Tuesday June 2nd

6:00am I woke up to get ready for work. Makenzie was still sleeping so I spent sometime working on my blog post. I talked to Pete on the phone and another friend while I was waiting for her to wake up.

8:00am Mak finally wakes up and I change her and put her in the car to go meet Grandma and Grandpa. She's still in her jammies and kind of sleepy so it was a quiet ride listening to a Dixie Chicks CD. I meet my mom and dad at the church where they give me an iced coffee and I give them my baby, lol... for the day while I work at the office.

9:00am I get to work and I am trying to focus on payroll while I have a very hyper dispatcher wanting me to work on other things with him. Payroll was easier than normal with the short work week so I was able to get it done before lunch. April got us all Portillos and we celebrated the fact that we are getting a huge payout tomorrow!! Such a relief.

1:00pm I start to work on projects with Todd and we get a TON done. It was a very productive day at work. Pete gets back to the shop and offers to pick up Makenzie so that I can keep working.

4:00pm I get in my car to go home and I called my friend Annette to vent about some stuff. It was a great talk and she had some words of wisdom that really helped. Miss you annette :) Then I get started on dinner. Pete finished mowing the lawn while Mak played on the kitchen floor so I could keep cooking a mexican dish with rice. Pete also helped our neighbors dig out some grass for a patio they are putting in. While dinner is in the oven Makenzie and I read some books and played with some animal flash cards.

5:30pm We got done eating and Pete got a call from his brother about him and his friends staying the night on Wednesday. I got Makenzie in the tub while he was talking and she played awhile. After coming up with a route from OK to IL Pete came upstairs and got Makenzie ready for bed while I did a deposit for Catom. Makenzie came walking into the room in a "dress" (one of my tank tops) and a head band!! It was HILARIOUS. She loves dressing up and spins around and just smiles and laughs. She played for awhile in the dress until her head banged into her crib when she was reaching for a hair piece and her lips started to bleed.

7:30pm After a bottle and some cuddling she was ready for bed. She is down to only one bottle a day and she really savors it, lol. We put her down and we went downstairs to clean up and then relax. I was feeling super emotional, so a good talk with Pete really helped me get alot off my chest. He is a good listener and an even better hugger. He had another early start in the morning so we decided to start devotionals early and just head up to bed.

10:3opm Our plans did not work out... we ended up talk more and more and realized how late it was and could not believe it!! Poor Pete... he only got a couple hours of sleep...

Monday June 1st

3:30am I woke up when Pete got out of bed and tried to not let my brain start working of I knew I wouldn't go back to sleep!! I finally fell back to sleep after I heard his truck pull out the drive.

6:00am My alarm woke me up so I jumped in the shower and got ready quickly in hope to get some stuff done before Makenzie woke up. Little did I know that she was going to sleep until 8!! I worked on my blog and sent some emails and spend some quiet time with God. I went down to the front porch to check on the bird and nest and everything was fine. I called Pete to tell him I was crazy for staying up over it... but he said he was worried about them too!!

8:00am Makenzie wanted out of her crib so we went downstairs to eat some breakfast. I cleaned up the kitchen, did some laundry and cleaned out the frig while she ate, just in time for my mom to come over around 9. My mom comes over every Monday to help me with Makenzie so that I can have a whole day at home to really get my "at home work" organized and up to date. I worked as fast as I could as I drank iced coffee (thanks to my mom) and tried to stay off of facebook!!

12:00pm I took a break to eat lunch and go through our summer schedules to make plans for Timmy to visit and to make sure that we didn't double book anything. After eating a turkey sandwich and some sweet tea I went back up to my office and finished up my work for the day. I work on three companies mainly on Monday and I got everything done that I could from home. I packed up my work bag to bring to Catom on Tuesday and picked up the upstairs and put some laundry away while Makenzie was napping. I emailed my mother in law about an upcoming weekend and went downstairs when I heard someone walk in the door.

2:00pm Beth came over to go to the fabric store, but we ended up talking with my mom for an hour or so before we went. Pete called because he was at the store picking up milk so I had him pick up some other stuff we needed so that I didn't have to go back out. With meatloaf and zucchini squares in the oven, Beth and I went to the store trying to focus on fabric and not the food waiting at home!! We picked out some awesome material and headed back home to start washing and drying it so we could get started. I came home to some beautiful flowers that Pete picked up. Pete took Makenzie jogging and to the park... so we got started on our project.

