Team Honisch

When in Rome....

2011-06-14T18:21:00.000-04:00

How cool is this place?!?!

In St. Peter's Square outside of the Vatican

Hanging out on the Spanish Steps

The infamous Trevi Fountain. And yes we each threw a penny in

Mom, Dad, JR and I in Campo de Fiori grabbing a beer before our evening walk through the city

The views in Spello were incredible. This is on top of the hill where we stayed.

JR and I at dinner on the last night. The food was DELICIOUS!

Here we are in Perugia enjoying the view from the top of the hill. You could see close to 6 cities from there.

Bob, JR and dad at the cooking class the four of us took. Maybe the best thing we did while in Italy!


The view of the country-side just outside of our apartment in Umbria. Beautiful!!!

Well as you can see, we just got back from a little European vacation with the WHOLE family. We had a great time. My mom, dad, Bob, Lea, Josephine, JR and I headed out to Rome on Memorial day. We stayed there for 6 nights and took in most of the tourist attractions (Roman Forum, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Colosseum, Spanish Steps, Vatican City etc). It was really fun to listen and learn about the history of the city, but the hustle and bustle of it all was quite exhausting. Lets just say that on the days we didn't have anything scheduled we enjoyed a little extra sleeping. We stayed in an apartment just outside of the ancient city and enjoyed being in a residential area. We ate a TON of gelato and did our best to try and learn a little bit of Italian. Luckily, the locals were patient with us as our Italian skills were minimal to say the least.
After Rome we took a train 2 hours outside of the city into Umbria to a city called Spello. It was simply beautiful there. The town in literally nestled into the side of a hill. All of the streets are cobblestone, the buildings are all made out of the old limestone that you saw in the Ancient city, and the nonnas (Italian for grandma) were adorable. There was only one bakery there and it closed at 12:30. We were told to go early because there are times where he runs out of bread by 10/10:30 and closes up shop. So all of our pastries and bread each morning were fresh. We enjoyed the quiet and quaint village after coming from the busy metropolitan area. The time seemed to fly by while we were in Spello but we enjoyed every bit of it.
It's nice to be home now and sleep in my own bed, but the vacation was wonderful and refreshing. I hope you enjoy the pictures! I may post more later.....

..til next time

Lillypie is DA BOMB!!!!!!!!!

2011-04-13T17:26:00.001-04:00

my friend's blog has been nominated by a company called circleofmoms.com as one of their top 25 mom/shop blogs. so if you would do me a HUUUUGE favor and vote for her that would be awesome. she would win a chance to be featured on their blog and it would really help boost her sales. she is hoping to turn this business into a full-time affair so that she can stay at home with her little girl (Lilly, duh!!!) and play an active role in her daughter's day-to day life. So......go to this website http://www.circleofmoms.com/top25/mom-shops VOTE FOR LILLYPIE!!!!! and vote for her. you just scroll down until you see "Lillypie Accessories" and you click on the yellow/orange thumbs-up button to cast your vote. you can do this once a day until the contest is over. so PLEASE vote for her. she is working so hard on her business and i think it would be pretty neat to see her business continue to grow. thank you for supporting local business, especially this one!!!!

Laura.....YOU ROCK!!!!!!!

You know...

2011-03-24T23:14:00.000-04:00

I really miss my little niece!!! She is already ONE and I feel like I barely got to see her in her first year. So for all of you that have family close by, be thankful that you get to see them regularly because that's a pretty fabulous thing. I will admit that we got to see her more than I expected thanks to Bob and Lea being so generous but it still stinks that they are so far away. So, Josie, if you ever find this, just know that your Aunt Becky and Uncle JR wanted desperately to see you more but we just couldn't. We love you bigger than the sky. These pictures are from when she was only 5 months old (she's now almost 13 months). She's got the most serious personality I've ever seen in a baby but when she smiles it's the greatest thing in the world!

She is such a serious baby but I think it's because she is just taking everything in and processing it. There is one thing that she is REALLY good at.....that would be eating. She's got rolls on her thighs that you could lose a hand in. And I LOVE it.

I don't know what hit me but this week I just realized how much I really do miss seeing my niece. I miss Bob and Lea too, don't get me wrong. But I can always talk to them on the phone to catch up on what they have been up to. With Josie, it seems like she is always doing something new that I don't know about. I just wish we lived closer. So be sure to love on your nieces/nephews/grand-babies if they live close. It's a blessing to have family nearby.

Ok I'm done pouting now. I just had to let you all know just how much I love JoJo.

....til next time

Bracket busted....

2011-03-17T22:57:00.000-04:00

Ok the title has nothing to do with the post...sorry!

This year I decided that I wanted to go out for my birthday celebration. I love getting together with good friends for a good time and I couldn't think of a more appropriate time to do that than a birthday. So JR put together an evite and invited our friends to come out to celebrate. We had a great turn out and the night was fun. I hadn't been out with most of the people in the group so it's always fun to see people in a different element. We did lots of dancing and laughed a lot. I would call that a success!!!! As one of my friends said, "if I am going to have that much fun on your birthday, you are going to need to have more than 1 of those a year." I'm still trying to get JR to recreate the "Souja Boy" dance that he did at the wedding but he WILL NOT do it. Any help convincing him to do it is appreciated. :-)

Here are some pictures from the weekend followed by some pictures of our small group which we LOVE:

Here is the group that went out for my little birthday celebration. We had a BLAST out in Broadripple. Our first stop was La Piedad

We headed over to Brothers after dinner for some fun! Here are the girls that came out to celebrate with me...I'm pretty sure I have some of the greatest friends on Earth.

LOVE this girl

Best friend for as long as I can remember...she's simply amazing!

Of course the guys came out to make sure we all behaved ourselves.

I love this handsome man more than anything. I am blessed to have him as my husband. xo

JR and I are a part of a small group at our church and we absolutely love it. It's such a good way to connect with the Lord outside of the usual church service every Sunday morning. These people challenge us in our faith each and every week. They are also a phenomenal support system in times when we need them most. All in all they are just loving children of God and we have really enjoyed getting to know them all over the past three years. So anyway...we had a casual get together a few weeks ago instead of doing a study and we were ALL able to make it. That NEVER happens. So I of course had to take a picture.

All of the guys...

And all of the beautiful ladies (including the adorable Hailey)

We truly love seeing these people on a weekly basis. :-)

Look who I found....

2011-02-11T22:08:00.000-05:00

check it out.....

click here

That would be my best friend and her sister at the Colts vs Jets game. They won tickets the day before to go to the game. They made some awesome posters and wore some CRAZY outfits. Don't you like Liz's blue wig? I think it's her color. :-) Just had to share. Kind of random but still fun.

what do you do if....

2011-02-05T17:42:00.000-05:00

you have an ice storm and then get 6 inches of snow on top of that?!?!?! You build a snow family, OBVIOUSLY!!!!!!!!!! Don't we look happy? And just in case you wanted to know....the little snowdog in front IS in fact a snowdog. My parents seemed to be confused and asked if it was a turtle or hungry hungry hippo? haha I just wanted to make sure that I clarified that.

Well the last two months have been filled with all sorts of stuff. We had a wonderful holiday season. We were able to spend time with JR's family until one or so and then headed to my parents' house and had dinner there. It was pretty quiet this year but we all enjoyed just relaxing.

On January 3rd, I started my second to last clinical. This one will last 12 weeks and it is in an outpatient setting. The caseload is kind of light right now so it makes my 8am - 6:30pm days kind of long but that's ok. It's simply wonderful to be working in a clinic and to not have to come home to do homework for the rest of the evening. JR and I have been able to enjoy weekends together without me being grumpy because of all the school stuff that I used to have to do. I might even say that JR is more excited about me graduating in May than I am.(because he'll get his wife back) I have one more clinical to complete (3/28 - 5/6) and then on to graduation.

Did I tell you that we are going to Italia?!?! My family is taking our first true family vacation in YEARS! We are using my graduation as our excuse to head to Italy for 2 weeks. It seems like a great time to go because I won't be officially working yet and Lea will be done with her classes too. We are going to be in Rome for 6 nights and the Umbria region (specifically Spello) for 5 nights. We will be staying in a 3 bedroom apartment in Rome and a home Umbria. We are incredibly excited for our 2 week vacation. Of course when we get back I'll post pictures so that you can see how much weight we gain after eating like pigs for 2 weeks. How can you NOT eat all of the delicious food and drink the tasty wine from Italy? It's sinful to not indulge. (or at least that's what I'm telling myself) :-)

I hope this post finds all of you doing well. Sorry for the large gap in my posts. I like to try to have pictures with my posts because they are much more interesting that way. :-) Nobody wants to read my ramblings if I don't include pictures. I mean lets be honest....you wouldn't read it if there were just words and NO pictures. Ok you don't have to admit to it, but I know that it's the truth.

Oh and I didn't tell you but Bob, Lea, and Josephine are coming to pick their dog up during President's Day weekend. So we are THRILLED to get to see JoJo (and Bob and Lea) again. She has grown SO much since the last time she was here (in November). She is pulling up on things. She's blabbering ALL the time (just like her father). :-) I think the only thing that makes the distance a little easier is having Skype. Josie can now recognize her name when JR and I say it on Skype and she'll actually look at our faces on the screen. She will also smile in response to you on the screen. Man does that make my heart melt. Here's a quick picture of her. Isn't she adorable?

...til next time

I'm going to make this brief

2010-12-17T16:03:00.000-05:00

Quick update on Brad. He does have osteomyelitis (an infection of the bone). He has had his surgery and is recovering well thus far. I believe he has to be non-weight bearing on his leg for 8 weeks. They inserted a new rod into this leg that is filled with antibiotics, as I understand it from JR. I have no idea what the next step is but we are all elated that he is out of surgery and moving forward with this process. We'll continue to pray for his recovery as I know the road ahead is long.

As of yesterday at 12:30pm, I am OFFICIALLY done with my academic classwork for my graduate degree. Can I get an AMEN!?!?!??! I took my final final yesterday and man does it feel good to never have finals again. I can just feel the tension easing in my shoulders and neck as I sit here typing this. My DPT class had a small pub crawl yesterday after the final (that's right at 1pm we were pub crawling). I did not plan to stay. I simply wanted to grab a beer and have lunch with my classmates since I won't be seeing them until graduation. Buuuut, the joy of being done just couldn't be denied so I didn't head home until close 5pm. :-) It was totally worth it! That evening we had our traditional Ugly Sweater Christmas party with the class and of course we had a great time. It feels SOOOO good to be done with this part. Now I just have 2 clinicals standing in my way of graduation. I get "hooded" on May 15th so let the countdown begin. WOOOO HOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now it's off to dinner with my lovely husband for a celebratory drink and dinner. YUM! Oh and of course some last minute Christmas shopping as well. Oops! We were pretty unprepared for Christmas this year. It really did seem to sneak up on us.

...til next time

Brad

2010-11-17T09:01:00.000-05:00

Brad Mellinger, the soldier that I blogged about in September, is back from Afghanistan but not for a good reason. The first time Brad was deployed overseas (he went to Iraq) for a year long tour he came back a couple weeks early after being shot in the leg. His femur was shattered into 100 pieces but the femoral artery was spared (that is the artery that is the main blood supply for the entire lower extremity) by millimeters. This all happened around December and he was walking and even dancing at our wedding 7 months later. He said the rehab was intense and painful but he did it and moved on with his life with his wife and three little girls. Well he was deployed again (this time to Afghanistan) in September. Before he went, he had been complaining of serious discomfort in his surgical leg. He was checked out and cleared for deployment again. Since Brad has been overseas he has had increasing pain in his leg, to the point that he has not been able to walk. Well, they finally found the cause....it's an infection that is wrapped completely around the metal rod holding his femur together. He has already been flown back to Walter Reed Hospital from Afghanistan in order to begin the treatment process. JR spoke with Brad's wife and she mentioned that she thinks Brad is scared for the whole process to start over again. The first time that Brad had his rod put in he said it was the most painful thing he had ever been through and now he has to do this again! I can't imagine how uncomfortable/scared/angry etc he is. So please keep Brad and his family in your prayers as they begin the long road ahead of them. We don't know what the steps are going to be but we will keep you updated as we find things out. I just know that they need our prayers to get them through this.

...til next time

It's almost Thanksgiving...

2010-10-29T15:05:00.001-04:00

Well lets see here....what exactly has happened since the last time I posted an entry on here....

JR's grandpa from Minnesota came out to visit us in late September. He hasn't been out since our wedding two years ago so everyone was excited for his visit. He stayed for a few days (just enough to get to see all three of JR's brothers play football) and we crammed quite a bit into his visit. Obviously we went to football games on Friday and Monday. In between time he and JR played golf, we all went to get some mexican food (which left a little bit to be desired if you ask us....so if you live in Brownsburg don't waste your time or money on Los Torros), and we gave him a brief tour of downtown Indianapolis (complete with a walk around Monument Circle, a visit to Lucas Oil Stadium, a walk by the capitol building and a few other stops downtown). We also got to have a belated celebration for his birthday! :-) We had great weather while he was here so we lucked out with all of our adventures. It's always great to see family. We thoroughly enjoyed Papa's visit and hope that he will make it back down here soon.

Just a few days after Papa left, Grammy and Gramps made it all the way out to Indiana from California. They left Friday afternoon and made it to Indiana on Wednesday (at least I think that's right). They took two cars across the country with their dog and cat in tow. They lived at Trudy's house for almost two weeks until they closed on their house and were able to officially move in. All of their belongings made it to Indiana about 4 days after they moved in and they have been unpacking ever since. (I suppose you do collect quite a few things when you've lived in a home for over 25 years.) They have done a great job of making their new house a home. Grammy has even ordered some new kitchen appliances which should be installed next week. WOO HOO!!! I think JR is really looking forward to having one of Grammy's famous DDPPs (code name for deep dish pumpkin pie) this Thanskgiving. Not to mention having Gramps around for advice on all of his outdoor work.

JR's twin brothers are done with their regular season of football and into sectionals now. They had senior night for the football team on the evening of their last regular season home football game. Here are a few pictures of JR with his mom and twin brothers. They are in the midst of doing the college application "thing" so we'll look forward to seeing where next year might take each of them.

I had to throw this picture in there. JR and I went over to my parents' house one evening a few weeks ago and my dad had gotten his 356 Porsche out of the garage for the first time this summer (I know...I can't believe it was September before he actually got it out for a drive). My dad took me for a spin and as we were driving around he started to ask me if I had been driving JR's car much recently (for those of you that don't know, JR's car has a manual transmission and so does the Porsche). I told him that I could drive JR's car if I had to but I don't do it on a regular basis. Then my dad proceeded with a few more questions and I quickly caught onto the fact that he was trying to figure out if I was comfortable enough with a stick shift to drive the Porsche. Once I figured that out, I immediately told him I would NOT drive the Porsche for fear that something would happen and I would permanently be out of the will. :-) Buuuuutttt......JR did get a chance to take it for a spin and I think you can tell by the smile on his face that he thoroughly enjoyed it. He got it up 60mph after coming out of a round-about and grinned from ear to ear and looked down at his chest and said "Yep..I just grew a few more chest hairs after that adrenaline rush!" :-)

These pictures are from our date day that JR planned. JR lost in our head to head match-up in our Fantasy Football league so he had to plan a date day. I told him he couldn't just plan for dinner and a movie either...it had to be something totally different than what we usually do. So....I woke up Saturday morning and found out we were headed to Brown County, Indiana (this is one of the most beautiful counties in Indiana, especially in October) to go horseback riding. YIIPPPPEEEEEE!!!!! He couldn't have come up with a more perfect thing to do for me. I have a serious love for horses. They give me an odd sense of calmness. I feel totally alive when I am on or around them so this was a fabulous surprise. JR took one for the team and went along with me. We went out with a group for just over an hour and I even got to RUN on the horse. It wasn't just a simple trail ride. I actually got to run. Incredible!!! My next surprise was 9 holes of golf. Earlier in the week, I had been complaining to JR that I had only gotten to golf with him ONCE this summer. He smiled and told me that next year he promised to play more with me. Little did I know he had scheduled for us to play that Saturday. I have to say that I did pretty well considering my skill level. I have noticed a significant improvement in the past year. :-) For my last surprise for the day, we went out to dinner at one of the most delicious Italian restaurants I've ever been to. It's on the northeast side of Indy and it's called Capri. It's owned by an Italian man named Arturo. The regular special is their chicken lasagna so that's what JR got. It was delicious. The sauce was made to perfection and the seasonings were just right. The only thing wrong with it, was that there were no seconds. I ordered Torteloni. Homemade pasta stuffed with ricotta cheese and topped with a garlic cream sauce made with pancetta ham (Italy's version of bacon) and Italian mushrooms. OH MY GOODNESS was it good. I think there were eight pieces total and I could only eat four because it was so rich. (Well, ok....I wanted to have some leftovers for the next day too because it was SOOO good!) I will order that dish every time we go to dinner there. It will never get old.

