Aaron & Abigail's 1st Birthday

Meet Aaron and Abigail. We celebrated their 1st birthday on Saturday, March 24th. They belong to Phillip and Carolyn (Mike's sister), and they have an older sister, Olivia, and brother, Noah, as well. We had a fun day in Madison, IL. The weather was beautiful (almost a little too hot for Spring). Abigail napped during the opening of presents, but was wide awake for the cake!! Aaron was such a trooper, and partied the whole day long!! We love you babies!

Time for Change

So, as you may know, we are always in a state of remodeling something. Because of my husband's wonderful ability to "Do-it-Yourself", we are in the process of creating a new bathroom!! I wanted to share the before pictures now, and when it's complete you'll see the final product!

Fun at the Science Center

Scott, Brandi, Preston, Kaleigh, and Lane stayed with us Fri, Feb. 23 in preparation for the PBR. We went to the St. Louis Science Center on Saturday and met my parents who brought Mason and Justin. We had a blast building the arch, seeing the solar cars, and making paper airplanes. We were glad they could visit us and look forward to it again soon. We missed you Rob, Rebecca, and boys!!

PBR 2007

On February 23rd and 24th, my family came to visit for the annual PBR (Professional Bull Rides) at the Scott Trade Center. It is quite an experience if you've never been before. The rodeo clown, Flint Rasmusen, is spectacular. There was a giant remote controlled bull that danced during one of the breaks. The entire event is on live TV, so that was a neat experience in itself. My parents know the names of all the bull riders, where they are from, and how they rank. Sometimes that 8 seconds seems to last forever when you're watching someone risk their life riding a huge, mad beast. But for some unknown reason it is human nature to cheer, clap, and yell for more!! The kids seemed to have a really great time. The kids in the top picture are Lane, Kaleigh, and Preston. The second picture is Justin, all are nephews and a niece. The third is my parents, then of course me and Michael. We had a really great time. Especially with the White Castles, right Mom?--Tee-he.

It's Not Spring!!

OK, so I was a little overzealous about the weather the other day. It is maybe 30 degrees out today with a nice dusting of snow on the ground. Anyway, who can blame a girl for being optimistic.

In Memory

This past December, one of my best friends, Melissa, was married. It was a beautiful wedding. We had such a fun time in Springfield that weekend. I spoke with Melissa last night to find out that her new mother-in-law, Marilyn, had passed away last week. I had only met her a few times, but what a sweet and wonderful lady she was. Marilyn will be greatly missed by her wonderful family and friends. I'm sure that Marilyn was comforted to know that Scooter had found such a great wife in Melissa.

"Your sun shall no longer go down, nor shall your moon withdraw itself; for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and the days of your mourning shall be ended." Isaiah 60:20

"In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you." John 14:2

It's Spring!!

I can't believe today is March 1st already and Spring is coming in like a lion around here. There are tornado, thunderstorm, and wind warnings all over the area. Good thing we had some of our trees cut back and the dead ones down, otherwise we might have some problems with this wind. These pictures are from the summer. We were sad to have the big tree cut down, but it was hollowing out and the branches could have damaged our house and garage. Plus we can rest easier when a storm comes through.

So, I worked the night shift last night (11pm-7am). I usually work days (7am-7pm), so it was a change of pace for me. I was so nervous, afraid I would fall asleep, but I was so busy all night, there was no chance for dozing!! It really wasn't too bad, just off of my sleep pattern today, I'm catching naps here and there. Gotta love nursing!!