Thursday, December 31, 2009

Happy New Year...{ a few hours early}

It is always exciting to think about what the new year will bring and what new adventures are ahead for our family and friends.
The holiday season has gone by so very quickly, in fact, all of 2009 seems to have blown by.

I wish everyone a very happy and blessed 2010!

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Happy Holidays

Just a quick note for a brief update on what we have been up to. The kids are all very busy with school and their various activities. Andrew received his drivers license this fall so it has been great sending him to collect Maggie or Chris from their assorted activities. I am busy finishing up with the Christmas shopping and looking forward to some time at home relaxing and doing nothing ~does that even exist??

Friday, October 30, 2009

Time for it to END...

This was started on our overseas assigment as a way to keep family and friends updated on our lives. Now that we are back home and it is much easier to keep in touch .....the blog is going silent. It seems like I never post anymore and while it has been fun ~ it is time to put this into retirement.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Going To State

Saturday was very busy in our house but a GREAT very busy. We started the day at the cross country semi state meet where Andrew and the boys team WON the meet and will advance to the STATE meet next weekend. Andrew set a new PR with a time of :15.46 for the 5K.

We then went to the semi state band competition where Christopher was performing. The band ALSO advanced to the state meet next weekend. SO we will be quite busy again next week but we are excited to see what great things happen next.

Saturday, October 03, 2009

District Band Competition

Today was the district competition for band! It was a COLD and WINDY afternoon but there was a lot of great music. Here is a video of part of the band's performance. The show is called the 'Heist' and is based on the movie the Thomas Crown Affair. The music was created just for the band and has been great to see it evolve from band camp this summer. The band earned a Gold rating and will advance to the regional competition in a couple of weeks. They also won best music, best visual and best general effect.** Chris plays the bass drum and he is the last on the far right!

Monday, September 21, 2009

Flashrock Invitational

Here is video of the cross country meet this past weekend. Andrew can be seen at the very beginning as one of the two boys running to the front of the pack. {on the right closest to the spectators} You then see him at the other points of the video...at the 1 mile mark he is on the inside left....He had another great race...finished 8th in his race out of 197 with a time of 15.52 and 19th overall with both races combined of 384 runners.

Enjoy!

Thursday, September 10, 2009

School Picture Time

The boys both had school pictures a couple of weeks ago and we got them in the mail today! I have to say I LOVE THEM! Both photos captured the boys well. Christopher Freshman year ~ age 14

Andrew Sophomore year ~ age 15 {16 in 2 weeks}

I scanned the photos so they are not the best quality but you can get the general idea of the photos.

Saturday, September 05, 2009

Christopher's Great Day




Yes this is a double post as both boys had great days in their respective activities. Once we got home from the meet we got back in the car and headed to Lucas Oil Stadium ~ where the Colt's play. The football team was playing a game there and the marching band performed at half time. It was a great game and the band was GREAT!! Their hard work is really paying off and they will continue to improve as the season goes along. Competition time is getting ready to start up so this was a great way to see where they needed improvements. For those who don't know Chris plays the bass drum so he is easy to find on the field :-}

Andrew's GREAT day




Today was another morning of cross country and the team and Andrew did AMAZING. They won the invitational and beat the #1 team in the state! Andrew was one of 5 guys who ran in under 16 minutes which is HUGE!! Andrew ran 15.55 a new personal best which beat his 16.35 from a couple of weeks ago. He placed 9th out of 92. It was a fun race to watch. The girls won as well plus the JV boys too!

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Cross Country Season is HERE!!

Today we went to the first invitational of the season and the team was AMAZING! What a great start to the year. Both the boys and the girls placed first for their division with 15 points {2nd place had 69 points}. The boys came in spots 1-6 & 9. So all 7 varsity runners were in the top 10. Andrew came in 4th {of 94 runners} with a time of 16:45 ~ he ran this same race last year in 19:51 so a HUGE improvement.

Saturday, August 01, 2009

Introducing.....Max

WE have adopted a new dog for our family and his name is MAX! He is a 7 month old Westie from a rescue group. His former owners had to give him up as the wife is terminally ill and the husband could not take care of them both. We were approved to adopt him yesterday and he came to us last night. He and our Springer Spaniel, Millie, are having a great time playing with each other.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Unwanted Guests.....