That same weekend one of JR's high school friends came in town to visit us with his wife and her parents. They happened to be in Cincinnati and opted to rent a car to drive to Indy to see us since they were so close. We had a nice day of drinking beer and watching football downtown coupled with a little Indianapolis sightseeing and a nice dinner that evening. This is the second time JR has gotten to see Casey and Stephanie this year. We got to see them in February when we were out in San Diego. Before our trip in February, it had been over 9 years since they had seen one another. CRAZY!!! We are thankful that they chose to rent a car to drive here to see us. :-)

Well I think that about sums up what we've been doing the past month and a half. I apologize for the lack of posts. I will try to be better but no promises. :-)

I am 7 weeks away from being done with my classroom work for my graduate degree. December 17th is my last final EVER and then I start my last clinicals January 3rd. Here's to hoping that the next 7 weeks go smoothly and successfully.

...til next time

I'm proud to be an American.....

2010-09-08T17:41:00.001-04:00

Just a quick post to say that we are praying for the troops that are far away from their families and fighting for our country. JR's really good friend from Oregon State just left today for his second tour of duty overseas. We just wanted to dedicate a post to him and his family to let them know that we are praying for his safe return. May God watch over him and all of the other members of the military and bring them home safely. Brad is married with three little girls so we can't come close to understanding how hard it is to leave them behind in order for him to serve our country. Thank you, Brad, for all that you do. See you soon!!!!

...til next time

You can put it on the board.....YES!!!!

2010-09-04T18:20:00.000-04:00

Good start to the season. After 3 games of play our Brownsburg Bulldogs led by the Tatum Twins are 3-0 and are in first place in their conference. The first game of the season was 56-14, last week was 28-0, and this week we hosted the number 4 team in the state Hamilton Southeastern. Last year they had our number, and last night, well lets just say, Brownsburg's defense dominated!!!! Dogs win 16-7. It has been a good ride thus far. Still lots of good competition ahead, but while it lasts, have fun and enjoy the moment. Derek and Daren are enjoying their senior season thus far. We will continue to update you as the year goes on. For anyone who is interested in listening to their games online each friday night at 7 pm eastern, here is the website to the online radio broadcast.
http://asoaudio.net/RadioBrownsburg/2010Football.htm

Til next friday night.........

Back home again in Indiana.....

2010-09-03T16:13:00.000-04:00

drum roll please.......(are you doing it?!?!).........

Grammy and Gramps are MOVING TO INDIANA!!!!!!!!!! Praise the Lord. They have jumped through all the hoops they needed to on their end and the should close before the end of the month. This all means that they have officially begun the house search on this end. Of course, they have been doing this for the past 23 months but this time it actually is going to happen. Trudy, JR and I are going to look at a house for them tomorrow to see what we think. If I understand correctly, Grammy and Gramps have already found a house that they love (we looked at that house a week or two ago) but we are checking this one out tomorrow just to be sure. :-)

Here's to hoping that the move across the country goes safely and smoothly. We love Grammy and Gramps and are THRILLED that they will be living out here in the good ol' midwest.

Happy Labor Day weekend! Enjoy sometime with family and friends.

...til next time

sushisushisushisushi

2010-09-02T17:21:00.001-04:00

It took me a while to adjust to the thought of eating raw fish....buuuuuut......i have finally come to enjoy sushi. That's not to say that I enjoy ALL sushi (i.e. octopus etc) but I have certainly made great strides in the last year or so in my willingness to eat it. JR and I have gone out to get sushi together. My dad and I have eaten it together a few times. We went out to sushi in Brooklyn when we were out visiting Bob, Lea, and Josie. See, I really have come a long way.

Well last night I did something else with sushi....I MADE IT!!!!!! Liz (one of my VERY best friends) and I try to get together often to make dinner at one another's house. We have been planning to do this sushi night now for about three months and we FINALLY did it. There were 4 of us and we had a TON of food. Liz and Rachel (a good friend of ours) did most of the preparing before JR and I got there. We had carrots, cucumbers, bell peppers, asparagus, salmon, tuna, shrimp tempura, avocado, and cream cheese ALL to put into the sushi. Liz taught us how to spread the sticky sushi rice over the seaweed paper and how to place the veggies in there. Then she showed us the trick to rolling the sushi into a roll. It was pretty crazy to see how "easy" it is to make your own. Now, it doesn't have the cool presentation that you get at pricey restaurants but knowing that I made it makes it way better than any restaurants. :-) Here is the proof that I really did make my own. It's really fun and each person can make their roll the way they want it. I highly recommend it.

...til next time

A little bit of this and a little bit of that

2010-08-30T21:04:00.000-04:00

I can't remember if I blogged about this or not so I'll go ahead and do a brief overview. JR and I decided that we would like to take down a few walls in our house to make the floor plan a little more open. We had someone come out and do an estimate of what it was going to cost and when we got those results we thought "okay maybe we DON'T need to take down any walls". Meanwhile, my dad informs us that he has a good friend who would be willing to come help us with the project if we were willing to do most of the labor (DUH...of course we'll help with that if it means we can save money). So, for the past 3+ months we have been doing some house remodeling. We took out two walls. One that divided the dining room and living room and the one between the dining room and front hallway. It has taken quite a bit longer than we anticipated but that part was kind of out of our control since we had to rely on other people who actually knew what they were doing to help us when they had free time. We all know how precious weekends are so it wasn't always easy to find times where all of us were free. We also had 12 can lights put in, in addition to the electrician fixing a huge mess of problems that should have been corrected before we ever even moved into the house. (Yes, after we found these problems I was totally freaked out that our house was going to burn up with Hoosier inside and we would be left with nothing. Needless to say I was a mess!) But no worries, the problems that we came across have been fixed so I'll just choose to be in the dark about any other problems there might be up in the attic at this point and time. Our electrician is a fabulous man who dedicated a WHOLE lot of his free time to us just to make sure that our house was safe. This past weekend we finally had a drywall expert come out to mud and sand down the drywall that JR, my dad and I all put up. Let me just say that putting up drywall is NOT fun. It's extremely dusty. It breaks easily, it's not very forgiving. It's heavy. I think that's all I need to say about that. Now all that is left to do is paint the ceiling and the walls (well.....and replace the baseboards around the room but that's a small detail that we won't worry about at this point). Yes, you heard right, we have to paint the ceiling. Silly me, I didn't know that the mud the drywall guy used would dry a different color than the existing ceiling. Grrrrrr Oh well. Oh and I forgot to mention that we are going to lay slate down on the floor where the old walls were. It will make for a beautiful visual separation of the rooms without those stinkin' walls. :-)

I am proud to say that JR and I were right on budget with the project so I am REALLY proud of us for being on top of that. Not very often do people get out of home projects actually ON budget. Score one point for us.

Picture 1: view from inside living room looking out toward front hallway
Picture 2: view from dining room down front hallway
Picture 3: view from dining room looking toward living room
Picture 4: Dad and Cy working on the ridgeback (this is what is supporting our load bearing wall instead of using bulkheads. this was Cy's genius work otherwise we would have ended up having to put in bulkheads which would have defeated the purpose of taking out a wall for a more open feel)
Picture 5: moving things up into the attic
Picture 6: JR and Cy working on securing the ridgeback to the rafters
Picture 7: demolition day (thanks to ALL of our family AND friends who helped us do this. there is no way we could have done this on our own)
Picture 8: knocking out the 2x4s
Picture 9: Keely, me and Jess taking a rest (and yes we did actually help with all of this)
Picture 10: view from dining room into living room...refer to picture 3 for the change in how things look
Picture 11: view from front door toward dining and living room....refer to picture 2 and imagine me standing at the front door taking this picture (picture 11)

I'd say this has made a remarkable improvement. I will post pictures with the new lights and the drywall all completed once I get around to it (and now that school is in session you never know when that will be...so don't hold your breath because I don't want to be responsible for anyone turning cyanotic.)

....til next time

Today was my LAST

2010-08-23T15:08:00.000-04:00

FIRST day of school EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hallelujah!!! And what makes it even better....we got out EARLY!!! So needless to say the year is off to a good start. :-) WOO HOOO!!!! Ok enough with the CAPS and the exclamation points. I just had to share that it was my very last first day of school ever.

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS (ok i couldn't help it)

...til next time

You know what August means right....

2010-08-20T13:49:00.000-04:00

high school football season is back in action. That's right ladies and gentlemen....Brownsburg football is back at it. Derek and Daren are playing on the defensive side of the ball. Derek plays nose guard and Daren alternates between defensive end and tackle (correct me if I'm wrong JR because you know WAAAAYY more about it than I do). They have their first opponent tonight in McCutcheon up near Lafayette. JR is so excited he can hardly stand it. You know where to find us for the next however many Friday nights.

I should also mention that Austin is playing freshman football and those are on Monday nights. He is playing on the other side of the ball as a half-back and running back. We'll be sure to update the blog with their records and personal highlights. :-)

GO DOGS!!!!!!!!!!!!

.......til next time

Surprise......we're going to NYC

2010-08-18T14:34:00.001-04:00

view from one of the balconies on Bob and Lea's place

i sure do miss him!!!!

yep that's the Statue of Liberty. you can see it from their balcony and their rooftop deck.

Josie gets to meet her Uncle JR for the first time

If she isn't the sweetest thing you've ever seen, I just don't know what is. :-)

Hanging out on the rooftop deck. That's a combination of downtown Manhattan and Brooklyn behind us

4th Ave is one of the main roads in Brooklyn. It looks pretty cool at night

NUTMEG!!!!! She's still adjusting to city life but she's doing well

Look at the rolls on those arms (Josie's arms that is...)

We made it all the way up to the Bronx to see the new Yankees stadium

Taking a stroll through Central Park

As we emerged from Central Park we saw this.....

So we ran over to check it out and we found out....

TRAIN was playing. We got to hear them play 5 songs and WE even MADE IT ON TV. Don't worry I DVR'd it so we can watch it OVER and OVER. JR and I had some serious "face time". :-)

30 Rock anyone?? We didn't see Tina Fey though...bummer

And of course Times Square. We are so touristy

Here begins our trek over the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan

Being the BEST Aunt Becky EVER

That's downtown Manhattan. The cars go underneath us so we get to walk above everything which makes for some great views.

The Shaver family...lookin good

Love this picture!!! Some of my favorite people

Those pictures are a snapshot of our mini vacation out to see Bob and Lea at the beginning of the month. Bob and Lea gave JR the ultimate 30th birthday present in that they bought both JR and I a ticket out to see them. JR had no idea about the trip which made it that much more fun. I surprised him on the morning we were leaving with his plane ticket and a packed bag and told him we needed to head to the airport. Pretty fabulous!!! JR hadn't yet met Josie so he was pretty excited to FINALLY get to meet this sweetie pie that everyone has been talking about. We had great weather while we were out there. JR and I managed to conquer the NYC subway system so we were quite proud of ourselves. (If you know me....you know that my sense of direction is AWFUL so this was quite a feat for us.) We cooked some good dinners and dined out at some great local places. Bob and Lea were fabulous hosts. If only they lived closer and we could see them more often.

...til next time

A visitor from Denver

2010-08-14T13:53:00.000-04:00

One of my good friends, pledge sister, and roommate for almost 2 years moved out to Denver with her hubby in May. (You may know them if you follow our blog regularly...they are the blog called Keeping up with the Joneses) I obviously haven't seen her since she moved out there so when she came "home" I made sure to catch up with her. We grabbed some lunch at La Piedad then took a fabulously HOT walk on the Monon with our sno-cones. The first half of the walk was spent running from the bees and wasps that thought our sno-cones were delicious as well. Both LJ and I are PETRIFIED of bees and wasps so it took us a while to actually be able to enjoy the sno-cones instead of worrying about whether we were going to get stung. LJ got a rootbeer and banana flavored one....weird, right?!?! Apparently it's quite delicious so if you are in the mood to try something different then give that one a whirl. I just got a mango and strawberry one. It hit the spot on a really hot day. Then I dropped her off at the Butler University Theta house. Her mom is on the House Corporation and helps with the decorating. I had never seen it so I was excited to get a tour of the house. Of course I compared it to the Beta Theta house (in Bloomington) and it didn't even come close but it was still fun to see it.
It's so good to have such great friends. I sure do feel blessed to have the friends that I do. :-)

...til next time

The results are in....

2010-08-12T23:45:00.000-04:00

and Grammy and Gramps are officially under contract! WA HOO!!!!!!!!!!!!! They had two offers this evening and they counter-offered on both of them. Less than an hour later they heard back from their agent and the family that they REALLY wanted to sell it to had ACCEPTED their counter-offer. How fabulous is that! Prayers answered!!!!! Lets just hope that everything else goes well throughout the process. The family has already been pre-approved so lets hope they don't encounter any little glitches along the way. I don't know when the closing will be but it can't be soon enough.

This helps us all to remember that things may not happen right when we want them to happen....but that's because it's not on OUR time it's on God's time. Thank you for your continued prayers. There is certainly power in prayer.

...til next time

ATTENTION ALL BLOG READERS

2010-08-12T17:12:00.000-04:00

I was just informed that Grammy and Gramps (JR's grandma and grandpa) will possibly be receiving 2...count 'em 2.....offers tonight from their real estate agent. If this does in fact happen, please pray that they will be able to negotiate something that works well for them financially. That would mean they would be able to be out here for Derek and Daren's senior year football season. How fabulous?!?! Remember in August of 2008 when I blogged about Grammy and Gramps listing their house and wanting to be out in Indiana with the rest of their family so bad.....well two years later it just might happen. I'll be sure to keep you all posted, but in the mean time PLEASE say a few extra prayers that one of these offers works out just right for both parties. :-) Hopefully their patience and persistence has paid off....only time will tell.

...til next time

p.s. yes i will be posting some pictures of our recent trip out to NYC. we just got home last night from the surprise trip that Bob and Lea got JR for JR's 30th birthday present. Pretty awesome!

Lillypie Accessories

2010-08-05T18:20:00.001-04:00

One of the girls in our small group (is it okay to say girls or should i say women since we are "older" now?!?!) makes the CUTEST hair bands and hair accessories. It's called Lillypie Accessories. She not only does hair accessories, but she has just started making jewelry. She is SUPER talented and very creative. So if you know of any little girls that need a little something for their hair you should DEFINITELY check our Laura's stuff. And for us "older" ones, there are hair accessories for us too. I haven't gotten the chance to order any jewelry for myself because she just started doing it but I can guarantee that if Laura is doing it then it's good stuff. I bought Josie (my niece) a couple hair bands and I cannot wait to see her in them. She's gonna be the most stylish baby in NYC!

So check out Lillypie Accessories

...til next time

Keep your fingers and toes crossed

2010-07-29T00:15:00.000-04:00

JR's grandparents that have been trying to sell their house for 2 years....that's right you read correctly....2 years......had a showing tonight and it went VERY well apparently. Please keep your fingers crossed and say some extra prayers for them. They have just finished putting a new roof on the house, painting, laying new floors, among many other things so they are READY for this chapter of their life to be closed and for a new chapter to begin. I'll keep you posted on it. We are hopeful. The best thing about it is that the potential buyers don't have to sell their house before they can buy. They are ready to move NOW. They love to garden, have dogs, and love older homes. These are all things that this house not only has but excels in (a huge garden in the back, a fully fenced yard, and a home built in the early 1900's). Lets pray this isn't too good to be true.

...til next time

Uh duh duh.....HAPPPPPPYYY BIIRRRTHDAAAAYYYY!!!!

2010-07-18T17:07:00.000-04:00

name the movie that quote is from....it's a classic!

Well this weekend was absolutely fabulous. We started it off by going to the Brooks and Dunn concert with friends of ours on Friday evening. They had two extra tickets so we headed up to Verizon Wireless with them and had a fabulous time. The weather couldn't have been any better and the company was great!!!! We don't know a ton of Brooks and Dunn songs but we enjoyed ourselves none the less. :-) I should also mention that it took us just about an hour to get to the venue from our house at 5:00pm on a Friday (that's pretty good time if you ask me) but the best part is that on the way home it only took us 43 mins to get home. How crazy is that?!?! We didn't leave early or anything. Pretty fabulous. I was dreading the drive up there and back ever since we found out we were going. I'd say we lucked out for sure. I had to take a picture of the beautiful sunset because it's not very often that you can see it that well here in good ol' Indiana. And make sure to check out how good that kid from southern California looks in an authentic cowboy hat. Yee Haw!!!

