Dicky-Rocka Book

Friday, December 8, 2006 - 

A few nights this week when we were putting Caeden to bed, he kept asking to read the "dicky-rocka book." We couldn't figure out what he was saying, but after about the third night of him excitedly asking for it, I had him go get the book. It was a Mother Goose book. Huh??? Still, it took me a minute to figure out what "dicky-rocka" meant. Caeden confirmed that it was "Hickory Dickory Dock." We had a good laugh about that, and just thought "dicky-rocka" was really cute.

Winter's HERE!

Wow! December sure arrived with bang this year, huh?! We hope you all fared well in the winter storm and are now enjoying some beautiful snow and ice! We only received a few inches of snow, but it was on top of a lot of rain that had frozen into a thick, thick sheet of ice, and of course there was WIND! We have seen many power lines down, and utility poles that were blown over and/or snapped into pieces.

For us, the excitement began when Jeremy got up and left for the gym at 5:00 a.m. Friday morning--right in the middle of the storm! His 20-minute trip took 55 minutes, as he was driving in a white-out! He called me when he got to the gym to report his adventure and say that State Farm had closed their offices for only the 2nd time in 20 years!

I'd been listening to the radio to confirm that Annah's school would be closed and heard them say that several of the small towns and villages outside Bloomington-Normal had lost power. I pretty much assumed we'd be next, and we were--at about 6:00 a.m. After his workout, it took Jeremy an hour and a half to drive back home, and he counted 22 cars in the ditch on the way. It was starting to get cold in the house by the time he got home, and we realized it was going to take a long time for the power to come back on. Around noon, we wondered if Bloomington-Normal had power or not, because we thought we'd head to a hotel. We called our dear friends, the Kellers, to see if they had power in town, and they said yes they did, and please come on over!

So, we were blessed to spend some time with them, enjoying their company and warm home until we were pleasantly surprised that the power came back on at our house Saturday afternoon. I have to give kudos to Jeremy for thinking of turning of the water main and emptying all the pipes so they didn't freeze when our house got insanely cold. Apparently, a [freight] train had derailed between Arrowsmith and the next small town, and that was what knocked out our power. I believe some within miles of us may still be without power from the downed lines and poles. We thank the Lord that we didn't have any damage and that we were kept more than safe all weekend.

Saturday afternoon, the kids got to go visit Santa at State Farm! We didn't think Caeden even knew who or what Santa was, so we explained to him what he looked like before we got there and told him he would get to sit on Santa's lap and have his picture taken. All the kids were very excited to see Santa and we all are anxious to see how the picture turned out! Caeden received a Super Sudser, bathtub crayons, and bathtub tints!! Annah & Sylvia each received a $10 gift card to pick out whatever they want at Toys 'R' Us!

Saturday, December 2, 2006 -

Saturday, December 2, 2006 -

Quick Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was nice and quick! We arrived at Mom & Dad's around midnight Wednesday night, and left at about 8:30 Friday morning. 

(We came back because the weather was incredibly nice, and it was a good chance for Jeremy to get a bit o' work done on the outside of the house...which he did. He is close to being finished with the siding on the back of the house.) 

We had a very lovely time at the Lopshire/DeHaven family gathering, and were glad to get to spend a little bit more time with them than usual. 

We missed most of the fun and festivities at the Crabill gathering, but were able to see a few people there and hug Grandma. 

We completely missed the McEowen celebration, so we will have to hug them all extra tight at Christmastime!

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Gram gave us a big bag of refill beans for the beanbag chairs, so they are a little more squishy now! 

A little trouble coming back to reality

 It was back to the real world today! 

When we got to Sylvie's school, I realized I'd completely forgotten it was pajama party day. So, I went home to get her favorite nightgown and took it back to her. 

Then Caed and I went over to Annah's school. Kindergarten is talking about the letter "M" this week, so it was "Mothers Day." We made macaroni bracelets, used magnifying glasses, played with magnets. A few minutes into lunch, Caeden and I had to leave to go pick up Sylvia. They were switching train cars in Arrowsmith, and we ended up being late picking Sylvia up.

Girls Will Be Girls Shopping Getaway!

