Too sleepy to talk much tonight... Yes, I am tired, hard to believe. I was excited to see that I had a comment from my last post. I love to get comments! Jaime, if you read this, I LOVE U too!

I miss my husband sooooo MUCH!

Toodles for now, I'll be back soon.

I love my kids!

I am sitting here at the computer doing my norm, checking my email, the paper, weather, etc. It is very quiet, no TV and the kids are playing together. Claudia just came to get the video camera... Too bad the battery is dead and I can't find the charger. They usually do their own thing, or the TV is on or the Webkinz website is going, this is nice.

Tonight after work I picked the kids up at moms and headed to Jana's. I met with the ladies that are going to the Women of Faith conference this coming Saturday in Indy. I have never been to this conference, I am so excited! There were several women this evening that have been and loved it. http://www.womenoffaith.com/conferences/Indianapolis/ I am really looking forward to seeing Nicole C Mullen. I am listening to her on You Tube right now, she rocks! http://nicolecmullen.com/

Okay maybe they are up to something... I just had little plastic lizards dumped on my head. The lights are out; I should have known they were being silly. I love my silly little babes! Claudia just came back out to the family room to get the Hannah Montana 3D glasses for her and Cort. We taped the concert on TV Saturday night for her and Chloe to watch the next time that she comes over. I guess they are getting a "sneak peak".

The laptop battery was low; I went to the bedroom to get the charger. This is what I saw, my two kids laying in my bed with their 3D glasses watching the concert together.


One more funny of the day... When I turned on the computer this morning the font was too small. Cort and Claudia were sitting on the recliner next to the desk. I mentioned that I couldn't see my emails very well, they were too small. Cort jumped up and said, "I will show you, left click on the mouse where you see that small arrow pointing down. Right click where it says customize and change the size." Wouldn't you know the font went back to the normal size! Claudia said with surprise, "okay little daddy computer boy!" We giggled! I was able to talk to Mike on the phone today during my lunch. Mike being what I call the "computer guru", was thrilled to hear this story. Love em'!

What a BLESSED Day!

Today was a great day! After church mom took the kids with her so Jana and I could shop for the cookout. We packed the little Tracker to the top with coolers, hamburgers, dogs and buns, you get the point.

Mom took Cort to get his haircut, he looks so cute! His short summer hair has really grown on me. He reminds me of his daddy with his short hair. The kids also picked out a new Webkinz to add to their large collection. Cort named his monkey Mike and Claudia named her collie Carly. I told her about Marin’s dog that she had when we were kids, Carly the collie. Of course me being such a whip, I was afraid of the dog that weighed maybe 35 pounds...

We had a baptism today at the reservoir. There were 10 people that were baptized and one man who was rededicated. It was amazing! After the baptism we cooked out and listened to our band rock out. WOW, I really love to listen to them play. I can feel the Spirit right next to me... The weather was perfect, there was a TON of YUMMY food, great fellowship, it was just a wonderful time. We took pics with mom’s camera, now I just need to remember to get the down load cord from her.

We are so blessed!

Claudia laying in the ER bed in her bathing suit.

Today I worked until noon. Mom was planning on taking Cort to get his hair cut, too bad the barber closed before they got there. It was so nice out so we decided to go to the pool. Claudia taught herself how to do a back dive. Then she moved on to a back flip, she did awesome! Mom and I set in the chairs right by the diving board and slide so we could watch Claudia dive and Cort go down the slide. Everything was good until Claudia hit her head on the diving board. EEK! We headed to Prime Time, in our bathing suits... Because the cut was too deep they sent us to the ER. They nurses stapled her right up, she was a trooper! In 7 to 10 days she will be able to have them removed. I sure hope that mom will come to that appointment also! Mom was awesome today, she was super mama! I know, it's hard to believe but I was a mess...

Claudia has decided that she is going to stay away from the diving board for awhile. We will see...

Today was a day that we both really wished that daddy was here!

Besides a headache, Claudia couldn't be better. We are laying on the couch watching new episodes of ICarly and Hannah Montana! In 24 hours we can wash her icky hair and will be good to go.

THANKS Beth, Chloe, Anna and Wyatt! Thanks for coming over tonight and bringing sorbet, ice cream and good spirits! That was fun; we ate ice cream, talked and watched Jonas Brothers videos on You Tube.

Happy Birthday Kara!

Happy Birthday to my cousin Kara!

Kara is now older than me... Hee hee. When we went to Children's Museum a couple of days before Mike left for Italy. My favorite was this Wonder Women display. I thought of Kara right away! Kara had Wonder Women Underoos when she was little, I did not and I was so jealous. Still am a little...