As for our cornhole boards....they look awesome!!!! I am pretty impressed with our painting skills. It only took us a year to get them done. :-)

And last but not least we celebrated JR's 30th birthday yesterday. For the last two and a half months I have been planning a surprise party for JR. He has not been looking forward to this birthday so I felt like we needed to do something special for him. Without the help of my mom and dad, Trudy and our good friends Jake and Keely I would not have been able to pull this off. JR had NO idea that I was doing this for him so it made it that much more special. He was completely caught off guard. We had great weather (yes it was hot and sticky but luckily our backyard is shaded and there was a nice breeze to help take the edge off the heat). We had tons of food and a fabulous crowd. I think this made his 30th birthday a little bit more palatable. Thank you to all of our fabulous family and friends for coming and sharing in this special day with us. We are so lucky to have you all in our lives.

Happy 30th birthday to the most wonderful husband in the world! I love you!

...til next time

Weekend update

2010-06-27T22:52:00.001-04:00

JR and I built our own cornhole boards last summer (I think that's right). We have been meaning to paint them since then but just now got around to it. JR has taken some serious time in designing his board. I, however, have taken the simple way out. These pictures are not the finished product. We will be sure to post those later. I'm sure you can all guess what is going to go on my board but JR's will be a little more of a surprise since not everyone knows his collegiate background. :-) I know you are all sitting on the edge of your seats just wondering how they are going to turn out. We will be sure to post those just as soon as they are done.

As for the rest of the weekend....JR went up to Depauw with his mom and brothers for a college visit. They said it went well. They met with the football coaches and saw all of the campus. I'd say that's a success for their first college visit. While they were up in Greencastle, my mom and I did some sewing. We always have a good time doing that. And I am always impressed with my mamma's skills. The pictures here are from earlier this year (i.e. December or January) when my mom and I made our first apron together. This is my apron that I don when cooking up my masterpieces in the kitchen. The one that we made this weekend was a similar shape but different fabric. I'll post a picture of it when I get one. (With my current inability to post pictures on a timely basis, that picture could take a while.) Hope you have enjoyed my crazy blogging this evening. I guess when I get posting there is no stopping me.

Oh and by the way....don't expect to see this many posts in one day for a VERY long time. :-)

....til next time

Guess what city we were in........

2010-06-27T22:15:00.000-04:00

I'll give you one guess where we were?!?! And if you don't know after looking at the last picture then I am truly concerned about your reading skills. We headed up to Chicago to visit a really good friend of mine (and sorority sister) and her husband. I hadn't seen Laura since her wedding in December so our visit was WAYYY overdue. Laura and Grant were fabulous tour guides of their own city. JR and I didn't get in until Saturday morning so all four of us headed out to the city almost immediately after we arrived to their apartment. It was great being able to hop on the "L" close to their apartment and not have to worry about parking. We took a walk around their neighborhood first, which is quite lovely. They live in the same neighborhood as Frank Lloyd Wright did. There were 6 or 8 houses that he had designed just a few blocks from their apartment including the one that Mr. Wright designed for himself. They were pretty cool.
We headed downtown and hit all the touristy places with Grant and Laura. They were so patient and even played silly tourists with us. :-) (thanks guys!!!!) We of course ate Chicago-style pizza which was delicious and outrageously filling. I think we ate around 2 and didn't even need to eat dinner. Despite my love for the White Sox and JR's love for the Cardinals, you can't go to Chicago and not see Wrigley Field. So please forgive us for making you look at those two awful words (Chicago Cubs) on our blog. It's not that Wrigley isn't a cool place to go see. I definitely want to see a game there BUT I will NOT be cheering for the Cubs. We did grab a beer at a bar in Wrigleyville after a Cubs game (it was the one where they got smoked 12-0 by the Angels) and it seems that the only way you can be a Cubs fan is if you are completely intoxicated. At least that is the only way that I would be able to stand cheering for them :-) Ok enough harping on the Cubs. We all know they stink and that those guys on the Southside are unquestionably better.
We wrapped up our visit by relaxing at Laura and Grant's apartment and catching up a bit.
JR and I made our gracious hosts a delicious breakfast of omelets and fabulous smoothies before we left later that morning. We had a great time with great friends. Thanks Laura and Grant!!!

...til next time

Minnesota Part 2

2010-06-27T21:45:00.000-04:00

Here are the last few pictures from Minnesota. I had a BLAST up there visiting family and one of my best friends. The weather wasn't ideal while I was there but we made due. We took a walk around one of the ten thousand lakes in Minnesota. It's called Lake Calhoun and it's a great place. It's about 3 miles all the way around and it leads to a few other lakes but we didn't get to walk around those. Kelli thought it was way more important to play on the playground. ;-)
We visited a sculpture garden just about a five minute walk from Kelli's downtown apartment. It was a pretty cool place to walk around. We found a couple of sculptures we found picture worthy so I hope you enjoyed them. I love the picture of Kelli and I each trying to fit our arms and head in the appropriate spots on one of the sculptures. We laughed so hard while we were trying to do that. And just so you know...it was way harder than it looks. There was a lot of timing involved. The picture of me trying to pick the cherry on the spoon took about three different times to get right. But we finally got it. Don't be jealous of our mad skills with the camera! :-)
On the last night, Kelli asked if I would teach how to make a simple dinner that was tasty and healthy. So we made our attempt at a pasta with summer vegetables in a homemade cream sauce. The apron doesn't give Kelli justice. That's just what she wears so that if her meal doesn't turn out she can blame it on the apron. haha Our meal was delicious and I know that Kelli will be able to recreate when she gets back from all of her traveling escapades.
I think that about does it from the Minnesota trip. Hope you enjoyed the pictures.

...til next time

yaaa sure you betcha...

2010-06-12T13:51:00.000-04:00

Well my mom and I are in Minnesota for the week. We got up here on Wednesday evening and are here until this coming Wednesday! We have family up here as well as one of my best friends. It was perfect timing because I got to have a vacation right before my clinical starts (June 21st) and my mom gets a chance to come up to see her mom and brother. I stayed with my mom the first night and then have been with Kelli since Thursday. We spent the day walking around the Mall of America and Ikea yesterday. Ikea is HUUUGEE!!! I found some awesome things and spent just a little bit of money in there. Surprisingly we were only in the store for just over an hour. I am pretty sure I could spend days in there but we were pretty efficient. We walked around the Mall of America for a little while and then headed back downtown where Kelli lives. We got dressed and headed for a couple beers before the Twins game. Kelli took me to see the Twins in their new outdoor stadium and it's beautiful. If you were watching the game on TV you may have seen us. :-) It turns out we were on TV in the 6th or 7th inning. My mom sent me a text message that said "OMG!! WE JUST SAW YOU ON TV!!!" Pretty fun. Kelli is off to a wedding today so I am going to go hang out with my mom and grandma for the rest of the day. I should also mention that Kelli works for General Mills so she took me over to their headquarters today. It was a pretty cool kitchen. I saw the Betty Crocker Kitchen among many other cool things there. I had to take a picture with the Pillsbury Dough Boy so I included that picture here. We also went to see a Saved By the Bell show on Thursday night. Kelli has a Bayside cheerleading t-shirt so she just HAD to wear it. Here are some pics from the weekend thus far. Enjoy!

...til next time

Hoosier......where are you?!?!?

2010-06-01T17:11:00.000-04:00

I had a small little scare this morning when I went out to retrieve Hoosier from the backyard.

I opened the back door, as usual, and let Hoosier out for her morning potty and poop. When I came back to let her in, she was not in the backyard. I hollered out the back door a number of times but no Hoosier. So I frantically ran outside and yelled her name repeatedly. I ran to the front of the house. No Hoosier. I ran around the backyard. No Hoosier. I ran back to the front of the house. No Hoosier. I ran inside to get my keys as my eyes began to well up with tears of fear. I raced outside and screamed her name one last time........and there she was trotting around our neighbor's house looking as happy as could be. Who knows how long she had been out of the fence or if she had even heard me. I raced over to her and gave her a ridiculous amount of kisses and scratches all while those tears that had welled up were streaming down my face. She is back home safe and sound. JR and I will have to be a little more careful with how we close the gate now since she seems to have figured out how to push it open. Hoosier, if you are reading this, don't ever scare your mommy like that again. Sheesh!

...til next time

Emplyoee of the Month

2010-05-26T17:32:00.001-04:00

Yup....that would be my fabulous husband!!!! JR just came from a meeting at work and he was named "Employee of the Month". I am so proud of him. He works hard every day and it's so nice to get recognition for the great job that he does every day. Way to go, baby!!!! I just had to brag on you. :-)

...til next time

This is what JR gets to wear to work everyday. Nah, I'm just kidding. I just wanted to throw in a funny picture of him. He was Flava Flav for Halloween 3 years ago. And no, your eyes are not deceiving you, those are gold teeth. He used gum wrappers and put them over his teeth to finish off the look. He's almost a dead ringer. :-)

Snake anyone?

2010-05-26T16:34:00.000-04:00

I was just outside trying to be a good wife and pick up Hoosier's poo before JR got home and mowed the lawn. This is something I do about 2x per week (sometimes JR does it but I try to do it since he is the one cutting the lawn). It never even crossed my mind that we could have something as creepy as a snake in our yard. I was walking along our fence line just finishing up the task at hand when I came across something that looked like rubber...I bent down a little to take a closer look and it suddenly dawned on me that IT WAS A SNAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I shrieked and high tailed it to our backdoor while yelling at the dog to get inside RIGHT NOW (and it was in one of those voices that Hoosier knew meant business so she sprinted to the door. good thing or she would have been left outside to handle the snake herself). I didn't bother to finish picking up the poo or even bother putting what I had collected in the trash can. As a matter of fact I left everything right where it was when I realized what that rubber looking "thing" was in our yard. I called JR to tell him of my findings and he got a good chuckle out of the story. Needless to say, I won't be out in the yard anytime soon. Thank goodness we got our planting and other outdoor work done this weekend. About 10 minutes later when I calmed down slightly, I got the watering can so that I could water our plants and flowers. I tiptoed through the yard as close to the house as possible and walked along the landscape rocks when I could too. Of course now all I can feel when I'm outside is something slithering up my leg. See, just the word slithering gives me the chills. GROSS!!!!!!!!!!! EEWWW!!!!!! Laugh all you want but I am TOTALLY afraid of snakes. Spiders I can handle (most of the time as long as they aren't too big haha) because they are small enough that I can just stomp on them and be done but snakes....you can't just stomp on those bad boys. They could wrap themselves around you and choke you to death (at least that's what I think ALL snakes do so I don't even bother with them).
I think that about does it from here. Hope none of you run across one of those ugly creatures in your yards.

...til next time

it's been WAAAAYYYYYY too long

2010-05-19T00:10:00.000-04:00

Picture 1: My really good friend Keely and I sitting at Bourbon St. enjoying the downtown scenery

Picture 2: JR and I at the Carrie Underwood concert (it was one of my birthday presents this year) :-)

Picture 3: JR and I downtown during Final Four weekend here

Picture 4: A family picture in our backyard before we went out for a surprise birthday dinner

Picture 5: At a classmates wedding this past weekend in Columbus

Picture 6: I get to check off riding a mechanical bull from my bucket list

Picture 7: Me and Lizard...love this girl

Picture 8: JR and I at the Carrie Underwood concert again

Ok so here are some pictures from the last I don't even know how long. Let me play catch up here for a few minutes. I just finished my second year of PT school and it feels AWESOME!!!! I have 5 weeks off until my clinical starts (which is 6 weeks long) so I plan to enjoy doing NOTHING school related. I was supposed to go down to Louisville for my clinical but long story short that got canceled and now I get to stay here. I even landed a PT clinic that is across the street from JR's work. That means we may get to carpool on occasions depending on my hours. WOO HOO!!! Now I get to stay in town AND it's going to be convenient (well maybe not convenient since it's on the south-side, but at least JR works right there).

My mom and I are going to Minnesota in 3 weeks to visit family and friends up there. One of my best friends, Kelli, lives up there so I am going to stay with her and my mom is going to spend time with her mom. Of course I will be getting some family time in as well so it's going to be great! Kelli has taken some time off during the time I am going to be there so we plan on getting into some trouble. ;-) I can't wait to get up there. This is also my LAST summer break. It's bittersweet I suppose. This time next year I will actually be making money...WEIRD!!!!!!!!

JR and I have a few weddings to go to this summer (3 in 4 weekends) so that will be fun. We always enjoy going to weddings just because we like to dance and have a good time so we are looking forward to that. JR is looking to take a Friday off in the near future so that we can play a round of golf together and just hang out for a day. I am pretty excited. Lets just hope that I don't make TOO much of fool of myself. I've gotta learn sometime, right? I did get my first pair of golf shoes a few weeks ago. They were on super sale so I couldn't pass it up. You all know how I am about sales. haha

Speaking of shopping, I spent some quality time at the mall and at the outlets this past week. JR's Grammy was in town so I met Grammy and Trudy at the mall one day and we hit the sale racks HARD CORE! Lets just say that I averaged spending $6.00 per item on the things that I got. Pretty awesome deals if I do say so myself. ;-) Of course I brought JR some things home too. I can't go shopping and come home empty handed for him. His items were not nearly as good of a deal as mine but they were still on sale. You should all know better than to think that I would pay full price for ANYTHING. I like to make sure that my dollar stretches REALLY far. Thanks mom and dad for that lesson. We also went to the Edinburgh outlets but I limited myself to only buying gifts for other people instead of things for myself. So I got two ADORABLE dresses for my baby niece. They will be perfect for the summer time in NYC. I can't wait to see her in them.

Well it's late here and I should probably get to bed. I just HAD to get something on my blog since it's been a ridiculously long time since I last posted.

....til next time

Here are some photos....

2010-04-11T13:30:00.001-04:00

Here are some much needed photos of the baby and my mom and dad out meeting her for the first time. Of course I had to throw in a picture of Nutmeg. Take note of her focus on that squirrel running for its life along the top of the fence. She almost caught him, I am told! :-) The sweater that my mom is holding up is the one she knitted for the baby. She made matching booties to go with it!!! She did a fabulous job on it. My mom is one talented lady, I tell ya. And the photo of my dad talking to Josie with a puppet is precious. I remember my dad talking to me with puppets when I was little. He would use different voices and accents. My favorite was my pink rabbit who spoke with a French accent. I love the picture of Nutmeg giving Josie a sweet kiss. For all of you who LOVE having your face licked (insert sarcasm here), this one is for you.

P90X

2010-03-25T15:51:00.000-04:00

So JR and I got fed up with our lack of motivation to workout and finally decided to do something about it. Our friends have P90X and let us borrow it. We have had it for about 3 weeks now and I am just starting it, and I LOVE IT!!! It is probably one of the hardest workouts I've ever done, but it feels so good. It's amazing what some lactic acid and muscle burning can do for my energy level though. I always feel so much better once I get going but I can't ever seem to start. So I recommend the P90X if you are looking for something that is good quality and different from the other at-home workouts. :-) JR and I are bound and determined to get back in shape and feel good about ourselves. Here goes...

...til next time

I present to you......

2010-03-18T16:42:00.001-04:00

Here is my precious baby niece, Josephine May Shaver. She weighed in at 7lbs even and was 20 3/4'' inches when she was born. At her one week check up she had gained 9 ounces. Needless to say she is eating well. :-) Mom is feeling great and getting around pretty well. I am out here visiting and helping around the house and with other odds and ends. Lea's mother is also out here. I don't have any newer pictures to upload because I don't have my camera cord here but I will do that when I get home. (you are thinking...ya ya ya how many times has she said she would upload pictures and she never does....well this time I will really try to get them uploaded) :-)

I have been thoroughly spoiling Bob and Lea's dog, Nutmeg while I've been here. I just want to make sure that she knows that she is still loved too even though there is a new little person in the house taking up most of mommy and daddy's attention. Today, Nutmeg got a cup of ice cream while out on a ride with her Aunt Becky. :-) Needless to say, I think she is LOVING having me here. Did I mention that she has been sleeping with me at night too instead of in her crate like her mommy and daddy wanted her too. Oops!!! Well I suppose ignorance is bliss. I leave here Saturday afternoon to head home for a day before starting school back up on Monday.

