BIG Reader

Andrew reading The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe - WOW! We were blown away how well and fast he was reading it! I didn't do that until the 6th grade!

Sleeping Bananas

Shhhh! Sleeping bananas :-) I think a total of 8 large ones, and a handful of pups.

Trains

Train table now in use! Andrew loved it! Working on Savannah's shelves today.

Wood block

Can you guess what this is? I have one each for Andrew and Savannah to help them play card games. This was Laurie's idea. She had one when she was younger.

Savannah's Cubbie Shelves

Savannah's cubbie shelves for her room - almost done - just need a little more trim and white paint. I'm also going to make some for the basement.

Bad parking

I guess driving a Range Rover gives you permission to park however and wherever you want. Grrrr!

Basement 2

A long way to go, but better than it looked before! The brown carpet is going - getting something brighter. Curtains will hide storage shelves and furnace (and my "resting" bananas) :-)

Basement

The start of Andrew's new train table in our basement :-) We've never used the basement for anything but storage, but, we're going to start using it for a play area for the kids. Not ideal, but they're excited about it!

Yucky Weather!!

BEAUTIFUL weather to work in the last couple of days... YEAH RIGHT!! I spent yesterday morning (Tuesday) digging up bananas at a customer's house and at our house. And of course... it was raining. Getting ready to lay them down to rest for the winter in his/our basement. My customer's bananas came out fairly easy and I was able to carry them to his garage. Ours, however... well, the one that is about 12' tall was heavier than I expected. And, I'm not really sure how I'm going to get it down into our basement. DEFINITELY not by myself, that's for sure. I might have to cut it back... which I really don't want to do.

Most of my duties are almost complete at my customer's houses... There is still more cleanup and winter-prep at each, but it's winding down. Now I'm starting to focus more on developing my tropical business. I'm putting in a bid this Friday at one area business and will be contacting several other businesses by mail over the next month.

Laurie's stress seems to be gradually decreasing... her traveling has stopped and she's back in the classroom again with her students. She's still grading a lot, but not having to stay up so late to do it.

Need to take the kids to school and get my day started. Wednesdays are short days for me... at home with the kids in the afternoon.

Hotel

The fireplace at the hotel Laurie and I stayed at. We spent a lot of time in front of it. Sorry, no whirlpool pictures :-) For a Holiday Inn Express we were impressed. It was a nice one night get-away.

Stockings 3

Savannah's stocking.

Stockings 2

Andrew's stocking.

Stockings

Lori putting together Andrew & Savannah's stockings that Laurie cross stitched.

Visiting Aunt Lori

Josh & Andrew playing Battleship - Andrew will be keeping him busy all day with games!

Visiting Aunt Lori

Savannah & Lauren at Lori & Pat's.

Last 70-degree day?

Wow... I could have a few more days like today!! Yes, I know that's not going to really happen, but wouldn't it be great? Of course Andrew is already talking about SNOW and how much he thinks we're going to get and how many times we're going to go sledding (yeah, well... we still need to buy a sled to do that). Andrew and I like to lovingly argue back and forth about which season is better, summer or winter.

I had a great time at Eastview's Men's Adventure Weekend at Lake Williamson in southern Illinois this past Friday thru Sunday. Over 200 men attended this year; a little less than last year, but over 80 first-time attenders. This was the 5th year for this retreat; my fourth year to attend. It's something I really look forward to attending each year. A hilight for the weekend (well, I guess it was a hilight) was the second annual full-contact football game... Needless to say, it was entertaining. You can find pictures from the game at my Webshots photo site (there is a link to it from this blog on the right side).

While I was at the men's retreat, Andrew & Savannah spent Thursday thru Sunday with Laurie's parents in Indiana. I think Laurie was the one that REALLY made out with the best weekend, though... she had the house all to herself Friday thru Sunday. I can't remember when she was alone at the house for that long! She got to do a lot of uninterupted grading (I don't think she'll ever get caught up on it all), a workout, scrapbooking and some much needed rest.

Speaking of grading... If you're reading this and you pray, PLEASE pray for Laurie and the amount of work that she has to do. Laurie is not a night person... most nights it's not unusual for her to be asleep on the couch by 9. But, this semester she's been having to stay up until 1, 2 or even later grading. She dropped her doctoral class just so she could use the five-hours more effectively towards her job and her family and that barely made a dent in giving her more time. Anyway... she needs some big-time intercession for this to get better.

We're looking forward to a little get-away this weekend... we'll be headed for Indiana (Brownsburg, outside of Indianapolis) Friday afternoon to spend some time with my sister Lori and her husband Pat thru Sunday. Laurie had cross stitched two new stockings for the kids and she needed help putting them together; I guess Lori has become somewhat of an expert at doing this.

We'll all be staying at their house Friday night, but then Laurie and I will be heading to the luxurious and posh Holiday Inn Express Saturday afternoon to spend the night in a Presidential Suite. (Yes, it really is called that... living room style with a king size bed and large two-person whirlpool in the room, and it looks like maybe a fireplace, too. Oh, and did I say two-person whirlpool tub in the room? HA! ;) (Laurie's going to kill me that I stressed THAT part!) We would rather get away to Key West or the Bahamas, but... $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Andrew & Savannah were SO cute for Halloween this year. The original plan was for them to be Anikan & Padme (from Star Wars II... Yes, I've gotten my son and daughter SOOO hooked on Star Wars... I LOVE IT!!). But, we had trouble finding the right sizes. So, we went to option two... Edmund and Lucy from The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe.


Aren't they adorable?? I just told them that Prince Caspian will begin filming in January and is planned to be released in theatres May 2008... they both were VERY excited. Between Star Wars and Narnia they both keep very busy creating and pretending.

For those of you who know, I am still seeking direction for my vocational future. I've been sending resumes for various positions at banks, but have not had any response. (Laurie is certain that this is a definite sign from God to stay away from banking this time.) I'm more interested in retail management, but haven't seen anything available. The option to continue my "green" business is still viable, but with a new direction... interiorscape and container creations, and eliminate the garden/landscape part of the business. The need is out there here in Bloomington/Normal, and two garden centers that I have been working closely with are interested in using me as their sole referal for interiorscape and seasonal container installation and maintenance. Another business startup idea was tossed my way by a good friend, but after much thought and research I decided to back away from it.

Anyway... prayers would be appreciated. My body has really struggled doing other people's gardening this year. It's been a fun 4+ years, but I need to be doing something that a 40-year old body can handle. I'm also getting more concerned about winter income each year and meeting our financial needs NOW and in the FUTURE. Hmmmm... I guess hitting 40 has made me realize retirement isn't all THAT far away and college for A & S is getting closer and closer!! YIKES!!!!