On the road again...

I am writing this blog from Salt Lake City, Utah. It is beautiful to be surrounded by mountains on all sides. It gives you a new perspective of the world when you travel to new places. I'll have to post pictures later. I'm traveling for business this week and next week again. It gets tiring but I have to remember this can only be good for my career and our future. Mike is busy working towards our future as he is preparing for his first two tests this coming Friday and Monday, while I have abandoned him to work for our present. I just can't wait until May 15, 2009 when his schooling will be done and we can move on with our lives.

Since August, I have now finished my first quilt and have started on my second plus purchasd enough fabric to last me for a few months. Here is my first patriotic rag quilt that I sent to Christian Leetch who was born early this summer.



Lindsey and I went into Topeka at the end of August and I bought enough fabric to keep me busy for many months to come, of course, I will have to think of what they will be first. But it will all come together. Lindsey and Cherry have started an addiction that is slightly out of control (it is a good thing that Mike doesn't keep track of our money = ) ). While we were in Topeka for girl's day out to get our wedding rings cleaned, shop at craft stores and Kohls, and of course to eat at Olive Garden, we discovered my dream car. I couldn't resist taking pictures to share this with all of you. You will all see why I fell in love with it!




Who doesn't need a pimped out pink PT cruiser? You can't really tell, but the inside of the car has a pink interior and seats. Believe me, we definitely spent some time checking this baby out.

The family is doing well and Maggie is getting more used to the animals. She does believe the world revolves around her however. Of course, in the bottom picture I have no idea what her face is about but I couldn't resist posting it.



Once again it is football season...we have picked our fantasty football team...bought the greenies for the dogs for the Eagles' games and we are no longer messing around. Can't you tell by Tiger's face that we are ready for football season? Heck, we are even getting new furniture tomorrow (which I am excited about) and I didn't realize until now that it is very close to Philadelphia green. What a coincidence?!?

The only way I know how to close this blog out is to say...

GO EAGLES!!!!!!!!!!!!

Time is passing rather quickly these days. I have a lot to get caught up on since the middle of June. Let's see... (I'll try to keep it short)

Since then I have almost finished my first quilt, made a trip back home to surprise Mike in PA, done more reading than usual (thanks to Cherry's library), taken many vacation days to spend time with Mike, and now Mike is trying to prepare to start third year. Let's just say that he is tired of school so it is going to take more to mentally prepare to go back to school.

I surprised Mike and his family on Father's Day. It was priceless to see Mike's face the first time he saw me at the restaurant. He was even speechless and for any of you who know Mike rather well, know that once he gets to know you he doesn't really shut up. I was glad to be able to spend that time with my family and then we headed off to his family's house. We had a good time hanging out with them and spending a few days with his niece, Angela. We even got to be together on our anniversary, which was nice. This definitely could not have happened without the help of some awesome friends and a lot of prayers...thanks to all of you!!!

As for the summer traveling, Mike and my brother made it back to KS with no car problems this time and we had a nice visit with him. We were able to have nice weather and the chance to go and do something every day, Jim lucked out from having to experience a KS summer.

Maggie has definitely become one of the family, even though she can be a bully. However, she had her day of pay back. Maggie lost her womanhood at the end of June and she even had to wear a plastic cone around her head afterward. None of the animals would go near her. They must have thought she was Frankinkitty. However, as soon as that thing came off, she was back to normal. Frick (Hammy) and Frack (Maggie) are back at it as you can see in the pictures.

Maggie on drugs (after surgery).

This is Maggie and her naked blubber belly at home recuperating (maybe we should have had lyposuction done while she was under anesthesia).

Frankinkitty

FRICK & FRACK PICTURES

Here are Tiger & Henry sporting their 4th of July gear. (I don't know why Tiger is sticking out his tongue but I promise he means no disrespect to Independence Day)

These were our other summer family members (Cleoutus and Marvin) who have now gone to a new home. Frick and Frack are going to miss them the most.

We have had many ups and downs this summer dealing with family health problems and have appreciated all of the prayers. It has been rather stressful especially as Mike's mom has been in and out of the hospital, but we know God is in control. My grandmother's arm has been healing well since her fall and she is not even wearing a cast anymore. My dad came out of his car accident with just minor injuries and has now purchased a new car to replace his. Mike's dad has been doing really well considering what his body has been through these past few months. Mike's mom is still dealing with issues and we are not sure if they are due to the septic shock back in January when she was on the ventilator but we just ask for continued prayers for her health. It seems that every time she goes to the doctor's that she ends up in the hospital for a few days with a new concern. It is easier to be here away from this all at times but other times you wish you could be with your family. God has been good though and Mike and I know that things do happen for a reason and that God can also heal as he desires. I have held on dearly to James 1:2-6 this summer as it seems that there has been one thing after another. We are also still trying to witness to his family especially though all of this, please remember that in your prayers too.