That's all I have for now. I hope the weather where you are is as nice as it is here.

..til next time

Just call us....

2010-03-09T18:53:00.000-05:00

Aunt Becky and Uncle JR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's right. Bob and Lea had their little girl today at 4:18pm in New Haven. They have not named her yet because they wanted to see her before they named her. I will post more details on that once I get them. Mom and baby are doing GREAT! And of course Bob is doing well too. They both sounded elated when I spoke to them earlier.

...til next time

Stay Classy San Diego

2010-03-03T23:30:00.001-05:00

Well Becky and I made our way back to the good land. It was our first time to San Diego together. We stayed at Becky's Aunt Chris and Uncle Jon's house on the beautiful Coronado Island. Our accommodations were far greater than we could have asked for. Becky's good friend Lora stayed with us as well. I'm not sure if there is a word that can describe their house, but magnificent is what comes to mind. Their house was a 5 minute bike ride to the beach and directly across the street from the golf course (NOW THAT IS HEAVENLY). Each morning we were woken up by the sun shining into our room. I couldn't tell you the last time we had seen sun, so that was a pleasant surprise.

Each day was jam packed with fun filled adventures. Our first day there we ventured off to the beach for the day to soak up some delightful sunshine. It was AWESOME!!! Before we arrived, the weather had been considerably cold and rainy (that is somewhat unusual for this time of year). What a rough winter!! The week we came into town it was anywhere from the mid 60's to low 70's. We had a hard time believing that we were sitting on the beach without a worry in life, soaking up the sun and watching the water and planes flying overhead at the nearby naval base,and it was WINTER. Not to shabby. I forgot what it was like. I definitely took it for granted.

We spent quite a bit of time driving up and down the coast to visit my friends and their families. It was so awesome to get to catch up with a lot of my closest friends from home, as well as their parents, and for Becky to finally meet some of them. Some of them I had not seen in almost 10 years. Life goes fast. The hospitality was excellent. I do have great friends!! It was like a mini reunion.

My friend Mark, who now lives in Missoula, Montana, was kind enough share his longboards and wetsuits and we all went out surfing. Becky and Lora really wanted to learn how to surf.......Now for those of you who know Becky, this was a huge deal. Going into the ocean where she has no idea of whats in the water and not being able to feel her feet touch the bottom. I was for sure that as soon as we got out there, that PANIC mode would kick in and within 2 minutes of us being out there she would practically be running on water back towards shore. I am proud to say that she was a great sport and caught 2 waves and rode them for longer than a couple seconds. She was pretty excited, and so was I.

It is a must to stop at IN-N-OUT at some point when you are in California. It was a first for Becky and Lora. They were not disappointed!!!

Becky and Lora were able to catch up with some of their classmates that were also down in San Diego for a Physical Therapy Conference. The girls decided that shopping and exploring one of the greatest places on earth was far better than sitting in a room falling asleep from boredom. We caught up with Becky's cousin Megan who is great. She was a blast to hang out with and was nice enough to show us around Pacific Beach where she lives. The girls found a couple stores that had lots of great "deals". I've heard that one before. Such good deals that we almost couldn't make it back home, and will be living off Top Ramen for the next couple months :) Bottom line......they were happy!!!

What a great week it was. I was pleased to be a tour guide around my old stomping grounds. Time flies when you're having fun. We had a blast. So much fun, I think we will make it an annual HONISCH vacation. As a great man we know would say.....LIFE IS GOOD!!!!!!

Til next time..........

Christmas and New Years

2010-01-06T15:26:00.003-05:00

Man it has been a while since I've been on here to blog. Sorry about that. I am babysitting right now so I won't be able to post any pictures but I figured I would get on here to catch up on what we've been up to.

The cinnamon rolls turned out FABULOUSLY!!!!!! They were super easy to make so I look forward to making those again for many years to come. :-) I think by the time the day was over I had eaten three of them. YUM! I of course forgot to take a picture of them but you can imagine what they looked like. We spent early Christmas morning at JR's mom's (Trudy) house and spent three or so hours there opening presents and relaxing before heading off to my parents house. Bob and Lea weren't here for this Christmas since they came for Thanksgiving so we missed them terribly. It was a nice quiet Christmas but we all had a fabulous time celebrating the season and spending time with family. We ate Christmas dinner at my parents and then headed back to Trudy's for dessert. We watched a movie and just hung out for the rest of the evening. It was fabulous.

We got up the next day and did some after Christmas shopping. As you can probably guess, we were looking for a FULL Christmas tree. And don't worry.....WE FOUND ONE! We made sure it was a full tree this time because we ended up buying the display model. We got a fabulous price and this way we won't be surprised when we open it up next season. WHEW! It was nice that Christmas was on a Friday because that meant JR got a long weekend so he was able to come do some shopping with me the day after as well. And yes he actually wanted to go. :-)

New Years Eve was fabulous. We had our close friends Jake and Keely over for dinner and games before ringing in the new year. It was a great way to spend the evening. Keely brought over some delicious chocolate fondue (white and milk chocolate) with great things to dip in it. It was decadent. Dinner was great too but the company is what made the evening. We are sure blessed to have friends like Jake and Keely.

I am finishing up my last week of Winter Break and then school starts back up on Monday. I only have 2 more semesters of school work and 1 semester of clinicals. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. WOO HOO!!!!!

Well that's about all there is to update. I'll try to post some pictures once I figure out how to connect my NEW camera to the computer. In the meantime, stay warm.

...til next time

Our Cream and Crimson School..........IU!!!!!!!!

2009-12-24T14:44:00.000-05:00

JR and I got the chance go down to Bloomington to take in an IU basketball game this week. One of the physicians that JR works with generously gave us the tickets since he and his family were not going to be able to use them. I haven't been back to Assembly Hall since I graduated so I was STOKED! The tickets were fabulous (5th row behind the basket near the IU bench). THe Hoosiers made a valient effort to come back from a 24 point defecit but lost by 5. That team has heart and that is certainly what they will need these next couple years until Coach Crean gets them back up to where the IU program should be.

I just threw in a picture of our little girl. She's the best!!!
I am going to try making homemade cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning this year. If they work out well then I will make this a tradition. It's a long process since the dough has to sit and rise two separate times before you can bake them but hopefully it's worth the wait. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Well off to roll out the dough and finish these bad boys up. Then off to church with both families.

Have a merry Christmas!!!!!

.....til next time

Really?!?!?!

2009-12-23T15:06:00.002-05:00

I was listening to NPR today while I was babysitting and the topic of discussion was fidelity and whether it is important in relationships. Are we really to the point in our society that we do not hold marriages sacred any more?!?! I was so angered by the discussion that I felt my heart start to race and my face get red. The discussions that these people were having were based off of a comment that Angelina Jolie made to a German news reporter. She stated something along the lines that a monogamous relationship is not the only kind of relationship that works. That it is ok to be married and have a boyfriend or girlfriend outside of your marriage. One of the "experts" on the show mentioned that it is healthier to do this because if your husband or wife is not holding up their end of the relationship that the other person can seek a boyfriend or girlfriend instead of asking for a divorce or separation. How does that work when there is a family involved (i.e. kids that ask who that other woman or man is that daddy or mommy is always with)? Are we supposed to teach our children now that infidelity is ok? I just think that is outrageous. Why are people getting married if they think that monogamy is not sufficient?

I realize that people are all entitled to their own views and beliefs but I just cannot believe that people are questioning the importance of fidelity in marriages and relationships.

I promise when I get home I'll post something much more fun to read, but I just couldn't let this one go without venting a little about it.

.....til next time

As promised....

2009-12-09T19:52:00.002-05:00

Here are the pictures that I promised (along with a few non-half tree related)

Here is the shot from the front. Doesn't look to shabby. It looks like it could even be a full tree...BUT....then you look at it from the side. They weren't kidding when they said a half-tree. Dang you small print dang you!!!!
Here are my two favorites in front of our favorite feature in our new house. :-)
This is the first fire we had in our lovely fireplace. It's delightful to sit in front of it and sip hot chocolate. (sigh) :-)
This was going to be such a good picture for our X-mas card....until Hoosier decided that the squirrel in the tree was WAY more interesting than sitting still. We have yet to reattempt it but it needs to be soon so we can get those out. :-)
One of JR's friends came through here last week on his way up to upstate New York. Brad is in the military and he and his family are moving from Arizona. Brad and his father-in-law were in charge of driving EVERYTHING they own out to their new location. Not an easy job but we were thankful that they drove through our neck of the woods. JR hadn't seen Brad since he was in our wedding a year and a half ago. Nothing like catching up with old friends. :-) I forgot to mention that it was just in time for the Oregon State vs Oregon (aka The Civil War game) football game to decide who would go to the Rose Bowl. The bad guys won but it was still fun to watch.

I am finishing up my most dreaded class of grad school this Friday and then we are off to Chicago for one of my really good friend's wedding. It should be a fabulous weekend. Laura is going to make a gorgeous bride. I'll be sure to post pictures from the weekend when we get back. A week from tomorrow I will have one more semester of PT school under my belt. Only three semesters left. WOO HOO!!!!!!

Hope you are all staying dry and warm. It's bitter cold here but at least we got a little bit of snow. It makes it so much prettier.

Ok back to studying for now.

...til next time

SUCCESS

2009-12-07T18:25:00.000-05:00

woo hoo!!!! the cute puppies i blogged about yesterday are now in a safe and happy home. i would like to take credit for my post but i think liz found the family on her own. yay for a great placement for two homeless pups. :-)

Lost puppies that need a good home

2009-12-06T18:10:00.004-05:00

id #: 9225686

id #: 9225655

http://www.indyhumane.org/heretohelp/lost_and_found_pets.php

My best friend, Liz, has taken in two miniature dachshunds. One is a wire hair and the other is a short haired one. One is about 2 years old and the other is about 1 year old. Liz is going to try to foster them for as long as she can but she has a dog of her own and can't take two more dogs. They appear to be house trained (no accidents in 3 days) and have gotten along well with children, adults, and other dogs, etc.

If you are interested in taking them let me know and I'll give you Liz's contact info so you can contact her. She said she would love to keep them if she didn't have a dog already. They are so cute and she wants to find a good home for them instead of having to give them to animal control.

Just a funny story

2009-11-14T15:28:00.001-05:00

Being the world class procrastinator that I am, I decided that it was a good day to put up our Christmas tree instead of study for my huge test a week from Monday. I know I know it's only November 14th, but I couldn't resist the temptation to put up our FIRST Christmast tree in our FIRST house. So my mom brought the tree over that we had temporarily stored at their house. Fabulous, I thought, I'll open it up and put it in the perfect spot in our front room. As I'm opening the tree I see writing on the box that says "half tree great for putting against wall". What the heck does that mean? So I searched further on the box (mind you this is what I should have done PRIOR to buying it but honestly, who thinks they would only sell HALF CHRISTMAS TREES). There is a picture on the box of a sideview of the tree and sure enough....it's only HALF OF A CHRISTMAS TREE! Thankfully the spot I picked out was by a wall so we made due. I just laugh thinking that JR and I bought our first Christmas tree and it was only a HALF TREE. I guess that just gives us something to look forward to when we make the big bucks...a WHOLE Christmas tree. hahaha I have to laugh because it really is pretty funny. No wonder we got such a great deal on it the day after Christmas last year. Those suckers tricked us into thinking we were getting a full tree. I'll post pictures of it when there are ornaments on it and everything, but I had to post about our pathetic HALF tree.
Moral of the story....can't judge a tree by it's picture on the box. You better make sure you read the fine print. :-)

...til next time

Results are in...

2009-11-13T22:28:00.000-05:00

and the Bulldogs lost in a tough battle to Warren tonight. They lost 14-6 in a hard fought battle. JR said the defense played really well considering they only allowed 14 points on a team who had a running back with 2,000+ yards this season and a quarter back with 1,000+ yards this season. The offense just couldn't get it going tonight. The boys have another year to look forward so they can learn from this one. We'll get 'em next time. What a good season! Way to go DOGS!

...til next time

Stay tuned....

2009-11-13T18:59:00.000-05:00

for the results of tonight's match-up between the Brownsburg Bulldogs and the Warren Central Warriors (I might have made up Warren's mascot because I don't know what it is). :-) I opted not to go to the game because I haven't gone to the last three post season games and the Bulldogs have won so I didn't want to start tonight. JR is there, as you would expect, and he promised to cheer extra loud for me. It's kick-off time RIGHT NOW!!!! GO BULLDOGS!!!!!!

The results will follow later tonight..

...til next time

Sectional Champs!!!

2009-11-07T15:30:00.005-05:00

Well, it has been a great season thus far for the boys. Nearly 2 1/2 decades after Brownsburg last won a sectional title -- back in 1985, the Bulldogs (9-3) finally claimed another trophy, this time by beating rival Avon 42-14 on the road Friday in the Class 5A Sectional 6 final. Derek, and Daren have enjoyed the season and have been working really hard. Next friday they host Warren Central (10-2), one of the powerhouse teams in the state.
Becky and I have enjoyed friday night football, especially when it doesn't rain. If all goes well and their team plays like they did last night, the journey will continue and we will have the opportunity to play in Lucas Oil Stadium for the State Championship. Meanwhile, we will take it one play at a time and enjoy the ride.

Boys after sectional championship game vs. Avon (42-14)

Boys after first secional game vs. Arsenal Tech (65-0)

We will keep you posted on next weeks results. Hopefully it will be something like.....VICTORY for the Bulldogs!!!!!!!

Until next time.....

Halloween Wedding

2009-11-01T09:50:00.001-05:00

mom and dad dancing the night away at the IMA
the hubby and i at the reception
So it was a Halloween wedding and there was a photo booth there where you get your picture taken to put in the guest book next to where you sign. These are the costumes that we chose to wear for our picture...I hope the bride and groom can tell who we are! :-)

Just thought that I would share some pictures from the wedding we went to last night. It was a beautiful day for a beautiful wedding. The reception was at the IMA and it was fabulous.

Off to study for the rest of the day. GO COLTS!!!

....til next time

Ladies and Gentlemen.........

2009-10-30T22:39:00.001-04:00

My brother and sister-in-law are expecting their first baby in March and we just found out that it's going to be a baby GIRL!!!!!!! We are so excited for them and can't wait to spoil her to pieces. :-) I didn't think they were going to find out the sex but we were pleasantly surprised today. I see lots of pink and green in her future.

We just wanted to share our excitement over being an Aunt and Uncle come March. Have a fabulous weekend!

.....til next time

Can you tell that I rediscovered the digital camera...

2009-10-25T22:08:00.010-04:00

I have to apologize in advance because these pictures will be out of order. I can't figure out how to do slideshows on here so I have to upload the pictures individually. If you know how to get a slideshow onto the blog let me know. I'm sure it would make posting pictures a lot easier. :-)
Above: Hoosier and JR raking the leaves so we can see our backyard again

She's just so pretty. Her coat matches the leaves. :-)
Gingersnap came over to play on Thursday and if you can't tell by the excessively long tongues here...they wore one another out!
Here is JR and his brothers after Derek and Daren won their first sectional game on Friday. They have a second sectional game against conference rival Zionsville this Friday. GO DOGS!!!
The rest of these pictures are from our adventure down to southern Illinois to celebrate one of our really good friend's birthday. We even slept in a tent with NO air mattress in 38 degree weather. We are so hard core!!!
This is the birthday boy, Jake. He and his wife are some of our really good friends here. They are in our small group and live very close by.
Here are Keely (Jake's wife) and I taking a night horse ride. This was probably my favorite part because if you know me at all you know that I LOVE horses.
Here are JR and Jake just hanging out
Just sitting on some hay around the camp fire staying warm and enjoying being in "God's country" as Jake and Keely call it. I have never as many stars as I did that night. And did I mention that I saw my FIRST shooting star there. Pretty awesome!

So we had a wonderful weekend full of fellowship and friends. Today was spent catching up on life around here (i.e. laundry, leaf raking etc). As soon as I finish this post I will be heading straight for bed to enjoy a good night's sleep before another week of school. Hope you had a wonderful weekend!

...til next time

Catching up with friends

2009-10-23T13:16:00.006-04:00

Blowing out all 25 candles! (wow we're old)
The birthday boy!
Me and my handsome hubby
Friends from WAAAYY back
My dad and Gingersnap came over to watch the USC vs Notre Dame game
Hoosier got a new toy and she LOVES it!

