Rest peacefully Aunt Elsie

Earlier today, my aunt Elsie passed away. She lived in South Carolina and even though we didn't get to see her often, I remember her wacky sense of humor and smile. My mom and my uncle Derick's family are driving the 20 hr distance for her funeral on Sat. Unfortunately, I cannot go, due to previous plans for a trip to KC to do some shopping with some friends. We have already booked our hotel. Elsie was my grandma's sister. My grandparents were able to be with her during her last days here. She battled illness over the past 5 years or so and had been under-going dialysis over that period of time. Her last several years were spent hooked up to a machine, and not feeling the greatest. Even when I could tell she felt horrible, she managed to smile and joke with all of us. She will be missed.

Go USA!

So, we had an awesome experience this weekend watching the USA men's volleyball team play the Netherlands at WSU for the 2009 world tour. I went on Friday nite with some friends, Tiff and Brenda. We had great seats on the 1st row on the end line. Many power balls came our way and I even laid a hand on one! Sat. eve we took the boys, Sara, Val, Michael's bro Zach, my cousin Kayla, and my mom. We sat with Tiff. We also were able to move down to great seats. We stayed after and got autographs and photos with the players. Most of the team were also members of the 08 Olympic Gold medal squad! I particularly enjoyed visiting with Tom Hoff! He is my fave. Tiff and I got a pic with him! All in all, a great weekend.

Changes - some good, some not so good

Changes are being made around here. Slowly but surely things are getting accomplished. Caden's room is painted, and Michael has started on the floor. Once that is done, he can move back in and finally have his own room after almost 2 yrs of sleeping in the girls' room. Michael tore out our front porch step and cement patio and laid a new concrete step and path. We still have to figure out what we want on the porch itself. Right now, it is tiled, and we will probably do something similar. We also have to do some landscaping, but it looks good.
Michael's job at Agco is beginning to shift some. Layoffs have been going on for awhile now, but recently major stuff is happening. Michael is off for a total of 10 weeks before the end of the year. He is currently off for 3 weeks this month, then 2 in Sept. and finally the 5 weeks right before Christmas. He will also have a shortened work week for the rest of the year. We are trying to budget carefully since all 5 kids' b-days and Christmas are coming up quickly. We are trusting in God to pull us through as always. It's quite amazing how things just seem to work out, and even though it's sometimes a struggle, we usually come out ok in the end. Thankfully, God has given our roofing company some great business to keep Michael busy while he is off.

Finally, I've been itching to go back to Cali to see Mia. It would be great to be there for her 1st birthday in Sept. I feel so guilty going alone since the boys and Michael would also like to go. Been looking at flights, and it's so expensive. Not sure what we will do. It's only money, right? Easy to say, but hard to do. Anyway, I've been praying for some guidance with this. I really struggle with being apart from my loved ones. If I could, I would spend every last dime just so we could all be together. With that being said, I also have to consider the well-being of my family and our financial stability. So, yes, I'm basically waiting for some cash to fall from the sky!???

Peace

Caden has a new ride

Caden purchased a '98 Mustang on July 3rd! He is very excited and can't wait to drive it. It's a standard, so he has to learn first. The car is nice and will be perfect for him. He got a great deal and I can't believe I am the mother of a car-owner!