TGIF!

I am so happy today is Friday! This has been the busiest work week in a long time! Mutual acquired several branches up north. I worked in the call center this week since the conversion was official on Monday. This evening after work the kids and I went to Target to get Wilma some cat food, she has been sharing food with Sammi for the last two days. We went to Fazolis for dinner. Cort had a free kids meal coupon that he earned from reading.

Claudia and I are watching the movie Road Trip tonight. Cort is in his room, he thinks that this a "girl" movie... It is actually a really cute movie, I have yet to fell asleep!

Last week I took my wedding band into Standt's to have the prongs checked. I knew that one was loose, ended up that one was broken and two others were loose. Eek, I could have lost my diamond. Mr. Delk was not only nice enough to not charge me he was able to get it finished a few days early! Now I have my eye on a Pandora bracelet, they are so cool.

Last Sunday after church the kids and I had lunch at McD's with Jana and the girls. After lunch we went to the movies and saw Journey to the Center of the Earth. The movie has a couple of "scary" moments but was really good. I stayed awake for the whole two hours!

Anna's 5th Birthday!

Monday night at the pool party!
What could be better than five new colors of nail polish!

Very silly girls eating pizza.

Mama and Anna!


Wednesday night at the Krejsa's.

Anna, Ryan, Chloe, Cort & Claudia

Turn down the volume, my voice is REALLY... EEK!

Today is Anna's 5th Birthday! This evening we went to Krejsa's house for a cookout. Of course, Beth out did herself with grilled turkey legs, chicken, brats, homemade mac n cheese, green beans, veggies, fruit, dip, and so on! After dinner we went outside for some fun on the slip n' slide. Anna is the master slip n' slider, she is so fast.

Monday night we celebrated Anna and Joes birthday at Tuhey Pool. The slide kept the kids going the whole evening. FUN, FUN!

Fair Night!

Pics from the camera phone don't always come out so clear...

Tuesday night was $1 ride night at the fair. One of our customers at work gave me free parking tickets, so why not! I rode the rides with the kids, which they loved. The ferris wheel was our favorite! We started in the 4H building, impressive! Our friend Abby made a model car in mini 4H. Hannah showed her dog, Willie Mae and a goat named Lady. Lady had already left the fair but Hannah's name was still hung up above the stall. Claudia and Cort want to sign up for 4H this year! We ended our evening with a lemonade shakeup and a cherry covered funnel cake, YUMMY!

There are a lot of interesting things to see at the County Fair. The two things that really stood out were:

1.) Teenage girls LOVE to text message!

2.) Old Navy must make millions selling 2 for $5 rubber flip flops!

Summer Time!

Claudia, Logan and Cort

Today I got off of work at noon since I work Saturday until noon. The kids and I picked Logan up from daycare and we went to the pool. It is HOT outside today! The boys went down the slide and off of the diving board for what seemed like two hours straight. Claudia played four square with friends for most of the time. I hung out on my lawn chair, listened to my Ipod and read most of the book of Job. It was a nice, relaxing afternoon at the pool.

When I get off of work at noon, Tootie and Cole usually comes over. They were busy today, and we missed them!

Rats, the weekend is over!

Claudia in her new High School Musical sunglasses.
Yes, they do almost cover her whole face!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pompeii
This is a picture of Mike next to a statue in the Temple of Apollo in Pompeii, Italy. Saturday Mike rode the bus and then the train to Pompeii. He set the timer on his camera to take this picture.

It's Monday morning and I am setting at the computer eating my cereal. Cereal is one of my very favorite foods! Lucky Charms are my VERY fav, too bad we are out. It's 6:50 am and I haven't started getting ready for work... I'll be back.

Friday night Beth and I went to Morton's for dinner and to watch "Kick Stand", Isaac and Joey play music. The food was YUMMY and the music was GREAT! Mom stayed home with the five kids and had so much fun.

Saturday afternoon mom and I went for a pedicure! Claudia had her toe nails painted, they look very cute with the little flower painted on her big toe. Cort was a trooper, he played his Game Boy and read his book. Then on to Subway and Target we went! Subway and Target are two of our FAVORITES!

Sunday after church we went to Indy to Bens calling hours. Sooooo SAD. Bens wife, Mindy and his parents are amazing, so nice.

On the way home from Indy we stopped by the Castleton Mall to get our eyebrows threaded. I am feeling girly this weekend, I wore a dress to church and had my feet and eyebrows done!

What a week!