There is a group of us that try to get together once a month (it's usually about once every 2 months) to hang out and catch up. I have known them all since middle school or earlier. It's fun to think that we have been friends since we were 11 or 12 years old. That's about half of our lives. CRAZY!!! Well we got together to celebrate Rob's 25th birthday and had a wonderful time.

I just finished my midterms so it was a great way to celebrate. JR and I then came home to do some stuff around the house which was surprisingly relaxing. With school being so busy I don't get a chance to stay caught up on house work/cleaning etc so whenever there is a break in school I try to catch up with that. Since JR is such a clean freak I know he appreciates when I do that because I am sure it drives a little crazy when the house is in disarray. I honestly believe that the way your house looks (i.e. clean or messy or whatever) is a representation of what your life is like at that time. Needless to say our house was in desperate need of some good ol' cleaning. So we got that done and now we can enjoy a weekend free of cleaning since we already marked it off our to-do list. WOO HOO!!!!!!

Hope everyone has a great weekend and enjoys the beautiful fall colors. Here are some pictures from recently.

...til next time

New recipes anyone....

2009-10-08T15:55:00.004-04:00

So it feels like recently that I have been cooking the same thing over and over again. I was wondering if anyone had any recipes that they LOVE and would like to share. It can be for anything from soups to fish to oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I'm up for anything. I'd like to kind of "spice it up" in the recipe department. (and I'm sure JR would enjoy this as well since he is stuck eating the SAME things OVER and OVER again.) You can either email me the recipe or leave it as a post on the blog. Whatever you prefer. Hopefully I'll get some delicious recipes from you all.

...til next time

No need to search

2009-10-05T22:16:00.005-04:00

You can call off the search. We are still here. We still live in Brownsburg. I am still in school. JR is still working full time. And Hoosier is still spoiled. :-)
Sorry for the lack of posting recently. School has really kicked into high gear. I just took my first Neuroscience and Clinical Neurology exam today. Whew! Glad that one is over. It was quite intense so needless to say this evening was spent relaxing on the couch (which came after going to get a couple beers to celebrate being done with that exam). We have midterms in a couple weeks. It's hard to believe that it's already October. Where in the world has time gone? I feel like that is a theme with my posts lately. And let me tell you, time does not fly ONLY when you are having fun. School just seems to suck me in. I guess that just means that graduate school will be over before I know it. And then that will mean that I will be married for almost three years at that time. CRAZY!!! Wasn't I just graduating from high school and moving into IU with Liz? So many "life moments" (as my dad calls them) happen in the twenties and it feels as if it's hard to digest them before another one comes along. I will try harder to enjoy the time that I have now instead of wishing that this day or week or month or year is over. We never know when time will run out. So lets enjoy the time that is given to us. :-)

JR is still enjoying his new job. The people he works with have really embraced him so that is encouraging to hear. His hours are significantly better and much more consistent. He gets home on Fridays at 4 which is incredible. He rarely works past 5 with some days being done at 4:30. He has been staying really busy which is right up his alley.

Our house is slowly shaping into our home We included some pictures of the outside of the house just because I wasn't sure if I had posted pictures of the house since we closed and moved in. It's much different keeping a house clean as compared to an apartment. It requires a little more time management but it is definitely worth it. I will try to throw in some pictures of the inside when we get around to taking them. (So don't hold your breath) We are thoroughly enjoying being home owners and Hoosier is certainly enjoying being the queen of the house/yard. She has recently upgraded to not being in her crate during the day. 98% of the time she does well, but there is the other 2% of the time when she gets in trouble. This happened today when I came home to the edge of a rug shredded and some doggie puke on the hardwood floor in the hallway with rug pieces in it. You would think they would get the point, but they are just hard headed sometimes. We sure do love her anyways. Afterall, who is perfect?!?!?

The pictures of JR and I (and Hoosier) are from a wedding this weekend. One of my pledge sisters got married so we celebrated with them on Saturday. That is wedding 2 of 4 this semester. I'll try to be better at taking pictures but my camera broke and it just never occurred to me to use JR's.

Well I think that is enough rambling for me. I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying some fall weather. It sure is beautiful when the leaves change. Let us know how you are doing as we love to hear from friends and family. Take care!!

.....til next time

We hit the ground running

2009-08-28T08:15:00.002-04:00

I can't believe we are approaching the end of August already. I started back to school August 17th and it feels like I haven't really had much time to come up for air since then. It is going to be another tough year but that is to be expected in grad school, I suppose. Like they say, if it was easy then everyone would do it. I'll keep that in mind when I am cursing my neuroscience course! :-)
On to more exciting things....
JR is EMPLOYED!!!!!! He LOVES his new place of employment. The atmosphere is better and he just loves the people that he works with. It is a much faster paced environment than the last place and that plays into his hand really well. He is working at an orthopaedic clinic here in town. It is a large clinic with 5 or so different locations. He is currently at the one on the south side of Indianapolis so it is about a 35 minute drive but he says it is worth it. He is hired on as an ATC and does what ever the physicians needs are for the patients as well as some work in the casting room. I am pretty sure that JR was employed in record time since he was only without a job for two weeks. In this day and age it seems like most people are without a job for around 5 or 6 months. It just speaks highly of JR and his qualifications. He has gotten tons of positive feedback already from some of the physicians and other co-workers at the new place. I couldn't be more proud of him and how he handled the situation he was put in.
As my dad would say.... Life is good!

Sorry there haven't been many pictures here recently. My computer is being finnicky and won't let me on the internet so I haven't been able to upload any pictures. And the other day when I turned my camera on it gave me an error message so I am not sure what is going on with that either. I'll do my best to get some pictures on here, but no promises!

...til next time

Job hunting

2009-08-03T15:55:00.002-04:00

JR had an interview on Friday with Cooke (a medical device company) and it went well. They are supposed to call him sometime this week if they want to follow up with him and send him into the next round of interviews. That is all wonderful news! Keep saying prayers for us because they are certainly working.

He just had another interview today with OrthoIndy (an orthopaedic hospital here in Indy) and it also went really well. One of the ladies he interviewed with called him back already to tell him they are going to call his refrences and send him some stuff to fill out for a criminal background check. If you ask me, it sounds like they want to hire him. He has been a trooper with all of this stuff going on. He had a couple days where he was really discouraged, but for the most part he has handled everything great.

Keep us in your prayers as we are in this transition period. We'll keep you posted as things progress.

...til next time

It could happen ladies and gentlemen....

2009-07-27T22:23:00.003-04:00

We have been praying for almost a year now that JR's Grandma and Grandpa's house would sell in CA so they could move out here. Well, they had a family come look at the house this weekend and they LOVED it. It turns out that the family has narrowed their search down to Grammy and Gramps' house and one other one. I guess the 19 year old son liked the fact that Grammy and Gramps' house has an upstairs with a kitchen so he could hang out up there all the time. We are really praying that this family comes to the decision that they want to buy Grammy and Gramps' house so they can move out here to be just around the corner. :-)

Say an extra prayer that the house gets sold!!!! (This family also has to sell their home in San Jose in order to buy Grammy and Gramps' home so say an extra prayer for that too.)

And to update you all on JR's job hunt...

JR had a phone interview today with OrthoIndy on the southside of Indianapolis and they are going to contact him at the end of this week to have him come in for an interview. JR excels at those face-to-face meetings so he should do GREAT! He has also made a couple of other contacts with a bracing company here in town and those could be promising leads as well. Keep the prayers coming because it is certainly working. We will keep you all posted as things develop. God is good and we have to remember that. He will not put us through something that he cannot bring us out of.

....til next time

If you have a second...

2009-07-23T15:28:00.003-04:00

JR could really use some encouraging words. We just finished up lunch and I have never seen him so down about himself. A simple text message or phone call would be awesome. He feels "like he was hung out to dry" and now doesn't know what he is supposed to do. I know he would really appreciate it. Thanks!

...til next time

Waiting is no fun

2009-07-22T15:47:00.003-04:00

The waiting game is not a fun game to play when you are looking for a job. JR has sent his resume out electronically to a lot of places but we swear that it just gets lost in cyber space. Don't get me wrong about how wonderful it is to have the internet these days, but it sure makes it hard to make a good first impression for jobs when it is just based on a paper application and your electronic resume. I think JR's next step is going to be to go out to specific places and personally dropping his resume off so that they can put a face with a name. Plus, JR is so personable that I think it could really help him. He is not exactly sure what direction he wants to go in (clinic, high school/college, medical sales, etc) but we would take any help at this point. If you are familiar with the Indianapolis area at all and you know some people in the line of work that JR is in that would be great. Let us know. In the meantime just keep praying for us, that JR gets hired at a place that fits him.

Thank you so much for all of your kind responses. We will be sure to keep everyone posted as things develop.

In the meantime, we are preparing for my brother to come to town tomorrow evening. It is going to be so great to see him and hangout for a bit. I think it's been since Christmas since we've seen him so needless to say I CAN'T WAIT to hang out. :-)

....til next time

Thanks for your support

2009-07-20T09:49:00.002-04:00

Becky and I had a wonderful weekend. With all that is going on, there was much to be celebrated. We can't believe that it has already been 1 year. What a great year. Many more to come. We spent Saturday in French Lick, Indiana at the French Lick Resort and Casino. We had time to waste before we checked in, so we took a gander at the casino and spent a whopping $6 on the slot machines trying to hit the jackpot, but we quickly gave up and cashed in. No such luck on the birthday. Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention the fact that I turned one year older. Errr.......Much to be thankful for, and I got great gifts.
Becky had really good intentions of laying out by the pool, but it was a little too chilly. With a high of 68 degrees, and not many signs of sunshine, the pool did not sound too appealing. But we did go in the spa/hot tub with all the other hundreds of local french lick teenie boppers. I guess all the parents were off duty. Overall it was relaxing.
Becky took me out to dinner that evening at a steakhouse in the resort called 1875. Pretty delicious. Lets just say that we ate too much, and felt the need to take a long walk.
The resort was fun and relaxing. Just what we needed.
Pictures to be posted...

Yesterday for our anniversary we spent the majority of the day driving. We tried to catch up on stuff at home, and then went to purchase a grill. What an awesome gift. Can't wait to get that fired up. We ended the day with a nice dinner and movie with great friends.

I want to thank you all for support. With all that is going on we are so thankful and blessed for family and friends. We couldn't do it without you. My wife has been so incredibly supportive. Life will move on, and there are so many things to be thankful for. We are excited to see what God has in store for us. We will keep you posted.
Just wanted to update you.

Until next time...........

Nobody is safe these days

2009-07-14T15:42:00.006-04:00

You always hear about how bad the economy is and how everyone is feeling the pinch these days. I don't know about you but I usually consider us to be pretty lucky because JR works in the field of health care and it seems pretty stable. At least that is what all the experts are saying and they must have some sort of insight, right?!?! Well, the field of health care may be one of the safer places to work but it is not exempt from all of the layoffs and other things that come with a struggling economy. Yesterday, I got a call from JR after his lunch and he told me that he had been laid off. My husband, who works hard, always has a smile on his face, does what he is told without asking superfluous questions, has been laid off. How does that happen exactly? I am of course extremely scared and anxious about everything but he is calm about the situation. He keeps telling me "I have a good feeling about things." His attitude is incredible. He is not pointing fingers, he is not angry with anyone (at least not that he has let on to me), he just knows that the Lord has something bigger and better in store for him. I am baffled at how wonderfully he has taken this news. I have certainly made up for his lack of anger, sadness, etc. Of course, there hasn't been much time for things to settle in, but his initial reaction is simply incredible. What I just shared with you is exactly why I feel like I am the luckiest woman in the world. To take news like he received and take it in stride is amazing to me. I have so many things to learn from him in our lifetime. Not that timing is ever good with things like this, but it really stinks that we are celebrating our one year anniversary and his birthday this weekend. I sure hope we can put some of these things aside and enjoy some time together this weekend, because we certainly need it.

All of that being said, we would really appreciate extra prayers over the next however long until we know exactly what we are going to do. I don't start school again until August 17th so JR and I have some time to sit down and talk about what is going to be best for us as a family.

...til next time

Some much needed pictures

2009-07-13T17:06:00.002-04:00

the yummy chicago style pizza that we had once we arrived in chicago!
me and laura (aka snyds) getting some serious shopping done :-) don't worry JR i found some really good bargains
trudy, me and judy (JR's mom and grandma)
that's us in front of the kidney bean
i just love this girl!
JR and evan sitting outside of the gelato shop up in clay terrace. YUM!!!
the boys being silly.

So here are some pictures that I am just now getting around the posting. Sorry for the ridiculous delay. I know that pictures are much more fun to see on a blog as opposed to a 3 paragraph post. I'll try to be better about that now that we have internet. :-)

JR and I are quickly approaching our 1 year anniversary and we can't wait. Can you believe it's already been a year?

Hope you are all doing great!

...til next time

Hoosier has a new buddy

2009-07-07T16:11:00.003-04:00

My mom and dad just called and they have adopted another puppy from the Humane Society. She is about 4 months old and cute as can be. She is brown with short hair. They have not named her yet but I'll be sure to post when they do. I will get more pictures of her this evening I am sure. :-) I am so glad my parents got a dog. There was just something missing at their house since Sobahka passed away in April of 2008. This puppy sure does have a lot to live up to but I think she'll do great. I have said this many times...if I were to come back as anything, I would choose to come back as a Shaver dog because they have the best life! This will hold true for this little girl too. :-) Hooray for new additions!!!!!

4th of July weekend festivities

2009-07-07T13:43:00.002-04:00

We are getting internet tomorrow!!!! HOORAY!!!!! We have gone this whole time without internet at our home because we each were able to get internet at the places we are working. Well it has now become a huge inconvenience to go other places to get our internet so we are getting it installed tomorrow. I will be able to post pictures at that time which will make our blog so much more interesting. :-)

We had a wonderful July 4th weekend. JR got July 3rd off unexpectedly so we took full advantage of that by hanging out around the house together for most of the day. We had two of our really good friends over Friday evening for dinner. We enjoyed relaxing and playing cornhole for a good portion of the evening. We are sure blessed to have such wonderful friends. Satruday was spent sleeping in and going downtown to Circle Center Mall. We were there for a large portion of the afternoon before going to my parents for dinner and root beet floats (a Shaver tradition at this time of year). Sunday we also relaxed and went to church and then hung around the house most of the day. We went over to another couple's for dinner and then headed to the Brownsburg Fair. Our friend was dying for a funnel cake so we went there to get one and satisfy his craving. Of course, JR and I couldn't resist the urge so we got one to split and man was it good. But I don't think we'll need one for another year. haha

Now it's back to the grind of the work week. I am babysitting today and then it's off to see Derek and Daren play for the Brownsburg All-Star baseball team. It's a beautiful day so hopefully the rain will hold off. Hope everyone is doing well.

...til next time

We have resurfaced

2009-06-30T13:42:00.002-04:00

Here we are!!!! I am so sorry we haven't posted in so long. I got done with clinicals on June 19th and there have been a few things that JR and I have been trying to deal with since then. Not to mention that we do not have our internet hooked up at the house yet. We were trying to be frugal the month of July since we will have to pay both rent and our first mortgage payment. I am not sure we are going to make it the whole month of July without internet. We'll see.

So clinicals are done and I am back to living at home FULLTIME!!! WOO HOO!!!!!!! It has been wonderful. I just finished up my week long class yesterday so I am officially on summer break now. I will be doing some babysitting here and there to keep my busy. I get about 6 weeks off and then it is back to the grind. JR and I may take a couple weekend trips during my time off but nothing is for sure as of right now.

JR is plugging along at work. He could really use some words of encouragement from you guys if you get the chance. He is working so hard to provide for our family and I think sometimes he gets stuck in a rut.

This past weekend one of JR's best friends and his mom were in town. They were our first house guests and it was fabulous. We had a wonderful time. I was sick for the weekend but still managed to get to see them some. JR and Evan went and played some golf and caught up on many things, while Evan's mum (that is how he refers to her since they are from New Zealand) simply enjoyed our company and our neighborhood. The weather was great so we told them they had to come back all the time because they brought fabulous weather with them. :-) This was only the second time that I had met Evan, with the first time being at the wedding. I love getting the chance to finally get to know JR's best friends as he talks about them all the time.

Well JR and I have almost been married for 1 year. Can you believe it? We sure can't. It seems crazy how fast the time went. We are going to try to get away for a weekend in French Lick to celebrate. After this crazy year, it will be nice to get away and enjoy some time together to relax and catch up.

