It was such a relaxing week in Illinois. We had the perfect amount of visit time and 'home' time. Grace travelled her best on the way home. Strange, since this was the longest she was in the vehicle. Monday she had her 2 year checkup and everything checked well. The shot nurse is one of our friends so I think Grace was a little shocked that she poked her. She didn't cry too long, but I'm sure next time won't be so easy. Last night she was up all night wheezing and coughing. She had a temp. this morning so I decided I better take her in. You never know with all the H1N1 going around. We were waiting for the doctor and she decided to empty her belly all over herself, me, and the floor. I tried to get her to use the wastebasket but she wasn't interested in that. Thankfully they moved us to another room. They swabbed her throat and nose to test for strep and influenza and sent us home with tamiflu. Thankfully both of those tests came back negative. I guess Grace has the good old-fashioned flu. I can tell she's not acting normal because all she wants to do is sleep and snuggle. This too shall pass!

Here are a few px from the week. I put them on backwards chronologically by accident:(



Susan and Grace fed the Baer's cat, Smoky.



The kabob grillers.



We decided to do kabobs for our Christmas dinner.




Grace's favorite toy.

Grace always wanted to feed Jessie a bone. It was quite comical.

Grace playing with Abbi and Avery-a boy ReKeeta watches.

I have proof that ReKeeta does work in the kitchen once in a while!

Now I just have to get motivated to put up Christmas decor. If only there was snow on the ground!!!

The Birthday Girl

Our little peanut turned 2 on Saturday. If you ask her how old she is, she proudly holds up either 1 finger or all five and says "TWO". We celebrated her birthday with Tiffany last weekend, so on her actual day we went shopping in St. Cloud. One of our neighbors made her two of the cookies she's holding. I have to admit they were scrumptious. She is becoming more talkative as the days go by. Her new phrase is "I funny." Although, usually she is doing something she knows she shouldn't be doing. I get my stern face on and die laughing inside. It is interesting in how different boys and girls are. Before going to daycare, Grace didn't have a clue what guns were. Now anything she can get her hands on is a gun. Of course she only shoots 'aminals.' I just have to laugh and hope she is a little more girly than I was.
Two weeks from now I hope to be in Illinois for a week. I am so excited!!!

October Happenings

Grace is sporting the colors!

Grandma and Grandpa Koch came to visit in the middle of October. Unfortunately it snowed while they were here so we were house bound most of the time. We of course ate at one of the family favorites, Ranch House. Grace always enjoys it when Grandma is here because she gets held more often than normal.

Last week Rustin made a pig run out to Pennsylvania. The trip lasted four days and was the longest one yet. Thankfully he doesn't have to do that often. Grace and I spent our evenings with friends and family. Saturday we left for Sioux Falls, SD to do a little shopping and then we went to Lester for our friend Taylor's wedding. We stayed Saturday night with Rustin's cousin Karla and Monte Gerber. They have four kids who loved Grace and she loved them back. Grace is definitely a social bug. She, however, did not sleep very well. This was the first night away from home since she is NUK free. She slept a few hours after we went to bed. Let's just say Sunday was interesting with a crabby Grace and a crabby Sharon.

So far this week has been brisk and sunny. We'll just hope that winter is staying away a little longer:)

Already causing a stir!

I got a call at work from Grace's Daycare saying she had a bite mark from another kid. I laughed thinking it would just look like a tooth mark on her cheek. Come to find out Grace was dragging some kid down on her and got chomped in the process. We don't know if it's accidental or on purpose. Either way I still think it's hilarious that Grace has met her match. She started at this place when school started, and the two year olds are having territory issues. After this incident they are more or less avoiding each other. Grace likes it when the preschoolers are there so she can play with the big kids. There is also a baby girl whom she dotes on. The girl's mom told me that Grace is gentle with her which shocks me. The last time Grace was around babies she was treating them like she treats her dolls. There's a reason for the term ragdoll.

I was a little nervous with going to an actual daycare, but this one was run by my friend's friend. The lady built her basement as the daycare, so there is a huge 'playground' in it. Grace is always talking about the slides and going to Julie's house. I am thankful that she loves it so much, and seems to get along with most of the kids quite well.

