The roof

Well, the insurance adjuster came back and said we needed to replace the entire roof. Overall the random father's day storm did $11,500 worth of damage! That's what you get when you live in the Midwest. As my wise husband said that day, "Well, if it isn't ice..it's hail." LOL!

Favorite Book

THIS is my very favorite children's book. If you have kids that are tall, it is a MUST HAVE! It's about Lacey O'Neil who stands 6 foot 3 inches tall! We love it here for obvious reasons but it is a great story about treating others with respect and being a good friend!

This and That

I haven't posted in a few days but I have so much to say! First of all HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to us! We just celebrated six years on Sunday. We went out on Saturday night because we knew Sunday was filled up! We went and ate dinner downtown and then (after a not so great dinner) decided to go somewhere else for dessert. We ended up at Fedora on the square. We had fondue (chocolate with bananas, strawberries, graham crackers, marshmallows and lady fingers!) and it was wonderful! Brian gave me one of the sweetest gifts ever! He got me a certificate to Spa Valencia and told me it was for a warm algae wrap as well as a massage. Of course I was excited but the tears started flowing when he told me that my appointment was Monday at 3:30 and he was coming home early so I didn't have to worry about finding someone to keep the kiddos. I went and it was WONDERFUL! I was hoping that when she unwrapped me I would have beautiful butterfly wings....but no such luck. I'm pretty sure I floated out of there like a butterfly even though I didn't have the wings! He is the best husband ever! I on the other hand was feeling like a "suckatoid" wife. (Thanks Amber for the descriptive!) I got him nothing in the way of material gifts, so we headed to best buy to pick something out. Romantic I know...but I don't know too many men who would complain! He picked out some new headphones for his XBox. Now he can hear the soothing sounds of machine guns and hand grenades and no one else has to!

Kiddo update:
Cohen is talking more and more everyday. I keep waiting for him to learn words that are actually useful. I'm sure they will be the last words he learns! I mean seriously, he can point to the picture in his book and say (in Cohen speak) passenger jet...but he can't tell me what he wants off the shelf. He can identify a glide, hot rod, race car, coupe, hummer and jeep but he won't tell me why he is upset! Oh the joys of toddler hood! But ya know, it's all worth it when he grabs "melmo and his cakey" (elmo and blankie) and cuddles up with me in the rocking chair each night. I love this kid. His new trick is to jump in the pool whenever he pleases. We have to keep floaties on him at ALL times because we never know when he will just jump in! We also do a fun trick in the pool where he stands in my hands and I hold him straight over my head then he balances as long as he can. (Claire calls it "cheerleader" but Cohen calls it "n tall" because I say stand straight and tall!) It's pretty cute because the whole time he is up there is says "whoooaaaaaaahhhh!" I will post pics as soon as we get one!

Claire is now a swimmer! She just doggy paddles but she can swim from one end of the pool to the other! It is so exciting and she is so proud of herself! (Not near as proud as her momma though!) She can also swim underwater and do a flip under the water. She likes to go down and touch the bottom of the pool and come back up. She is quite the little fish.

Claire and I had quite the conversation the other day about peanut butter and jelly. I fixed her a sandwich with my cut and seal sandwich maker from Pampered Chef. She looked at it and said, "Mom, did you get this from the freezer?" (I love the Smuckers PB&J that are in the frozen section because they are just so stinkin' easy so that it what she is used to!) I said, "Nope! I made it all by myself." She was really amazed and said, "Wow, you must be magic!" That's me. A regular David Copperfield. It doesn't take much to impress a child!

Brian and I are hopefully going on a much needed vacation in November and I can't wait to share more details! But for now we are busy with Jarad and Ashley's wedding and will be taking a few little weekend trips. One to Osage Beach for the Missouri Grocers Association Convention (with my parents) and another to Chicago for a wedding.

We are waiting to hear back from the insurance agent with a dollar amount on the damage to our house but he did tell us we would need to replace the following
1. All the gutters
2. The trim around the garage
3. The light fixture on the garage
4. One side of the roof
5. The siding on the north side of our house
6. 2 sides of the shed, the whole roof and the window
7. the fence and the playhouse will need to be refinished (by the way the wind moved this playhouse about 8 inches) **Grammy, click on the word "this"
Thank goodness we were gone in my truck and Brian's car was in the garage! It isn't everyday that they garage is clean enough to fit both cars so Brian's is often in the driveway! I am finding it really pays to be organized!

I also want to brag a little on my husband! God has blessed him with an amazing gift as well as an amazing job. We are discovering almost weekly another perk of being a part of the Johnson & Johnson team. He is working so hard and is doing so great. I am just really proud of him! He also looks really cute when he comes home in scrubs after sitting in on cases that day! He's awesome even if he does only leave me with 4 chicken nuggets! (long story!)