5:00pm We ate dinner outside, just in time to miss a storm!! Pete took Makenzie down to the basement room so that we could clean up the kitchen and start ironing the fabric. Makenzie was not happy about being left out... but it was just too dangerous to keep her up by us since she wanted the iron!! We ironed and folded and talked until around 8pm when I put Makenzie to bed... just in time for...

8:00pm Jon & Kate Plus 8... I don't follow many shows on TV but this one has always been a favorite. We watched and talked during commercials and Pete, Beth & I all are hoping that they save their marriage!! After the shows we went up to bed to do our devotional and go to bed. I love sleeping with the windows open!!! It was a much better night sleep too.

A Day In Our Life- Sunday May

My friend Amy started this on her blog and I thought it was fun to track a week in words and pictures! Lets see if I can actually do it...

7:30am: We woke up to get ready for church, which was odd since Makenzie usually wakes us up before then! I love Sunday mornings because it is the only day of the week that I know Pete will wake up with me. He usually is out of bed around 4am (sometimes before and sometimes after). So, just laying in bed and talking is something that I really cherish.

9:15am We were a little late since Makenzie slept in but we were able to make it in time to worship still and then here an awesome message for our youth pastor. It was really challenging and about repentance. He did a great job flipping back and forth between Romans and I Peter to show how good has unconditional love but He calls us to repent of our sins while being genuine and committing to change our ways. I was able to catch up with a friend (and make some plans to get together hopefully) and then off to brunch with my parents.

12:00pm We then went back to my mom and dad's house to help with their to-do list and then relax a little bit. Makenzie played outside for a little bit and then went off for a nap. My mom and I spent some time online looking for something special for Timmy when he comes to visit and then we sorted through some stuff that we didn't need at the condo. Pete was fixing a brick step and then went running. I pulled out the baby pool and actually tanned in it myself since Makenzie took a THREE HOUR NAP. We munched on homemade salsa and chips and then went outside to enjoy more sunshine. I think she's switching to one nap a day... she's a little young for it... so we'll see.

2:00pm While we waited for her to wake up we played a little basketball, planted some wildflowers, spread some seeds and then I went back in the pool to cool off! Pete told me it's so hillbilly... but whatever. My dad came walking out with Makenzie around 3ish and she was very excited to play in the pool!! We spent a couple of hours playing and she just loved roaming the yard and splashing in the water. After she got cold (from playing with the hose) we went in to clean up.

5:00pm We ordered Chinese food and ate out on the back patio. It was nice to enjoy the sunshine but we could tell that something was blowing up!! We jumped into the car to go home and we drove by some homes we like that are for sale on the way. Once we got home, I started cleaning the house while Pete talked to the neighbors with Makenzie playing close by. I was able to clean the WHOLE house in time for some relaxation time with Pete before we went to bed. Makenzie went to sleep at 8 since she was enjoying playing outside with her dad.

9:00pm We decided to go to bed since Pete had to wake up at 3:30 this morning. I had a hard time sleeping the the crazy wind and storms and I have a feeling Pete didn't sleep well either! I kept worrying about a bird and it's nest that we have in a hanging plant on our porch There are three eggs in it and I kept thinking... maybe I should go take it down from the wind... but I didn't know if that would bother the bird!! I'm crazy.. but I love animals.

(PS, I didn't take any pictures yesterday... but I will start today!!)

Waiting...

I'm sitting here waiting for Pete to come home so we can go to WI!! I know we go all the time, but who cares. We love it and it's worth the work to us. Not only do we get to spend time with family but we get to RELAX and I get a break from living in Cortland!! I am so ready to be out of this house and out of this sad sad town. Does anyone know the Dixie Chick song about the square people in a world that's round? Well, that is how I feel. I feel like this is just a sad town and is so full of broken dreams. I hate that 1 1/2 away Tammy's house is being foreclosed on and that this is the place we were supposed to put our kids on the bus together. Then, it was the place I would put Timmy & Mak on the school bus... now it is neither. I hate walking the streets, I hate driving through it, and I just want out. SO, not only am I waiting to leave for WI but I'm waiting to MOVE. I am working on being patient and I know that God has a plan. It is so much easier said than done. Reading the Bible this morning helped me alot and I plan on spending my "hard times" sitting down and reading about hope and God's promises. Please pray that I have patience to stay here as long as God has planned.