I have to tell another Grace story that I thought was cute. One of our neighbors are Frank and Gertie. A few weeks ago Grace started calling Frank, Hank. I guess the Fr sound is too difficult. Anyways, every time we are outside she is wondering where Hank is. She gets really excited when she sees he's out. The other morning we were getting in the car to go somewhere and she said, "Hank, Mom?" I told her I didn't know, he was probably sleeping. She replied, "No, Mom... Eat." I busted out laughing because she must have thought it was too late in the day to be sleeping. She's heard me say that Frank is either eating or sleeping a little too often!

Hope you have a great week! It's sunny and fall-like here!

The Smokies

We are finally back from our week long trip to the Smokies and Gatlinburg TN. It was a much needed relaxing vacation. The ONLY downside to the trip was that it rained almost every day. Oh well, more sleep time, right? You can look in the photo gallery for more px if you are interested.

Friday 4: We left Hancock at 4am to head to Champaign. We met Susan around 3 and she showed us around campus. I forgot the camera. Dad Mom Matt and Michelle met us at O'Charley's for supper. That is my absolute favorite restaurant and of course there are none in MN.

Saturday 5: We drove to Clarksville Tn to have lunch at my friend Tammy and husband Dave's house. He is an army lawyer at Ft. Campbell. They showed us around the fort, which was neat since I've never been to one. It basically was like a little town that was gated. We arrived in Gatlinburg at 11:00pm.

Sunday 6: We had a late church and then went to the Flea Market. We found a few bargains we couldn't pass up, and then went back to go swimming. Grace loved it as usual. She is always asking where her 'hwim huit' is.

Monday 7: We slept in today and went to Ripley's Aquarium in the afternoon. It was pouring buckets so this was a good place to go. Afterwards we walked a little of downtown Gatlinburg.

Tuesday 8: Rustin won us a ticket to Cirque de Chine at our resort's 'Get to Know You', so we went there in the afternoon. The morning was spent at another resort convincing a salesman we didn't want to buy a timeshare with him. Let's just say 'only 90 minutes' lasts 4 hours and free cash and restaurant gift certificates isn't always worth the time you have to spend warding off vultures. We learned our lesson in timeshares! The Cirque de Chine was very entertaining with the Chinese acrobats, drummers, and motorcyclists in a cage. Even Grace sat bug-eyed the entire time. Later that evening we were out walking around the resort when out of the corner of my eye I saw a bear walking by rooms. I freaked out and gave Rustin the camera. I took Grace back to the room all the while hearing "Where's the puppy Mom?" Nice puppy! We had been warned that bears like to stroll through the resort around dusk, and I'm kind of glad I safely witnessed it.

Wednesday 9: We devoted this day to the actual Great Smoky Mt. Nat'l Park. When my family came along time ago I remember it being very curvy and stomach unsettling. Unfortunately this hadn't changed. We hiked to Laurel Falls and very much enjoyed the views. We headed to Cherokee NC to the Indian reservation since it was raining. Grace enjoyed the Bear Zoo and we did a little window shopping. We headed back anticipating climbing to the top of Clingman's Dome. The turnoff to the dome is halfway between Cherokee and Gatlinburg and then you still have 7 miles of up-mountain driving. It was pouring so we debated going but decided to anyways. I decided it would've been a neat place to hike on a sunny day. Oh well.



In the evening we ate at a pizza joint with an arcade. Grace loved it. Rustin liked playing Deal or No Deal. After we played one round of golf.

Thursday 10: We went to play our other round of golf this morning. Here is Grace in her attire. She loves George as long as his leash is loose!

We walked the streets of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg one last time.

Friday 11: We left Gatlinburg at 4am again to head to Tremont. The trip was pretty uneventful and we picked up Susan in Champaign because her car was broke down. Bob and Jenny came out for supper and Eric and ReKeeta and Abbi came after work for the evening. We had a nice time visiting.