This morning as Chris was leaving for band he came in the house to let me know that there was a kitten in the garage that went under the workbench. I DO NOT like cats in any part of their development...kitten or adult. SO I had Andrew look around with me and yes we had a very small kitten under the workbench. It was under it in such a way that getting it was going to be difficult. We did bring out some food and milk in hopes of luring it out....the smart kitty waited until we left to go eat and then back in his hiding place. After lunch we went out to look again and we no longer had 1 kitty......there were TWO!!

After some creative catching by Andrew we collected both kittens and took them to the animal shelter. They are quite young so hopefully they will find a family to take them in. While at the shelter we did look at the dogs but there wasn't anything that looked like it 'belonged' with us.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

More News......

MaryKay received the results of her bone marrow test and she says..... The Dr. told me there is 0% cancer residual in my marrow!!!! Therefore, I don't require any more chemo and I just have to wait for my levels to go up to get out of here. I have to make sure I don't have infections, fevers, too many transfusions...He then said I will need to get my blood drawn twice a week for 4-6 weeks and then they will do another bone marrow test to declare that I am in complete remission. Then I return to the hospital for 5 days every 3-4 weeks for about 4 sessions to make sure the cancer is completely out of my system.

This is just AMAZING news and all of your prayers have worked.

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Update...

Mary Kay had some great news today at the hospital. She says "I had a cytogenetic test done with my cancer cells when I first arrived at the hospital. The test came back and it was the best case scenario. I am in the most favorable category for survival and my cancer responds very well to chemo." This is FANTASTIC :-) Keep the prayers coming as they are working.

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

PRAYERS.....


Last Friday my sister in law Mary Kay was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). It is a rapidly progressing disease that results in the accumulation of immature, functionless cells in the marrow and blood. She is currently in the hospital receiving chemotherapy and will be there for the next 4-6 weeks. She and my brother have two young children Jack 4 and Ava 1. Please keep them in your prayers as they are needed.

Monday, June 15, 2009

Maggie...how does your garden grow?

WOW is what she would say!! We have planted a rather large garden this year and Maggie wanted cucumbers as she loves them and it is AMAZING how well they are doing. We picked our first two cukes today and she is so excited. The entire garden is thriving at the moment.
It doesn't hurt that we have had a lot of rain this summer.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Patio

The patio is finally done and I am almost to the point where I can say I really LOVE it...we are close but not yet. I will really LOVE it once the sod is in and all the mud is gone. We decided to go with stamped concrete which was dyed and then two additional colors were added to give it more of a natural stone look. It is amazing what can be done with concrete. Tim really wanted an outdoor fireplace so we found a supplier in Arizona and had it shipped to us {gotta love FREE shipping}. We have since been told of a place in Indiana that has them but oh well ~ we have a story about it now.

Marigold dyed cement smoothed and poured into the form
Stamping the concrete with the terracotta release
OMG it is pink...I am not liking this!
Tim's fireplace ~ ok mine too!!
As it looks now..cushions are not on the chairs but we have them. Sod is coming soon to put all around the outside to cover the mud.

Wednesday, June 03, 2009

Yippeee....


Another school year is now in the books and what a great one it has been. All three of the kids have really settled back into life here in the US. {I cannot believe it has been almost a year since our return.} We are looking forward to a fun yet busy summer.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Christopher 3.....Andrew 1

We knew it was only a matter of time until it happened....Andrew has broken a bone. He has always had great pride in the fact that Christopher has had multiple breaks yet he has had NONE! Well....no more! Friday night he was at a party and in the time it took me to get the text he was ready to come home and pick him up he had an accident. {Keep in mind it was only a 5 minute drive to get him.} Mr. Genius decided to do a flip off of the swing and landed on his hand. Nicholas did a similar thing, he just jumped off, at his 5th birthday party 10 years ago and you would think he would have learned from it.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Piano Recital

Maggie and Christopher had their piano recital this afternoon and it was very nice.


Andrew said that Chris' song sounded like the piano guy at Nordstrom .....that is TOO funny. I mean it is not like we shop there...just once a year when Tim gets shoes for his way to narrow feet so he needs the expensive ones :-}

Thursday, May 14, 2009

A Day At The Speedway

Maggie went on a field trip today to the Indiana War Memorial and to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Daddy took the day off of work to go with her and she was beyond thrilled! I am glad they got to spend this special day together because we know he enjoyed it WAY more than I would have. Before they boarded the bus to come back Tim gave me a quick call to let me know that Maggie met and got autographs from Scott Dixon {last years Indy 500 winner} AND Mr. Hottie himself, Helio Castroneves.