Summer Days Driftin' Away

Claire and Livi



Cohen sporting the silly "floating swimsuit" that his Daddy just LOVES (please note my sarcasm). My Dad picked this up one time and we laughed. Then we put it on Drew and laughed even harder. As you can see...it never gets old! And guess what?! I discovered that it gets even funnier........


Here's what happens when a little boy pees while wearing the suit! My son will most likely hate me some day for this.



Can you see why I LOVE this place?!



This is where we lock the kids...oops I mean let the kids play. (again, sarcasm)

Good News!

For those who don't know yet, we got some great news about my dear friend Steph. You can check my other blog for the whole story but the condensed version....the tumor is SHRINKING! We found out on Monday that it is only 30-40% of the original size. We are all REALLY excited and praising God for his amazing work. I will have to say that I have learned so much through this whole process. I can't begin to list everything in one post. The one thing that has touched my heart in a big way is my dear sweet Claire. If you are close to me, you know that Claire and I have had some "issues" over the past few weeks. She is testing me and I have been so afraid that I am failing. After some very wise counsel from my "go to girls" (Mom, Connie & my Bible study girls) and some venting to my future sister-in-law I began to feel a little better. But today, Claire reminded me in her own subtle little way that I need not worry so much. She has a kind heart and that is what matters. She heard me say something about Drew and Levi and immediately perked up. She said, "OH, NANNY! Steph has good news! God hears my prayers!" For those who don't know, she has been praying faithfully for Steph. When asked why she says...and I quote, "because she has cancer and has to go to chemo." It's not something that we have told her to say. I simply tell her that we need to pray for Steph so she will get better. She has picked the rest up from just listening. (What an eye opener that was!!) I was so touched and so very proud of my little girl. I sometimes worry that cancer is too big and scary for such a young girl...and maybe it is. But it is a HUGE lesson for all of us. NOTHING IS TOO BIG FOR GOD! Bottom line, it's something that is happening to our family and I am thankful that Claire knows that the Lord will carry us through this. I thank the Lord for my daughter and all of the lessons she is teaching me!

Sooo, now that I have posted 3 times today, I must go to bed! I have to get up in the morning and get the kids to my mom so I can get a PEDICURE!!!! It's a treat from my momma that I have been looking forward to for weeks now! Thanks mom!!!

Old News!

I have been having a time trying to get pictures uploaded lately. When I finally have my memory card in hand and a spare second, blogger decides that it will not be uploading pictures...so we will see if this works! Here are some pics from the day after Brian's birthday. He was gone on his actual birthday so we welcomed him home with a little party!

Claire is such a big helper!

We're ready!

The cake (the icing mishap can be blamed on a hurried mommy and anxious little fingers!)

Somebody call Smokey the Bear!!!

Make a wish Daddy....and Claire!!

Cohen picked up the lighter that I used to light ALL 28 candles! OUCH!

He's fine now! Nothing a little cake can't fix!

Happy Father's Day!

They want to grow up to be just like Daddy!!

So this one is a little late for 2 reasons. One, I had temporarily misplaced the memory card with these pictures on it. Second, and most embarrassingly....I was just in a bad mood! It's a long story and really not worth going into because I have snapped out of it and moved on! So TODAY, I am celebrating my husband. He is a wonderful father and I can't thank him enough for working so hard to provide for us. I am blessed with the option of staying home with my children because he makes that possible. So here is a little tribute to the most wonderful man I know! (no offense Dad!) Here are a few little known facts about Brian.

1. He is a really good singer.

2. One of his favorite movies is Notting Hill.

3. If you scrape your fork on your plate...he gags.

4. If he has an important meeting or something, he sets 2 alarm clocks.

5. He sits in surgery after surgery and does fine, but he almost passed out when I gave birth to Cohen.

6. He's not a "fresh veggie guy."

7. He is pretty bad at golf and even worse at fishing. Hunting is more his thing!

8. His first job was at McDonalds on South Campbell.

9. He was my first MAJOR crush.

10. His first car was a 1987 Chrysler LeBaron that he bought himself.

11. He talks in his sleep. (Slightly annoying but ALWAYS entertaining!! The best was the other morning when I woke up to him praying in his sleep!)

I'm sure I could go on for days but it's time to go to gymnastics! But I will close by saying this...

Brian,

You are an amazing father. I still can't believe that you are my husband let alone the father of our AMAZING children. I love to see the kids run like crazy when they hear the door open when you get home. Their shrieks of "DADA DADA DADA!" Say it all! Thank you for all you do!

Love,

your wife of (almost) six years!!!