Saturday 12: We girls did a little shopping during the day, and then we visited the Grandparents in the afternoon and evening. Grace loves all of them but kind of gets confused when we say Grandma and Grandpa and my parents aren't there. We got to see Brett and Laura's new home that evening.

Sunday 13: Church was packed for a wedding in the morning. We said our goodbyes and left after lunch. We made it home in a record 10.5 hours since Grace was born at 10:30.

I was so excited because today I didn't have to get up and go to work. My summer, city job is through so I am now working 2.5 days a week. Hopefully I will be able to catch up on house work, or maybe a book or two!

It was good to get away. I came back refreshed and ready for fall to come. This is always an exciting time of year!

A Funny Feeling

On Sunday I was sitting at the lunch table eating away when Grace decided it was time to sit on my lap. She started to eat some grapes and cookies. All of a sudden my lap felt wet like I had urinated the wrong way. I was so taken aback at first and then it hit me Grace had peed through her diaper. After consulting with my neighbor that yes the spot was just on the front and not all the way through my legs to the back, I grabbed my shield and took her to the baby room for a changing. Of course her dress was spotless since she was sitting on me. I hurredly found Rustin eating and told him we'd meet him in the car. Needless to say we had afternoon service via the phone line. Grace's diaper usually lasts till after lunch, but I guess she had more drinks than usual.

Truckin' Around

Well... This is Rustin and his new truck. He loves his new job, and the pigs aren't as bad as he thought. (Thus far he has had no bad experiences either.) His major routes are to Storm Lake Iowa and Sioux Falls S. Dakota. Every three weeks he goes on a 2 day trip to Missouri. I am looking forward to an IL trip sometime. I am adjusting well to the new hours and quirks of the job. For some odd reason I thought he would be gone more than he is. Grace got to ride in the truck with him yesterday. She looked like she was having a blast.

Last weekend was the county fair. Grace and her friend Kylie went on all the 2 year old rides and had much fun. Once Grace found the horn on the cars, that's all we heard the rest of the ride. Grace Rustin and I went on the Ferris Wheel which I hadn't done in a long time. Grace didn't like it when the ride would stop so others could get on, so she tried climbing out of the cage once when we were at the top. Talk about being a nervous wreck. We enjoyed tasting all of the good fair food, and I personally am glad when it's over!

July

Wow! A month has flown by and I have failed to blog at all. Sorry to all you faithful readers. A lot has happened in this month also, so I'll try to keep it brief and to the point. (Sorry in advance if I happen to miss something important. I'm sure I'll be reminded.)

July 4 - Annual 4th of July celebration in Hancock - Grace and I rode with Rustin in the fire truck during the parade. Grace had much fun playing with cousin Abbi.

July 11 - Kerry, Kelly, Sam, and Allison came up for the GI Jr Fort Sam reunion. We visited the store, the dairies, and had a bonfire. Sam and Grace played well, but Grace picked on Allison most of the time.

The guys took a bike ride to Trico.

This is where Allison was most of the time to get away from that meanie!

We also attended Rustin's 10 year class reunion that weekend. It was a blast :( I didn't know anybody so an hour of 'reminiscing' was long enough for me.

July 18 - Susan and Matt came for a week long visit. I hope they had as much fun as we did. They did alot of watching Grace because I still had to work most days. She definitely enjoyed their company. She named them Wu and Bat. While they were here we went to Fargo to the Art Fair and shopping. We also took them tubing on a 70 degree day in a 60 degree lake. Needless to say I didn't get in the water. Grace loved it though. Thursday we started out for Chicago for Tim and Melissa's wedding.

July 25 - We had a blast at the wedding (Grace slept through it,) but not so much at the reception (she woke up and was in high gear.) We had a nice time seeing some family and extending the weekend with my family. We played Phase 10 (a Sally favorite) went to a place with mini golf, bumper boats, water wars (I got soaked) and an arcade. Rustin won over 800 tickets on his first coin in the slot of Trucker Dump. This traded in for a U of I basketball.