This past weekend, I was honored to join my friend Jesika on a very luxurious trip to Chicago to celebrate our 30th birthdays!  So I don't forget the details of our fabulous time, I want to summarize it here.  Being that I'm a fairly simple person, I'm guessing that I won't be doing a trip quite like this again, so I'm so grateful Jesika chose me to join her to help celebrate her 30th birthday!

Jesika picked me up at home Saturday afternoon and we drove up to Schaumburg.  Once we checked into our lovely room at  the Residence Inn, we headed off to IKEA and shopped for a few hours there, finding some great trinkets.  We shared a yummy cinnamon roll before leaving and then headed over to Bahama Breeze for a fantastic late dinner.  Back at the hotel after dinner, we stayed up until 1:30 a.m. talking and talking.

On Sunday, we slept in, had a late breakfast, and Jes got in a 5K on the treadmill before we checked out.  After a quick stop at Starbucks, we headed to Nordstrom's--The Rack and spent 4 hours shopping there!  Even after 4 hours, I only bought a cute suit, a top to go with it, a sweater and a pair of slacks.  We had lunch at about 4:00 at California Pizza Kitchen.  (All weekend I enjoyed eating lots of mushrooms, fish, veggies, and things my family doesn't usually eat!)  Then we hopped back in the car and headed toward the city.  After sitting on the freeway for an hour, we arrived at the Ritz Carlton Hotel around 7:15 to begin our Girls Will Be Girls Shopping Getaway! 

The lobby of the Ritz Carlton hotel is incredibly beautiful--of course!

It's on the 12th floor, with this incredible fountain in the middle.

When we got to our suite, we were surprised to find complimentary champagne on ice and a super yummy chocolate mousse torte with chocolates that said, "Happy Birthday!" on them on the cake! 

We were upgraded to an executive suite, 
and each had our own bathroom and powder room area and plenty of space.  
This is the bedroom.


Living Area

Every elevator at the Ritz has one of these gorgeous chandeliers.  Now that makes an elevator ride enjoyable!

We ran our wonderful bellhop, Luis, like crazy--to the car for our shopping bags, back to the room with safety pins so I could pin the hem of my pants for dinner, etcetera, etcetera. He must have made four trips to our room [on the 27th floor] before we left for dinner, poor guy!  But he was so friendly and polite.  We started talking with him and discovered he had just had his 30th birthday too, on the 8th!  So, we took this self-portrait with him, and left him a thank you card when we checked out.

Even after calling from the freeway to push back our dinner reservations, we were fashionably late to Bistro 110.  Dinner was exquisite.  In fact, we returned for lunch the next day!

After dinner we made a quick visit to the Hershey's store, and walked past the original Water Tower Place to see the window display at American Girl.  The city's holiday lights had just been lit Saturday night, and it was just gorgeous!!

When we got back to the hotel, we sat for a while in the Green House on the 12th floor and relaxed.

 When we got back to our rooms, we put on our robes and watched "Step Up," (which we thought was a great movie!) and had popcorn.  We were up until about 2:45, and I was awake until after 3:30, even though the bed was sooooooooo comfy!

We got up at 6:15-ish and went to the Carlton Club Spa for a workout.  I did 30+ minutes on the elliptical machine, which is pretty much a miracle for me since I never work out.  Then we sat in the eucalyptus steam room for a few minutes (Ohhhhhhh, ahhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!) and then the hot tub for a while and relaxed by the pool and in the locker room (Can you still call it a locker room when it's carpeted and has powder rooms with fancy curtains and such?!) for a while.  When we got back to the room, Jesika had several voicemails wishing her a happy birthday!

We walked a couple blocks to Saks 5th Avenue, where we had our facials at the Trish McEvoy counter.  I absolutely loved it, and could have sat there all day letting her fix my face.  I wanted to buy every single thing she used on me and then some, but the brush set alone was $275.  Ha!  So, we each bought one item.

Included in our Girls Will Be Girls Shopping Getaway package were gift cards and discounts to several nearby stores.  So, we shopped at some very expensive places, several of which I'd never even heard of.  Jesika used a $50 gift card to buy me a bottle of Burberry perfume, and bought a scarf for her mother-in-law at La Perla for a steal with that gift card.  We also shopped at Macy's, Teavana, Godiva, Lush, C.O. Bigelow, J. Jill, and more.  