What a week it has been... Monday started great, after work the kids and I had dinner and rode our bikes. We did our normal routine, stopped by Mrs. Briner's (she wasn't home), went to see the Lillie’s (not home), to the Krejsa's (YIPPEE they were outside playing) and our last stop was to say "hello" to Andrea and the boys who were also playing outside.

Tuesday, oh my, I was sick! It was a jammie day for the three of us. The kids were thrilled that I didn't make them do their summer reading or school work.

Wednesday morning when I got to work we got the call that Ben, a teller that I hired in April had passed away around 7am. He has struggled with cancer for the past four years, since he was 21. It was a blessing knowing him for the short time that we did.

Wednesday evening the kids and I went to Target. On our way home we smelled something awful and then the van started smoking under the hood! We stopped at Speedway, the lady that was working helped me, okay she put coolant in the car. I called John, the expert on fixing everything, he told me to park the car and not get back in it until it's fixed. EEK, I was nervous! It took us about an hour to get home from Target with our three stops to "cool down". Okay, Mike hurry up COME HOME!

Today is Thursday, what seemed like a long day. I took the kids to moms this morning before I went to work. She works from home a few days a week, on those days she keeps the kids with her. After work I went back to moms and we had a FAB dinner! THANKS Mom! She even handed me a pair of shorts to do the elliptical after dinner... Ten minutes and I was down for the count, not so good.

I am looking forward to the weekend! Five more weeks and my husband will be home!

Sunday Afternoon

This afternoon my dad and stepmother Janis came to Muncie to visit for a couple of hours. My grandma is now living in a nursing home since her stroke in December. They brought us her TVs to use since ours have almost kicked the bucket. We have been blessed with our hand-me-down TV sets, the last two came from mom.

This evening mom came over and we went to Scotties for dinner. We ran into Tyler, a friend from high school. It was nice seeing and catching up with him. After dinner we did the dreaded trip to the grocery store... (Another one of Mikes jobs that I am back to doing. Speaking of, I mowed the lawn and cleaned the cat box today too. COME HOME SOON MIKE!)

I have not seen dad and Janis since March and mom since last week so it was a good day.

Happy July 4th!

This year for July 4th we had a cookout with friends from church. After the dinner we passed out glow necklaces to the kids that were getting ready to watch fireworks. Our kids really enjoyed doing this outreach! We spent our evening watching fireworks with the Krejsa's, Flick's and the Burke's. It has become a tradition of spending our fourth with Beth and the kids.

Saturday, July 5, we had a cookout with the Krejsa's. After dinner we went to Yorktown to watch fireworks, they were great! Anna sat with me in my lawn chair and we discussed every sparkle. The Yorktown celebration so far seems to be my favorite.

I tried taking pictures of our fourth/fifth of July celebration. But... my camera is on the fritz! I took it into the local camera shop this afternoon and they said that they would need to mail it into Nikon and it would take around four weeks to get it back. EEK! Now I have to figure out how to part with it...

2008

Mikes sleeps in the middle bunk, number ten on the ship.
http://www.mtwhitney.navy.mil/default.aspx

Mike and the kids when he arrived home from Germany in May.

We were SOOOOO EXCITED to pick Mike up from the airport!

2008 started off a little different. Mike is in the Navy Reserves, he meets once a month in Crane, Indiana and then for two weeks in the summer. In February he was deployed to Germany for three months. That was the first time that we have been separated more than his two week summer drills. That seemed to be the longest three months of my life. He came home after his three months and had to do his two week drill. The following week we spent together and had so much fun. We spent the evenings going on bike rides, cooking out, and getting the hang of being a family again. Mom kept the kids over night and we went on a date, just the two of us to Indy. We rode our bikes on the Monon Trail, and had dinner all by ourselves! Then BAM, we found out that he was going to be leaving AGAIN for 45 days. So as of now it's just the kids and I here while Mike is on a ship in Italy. Claudia and Cort miss their daddy and I miss my husband!

I am so blessed to have a wonderful mother and amazing friends that help keep me going. Our summer seems to be going very quick. We seem to have something special to do almost every weekend until school starts again. It's been less than a week but I have been able to talk to Mike everyday for about 5-10 minutes a day. He has sent pictures of his bed and his office on the ship. EEK! I can't say that I am jealous of the tiny living space. I give a big kudo to the women and men who stay behind while their loved ones are deployed. My brother has been deployed over seas three times since he has been married. I now have a small taste in my heart of how Christy feels being left behind for a year at a time. I will continue to pray for our troops and their families!

Why start now?

I often ask my husband Mike, "Remember when the kids said this or did that?" Unfortunately he never seems to remember anything further back than a few years ago. So that's why I have decided to start a blog.