On the way home from the lake after tubing Grace saw her first irrigator. As she does with everything she asked what's that. Of course every field after that had an irrigator so we heard this the whole way home. I don't know what was funnier, hearing her say it or Matt's annoyance with her saying it so much. (Sorry for the dizzying end. I was trying to catch a px of the irrigator.)

July 29 - We are home and visitor free for about a month. Grace is getting back into her routine. Tomorrow is Rustin's last day at Trico. He is changing jobs to becoming a truck driver. He is hauling pigs for a guy in town. It is mostly day trips with a few night trips a month. Sometimes he wil be hauling to Peoria area so Grace and I will probably hitch a ride. We are excited for the new opportunity and praying the changes and adjustments go well. We know and are thankful that whatever happens God will provide.

PS - Grace's hair is finally coming in and is, I think, a cute little bob!

Oops!

There's a reason why I prune shrubs and not cut hair! I thought the back of Grace's hair was scraggly so I decided to trim it so it would grow evenly. Underneath it looks shaved, so people really think she's a boy. Hopefully a couple weeks/months will help it.

As you can see she doesn't care.

Grace is having fun with Kaitlyn, Candace, and Grant this summer. Her attitude is becoming more 2 year oldish. At least her please and thank-yous come out almost as much as the no's and mine's do.

Recently for the City we have been doing cleanup for the 4th. I'm guessing we'll be trimming branches next week. I take care of the flower pots on Main St. I love it: it brings back wonderful Slager/Avanti's memories. We just got a truckload in at the store, so we're back to busy- marking/stocking. We are trying a new thing of ordering blueberries and bing cherries. The first load arrives next Thursday so I'm anticipating chaos. People seem really excited that we are trying this. Hopefully they taste/look good or we'll never be able to do it again.

The weather is finally in the upper 80's and 90's. I love it!!! Everyone up here complains how hot it is, but I'll take this over snow any day!

West Bend

Rustin and I haven't been to West Bend since we've been married, so we decided to visit over Memorial Day weekend. It was a blast! I haven't stayed up that late talking for so many consecutive nights in a long time. We stayed with Carl and Sara Gerber on Saturday night. Grace got along great with their 3 kids, especially 2 year old Claire. (You can imagine how it was the majority of the time.) I just hope Grace doesn't get U's all the time on her Kindergarten report cards for 'plays well with others.'

Sunday evening we met some families at the Grotto park so the kids could play together. Grace slid down the slide most of the evening. Towards the end Rustin took her to the top of the Grotto. If you ever make it to West Bend I recommend stopping by the Grotto. It tells the story of Salvation through rock sculpture.

We stayed the night at Kent and Jolene Fehr's. Grace loved their slide and dog, but did not like her first introduction to pigs, even baby pigs. I guess some unknown creature squealing at you isn't the best for first time meetings. Grace loved playing with Monika. I think she scared the three boys with her expressiveness.

This Friday and Saturday we spent up at the lake. It was cold and windy so we didn't get on the lake like we'd hoped to, but we still had a nice time.

Little Blurps

Isn't this so nice? Grace gave me a Mother's Day kiss with me only asking once. She usually is very limited with her kisses. She was probably thinking, if I do this she'll leave me alone. We had many failed picture attempts previously.

This is a long overdue picture of April 9, 2009 the second Grand Opening. This is the front of the store, looking down main street. If you look three buildings down at the building with the white awning, this is where our old store was.

This summer looks to be hectic. On Mondays and Tuesdays I am working for the city again, helping out with cleanup and preparation for July 4th. So far I love it. They purchased a new tractor which I have gotten to experience using.

This weekend we are going to West Bend to visit old friends. It has been years since I or Rustin have been there and I am excited for the trip.

Happy May Day! (a little late)

I can't believe it is already May. Time goes so fast. This past week was extremely busy and this one looks to be busier!

We had a great time in Tremont/Washington last weekend. I was so close I felt like I was at my own wedding all over again. It was a good service to hear and be reminded of different things you don't think of every day in your marriage. (But I probably should.)

Bob and Jenny at the delicious Rehearsal Dinner at the Lariat Steakhouse.

The proud parents.

Beautiful flowers and the smashing Groom's parents.

Two peas in a pod.