I am going with Maggie on her next field trip...to the popcorn factory :-}

Monday, May 11, 2009

This weeks BGT....

Here is the selected clip from this weeks Britains Got Talent. This one definately goes under the heading of "don't judge a book by its cover". It will have you thinking oh my.....

Sunday, May 03, 2009

This one is...well....different

I am unable to post this one directly so you will have to click on the link to view but I promise you it is worth it. I think Kathy will enjoy this one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPr78W2Neb8

Monday, April 27, 2009

another one

In case you haven't seent this little girl yet. I have found some other 'gems' which are SO worthy of sharing but most of those videos have the embedding disabled so I can't share. When I figure out how I can get around that I HAVE to show you a couple.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Spring Soccer

Maggie has been playing soccer this spring and she really seems to enjoy it. She has a great group of girls on her team and with each week they improve. She only has 2 more weeks to go and I think she will really miss it.


Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Great Grandma's Shortbread

Tomorrow Maggie has her international luncheon at her school. Originally, I was going to make taco soup but she objected. Her words were 'why would I bring that? I DON'T like soup. If I am going to bring something it should be a food I would actually eat." LOL....so she decided that she would like shortbread. I don't have a recipe so she sent and email to Nana asking for great grandmas recipe. It is actully Maggies great-great grandma but it is all the same. {She was born in Ireland and fled to Scotland during the famine and unrest in Ireland at the time}. We made two batches today and it is so yummy!

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Britain's Got Talent Week 2

By now I am sure everyone has heard of Susan Boyle from last weeks episode. But you have got the check this kid out!! It looks like the show will be great this year. Of course, there will be the usual delusional people but it is entertaining TV.

Wednesday, April 01, 2009

Unusual CHIP flavors...

I brought these back from the UK as the I knew the flavors were so OUT there that people would have to see them to believe it. The manufacturer of these chips was running a promotion to pick a new chip flavor. The one that gets the most votes will actually be a part of the flavor line. Cajun Squirrel are you kidding me??

Friday, March 27, 2009

He's 14 Today!

Today is Christopher's 14th birthday! I often forget that he is not older than he really is. He is currently TALLER than me and I am not that short! I really noticed his height yesterday while he and I were walking over to the high school to do something for band. As I was talking to him I found myself having to LOOK UP :-} His cake is ready and his presents are wrapped and he has selected his restaurant of choice for dinner tonight.

Friday, March 20, 2009

Back from the UK

Maggie and I are back from our trip to England. We had a great time and EXCELLENT weather ~ sunny every day and almost 60!! I have pictures to share but will do that later. Andrew had a great time in Salt Lake City snowboarding with Nicholas and Kevin. Poor Kevin got sick on the way out and then some kid, Andrew, ran over his arm while going down the mountain and Kevin needed stitches! They even took in a Utah Jazz game too. Spring break is winding down and back to school and work next week....I cannot believe the school year is almost over ~

Sunday, March 08, 2009

I'm Baaaaaaaaaaack!!

I know I have been REALLY bad at blogging but to be honest our lives at the moment are kind of BORING! Last weekend Andrew participated in a 12 hour dance marathon to support the domestic violence shelter and programs in our community. They danced from 6pm Saturday night to 6am Sunday morning. This year almost 700 students participated and raised a whopping $83,000.00!!! YAHOOOOOOOO for those who took part. I actually went a voluntered for a shift ~ 4:30am to 8am. Here is a photo of the very tired kids in the wee hours of the morning.

A big thank you to all of those who sponsored Andrew for this event!

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

39 today!

Today is my 39th birthday, yes I am really 39! I have had the best day and it will be even better when we get Tim at the airport in a few hours. I came home from work today to see this....

{Thank you Lauren}

Then I had a delivery for this....

{Thank you Mom}
Then I had a delivery of THIS....

{Thank you Diana}

Wednesday, February 18, 2009


Both boys are in the midst of planning their course selections for the next school year and boy there is a lot of information. Tonight we went to Christopher's 8th grade high school meeting night. We missed this for Andrew as we were in the UK last year so it was good to go and hear some of the information. We had the chance to speak to the band director and Chris will actually begin practices for next year in April...yep in 2 short months. The band and choir will be performing in Hawaii in March 2010 so we got some general information on that too! This will be over the spring break so needless to say I 'think' our whole family will be going.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Happy Valentine's Day

Hope everyone has a great day today! Not much is going on here....Maggie and I have colds and feel miserable. {Andrew, I think, is coming down with something as well.}


The boys both came home with their course selection information for school next year. I will have 2 boys in high school ~ ouch!! Christopher does not have as many choices as Andrew but still there are decisions to be made. Andrew will have to take Algebra I in summer school as his math course in the UK did not specifically say Algebra I so he doesn't get credit for it. He needs to do this so that he can take Algebra II next fall since he is taking Geometry this year. He was worried he would miss the running camp he wanted to attend but he can still go...he is permitted to miss 5 days and that is how many he would miss.