If I was at my computer I would be able to post some pictures but I am not so those will have to wait. I will do my best to stay caught up with the blogging. Now that I don't have school to keep me busy I would like to think I'll be able to stay up on my blogging (only now it won't be a form of procrastination). :-)

Hope you all are enjoying the summer weather. We would love to hear from you.

...til next time

A few pictures

2009-06-08T18:15:00.009-04:00

Here is our sweet little girl home from surgery. We gave her a "Welcome home" treat. JR and I found it at the grocery store. It's called a "beef knuckle" and it's the distal end of a HUGE femur. Hoosier has thoroughly enjoyed it. Her one time to be out of the crate is when she is gnawing on that. She has made a serious dent in it but it should last her most of the 8 weeks that she has to be crate bound. I included a few pictures of us putting a warm compress on her incision. You can't see her incision in any of these but it's about 6 inches long and is healing well. Her back left leg is completely shaved and they even shaved about an inch of her tail so it almost looks like it doesn't belong on her body. It's pretty funny looking. Take note of the big soft doggy bed that Hoosier is laying on too. My mom surprised me and made it for Hoosier just before she went off to surgery. My mom and I had planned on making one for a while but we never got around to it. Thanks mom!!! :-)
The very last picture is a picture of JR and I at a family reunion over Memorial Day weekend. The weather was great and we even made our own cornhole set to take with us. JR did an awesome job with that. I will try to get some pictures of our new house so we can post them on here and show off our new "digs". :-)
Hope everyone is doing well.

....til next time

Home and recovering...

2009-06-03T22:05:00.002-04:00

Our Hoosier is home and on the road to recovery. She was quite excited to see me when I came to pick her up on Monday afternoon. We got all the instructions and medicines that she will need to stay healthy over these next 8 weeks until she goes back up to Purdue for a progress report. She is getting around pretty well considering the serious surgery that she just underwent. She is crate bound for the next 8 weeks and she has to wear an E collar (that's the sophisticated term for lamp shade) for 7 more days until she gets her sutures out. She has been a trooper thus far. JR and I slept out on the family room floor with her Monday and Tuesday night while she slept in her crate. Each night when she would finally settle down in her crate and lay down to sleep she would make sure that she was in the very front of her crate with her head facing us to ensure that we weren't going anywhere. You can tell that she didn't sleep much at all while she was up at Purdue so she has a lot to catch up on. I just talked to JR and it sounds like he is going to sleep on the couch next to her crate tonight. Man, oh man, is she loved! We are so happy to have her back in our home. The house seemed so empty and quiet while she was gone.
JR has been incredible through this whole thing. He has never once complained about the fact that I am up here and unable to help around the house during the week. He has taken full responsibility of everything around the house (including a lot of unpacking, taping for painting, cleaning, yard work, etc) and he has now assumed full responsibility for Hoosier during the week. He doesn't complain, yet he puts a smile on his face and just says that he feels blessed that we have a wonderful house to live in and an incredible puppy to keep us busy. What a lucky woman I am!
Ok I'm done bragging about how wonderful of a man that I married. I have such good taste. ;-)

...til next time

Success

2009-05-29T21:36:00.002-04:00

Hoosier is out of surgery and recovering well they said. The surgeons said she had a low body temperature when she initially came out of surgery but they have brought it up to 99 degrees (which is what they want it to be at). She will most likely be moved into the regular ward tomorrow (as opposed to the ICU where she is now) and they will let us know then how she does with her first steps after surgery. We are so thankful that she is doing well. It sounds like the doctors have taken really good care of her. I know there have been a lot of changes for her in the last 7 days but she is going to do great. Thanks for keeping her in your thoughts. Now the road to recovery begins and I know she is going to do great. :-) We will let you know when we have our little girl back at home. Have a wonderful weekend!

...til next time

Surgery day is Friday

2009-05-28T22:26:00.002-04:00

Surgery is tomorrow at 12 so please say an extra prayer for her around that time. We talked to the doctor this evening and he said that Hoosier has been really anxious and nervous since JR dropped her off yesterday morning. I feel so terrible, like I'm a bad mommy for leaving her there without her knowing what is happening. JR has told me that I should go visit her since I am in the same town as she is but I think that would be hard on both her and I since I know that she can't come home with me right then. The expected day to go home will most likely be Tuesday but it could be Wednesday. Just pray that she does well tomorrow and that she is stable and healthy enough to come home on Tuesday. I know Hoosier would say "woof" for the extra prayers.

....til next time

Say a little prayer

2009-05-27T16:51:00.002-04:00

JR took Hoosier in to the Purdue Vet Hospital today to get her all checked in for her surgery tomorrow. The surgeons will watch her today and overnight and see how she does and then prep her for surgery in the morning. There is a chance that she may not have surgery until Friday depending on how she reacts to the anesthesia. We can't wait to get a call to say that she is out of surgery and that she did great. We know she is going to feel so much better once this is all over and done with. We hope that she tolerates everything well. We won't get to see her for about a week. The surgeons like to keep them in the doggy hospital for 3-5 days after surgery to keep a close eye on her vitals and to keep infections out.
The good news of all of this is that the chief surgeon, today, told JR that she should be back to full-go in no longer than 12 weeks. WOO HOO!!! We mentioned that we had been told it could be 6 months and he said that should most certainly not be the case. What a relief! They said we had to minimize our visitors at the house so that is a bummer but at least it is temporary. We will keep you posted on how she does. In the meantime, say an extra prayer that she is strong and healthy when she comes out of surgery.

...til next time

Just an update on our lives...

2009-05-13T17:15:00.003-04:00

I am so relieved that school is done but my first clinical has already started up in West Lafayette so I haven't gotten to enjoy being home much. I am staying with a friend of mine in the program who lives up in West Lafayette. It is great to not have to commute each day but it sure is hard being away from JR during the week. (I have to do this for 6 weeks.) :-( My first few days at the hospital have been alright. If you know me, you know that I DO NOT like being in a hospital because the smell really bothers me. I have handled the smells okay thus far. I have gotten to see some patients already and have helped evaluate them and helped them with exercises. This is a completely different setting than what I am used to so it has certainly taken some adjustments. We work very closely with the nursing staff and the OTs on the floors. I have seen patients post CVA, total knee/hip surgery, COPD/emphysema, diabetic foot wound with a big toe amputation along with a few others. Most of the patients have been really sweet but there are a few who cringe when PTs walk in the room. I am trying to keep an open mind while I am at this rotation so I'll let you know how that goes. Well that is enough about me...
We got the inspection done on the house and it came back with a couple more items than we had expected but that is understandable considering it is a 35 year old house. We have asked the sellers for repairs on it but they have until tomorrow to respond so we'll keep you updated on what we find out.
Hoosier goes in for her surgery May 27th. The actual surgery isn't until May 28th but they take her the day before to monitor her and make sure she is prepped for surgery. I am really nervous because we will not be able to see her for an entire week (from the time we bring her in to the time we get to pick her up). As a matter of fact, it is making me teary eyed just typing about it. Make sure to keep her in your prayers as I know she will be SO much happier and significantly more comfortable after this surgery. We are thankful that we are able to do this surgery for her. :-)
As for JR, he is doing great. He just about has us all packed and ready to move. We all know how organized JR likes to be so he wants to make sure that when we have people come help us move that we are totally packed. He has been keeping himself busy with that while I am gone during the week. His work is going well and his patient load is increasing each day. He does such a great job and they are lucky to have him there.
Hope you guys are all doing well.

...til next time

Golf Outing

2009-05-08T16:53:00.007-04:00

This is Hoosier's favorite place in the house...are we suckers or what?!?!
my friend Lora and I lookin good on the course
JR teeing up...lets just say that he carried the team
this was not the ONLY time we had to go in the water to get our ball...but at least we never lost one
lookin' good :-)

ENJOY!

...til next time

A place to call HOME

2009-05-08T16:14:00.008-04:00

Take a good look at our FIRST HOME!!!!! JR and I put an offer in on this house about two weeks ago. They came back with a counter offer and we accepted it. We are THRILLED. The closing date is May 22nd and it can't come soon enough. See the pictures below for a peek at the inside. We have the inspection tomorrow afternoon and I plan to take some more pictures then. This house reminds me of the house that I grew up in on the northwest side of Indianapolis. It has 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths. The floorplan is great and it's a perfect size for us. Did I mention that the backyard is already fenced in for Hoosier? She is going to LOVE having her own yard to run around in and chase squirrels. Now JR will have yardwork to do and believe me he has been itching to get outside to do yardwork. I am glad that someone in our household likes to do that stuff. :-) The Lord definitely provided us with a beautiful and warm first home. We look forward to spending many years here. If you are ever in the Indianapolis/Brownsburg area just let us know because we now have plenty of room for you. I have to say that we couldn't have done this whole thing without my parents. They have been wonderful during this whole process. :-)

the great backyard..the house is on .67 acres
a cozy hearth/family room
an updated kitchen with new countertops and a GAS stove...AWESOME
the master bedroom

Like I said, I will try to post more pictures of it after the inspection tomorrow.

I just finished up my first year of PT school officially. I turned in my last final yesterday afternoon and it felt great. This last semester was a real challenge for me but I got it done. JR has been wonderful through this whole process. He never once has complained about my late study hours and my constant frustrations with school. I honestly think that if he were not here to help me through this process, I would not have made it. He is truly incredible. The Lord sure did bless me with one magnificent man. :-)

Well I have some pictures from a golf outing that we went to about a month ago so I will get those posted soon. Hope you are all doing well.

...til next time

An offer...

2009-04-28T16:07:00.003-04:00

We just wanted some extra prayers from all of you guys because we put an offer in on a house that we just LOVE. We won't hear anything until this evening so any extra prayers will be great. :-)

I promise I'll post pictures when I get around to it. School is eating me alive it feels like so I haven't had much extra time these days. With that said, say an extra prayer for JR that he can put up with my school stuff for another week and a half. He is such an amazing husband! Man am I lucky!!!!!

...til next time

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T22:21:00.002-04:00

We had a wonderful Easter weekend. We got a chance to just relax and hang out which is pretty hard to come by these days. Saturday morning we got to sleep in. I got up after a great night's sleep and made chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast for us. They were delicious (if I do say so myself). Then we headed out to see a house in Brownsburg that we really like. The house certainly needs some work but JR and I are totally up for that because of how great the area is. There are some questions that we have about it that need to be answered before we get too serious but we really do like it. Of course, this house got listed on April 7th and there is already an offer in on it so please say a prayer that the offer doesn't get accepted and that our questions can get answered in enough time for JR and I to decide what we want to do. This has been a real test of our patience (the whole house hunting thing) but we are always up for a challenge. We know that the Lord will provide us with exactly what we need when we need it, so we just have to believe that and be patient.
JR got a chance to watch some of The Masters yesterday and today which he had been greatly anticipating for most of the week. Although his guys, Tiger and Phil, didn't win it he was still thrilled to watch some good golf.
We had Trudy and two of the boys over last night for a late dinner and a chance to catch up. We hadn't had them over in quite some time so it was really nice. There's nothing better than having family close by to be able to do spontaneous things with. We also went to Easter service with them on Saturday night so we could avoid the ridiculous crowd at church this morning. Church was still packed on Saturday but I am sure it wasn't as crowded as this morning was. Gotta love the Chreasters (that's my name for people who just come to church on Christmas and Easeter)!
Today I spent most of the day doing homework and trying to get ahead before the week starts. It's a good feeling going into the week with a headstart. JR went over to my parents house for a little bit to help my dad with some yard-work. It turns out that JR got there in just enough time because the yard work was done and all my dad needed help with was cleaning and detailing the Porsche. That was right up JR's alley. In return for his hardwork, my dad let JR take the Porsche out for a spin in the beautiful weather that we had today. What a great treat!!!
Off to bed after two cups of coffee...we'll see how well that turns out. Have a great week!

...til next time

The time is upon us...

2009-04-05T17:36:00.001-04:00

Well, this evening the BEST sport in America begins it's season. That's right...baseball season will be under way and there is nothing better. I wonder how many times I am going to hear "This is the year that the Cubs are gonna do it!" Man does that get old. I mean at this point, they should just be happy with a winning season. :-) Ok, I am only half joking. The White Sox aren't a whole lot better but they have at least won a World Series title in the last 100 years. Enough about that!
I am going to get back to the books. I have to be somewhat productive today because this week is busy with projects etc. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Let us know what you are up to.

....til next time

It's a good thing....

2009-03-27T10:32:00.002-04:00

that basketball wasn't on until late last night. I had a huge exam this morning and if it had been on earlier in the week I know I wouldn't have gotten anything done. :-) Thankfully, the test is over and the weekend has begun. JR and I had a low key week which was nice. The first few days we were both pretty sore because we finally picked our mini marathon training back up after a two week hiatus. oops!!! Neither of us are die-hard runners so it is hard to stay motivated when our only choice with freezing cold weather is to run on a treadmill. Now that that the weather is nice we are able to run outside and it is much more enjoyable. We have been utilizing the great trails that are around here so it has been perfect. It looks like this weekend will be great running weather as well so we plan to take advantage of that.
After the games last evening, our brackets aren't doing so hot. We were in 4th place at the apartment complex (the top 3 get free rent for a month), but I'd have to imagine that we dropped since Memphis lost. There is still plenty of time to make it up so just keep your fingers crossed that UNC, Louisville, Oklahoma, and Michigan State win tonight. I know you all care so much about who we have in our brackets so I know you will definitely keep your fingers crossed for us. ;-)
Well, time to do some things around the apartment and then take a much deserved nap. Hope you all had a great week.

....til next time

It's time for some madness....

2009-03-19T13:59:00.002-04:00

March madness that is. JR and I LOVE this time of year. We have each filled out about 3 brackets for 3 different pools. Our apartment complex is having a pool and if you come in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd you get a free months rent. Pretty sweet!!!! We'll take our chances. I hope you all have as much fun as we do with this time of year. Good luck on your brackets.

...til next time

New Haven, New York, and much much more

2009-03-17T21:02:00.009-04:00

We just got back from a wonderful long weekend trip to visit Bob and Lea. We had a great time. The trip out there didn't start out on the right foot but we got things turned around. We planned on using a couple of "buddy" passes (those are tickets given to us by a Southwest employee that can be used as a stand-by ticket) to get to Hartford, CT where Bob and Lea would come pick us up. To make a long story short, we were told that all the flights out of Indianapolis going to Hartford were oversold and we were most likely no going to go make it out of Indy that day. After many a phone calls (to Southwest and our families)and lots of time being frustrated, we decided to go out on a limb and rent a car to drive up to Chicago-Midway. We were told that we had a really good chance of getting out of there and getting out east. Well, our plan worked beautifully and we did in fact get out of Chicago on a direct flight to Providence, RI (only 2 hours from Bob and Lea and they gladly fetched us from the airport). Once in New Haven, we rested up for a long day of sight-seeing and eating good food in New York on Saturday. This was JR's first time out there and he had a fabulous time. We went to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, then had a really greasy but really good New York style reuben sandwhch for lunch. We recharged our batteries and headed out to see Times Square, Rockefellar Plaza, Central Park, Ground Zero, Wall St, Canal Street (yes, I had to get in some black market shopping while we were there. why else would i leave empty room in my suitcase?!?!), and finally Little Italy for dinner. We had a jam packed day but we wouldn't have had it any other way. Bob and Lea were wonderful tour guides and were very patient while we hunted around Canal Street for just the right items. I have to say that my favorite part was watching JR's face as he emerged from the subway out into Times Square. His eyes lit up and you could tell that he was totally engulfed in what was going on around him. It was pretty cool. He said that was his favorite part of the day, hands down and that he can't wait to go back.
We rounded out the weekend with a couple of hikes through some pretty parks near Bob and Lea's cute house. We got to take the puppy (Nutmeg) with us on both of the hikes. She is so well behaved when they take her out hiking. We were really impressed that she didn't even have to be on a leash while we were on the trails. Mainly, we were just envious that our dog wouldn't behave that way if we were to do that. haha I can only imagine what Hoosier would do if we let her off of her leash in the middle of a hiking trail. I'd be afraid that we may never see her again. We cooked a fabulous dinner on Sunday night that tasted phenomenal. My brother sure does love to cook and man is he good at it. JR and I did a little helping but Bob did a majority of it. We did help with dessert (a chocolate souffle and homemade chocolate ice cream) that turned out delicious.
It was wonderful to see them and to be able to spend some quality time with them. We only get to see them around the holidays and maybe one other time throughout the year so this extra time was great. We look forward to going back at some point, whenever that may be.
Now it's back to the grind. I have the week off from school but will be doing some catching up over break to make sure I am ready to finish out the first year of PT school. JR is back to work and staying busy with whatever else he finds to do. :-) Enjoy the beautiful weather and lets keep our fingers crossed that it is here to stay.