Unfortunately all 8 of my camera batteries were dead at the reception, so I got next to nill in px. I guess memories will have to do for now. I'm sure Su has some px up her sleeve - we just have to get her to update.

Grace and I stayed until Tuesday and laze around and she played with Jessie. She really isn't biting Grace's hand although it looks like it. Grace liked Jessie at this distance and preferrably a little farther. She was bowled over a couple times. We had great travels and if Grace doesn't change, I think I'd do it again.

Last Thursday the Rapid Response guys came to install our new furnace and haul the old one. As you can probably guess, the hardest part of the day was taking out the 500+ pound furnace. After much struggling, we called a couple of neighbors over to help out these two and Rustin. It went much better after that.

What a long, grueling day, but we are happy, thankful, and very excited for next winter's heat and heat bills.

Side Note: Yes we really are trying to wean Grace from her Nuk. Unfortunately every px she has it in her mouth. She really is doing pretty good except now I find her gnawing on her thumb and pointer finger. Help!

Grand Opening #2

Friday April 10 was Meadowland Market's Grand Opening at the new location. The crowd far exceeded our expectations. The weather was perfect for the 'brat and a pop for a buck'. We planned on serving 150 between Friday and Saturday. Friday wasn't half over and we needed more brats. We ended up serving around 500 in the two days. It's neat getting to know the townspeople and they once again showed great support.

We just love the upgraded building. There is twice the room in the store area. The middle bay is enough to hold all the food and our working table. The back room has three bays for non-food storage. Its amazing how much better a building is with more lights, windows, and fresh paint!

It's nice to be back on my normal work schedule. The week prior to opening was alot of hard work and not alot of Grace time. She and I are looking forward to travelling to Illinois this Thursday for Bob and Jenny's wedding. Rustin will fly in on Friday night. We are excited for the extended visit and I hope the Tremont townwide Garage Sales! (unless they changed the weekend)

Whoda Thunk It?

I don't know about you, but I've never been a winner of contests, sweepstakes, door prizes, whatever you want to call them...until last week. We aren't winning a Million Dollars, but we are winning a brand new furnace.

We found out we officially have the oldest furnace in Stevens County!!! During the month of March, a company called Rapid Response held a contest in which contestants had to send in the make, model, serial number of their furnace, and whoever's was the oldest received a brand new furnace. We thought we might have a fighting chance since we couldn't find the serial number and the company was nowhere to be found on the web. We called up the previous owner's daughter and she thought the original coal-burner was installed in the early 1950's by her grandparents. (It has since been converted to natural gas.)

Tomorrow a rep from the company is coming to our house for interviews, pictures, and possible (I hope not) radio time. I have never truly appreciated an old house until now. There are sometimes advantages. Mostly we are thankful to God for His timely intercessions. I'll keep you updated.

75% Mad Dash

You want to see something funny? Have your entire store at 75% off and watch the crazyness begin.

Last week we had our moving sale bargains at Meadowland Market. It was the best and busiest 3 days we've had in a long time, except for the fact that everything was 50 or 75 % off. In the three days we even gained new customers. Thursday and Friday were busy days at 50% off. But Saturday topped them all with everything 75% off. I stood at the till all morning long while the lines stretched back to the storage door. People just hauled out junk after junk. It was great entertainment. The best was the order at the end of the day. (Good thing I wasn't in a hurry and in a good mood.) A lady and her friend pull up to the till as the last customers at about 12:10. It took me a good 10 minutes to do their orders. Once I was done with his she was already back finding more stuff. I rang up her extras and he was back finding more. I got those done and he decided he was finished and went out to the car. She happened to find the Texas Hold 'Em electronic games we've had for awhile. She'd put five on the counter, think about it, and put five more. After 20 minutes of debating she finally bought all 30 games we had. At a buck you can't go wrong for Christmas presents! We were trying not to laugh, but didn't succeed very well. I was able to finally shut the doors at 12:45.

This is the last you'll hear from me for a week because we are busy stocking the new store for the GRAND OPENING on Friday and Saturday!