I'm thankful for the good and the bad even though it isn't always easy. Now we look ahead to Mike starting third year and me doing the same as always.

And yet again...

I know I am a slacker, but I'm sure you will all get over it. I'll try to keep this short even though it has been two months. Since I last wrote, Mike finished his second year, PRAISE THE LORD! I won't say it was an easy year by any stretch of the imagination, however, it didn't kill him. We are thankful to have another year done and I know Mike is thankful for the break from having to think too much.

We had a few weeks together before his brother got here to just relax and go out and do stuff together. We just did day trips, saw tons of movies that we had wanted to see, and yet again...we added another one to our family. Yes, we are crazy, but I can handle furry children right now instead of the real thing. On May 29th we took extra food that we had acquired during the school year to the animal shelter and I pressured Mike to look around. Yes, this one is all my fault, he tried to resist but in the end he couldn't either. We made it through all of the puppies, dogs and thenI entered the cat room. I was drawn to her right away and then Mike was a pushover and we brought her home that afternoon. Her name is Maggie and she is ~ 9 1/2 months old. She has some beautiful markings and is so sweet and a lover. If you just walk in the room after she hasn't seen you for awhile she just starts purring. She hung out a few days in our bathroom until we could get her into the vets, but now she is fully acclimated to the rest of the family. If anything she is a big bully, especially with Henry. She has learned the hard way not to mess with Tiger and Cinder, while her and Hammy are best friends. Poor Henry, he is just misunderstood.

A few days after Maggie, Mike's brother, Jason, flew in and visited with us for about a week. Jason was going to help Mike drive back to PA for the summer. They got their video game time in as well as their movie fixes. We also went to the Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure in Salina, KS. We had a good time and the weather was beautiful. But then came the day they had to leave. I don't think the dogs had a clue what was going on, especially when Tiger ran around the entire morning looking for Mike in every nook and cranny of the house. Sad to say but Tiger will not be seeing Mike for awhile.

On the drive back to PA, Mike and Jason spent tons of money on gas and also realized something was wrong with my Jeep. Needless to say, here was the diagnosis from the mechanic...the manifold air pressure apparatus (MAP) burst somewhere in Missouri when the Check Engine light started flashing so the car could of either not had enough fuel being pushed through the engine or it could have had too much. I guess there were angels around Mike and Jason because it kept pushing gas through all the way to PA to a trusted mechanic, however, by that time the gas leaked all over, the spark plugs were all black and covered with carbon and the O2 sensor was destroyed because carbon flakes had gone through the exhaust (which would explain why my Jeep was puffing out black exhaust off and on during the trip also). If you could imagine, Samson really needed a tune up after all of that. So we are hoping that Samson is okay now and will be able to make the trip home in July, if you all can remember that in prayer. So Mike is home now even though a majority of the time he would love to be back in Kansas. He has a lot to accomplish there before he heads off to my uncle's dairy farm. So I also covet your prayers for him back home, there are a good number of issues that have arisen and Mike has his hands full.

Since Mike has been gone I've held down the fort, kept making the money so Mike can spend it : ), started to sew my first quilt (thanks to Lindsey, Jenny and Cherry), and kept myself occupied. I miss Mike dearly but at the same time I know God has a purpose for Mike back home right now, otherwards he wouldn't be there. But God is good and is working on Mike and I...who can complain about that? God has also blessed us with amazing friends who have helped in ways we can never repay. We thank God for the support and love!!

So this is our life right now...

We do exist, but barely...

I guess if we had a kid or something that changed our lives on a daily basis that we would have more to say, but we don't. So you will have to put up with reading about our consistently busy and somewhat boring lives. Work has ramped up for me and there has been a lot of commotion, but I'm not sinking, just going insane (some would say I was already there however). I have almost dug my way out since all of my travels even though more keeps getting piled on. I can say though that having all of that time away gave me plenty of time to think and realize that I needed to start prioritizing and putting up more boundaries in my life. I'm sure we could all say that we need to do these things, but how many of us actually do it. God and I are working on it together in time.