...til next time

Lots to tell

2009-03-05T09:37:00.003-05:00

First things first, Hoosier is feeling better. Her back legs still give out on her much more than they did about a week ago but she is resilient. We have scheduled an appointment to meet with some surgeons up at Purdue on Monday morning. We are going to talk about our options for her but we are pretty sure that a total hip replacement is going to be best. She is so young that it doesn't make sense to "pain manage" for the rest of her life. That just doesn't seem fair. I wouldn't want someone to do that to me so we aren't going to put her through that. If she is in fact a candidate for the total hip replacement, then we will try to schedule it over my spring break so that I can tend to her for the first few days without having school to worry about. My parents have graciously offered their house to us for the first little bit since there are not stairs that Hoosier would have to go up and down every time she had to potty or poop. Being on the 3rd floor is wonderful 99% of the time, but not in this situation. We will let you all know what the surgeons say and when the surgery (if that is what they say is best) is scheduled. Thanks for all of the prayers. She is still her puppy self but they say that after this surgery that the dogs come out and get to be a puppy without the pain of having terrible hips. We can't wait for her to be able to experience that. We are just thankful that we are going to be able to do this for her. I can't imagine what she would do if she were in another home that maybe couldn't do this. So continue the prayers please. :-)
As some of you know, it was my birthday this past weekend. What a weekend it was!!!!! I have had exams for the past 4 weeks and have not been able to relax or do anything fun so I was really looking forward to having an excuse to take a day off and not study. Well, JR sure did set the bar high for birthdays for the rest of our lives. He sent me on a day long scavenger hunt with clues leading me to the next part of the day. I started out with a day at the spa (hour long massage and a 45 minute pedicure). I had never had a massage and man was it incredible. I went to NJS Studio in Zionsville and would recommend it to anyone. It felt amazing. Then I had time to come home and shower and get ready for the next adventure. He took me to dinner at one of our favorite places, Kona Grill at Clay Terrace. After dinner, I got to go shoe shopping at my favorite store with a gift certificate I had gotten for a gift. (Talk about a great husband...taking me shoe shopping voluntarily.) To round out the evening, he took me to see Confessions of a Shopaholic (how appropriate, huh)! What a wonderful way to spend a birthday and I couldn't think of a better person to spend it all with. :-)
I spent my actual birthday studying for midterms but got to have a nice lunch with my family so that was great. On Tuesday, Trudy had us over to celebrate my birthday with her and the boys. It was really wonderful to not have to cook dinner and to be able to see them. I have been a little bit of a hermit recently. Then, last night I thought I was going over to Liz's boyfriend's (Charlie) house for dinner like we do once a month. JR and I showed up and there was a group of my good friends there to surprise me with a wonderful dinner party. I couldn't ask for better friends. Thanks guys! So I got to celebrate my birthday for almost a full week. That's what I'm talking about. It looks like the bar is set high but I think I can handle it.
That's all from us. Hope you all are doing well! I'll include some pictures when JR gets back with my computer tonight.

...til next time

Our sweet puppy, Hoosier

2009-02-26T15:54:00.002-05:00

Well the last 24 hours have certainly been a little bumpy. I came home from school yesterday and promptly let Hoosier out of her crate to take her on a walk. We were out for 45 minutes walking and enjoying the great weather. When we returned, she immediately asked to go back outside (pretty unusual since she had peed 4 times and pooped 1x on her walk). JR took her back outside where she promptly did her business and came back upstairs. Then she asked to go back out about 5 minutes after she came in from her last trip so we took her out and again she did her business. Well this went on for about 2-3 hours and it finally slowed down closer to bed time (I think even Hoosier was exhausted from asking to go out so many time). I emailed our vet to ask him what he thought we should do but he never got back to me. She asked to go out twice through the night and my wonderful husband did the honors at 4 and 4:30am. As I was getting ready for school, my phone rang and it was our vet. He said he really wanted to see her just so that he could get an idea of what was going on. So I took her in (and if you know me you will know that I HATE going to the vet alone because it reminds me of my old dog that passed in April) and he checked her out. They ran some tests and found some microscopic amounts of blood in her urine. This meant that I needed to leave there for the day because they wanted to do X-rays to rule out kidney or bladder stones. Of course, I broke down crying because I didn't want our Hoosier to have to go through it all by herself but that was all we could do. I asked the vet if he could take a look at her hips on the x-rays as well since we wanted to have that done (for those of you that don't know, Hoosier has bad hips (i.e. hip dysplasia) but we hadn't gotten x-rays done to really see what they in fact looked like) and he said that would be no problem. The doctor called around 10:45am to let me know that Hoosier just had a bladder infection and we could treat it with antibiotics but he did tell me he had some bad news. At this point, the tears began welling up in my eyes bracing myself for what he was going to say. The vet told me that he had never seen hips like Hoosiers in all his years of practicing vet medicine. He said that her right hip is totally dislocated (not in the socket) and that is how it always sits and he said the left hip sits subluxated (partially in the socket and partially out of the socket) in the joint. He said he doesn't even know how she even walks on a day-to-day basis. Of course at this point I had tears streaming down my face in the middle of the medical school library where I was studying for a midterm I had today at 1pm. He told us what our options were with her being so young (keep in mind she is only 10.5 months old). There are both surgical and medical management options. We can give her pain and joint medications to help manage her pain as one option. He also mentioned that she would qualify for 2 total hip replacements. The hip replacements are very expensive considering there is no doggy insurance. He said there was one other surgical procedure that would basically serve to help manage the pain (they would cut off the head of her femur (the thigh bone) and I assume replace it with something that would fit more readily into the acetabulum (socket where the thigh bone meets up with).
My dad picked her up from he vet this afternoon so that I could just come straight to their house to see her instead of getting her from the vet. Hoosier is still trying to shake off some of the sedatives that they gave her in order to take the x-rays this morning so she is walking a little wobbly. She is going to get lots of rest this afternoon and evening along with lots of love from JR and I. Just say an extra prayer for her that she can have minimal pain until JR and I figure out what our best option is.
We just wanted to let you all know what was going on with Hoosier. Hope you all had a great day and that you are staying dry.

...til next time

Dog life is good

2009-02-18T15:34:00.003-05:00

Well... Hoosier had her first Charm school obedience class experience, and I must say that both Becky and I were a bit nervous. How were we going to get her to learn basic manners on command? Her attention span is very limited, kind of like her parents, let alone there were going to be other dogs present. Sounds like play time to me...As soon as we arrived her tail started wagging and she could sniff every dog that has ever been to this place. There were only 2 other dogs in the class (Maddie, a miniature schnauzer & Macy, a black labradoodle). Needless to say, Hoosier could eat these two other dogs. She outweighs them by a long shot. Hoosier is very good with other dogs, and its a good things that we had 20 pounds of dog treats. That was the only thing that was going to capture her attention.
For the first level, we played a name game to get her attention, followed by commands such as sit, and down. All of these were done with a training clicker, in which each time she responded correctly we would click and then give her a treat. She then associates the click with a treat. After we worked on these for awhile, we then worked on recall (come here) and giving cues to the other dogs to get them to respond to our instruction. This all lasted for about 45 minutes.
I must say that both Becky and I were quite surprised and proud of Hoosier. She did a very good job and our treats worked for the most part. They started getting old towards the end of class, but that didn't stop here from eating them. By the time she got home she was worn out and out for the count.
We could get used to this. Hoosier has 5 more classes, in which each time they will be more advanced. After all she is still a puppy and learning. We can't complain much, she is a wonderful dog and exceptional friend. Even when she gets off her leash and I have to chase her all over the place!!

We will continue to keep you posted on her progress and classes. Til next time.......

Valentine's Day festivities

2009-02-15T18:20:00.008-05:00

We had a wonderful Valentine's day weekend. We got a chance to hang out and spend some time together (in between a little bit of studying). It was great. JR made me a wonderful dinner last night. He wouldn't tell me what he was making so I had to sit in our room until everything was out on the table. If you know me at all you will know that I hate waiting for surprises when I know they are coming. I was a good girl and didn't peek (but don't think that it was easy). My dad came over earlier in the day to drop off a beautiful bouquet of flowers for me and of course he had some goodies for his grandpuppy too. She was so excited about the treats that she ripped the bag open. hahaha She loves goodies just like her mommy. :-) Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

even Hoosier got a Valentine's present...i bet you'll never guess who it was from (yes, Grandpa)!!!!
JR made me soy-garlic glazed salmon, asparagus and a loaded baked potato...couldn't have asked for a better meal. did i mention the wonderful company that i had?
look at the delicious chocolate covered strawberries that JR made....they tasted even better than they looked!!!!! (Kelli don't be jealous of the carmel molten chocolate cake)

she is definitely a daddy's girl! :-)

...til next time

a MUST read

2009-02-14T16:39:00.003-05:00

The surgery that Russell underwent on Wednesday turned out to be different than expected. They opened him up just to find out that the mass was not what they predicted it would be. That being said they start the wondering and worrying all over again. Check out their blog and read the post that Ashely wrote. It is incredibly inspiring. They are such a strong family with a great attitude and outlook. We strive to be as strong and courageous as they are. The Colemans

...til next time

I just had to share

2009-02-11T19:41:00.003-05:00

i just have to share this email with you all. i just got it from my dad. it is supposed to be a prevalentine's day note but it didn't quite turn out that way. this is only part of the email so if something doesn't seem to match up it is probably because it was in another part of the email. well enjoy! hope my dad doesn't mind me sharing his witty email. Love you, dad!

jan has me on a weight watchers diet. i have had to totally re-learn how to cook. we just spent about an hour computing the number of "points" for a whole list of recipes, in order to know which ones were okay to prepare. this sucks. if we got a dog, i'm pretty sure i'd eat it and then tell jan it ran away. i've checked the web and i've found out that you have to eat them while they're still puppies. otherwise their really tough, or you have to cook them in the crockpot.

so now i'm eating freaking oranges and bananas during the day, even though there are snickers ice cream bars in my freezer.

she says that i'm allowed 22 points a day, but part of that is probably my own fault. when she was putting my personal information into the weightwatchers computer thing, i told her i was 6' 9" tall and weighed 315 pounds. after that, she apparently decided it was okay to put in whatever she wanted, so i ended up with 22 points. i went to the mailbox Monday and stopped to gnaw the bark off of the river birch in front of our house. jan told me later that a half cup of river birch bark is 28 points.

anyway, i'm working on cooking meals with lower points, and we're doing our best. i'm pretty sure the neighbors haven't missed their cat, yet.

becky keeps telling us how proud she is that we're doing this. boy, that pisses me off. the other day jan was looking for me and she found me sitting next to all of the wonderful, high-quality booze in my liquor cabinet. i was weeping uncontrollably.

i had a night meeting last night and didn't get home until 10pm. when i came in, jan was face down in a chocolate cream pie. i shouldn't have surprised her. she almost choked to death. i wonder, if someone on weightwatchers dies, does her husband inherit her points? there's got to be some kind of law about that.

hope you enjoyed that. it made me laugh out loud almost to the point of crying. gotta love moments like that. hope you are all staying dry.

....til next time

Update

2009-02-08T16:33:00.002-05:00

So it looks like our friends, the Colemans, are having their prayers answered. Russell will undergo surgery on Wednesday to remove the non-cancerous tumor from his spinal cord. The neurosurgeon doing the surgery has had success with it before so that is a relief to know. I am not sure how long the surgery will last but please say extra prayers for Ashley and Russell for a safe and successful surgery on Wednesday.
As for us, we had a great weekend. The weather was beautiful so that made it that much better. We spent yesterday looking at houses all afternoon with my dad. It is a fun process but it gets tiring after looking in 5 houses in an afternoon. We are confident that we will find the perfect house for all three of us and it will come at just the right time. We saw some great houses yesterday that we loved. It is a great time to buy so we are going to do our best to take advantage of that. Today, JR took Hoosier out for a walk around Eagle Creek while I met with a good friend I hadn't seen in a while for a cup of coffee. It was fabulous. Apparently, Hoosier had a BALL!!!! JR and I just got back from our daily run to get us ready for the Indianapolis Mini Marathon. YIKES!!!! We are only up to 4 miles so wish us luck as we train to run 13.1 miles May 2nd. Bob is going to fly in and run it with us. How fun is that?!?! We told my brother (who, mind you, just finished his first marathon in September) that we were not out to set a land speed record so he probably didn't need to train any extra to keep up with us. We are just aiming to run the whole thing and not walk. We like to set our standards high. :-) On Tuesday, we start our 6 week course in "charm school" for Hoosier. She will learn how to greet people politely when they come over (aka not stick her nose in personal areas etc), walk politely on a leash (this way WE get to take her on a walk instead of HER taking us on a walk), and most importantly she will learn how to listen to us when there are other distractions. We are just hoping that she is not the "problem child" in the class. Keep your fingers crossed and we'll keep you posted on her progress.
Hope you all are doing well. We'd love to hear from you. Have a great week!

...til next time

Prayers please...

2009-02-02T21:54:00.003-05:00

As we know from the last time we asked you all to pray for our friends, the Colemans, it worked beautifully. We are asking you again to keep them in your prayers. Russell found out that he has now been diagnosed with a benign tumor IN his spinal cord. Not around or near but IN his spinal cord. All of the wonderful progress that he has made since August when this all began is slowly slipping. He is back to walking with 2 canes and he can no longer pick up their baby girl, Annie. This means that Ashley can no longer leave Russell alone with Annie. Their sense of normalcy is changing yet again. They are in a waiting period now because the doctors at Russell's current hospital in Louisville, KY cannot treat him for his current diagnosis. They are being referred to a more specialized place (i.e. Mayo Clinic or Johns Hopkins) to find out their options. They are searching for the cream of the crop in neurosurgery. Please pray for them to find answers in this time of uncertainty and please pray for them to encourage them that they are not in this battle alone. We know the Lord wouldn't give them something that they couldn't handle.

SNOW DAY!!!!

2009-01-28T12:16:00.004-05:00

this is what i'm talkin' about
look at these two snow buddies
can you tell that she LOVES the snow....we practically had to drag her upstairs after being out for an hour
look how deep it is...

What a wonderful surprise to wake up to. There's nothing better than having an unexpected day off. JR couldn't get his car out of his parking spot this morning so he is working from home today. We got about 12 inches on our side of town. It makes for a beautiful white blanket over everything. It is so peaceful to be outside when it snows because it is so quiet and serene. Well we are nestled in now and Hoosier is fast asleep after her adventure in the snow this morning. Time to get to work. Be safe and enjoy the beautiful snow.

...til next time

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures

2009-01-23T15:30:00.007-05:00

family photo on Christmas morning...my mom, Trudy and I designed Hoosier's stocking.
so Hoosier isn't really a lap dog anymore

what a great blanket...who made that for you, Nutmeg?
they both fit in the doggy bed...Hoosier looks thrilled doesn't she?
look at the cousins...they are so happy

man oh man...all of this opening of presents makes a puppy tired

sorry this took us so long to get posted. we clearly had more fun taking pictures of the dogs than we did of the humans. :-) they had a blast together. hope you enjoy the pictures.

Here we are...

2009-01-14T20:31:00.002-05:00

Sorry about the delay in posting. We got lost in the holidays and then school starting up and having JR's grandma here. :-) We have had lots of fun this past month. Bob and Lea were here with Nutmeg and it was a blast. We played the Wii as a family for hours. It is so addicting. Hoosier and Nutmeg got along fabulously. They played the ENTIRE time they were together. When JR and I finally went home after staying the night at my parents for the night, Hoosier slept for 17 hours straight. She got up to move to her bed when JR and I went to bed but other than that she was fast asleep on her blanket. Talk about being worn out. But as soon as Hoosier was back at my parents' house next day she went RIGHT back to playing as hard as she was the day before. It was so fun to watch them play!
JR and I had a great Christmas. We were able to share it with both his mom and brothers and my family. My grandma was here for about 2 weeks for the holidays too. It was wonderful. She hadn't been down here for the holidays in a LONG time. She was quite the trooper (staying up really late and watching the dogs while the rest of us went to have dinner with some family friends). We opened presents at each of the two houses and then everyone came over to my parents' house for a casual dinner. It was perfect. Nothing like having all of the family together all at one place. We just can't wait to see JR's grammy and gramps here next year for Christmas. :-)
I worked some over break just because I would have gone nuts staying at home everyday with nothing to do. I can only sit on the couch for so long. But don't worry I did plenty of that too. With 4 1/2 weeks off, there was time to do just about everything.
We got the chance to go visit our friends down in Louisville, the Coleman's. They are doing GREAT! Russell is walking without any assistive devices and he is back to work a couple of days a week. Talk about great news. They just bought their first house so they have lots of things to look forward to this year. Their little girl is already 1. How crazy is that? What a sweetie pie.
I just started school again this Monday. It is hard to get back into the schedule but I'll get there.
JR and I were able to enjoy some time together over break which was great. We got a chance to enjoy being newlyweds without having school in the way to stress me out.
I don't have any pictures from the holidays yet. Lea has some sweet pictures of the dogs playing and laying together so I will post those when I get them. Hope you guys are all doing well. Thanks for all of the wonderful holiday cards. It is so fun to see the fun pictures and read the notes. We miss you all. Let us know if you come to Indy.