Bell

Well it's almost been two weeks since Bell (the foreign exchange student from Thailand) came for a visit, so I thought I'd better post before I forget. We had a really nice, fast weekend with her. She came on Friday night and left on Sunday afternoon. Her husband and child couldn't make it because her son was sick. Not too fun to travel with a sick kid. Rustin, Grace and I stopped over for a quick visit Friday night. He and Bell are the same age so they had a definite brother/sister relationship. He hadn't seen her for 10 years but you never would have guessed it.

We worked the store on Saturday morning and then we all went to Mom and Dad's for the day. It actually was a relaxing day with much laughter, playing, and chatting. In the evening Jody and Keeta set up an Easter egg hunt for the kids. Grace just didn't quite get it so here is what she mainly did.

Here is a px of the 5 grandkids. What a bunch of cute kids!

Luke Abbi Tiffany Grace Tory

Last Saturday we had Tommy and Amber and Kylie over for dinner and the evening. It was so much fun. Grace and Kylie were hilarious together. They played well together and picked on each other pretty good.

At one point (about 9:00) Grace was getting a little crabby, so Kylie thought she would help her out by handing her cheerios. Pretty soon Grace was like a princess and Kylie her servant except Kylie just kept handing the wrong thing. We all were dying laughing. I love Kylie's laugh when Grace would squawk. It's good that Grace gets a little taste of her own medicine.

Today marks the day where everything in our old store is 50% off to try and rid of it before the move. After we close on Saturday everything is being removed and taken to the new store. (Hopefully it won't be much.) We are closed next week until Friday. And then... The Grand Re-opening!!! We are all very excited and ready to be in the new store. ( I think we are ready for some regular sleeping patterns too!)

The new word of the week is 'PLEASE'. Grace wanted something and out came a 'pea'. I was shocked because she has never said it before. We'll see if we can keep it up!

It's going to be a bright sun-shiny day!

This is Grace's new smile. She squints her eyes (usually more than this) and flashes a cheesy grin showing all teeth. I love it!

Since I usually complain about the MN weather, I thought I'd say how wonderful it has been this week. While we were having 60's in IL and MS this past weekend, so was MN. Grace and I took a walk yesterday, and I was even getting hot! We've got our back yard to drain so it isn't a pond, but I think it might be going to the basement! Thank goodness we've never carpeted it.

My siblings gave Grace blocks for Christmas. She loves building towers and destroying them. Usually hers fall before she gets a chance, so she really likes it if I build the tower.

She's also into trying on our shoes. Here she's trying to get my boots on. Once on they went up to her butt. I could never get a good shot!

Last Wednesday we started out for IL. I was amazed at how well Grace travelled. Other than wanting to eat every five minutes, she napped or looked out the window the entire time. Rustin and I listened to Amazing Grace by Danielle Steel. (He actually liked it.) In fact, we almost ran out of gas because we were both so into the book. On the way home we listened to Where the Red Fern Grows. I forgot how good that story is. It sure makes the time go by faster.

We stayed in Owatonna that night and Grace slept ok. On Thurs. we hit Tremont about 3:30. Jenny came over for supper so we got to spend time with her and the family.

What a cute couple!!! They are perfect for each other.

That night Grace's pants kept falling down so we had to get a px!

On Friday Grace and I went to visit Kelly and Sam. (Allison was sleeping.) Sam and Grace played together pretty well as long as Sam kept his distance from Grace and as long as she stayed away from his endloader. The first thing he said when he saw me was, "We're going to your house on 'cation." They are hoping to come up in July for a reunion. Hopefully the time passes by fast for him because July seems like a long ways off. Friday afternoon Mom and I went dress shopping for Bob and Jenny's wedding. Grace was the only lucky finder that trip. She was able to stay home with Daddy and Grandpa and take a much needed nap. Susan came home that afternoon and watched/played with her while the men went to Sears and Menards. That evening Jenny and Michelle came over for pizza. Us girls played Dutch Blitz for a long time. Jenny creamed us all by over 100 points.

Sat. morning we visited both Grandparents.