We didn't leave Water Tower Place until after 6p.m. and arrived back in Bloomington just before 9:00.

As I said, it was a very luxurious trip, with some exciting unexpected blessings, lots of fun and relaxation, and I was so glad to enjoy it with Jesika!  Thanks Girl!

And, definitely not to be forgotten, is a huge thank you to my darling yummy husband who watched the kids, took a day off work, and allowed me to go!  The dishes and laundry were ALL clean when I got home, and that's better than I do.  He is THE best.  I love you so much Jeremy!  Thank you for spoiling me rotten!!

I'm 30.

 Well, I have to say that 30 is the most exciting birthday I've had in a while! I have been very spoiled these past several days! It's been fabulous! A weekend away with my husband and 10 other friends in a gorgeous B&B in a town I've wanted for 5 years to visit, knowing the kids were safe and having fun with Gram & Krampa, getting to spend a little time with my parents, two surprise birthday cakes, birthday phone calls and e-mails and online wishes from lots of friends, I don't know how many serenades of "Happy Birthday To You," hundreds of wishes and kisses and hugs from my amazing kids, cards, three kinds of ice cream from Jeremy to go with the cakes... I have been spoiled!

Truthfully, I have not at all been looking forward to turning 30. In my mind, I kind of looked at it as the end of what I think of as being "young." But, when I consider my life and the abundance of blessings the Lord has HEAPED on me, I realize I have absolutely nothing to be sad about. I am so thankful I have been allowed 30 years completely full of blessings! I don't care if it is the "end of my youth;" I praise the Lord for it all--the past, present, and future.

Coming Home

Lunch with Gram & Krampa at Bob Evans after church

Thank you for taking care us all weekend Gram and Krampa!! We miss you already!

A very talented balloon artist made each of the kids a super cute balloon while we waited for our food. 

We all thought Sylvia's mermaid was amazing!

Annah chose a unicorn.

 Caeden got a penguin.

The kids (and Gram too, I'm sure) made us this awesome banner and hung it in our living room while we were gone! They said, "We worked really, really hard on it! It took us a long time!" 

We sure appreciate it! How cool!

Life Group trip to Washington B&B

We spent a wonderful, wonderful weekend in Washington, IL with our dear Life Group friends.

We stayed at the absolutely lovely Cornerstone Inn Bed and Breakfast.

I spent a good part of the day antiquing with Lorrie.

(No, I didn't buy the hat. In fact, I ended up not buying a single thing, but we had a great time!)

We also visited the Paper Moon scrapbooking store. The store overall was not as great as I expected, but we discovered some really great stamps: Medallions by Holly Berry House, and Mandalas by Outlines. I ordered some online when we got home, and can't wait until they get here!

I was surprised with a beautiful cake Saturday evening. Of course I cried. 

I have such wonderful, thoughtful friends!

Portrait Day!

Two-Year-Old Caeden

Six-Year-Old Annah

I already picked who I'm marrying!

The girls woke up early this morning, and this is how they came downstairs. They were too cute, and of course I had to take a picture before sending them up to get dressed for school.

Caeden likes PB&J again now, but he always takes them apart and tries to eat them from the middle of the slice out to the edge...must be trying to get the messiest effect possible...?

The beginning of a conversation randomly started by Annah this evening...

Annah: I already picked who I'm marrying.
Me: You did?! Who?
Annah: Brenden
Me: Brenden?
Annah: Yes!
Me: Does Brenden know you're marrying him?
Annah: No. He doesn't. I didn't tell him.
Me: Why do you want to marry Brenden?
Annah: Because I like him.
Me: Why do you like him?
Annah: Because he's fun.
Me: What's Brenden's last name again?
Annah: (Brenden's last name)
Me: Oh yeah. So you want to be Annah [Brenden's last name]?
Annah: Yeah!

There was more to the conversation, but as I'm finishing writing this down a couple hours later I can't remember it all. I started to type it up right after the conversation happened, but was interrupted by Caeden who had somehow managed to rub almost an entire container of liquid soap into his eyes. He is fine now, because I threw him into the shower with all his clothes on and dredged his eyes with water.