...til next time

Just hanging out

2008-12-21T13:32:00.003-05:00

Hey there! Sorry it's been so long since my last post. There isn't a whole lot to report on. We are just getting ready for Christmas to come. Bob and Lea might come in town as early as Tuesday evening. We didn't think that they were going to be here until the evening of Christmas eve. JR and I can't wait to see them (and their new puppy). They won't leave to go back until Sunday morning so we will get a chance to see them for about 5 days.
I have enjoyed having time off from school. I am doing some babysitting which I love. :-) The little girl is such a cutie pie. I have also had the chance to go back to Body One (the place I worked last year and now the place where JR works) and pick up some hours. It's been nice to get a paycheck again.
JR and I went to see Four Christmases last night and it was really good. It is a cross between Meet the Parents and Meet the Fockers. If you need a good laugh then we suggest it. It's on the Five Buck club at Kerasotes theaters so take advantage of that.
Well I hope all of you are staying warm and enjoying the holiday season thus far.

...til next time

DARN IT!

2008-12-15T22:16:00.002-05:00

Here I am looking at the little Christmas card that we put together thinking that it is so cute. Then I realize that there is a spelling error. Of course I noticed that AFTER everything was addressed and sent out...GRRRR!!!! Well, ignore the error and just appreciate the picture I guess.

FREEDOM!!!!!!

2008-12-14T20:45:00.004-05:00

So finals are finally over and I am officially on Christmas break!!!! WOO HOO!!!!! I have thoroughly enjoyed sleeping in and spending quality time with J.R. and Hoosier without any distractions from school. I got to have lunch with J.R. a couple times this week which was a really nice treat. This weekend we finished up our Christmas shopping and made the mistake of going up to Castleton. What a terrible idea on our part. We went there on the day after Thanksgiving and it wasn't nearly as packed as it was this past weekend. Needless to say, we won't be going there until after Christmas. :-)
My dad helped us teach Hoosier a new trick. She now knows how to shake! We are working on rolling over and shaking with the other paw. She is a smart dog when she is interested in learning.
We are getting really excited for my brother and Lea (and Nutmeg too) to come in town for Christmas. We haven't seen them since the wedding so it will be so nice to get to spend some time with them. I think there will be some family tournaments on the Wii....but we aren't competitive or anything so it'll just be for fun. (wink wink)
Well we are off to watch a Christmas movie with a couple of our friends. Hope you all are doing wonderful. Let us know if you are in town this holiday season. We would love to see ya...

...til next time

GO LAKERS?!?! and a few other things

2008-12-02T22:31:00.010-05:00

Ya, I don't think so. I can handle adopting the Cardinals, Chargers (maybe) and Padres, but the LAKERS?!?!?! NOT A CHANCE! We got a chance to go to the Pacers game tonight because one of my classmates found a deal on tickets. It was only $10 for a ticket and a Pacers t-shirt. We enjoyed the seats AND the game. I can't tell you the last time I went to a Pacers game, but we had a great time. The Pacers even won with a last second shot to give the Lakers their second loss of the season. HA Good thing JR is a gracious loser.

This is JR and one of the guys he worked with at Minnesota last year. His friend plays for the Texans so he got us tickets to the game. It's a good thing JR knows so many people otherwise our social lives would be SO boring. :-) So far we are good luck for the Colts. (they are 1-0 with us at the new stadium.)

Look at what Thanksgiving does to puppies. :-) Man did Hoosier have an exhausting day of eating turkey skin and other leftovers. It's a good thing it was a three day weekend so she could have time to catch up on sleep before the week started again. Hoosier got a chance to spend a lot of quality time with her grandpa and grandmas. I think she alsmost forgot what it meant to be in her cage during the day.

Here is a picture of the Honisch/Tatum clan. What a good looking bunch!!! Man was it bright outside, can you tell? You definitely can't complain about the beautiful weather we had on Thanksgiving. It was great napping weather after having a full belly from lots of good home cooked food!!!! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Not too long until Christmas and then it will be time to ring in the new year. Man does time fly during this time of year. I only have one more week left of my first semester of PT school. HOORAY!!!! Let us know how you are doing and what you are up to.

....til next time

TV, movies, sleeping in....

2008-11-25T15:36:00.003-05:00

That is what my break is going to consist of. Oh my gosh!! Can you believe that it is already Thanksgiving?!?!? I sure can. I took my last Gross Anatomy test yesterday and man did that feel good. I am so glad to be done with that class. While it was interesting, it was extremely time consuming. I know JR is glad that he finally gets his wife back (well at least for this week). I plan on enjoying some time doing NOTHING and not feeling guilty about it. JR has Thursday and Friday off so we are going to be doing some shopping on Friday. And just so you know, I am not making him come with me. He volunteered. So it will be JR, his mom, and me out running around with all the other crazy people on Black Friday. I love it!!!!
At this point, I can't even remember what I posted about last so I don't really know what I should be updating people on. So I will check into that and get back to you. Did we mention that my brother and Lea got a puppy?!?! She is really sweet. She is a Vizsla (i have no idea of that is how you spell it but you get the drift). They got her when she was 8 weeks old. Her name is Nutmeg (this came about because the state of Connecticut is the Nutmeg state and since we named our dog Hoosier they were inspired. isn't that sweet?!??! we are such trendsetters.) :-) e get to meet her over Christmas. I know Hoosier will be really excited to meet Nutmeg (she may even try to toughen her up since Hoosier weighs about 6x what her cousin weighs).
I think that's all I have to chat about.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. We have a lot to be thankful for and we better not forget that.

...til next time

Plugging along

2008-11-14T19:48:00.007-05:00

J.R. and I supporting the twins at their sectional game

look at how BIG she is getting....my goodness

we love to get dressed up and go out....
this is at our friend's engagement party

those are just some fun pictures from recent stuff.

Hello everyone! Sorry it's been a week since we last posted. Life got crazy this past week. I can't believe that it is already the weekend. Time is certainly flying by here recently. This past week was a lot of fun for J.R. and I. We had small group on Monday night. We love the couples in our small group. They have all been married for less than 5 years (or there abouts) and are all athletic. We are starting a study on marriage for the next 4 weeks so this should be fun.
Tuesday was nice because J.R. didn't have a softball game so he was home earlier than usual so I made a big pot of soup to enjoy on a cold, rainy day. We got to relax most of the evening and just enjoy one another's company which we don't get to do very often.
Wednesday I ended up with a really nasty headache that lasted about 8 hours so J.R. was sweet enough to come home and make dinner and then to top it off he drew me a bubble bath complete with yummy smelling candles. I got to relax in there for a little while without any disruptions. It was fabulous!!!!
Thursday we had a couple over from our small group. I wanted to try out a new recipe that I got for lasagna so we invited them over. It turned out great. We had a wonderful time. We even made homemade chocolate mint ice cream and washed it down with Amarula (a desert liquor that Bob and Lea brought back from South Africa! YUM!!!).
That brings us to today. TGIF!!!!! Nothing excited to report except that it's the weekend. I will have lots of studying to do but at least I don't have class. J.R. and I will get a chance to go watch the Colts at the new stadium this Sunday. We are PUMPED!!!! One of the players he worked with last year got drafted to the Texans so he got us tickets for this weekend's game. :-) J.R. just knows EVERYONE. haha

Well it's off to let the dog out because she is whining like a crazy woman. I suppose better that than to be cleaning it up later.

...til next time

just checking in

2008-11-06T21:39:00.006-05:00

Well, things here are going well. Becky and I are staying super busy. Becky has been an awesome wife and student and there is never a dull moment with her schooling. Just think, 2.5 more years...is it here yet???? Hoosier is doing great, and starting to fill into her body. She has gained over 20 lbs in just over a month, and has lots more room to grow. It has been great being able to see our families throughout the week, and Hoosier enjoys it also.
Our friends Ashley, Russell and Annie are in town and we had the pleasure of watching Annie who is 10 1/2 months young. She has grown so much and is super cute. I know she doesn't take after her dad :) Our wedding pictures are now posted for viewing. We are really pleased as they turned out extremely well. Go to http://www.morganmatters.com/pickpic/gallery/jump.php ,
the password is: Honisch
It seems like so long ago that we had got married, but we remember it like it was yesterday. Becky and I still talk about how much fun we had, and how awesome it was to have our family and friends together.
Hope you are all doing well. Keep us posted on how life is treating ya.
Til next time....

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T12:40:00.003-04:00

Just wanted to wish everyone a happy Halloween. The weather is beautiful here so for all of you with little ones who go trick-or-treating it should be just perfect outside. As for JR and I, we will be watching Derek and Daren play their second sectional game at home against a powerhouse Ben Davis team. It's just nice that JR and I get to go watch them play all the time. GO BULLDOGS!!!!!
We don't have much of a weekend planned. We will be heading up to Merrillville for an engagement party on Saturday night so that should be fun. It's always nice to get dressed up every once in a while. I'll post more after the weekend. Hope you are all doing great.

...til next time

Quick Update

2008-10-30T11:00:00.004-04:00

Sorry for the delay in posting...I guess time got away from me since it is already Thursday.
Last weekend was glorious. I spent all day Saturday shopping with Trudy and we found some good stuff. I'll have you know that I held off on buying things for myself (well except for one pair of shoes that I found... :-) ) but I did get a few Christmas presents taken care of. I was exhausted by the time we got home but we invited Trudy and the boys over to watch a movie Saturday night too. On Sunday, I actually got to watch football and not feel guilty about it. It was fabulous. I attempted to look at school stuff but wasn't too successful. We spent most of Sunday with my parents watching football and snacking. :-)
This week has flown by. I don't have much going on at school so it makes it so nice. JR is still working hard at his job. Some days are slow and that makes it hard because the days just drag on but he is hanging in there. Send him some words of encouragement because he gets frustrated sometimes. He is being such a trooper and that's why I love him. We are going to his brothers' second sectional game tomorrow night. We might freeze to death but we will be there to support them. JR is so excited that he gets to finally get to see his brothers play sports. He is a dedicated fan. Speaking of sports, JR's littlest brother (Austin) made the basketball team at his middle school. He was nervous because they had tryouts and he had never had to tryout for a team but low and behold he made the team with no problems. YAY!!!! Now JR will have another brother to go watch (and me too).
As for an update on our little girl...she is growing like a weed. She weighed 42 pounds on Friday when we weighed her at my parents house. That means that she has gained almost 20 pounds since we picked her up Sept 30. Hahaha We love it!!!!!
Let us know what you guys are up to as we love to hear how you are all doing. Have a great weekend!!!

...til next time

R & R

2008-10-22T23:04:00.006-04:00

That is what this weekend is going to be all about. I just finished taking my second (of three) anatomy exam tonight and I can't tell you how great that feels. It was pretty tough this time just as it was last time. As so many people have been telling me, if it wasn't hard then everyone would be able to do it. I suppose that is true. :-) J.R. has been wonderful as usual. He made a fabulous dinner earlier this week while I sat and studied for the entire evening. He hasn't said a word about how he has had to pick up my slack while I have had an onslaught of exams. He is so wonderful to me. How did I get so lucky?!?!? Of course instead of being able to come home and just relax this evening, I have a paper due tomorrow and a quiz Friday. Needless to say, I'll be glad when the month of October is over. I told J.R. that I would plan a special date for us because of how great he has been throughout this whole process. I haven't thought of anything yet so any fun ideas are always welcome. This weekend I promised Trudy that I would go shopping with her since we haven't been able to do that since she got here. So that is what I will be doing on Saturday. For the rest of the weekend, I plan on doing NOTHING. I don't have a Colts game to watch on Sunday so that frees up that day to do nothing as well. :-) SWEET!!!!

As for other stuff going on...
my brother ran a marathon last weekend and did great. He averaged an 8:35 minute mile. I'd say that's pretty darn good considering he did that for over 26 miles. I tell you he's crazy!!!! Ten years ago I wouldn't have thought that my brother would be out running marathons and half marathons as his hobby. Oh how times can change. I also would have never guessed that he would be the one getting up at 7am on the weekends "just because" since we used to have to drag him out of bed when we were younger. Just another example of how times can change. :-) Maybe it's more of a role reversal instead. Now I'm the one sleeping in as late as I can and hitting snooze 5 times before I actually get up. :-) Oh well! I'm not really sure how I got on that topic but we'll just go with it.

We are still waiting for the viewing gallery to get posted. Morgan just switched publishers and I found out today that the process is supposed to be done this week. As usual, I will post more info as I get it. Lets keep our fingers crossed that it will be soon. Ok back to writing this paper now that I have procrastinated for another 30 minutes. SWEET!!!!

That's just a picture of us from earlier in the semester when we went out with some of my classmate after our first anatomy exam.

...til next time

Hoosier Dissapointment

2008-10-14T21:13:00.008-04:00

You would think that after going to school at IU for 4 years that I would learn my lesson about the success of the football team. Unfortunately, it is taking a while for it to set in for me. With all of that said, J.R. and I went down to Bloomington this weekend with Trudy and the boys because Trudy had gotten tickets to the game. What a great idea! Trudy and the boys hadn't been down there and this time of year is a perfect time to show off southern Indiana. Well the scenary was about the only thing worth watching this past weekend. We went to the game after we tailgated for about an hour and we showed them around the stadium etc. We pointed out a few fun things that we knew and J.R. talked to the boys about his time at IU. It wasn't a terrible game until the 1st quarter was over, which is never a good sign. As an IU fan you learn to be a little more optomistic than the average fan simply because we have to see the good through all of the bad so often during football season so I figured that the game couldn't get much worse than the 1st quarter, right? Man was I wrong. To make a long story short we ended up leaving halfway through the 3rd quarter and if you know my husband you know that the game must have been REALLY bad for him to leave early. We were honestly so disappointed since we always talk about how much fun Bloomington is and how great the atmosphere is and then we get down there and show them that kind of an outing. NOT COOL!!!! We promised them that we would bring them down some other time and we could tour the whole campus and hang out for the day on campus. I think I might have learned my lesson now but I am still a Hoosier fan for life! We'll get 'em the next time. :-)
School is plugging right along as October is a BUSY month. I have one more test to take and then the hardest part of the semester will be done. I can't wait and I know that J.R. can't either. I found out that we have a whole month off during winter break. Talk about a sweet Christmas present. J.R's job is going well. It is continuing to pick up. He has a couple of favorite patients which always makes it nice to look forward to. One of them is an 8 year old little girl. She just LOVES J.R. (I would too if he brought me in candy all the time...) which makes coming to physical therapy a lot easier. J.R. is doing such a fabulous job with the transition from a high paced atmosphere to the slower, more controlled pace of the clinical setting.
Here are a couple of pictures of J.R. and my dad at the White Sox game last week. Too bad they couldn't pull off a win....I guess that means that I will have to go next time. DARN!!!!

Update on the Colemans

2008-10-13T15:54:00.003-04:00

I just HAD to post about what I read on Ashley and Russell's blog. Russell has totally stopped using a wheelchair and is using the arm crutches (they are the ones that go around the forearm instead of all the way up into the armpit). That is wonderful news because that means that he is able to weight bare on his legs with confidence!!!!! PRAISE THE LORD!!!! Keep praying for this continued recovery and also pray for Ashley as she goes out to DC to pack up their house and move it all back to KY.
We are so proud of them as they have been faced with an incredible challenge this past month and a half. We know that if anyone could handle it it would be that family. We hope their transition back to KY is smooth and uneventful as they have had enough going on to last them a lifetime.