Tim is in Beijing and will be there until the end of the month. I believe today he went shopping and to the pearl market. He was going to pick up pink pearls for Maggie and her friend Chloe. Chloe became a big sister this week and we will be seeing them in the UK in a few weeks.

Saturday, February 07, 2009

Check it out...

The carpet was installed in the basement this afternoon and I LOVE how the entire room is finally coming together. Obviously, there are still a few decorating things to do but it is SO much better than it was before. Andrew and a couple friends from elementary school, Nicholas and Riley, will be habitating in the basement later tonight when they get back from the movies. I have a feeling I will be hearing rock band into the wee hours of the morning :-}

Tim is currently on a flight to Beijing and will be there for 3 weeks. I cannot complain as he has been home for 3 months without any business travel.

Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Post 500 and more SNOW

Here it is...post #500!! I am amazed that I have actually kept with the blog and continue to post on a somewhat regular basis. Our lives have settled into a routine and nothing really exciting happens all the time. We certainly aren't doing the traveling that we did while in the UK and it is easier to talk to everyone since for the most part we are in the same time zones.

We did get MORE snow today. It was not a huge amount but the difference this time is that there is wind to go with it. The temperature is COLD and the wind makes it even worse. I decided that since I had my fill of using the snow blower this week Christopher could have the honor today. It really didn't need to be done but it gave him something to do right after school.

Sunday, February 01, 2009

2 hour delay plus WOW

Yep, we are still having repercussions from the snow storm last week. Even though the weather was a sunny 50 degrees today we have a 2 hour delay on Monday. I guess it is better to be safe than sorry but the kids need to get to school. Diana thinks it is due to walkers and the fact that all the sidewalks are not clear ~ very good idea...didn't think of that.

Did you watch the Super B*wl tonight? It was rather boring if you ask me. I was rooting for AZ as I can never support the Steelers. Oh well, the singing of the National Anthem was beautiful and here it is in case you missed it.



Have a great week!!

Thursday, January 29, 2009

The roads are a MESS

***Just in...no school tomorrow!! Snow day #4*****

This is a photo of a snow plow that overturned here in the county ~ I didn't take it..found it on the local TV station website.
Well it has been another cold day here but NO new snow. I had to go to get my tire repaired/replaced today and I left the store with not 1 but 2 new tires!! The other tire I replaced had a huge nail in it and the tread was too low to balance the tire ~ whatever that means. and the side streets are NO better than they were 2 days ago. I would not be surprised if we have no school again tomorrow. They finally cleared the road in front of the middle school this afternoon.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

You have GOT to be kidding me....

Well we had a lot more snow last night so we have another snow day!! Tim left the house this morning and was able to make it to work no problem ~ he says it is because his manual car is 4 wheel drive....well whoopdie do!!This is how much snow we had in our driveway...this was ontop of the layer of ice that feel before the snow after midnight.When the snow finally stopped in the late morning we had blue sky and sun! It does look very pretty. Upon completing the snow removal with the snow blower I decided to be a good friend and go to Diana's to do her driveway again like yesterday. I mean who wouldn't do it for a mug of hot chocolate? Anyway, I was driving into her neighborhood and decided the roads were too bad and was going to skip it. Famous last words...I slid and got STUCK. A very nice man came over to help me and it was a good thing as my front tire had a HOLE and was FLAT! He got the van unstuck and drove it to Dianas where I called my hero - TIM to come and help me. He did arrive and changed the tire and Diana gave him a 4 way {Cinci chili with cheese and onions} She will be posting photos I am sure on her blog.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

It's a SNOW day....

YEP....we have a snow day today! I must admit I thought the weather forecast would be wrong as usual and we'd get nothing. Well ~ not this time!! As of this morning we have approximately 5 inches of snow and we are expecting a whole lot more this evening and overnight an additional 6-12 inches. {WOW} Maggie and Millie had fun outside and I am sure they will be back out again latter.