Grace enjoyed the cuckoo clock at Koch's. She was toodling around and opened a cupboard door and took out a squirrel figurine. For some reason she didn't want to let go of it. When she gets something in her head, watch out!

We went to Beutel's where she found the Dutch shoes which have been worn by all kids who have entered there!

She also found her Daddy's hat and her stinky diaper!

They gave her the dog Grandma is holding and she played with it about the whole trip home. She loves dogs and saying "woof woof."

Saturday afternoon we drove to Quincy to the Stoney Creek Inn. I noticed a Steak and Shake within walking distance so I knew where I'd be eating supper! We helped Rob and Marcia watch Tim and Jenny and Daryl and Christy kids while they went to the rehearsal dinner. The older kids played together and the younger ones just wanted to wander the halls. After helping the kids with pizza, Dad Mom Matt and us went to S and S for supper. It was sooooo good. I haven't had it in a long time. Minnesotans just don't know what they're missing. Mom and I went shopping afterwards for dresses. Mom was successful!!! I was not, but still have a month to find something.

Grace and Darcy! Poor thing had a cold and looks shot. She is such a happy-go-lucky girl. Grace kept trying to tickle her so it was hard to get a good px.

Finally Grace met her match - Max! He wouldn't let her push him around without a rebound.

The wedding was great. I met Ashley for the first time and feel she will be a blessing to Mark and our family. It's so exciting to welcome new additions to the family.

This weekend ReKeeta's are coming up and so is Bell - the Schmidgall's foreign exchange student from when Rustin was in high school. Looking forward to another great weekend!

In like a Lion

Our small Minnesota March world has come in like a lion.

Last week Grace had diahrrea - the big molars are coming in.

It snowed 9 inches. (They said 8-10 inches, so I'll average.)

And the best and a first for us: Grace awoke with the flu this morning at 4am. Rustin thankfully was the one who first saw and smelled her. (I got to take care of it.) Poor little thing. Every time she ate or drank anything today, up it came. It's hard not being able to do anything for her. You know Grace isn't feeling good when it is 5:30, she just woke from a 4 hour nap and she lies on the floor saying nigh-nigh. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day for her!

I hear predictions that there is going to be another big dumper this weekend. We'll just wait and see! Honestly this winter I would love to be in Il. Oh well, it builds character, right? I'll quit my complaining and keep my sights set on SPRING!

Steph's Survey

After reading the survey in Steph's blog, I decided to fill it out myself. So... enjoy!

Since the only thing I think about these days is babies, I thought I would do this survey:

First Born

Here you go mommies - a different kind of survey for a change - it's all about your first born (or adopted!)! Just copy and paste it in a new note for yourself!

Let's see how much you remember!

1. WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED?
No, not really.

2. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS?
Denial, then joy.

3. HOW OLD WERE YOU?
25.

4. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT?
My body began to feel different and I took a pregnancy test.

5. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST?
Rustin and then our parents. We didn't have to tell too many more!

6. DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX?
I did, but my husband didn't. He won that argument : )(same as Steph's)

7. DUE DATE?
November 10 or 12.

8. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS?
No.

9. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE?
I didn't have specific cravings but was always in the mood for Mexican food.

10. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST?
Not having the same amount of energy as before.

11. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD'S SEX?
Girl.

12. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING?
I did some at first, but Rustin wanted a girl. (I am very thankful for a girl, now.)

13. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY?
Theoretically 40. But actually 45-50. You have to remember I was at my all time record low from the wedding jitters!

14. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER?
Not before she was born.

15. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW?
No.

16. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY?
I didn't except for the occasional uti.

17. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH?
SCMC.

18. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR?
From 6am on the 6th until 11am on the 7th. It wasn't all hard labor!

19. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL?
Rustin.

20. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH?
Rustin, Dr. Tatsumi, Cheryl, and Amanda

21. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION?
Natural.

22. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN?
Nope. I think I might in the future!

23. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH?
7 pounds 2.6 ounces.

24. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN?
November 7, 2007 at 12:41 pm.

25. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER?
Grace Anna.

26. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN TODAY?
15 months.