Alabama Trip

So I've been up since 3:30am so this will probably not be as long as I want... but I'll try! I know I'll be too busy all week between work and packing up to go to WI for Labor Day weekend... so I'm going to post while it's on my mind. That being said, it is now officially "head up to WI every weekend the sun is out" season so I'm getting ready to hold on tight!!

We had a BLAST in Alabama. Timmy Ray & Timmy Lee are both settled and happy at home with Grandma & Grandpa Adams. Timmy Ray is going to a school to learn aluminum welding to work on the fishing boats down there. Timmy Lee is in "school" and has made new friends already. He is confused about the whole moving thing but has seemed to adapt well. That being said... he has not changed a BIT. Mak & TL did not skip a beat. They played great together and especially enjoyed the beach. We all jumped waves and played on the beach as often as time would allow. We also made several trips to the pool each day!! We are excited to have such a beautiful place to visit. Timmy Lee has a tractor that he drives around the yard for hours and he also helps with the garden!! The Adams' home is BEAUTIFUL and such a perfect place for a three year old boy.

It is still hard to not have him here in IL with us, but we were very happy to see them both smiling and enjoying Alabama. We do have plans to bring TL back to IL this summer and we'll have a big BBQ so that everyone can see him. Timmy Ray was attached to Mak all week, which was rather cute. We had our times where one kid or both kids would get tired and there were several emotional times but we made it through. We knew the first trip down would be the hardest and we're glad that it went so good. I know Tammy would have had a blast too but hopefully she was watching us and laughing at our crazy attempt to adjust to yet another change!! This past chapter of our life has been hard, emotional, crazy yet also memorable and has brought us so much closer as a family. Hopefully there is a happy chapter coming up and this would be a great start to it!!

Mother's Day Weekend & Some Revelations

I had a great Mother's Day weekend. It's hard to believe that it is my second Mother's Day!! Makenzie is getting so old and is doing new things every day. She is starting to say some words and she is happiest when we are outside. She even loves to ride in the car with all the windows rolled down and the music turned up loud. She is a little rebel and a free spirit but she is who she is and is and we love her for it. I cannot wait to have more children and see all the different personalities they all have! Plus, I am very thankful for my mom and mother in law who have become great friends to one another. We are able to celebrate holidays TOGETHER with both sets of parents. Chris & Anne were able to come up too! Between moving back into the condo and spending time with family, the weekend just flew by. We went swimming, ate a ton of food and did alot of talking.

I have always thought that my life has been crazy busy and out of control... but the more I think about it the more I realized that it is just they way I like it. I'm the one who wants to go up to WI all the time, I'm the one who booked the tickets to AL to visit my little nephew, I'm the one who LOVES to work from home, I'm the one who wants my house to be cleaned every week... no one is making me busy but me! At first I thought that maybe I should start saying no to things... but I really don't mind being busy. I am the happiest when I have a to-do list and when I know that I need to stay organized and on top of things.

Also, I realized that what I'm looking forward to most after moving from Cortland to the Burlington/Plato Center/Hampshire area is to having a yard. I cannot wait to have a flower garden for fresh flowers and to have a vegetable garden that I can cook with and share with anyone who needs fresh food. Plus, Mak needs room to run and that is NOT happening here. We are either too close to the pond or to the street. Pete & I grew up on acres and that is where we belong.

Some More Updates

The boys are now in AL. They left Friday night after Pete spent the day helping them pack the moving truck. Pete has been such a rock to me and my family and has helped out so much so that we don't have to be the ones packing their stuff and shipping them off. We are looking forward to visiting them in May and I cannot tell you how hard I'm going to squeeze that kid when I see him. I have never gone longer then a week without seeing him... and this past year the longest I would go was maybe a day or two. I am SO happy that Pete can come with my mom, mak & I. I know Mak will go crazy when she sees him too!! It's hard to have them so far away but it is nice knowing that we gave them 110% and we have no regrets. We made the decision to put family before friends and while that has upset some, it has proven to allow us to spend alot of time with Tammy before she passed away and a great amount of time with TR & TL before they moved. While it is VERY hard to have them gone, it has given us all alot of free time. We are taking advantage of this by relaxing, restructuring some businesses plans and helping my parents with a ton of projects that they put off while putting their grandkids first. We have our first showing Saturday and an open house on Sunday, so please pray that we sell our home and get out of that small sad town!!! I'll post some "goodbye" pictures when I am ready to look at them.