Night in Neoga

Tonight was a last minute decision to head to Neoga and visit w/ my Aunt Jeannie and Uncle Jim. It's always a good time when we get together unfortunately these times are few and far between. Even though they are only 20-25 min away from us, somedays neither of us have time to turn around.

So, w/ this being said we usually make the best of our time w/ a mean game of SkipBo. Tonight was one of those nights. We first had to fuel up at the downtown diner in Neoga, where I must say, has very good food. Then immediately following my mom said the word and it was game on. I do believe my mother and my aunt could probably make it big in Vegas if there were ever a SkipBo tournament. Don't let them kid ya, I taught them everything they know. LOL!

The time seemed to get away from us and we weren't able to take the game very seriously between all the small talk & laughter. Needless to say, mom wins! The most important thing though is we all had a great time. Oh and did I mention we all got to raid the fridge to fix our chocolate fix. Caleb was in heaven: he got to stay up after his bedtime & eat junk food too, what a treat! A great time was had by all again and everyone is looking forward to doing it again soon!!!

Didn't quite make it....

Well, on Friday, April 25th, my family headed out to St. Louis the see our first Cardinal game of the year. Everything started of great; my father and Matt up front doing there thing and Caleb and I in the back watching a movie - Pirate's of the Caribbean - all was well. Then we get a few miles from the Marine/Highland, IL and our vehicle, a 1999 GMC Jimmy, starts loosing power. After this it starts ticking loudly. Now we are about 2 miles from the exit and decide to get of at the exit instead of staying on the dangerous interstate, so we nurse it to the exit. Now that we've made it with no dash lights coming on the vehicle starts KNOCKING!!! What the....this isn't what is supposed to happen!! Of course now at it's final stop, the gages light up and it has started to get HOT, then it dies completely!! Ugh! What now, we are in the middle of nowhere and an hour away from all we know, w/ a nine year old ready for a baseball game.

Luckily, my mom and Matt's dad came to save the day. Not before we had to be hauled off on the hook. We were very fortunate to have a small towing plan in our insurance policy. The tow truck drivers name was Phil and was extremely nice. When he got there he asked us to start the Jimmy, so we did, and immediatley said we should shut it off. He suspected that the problem was definetly in the motor. Great, since I work in a repair facility I knew it was bad, plus it wasn't leaking anything on the ground like it would if something simple to repair would have broke.

In this time, I notice that our son is taking missing the ball game like a trooper. He didn't complain one time and in fact helped to keep my spririts up. I don't know what I would ever do w/out him. He is my miracle in life!! So to make a long story short, I took advantage of a crappy moment and took some memorable pictures that some day I'll be able to laugh at:-) Thank goodness for a wonderful family. Without a good family life's experiences just wouldn't be the same.

I'm Loving the Sunshine!!!

It is 10:36am on Wednesday, April 23rd and it already in the high 60's or low 70's outside and the sun is out so brightly. I've already had to open the front door to my office to let in some much needed fresh air. This combination makes for a beautiful day!!! Too Beautiful to be inside at work all day but everyone here helps to make it fun! I had a nice suprise from the techs today. They called up to my desk to wish me a Happy Administrative Professionals Day, aka, Happy Secretary's Day. Yes, that just made my day complete! Even though we may not see eye to eye on how the paperwork should go, they still appriciate me. Now that is a great feeling!!

Thanks Guys,
Your the Bestest!

Go CARDS!!!

So, we have tickets to are first St. Louis Cardinals baseball game this Friday night! Caleb is soo excited:-) What's better than watching your childs eyes glow when their happy!!! We don't have the seats we normally have but I think no matter where you sit at Busch Stadium you have a good seat. Who knows maybe Caleb will catch a fall ball beings we're on the 3rd base line. There are suppose to be scattered showers on friday so we'll have to be sure to bring rain jackets and umbrellas ;) Go REDBIRDS!!!

Aftershock rated at 4.7

The word here at work is: Aftershock. They say it's been rated as a 4.7 on the Richter Scale and say we should be prepared for more to come. I wonder how Caleb is in school now? How are they prepared for earthquakes? I wonder how serious they are even taking these? You never now when the next one will hit.

Shake w/ ya later....LOL
Wendy

Earthquake?!

Wow, what a way to start your day! Illinois experienced an earthquake this morning @ 4:36am. It seemed to rattle the whole house lightly. My husband rolled over to look out the window to see what was going on. Then he suggested we were having an earthquake. I told him, "NO Way, we live in TTown, nothing happens here. It's probably just thunder. Just go back to sleep." Boy was I wrong! I don't think he'll ever let me forget that either. It seems to be talk of the town now. Everyone at work and all my customer coming in have a comment on the EARTHQUAKE.
They say Illinois had an earthquake back in 2002, but I don't remember that. I do however remember back on a clear, sunny, summer day when I was about 7, I think, when I was outside playing in our backyard we had one. I just remember my mom come running outside to make sure I was ok and to tell me what had happened.
Wow, I think it is happening again!! It is 10:16am right now and I'm sitting at my desk at work and everything around me it shaking. Is it the aftershock? Could it be another earthquake. Wow, what a day. Hope everyone involved w/ this is ok.

Wendy

He's not a baby anymore....

Each and every day I witness our son, Caleb (who is 9 now), growing up so fast. He shows this in his actions, in his statements, and also in his emotions for others. I recall it being just yesterday, holding in my arms and never wanting to lay him down. Now he's picking out his own outfits, somewhat fixing his own meals (microwaving frozen pancakes, re-heating mac-n-cheese, ect.), he tells me if my outfits don't match and if my hair looks good or not, he's even making sure he is home on time when he goes to the neighbors to play after school.
Just the other day I was feeling a little under the weather and he grabs me by the arms, I look down at him and looking me straight eyes he says with the most sincerity "Mom you really need to stay home and rest." I told him that life isn't that easy. So I went to work, long story short I couldn't make but just a half day. When Caleb got home from school he peeks around the corner into our living room and says to me "See mom, I told you that you should have stayed home today, you needed to rest." He ends up wanting to watch a movie w/ me instead of playing outside on one of the sunny days we had this week. There's nothing better than watching Star Wars-Empire Strikes Back on a Monday afternoon w/ your little guy.
He melts my heart everyday. I wish I could stop time and keep him this age forever. One of these days I'm going to wake up and he will be looking down to talk to me and he won't be speaking in that same little sweet & soft voice he has now. I'm so proud of our little man. We look forward to all the years of fun ahead of us.