I did have a great time visiting with Chris, Mindy and Luke. I think Mindy covered my visit well in her blog with all that we did so I won't repeat it, you can just go and read it on their blog. However, here are some other pictures from the visit as well as one from my visit with Nettie.

Check out the stripe of hair, I think Luke should have a mohawk!

There isn't much more happening. Mike has his last regular semester exam this Wednesday and his six finals start the following Thursday. He is ready for it to be over and with the weather being nice it is extremely hard for him to want to study at all. I'm sure he will do fine he just needs to focus himself. His last day of work is next Monday so at least one less thing will be in his schedule prior to finals taking place. It has been good for him to have this job, but at the same time he was overdoing it. We have learned our lesson the hard way.

As for the rest of our lives, Mike will start vamping up his summer plans as the time draws nearer for him to leave. We have finalized dates with his brother, Jason, and Mike will be leaving to head home on June 5th. But I know I will have plenty to keep my hands busy while he is gone...more on this in a later blog.

A bunch of us young women are going to start a quilting bee this summer. I'm excited because I have no idea how to do it as of right now. I want to make a quilt for our bed as well as some Christmas gifts. We'll see how well it goes and how well I can pick it up. It'll be nice to have more girl time since Mike will be gone.

I guess that is really all I have to tell right now but I promise I'll blog again soon!

Still going...

This one is for Todd...

I am currently sitting in the KCI airport heading out on my second business trip in three weeks while Mike is sitting in class. It seems as though things have been non-stop during March but after April 1st, all should begin to calm down (everything except finishing up school). I can't say that there was anything extremely different from this month and the past ones, except for a few of my business trips with a side of personal vacation.

As for Mike, he survived the crazy week of 5 exams in 7 days and recuperated during Spring Break last week. However, how many students really want to go back to school once they have been given a break. Right off the bat, Mike has a hard exam on Friday. Thank God there is only 6 more weeks left of his second year of vet school. Everyone wants to have a huge party at the end of the year to celebrate.

I know Mike will be relieved to have some freedom this summer and will need the break when he goes home for the summer. As of right now, Mike will be heading home for about 1 1/2 months over the summer, while I fend for myself in the wonderful town of Manhattan. His brother, Jason, will be flying out for a visit at the beginning of June and will help drive back to PA with Mike. Then in the middle of July, my brother, Jim, will be driving out west with Mike for a visit and then flying home a few days later. There is also a chance of others visiting this summer after Mike comes home, it will be nice to finally have visitors in our new house. Both Jim and Jason helped us move out here in the very beginning and so it is only right that they are the first to visit us in our new home. Did I mention what Mike will be doing while he is at home...he will be spending a week or two on my uncle's dairy farm to gain some experience around larger animals? Mike isn't really sure what to expect since he really hasn't spent anytime on a farm before, so it will be interesting for him. I'm excited for him to finally meet my Aunt Marie and Uncle Rick, he will have a great time with them.

I got home this past Wednesday from spending time in the Boston area. I spent the first few days with Lynnette (thank you so much, Nettie!!!). We had a great time. I must say however that it was the most treacherous travel day I have ever had in my life. Between bad weather, the beginning of spring break for the entire world, and flight attendants that acquired the name "Lucifer's wife" (I HIGHLY DO NOT RECOMMEND CONTINENTAL AIRLINES IF YOU WANT TO FLY THE FRIENDLY SKIES), I survived traveling for14 hours and made it into downtown Boston on Thursday evening. On Friday, we dared to go treking through Boston as the Noreaster approached and by the time we got home (with snow already coming down, may I add), we were ready to nestle in and stay warm while we watched the snow come down at a good pace and horizontally. We spent time talking, doing puzzles, reading, and just down right relaxing. I must say that it took me awhile to adjust to Lynnette's lifestyle in downtown Boston, but I can say I got my exercise. On Saturday, we headed out to head into Quincy to meet up with Jeff, Joy, Joshua, and Jordan. Let me tell you, Joshua is a ham. He is one of the most entertaining kids I have been around in a long time. Later that night we met up with LaDawna (my old college roommate) for dinner and a movie. I highly recommend the movie "Amazing Grace." (Val this is one we need to see together.) We had a good time just getting caught up after all of these years. On Sunday, we headed to Park Street church with my suitcase in tow, that was an experience. Even when I was there I ran into an old friend, Cindy Walchle Scott (yes Chris, another relative of yours by marriage...imagine that!). I had a blast. I will be honest, I only took a few pictures during the whole trip, and I don't have them off of my camera yet, but I will post the group picture later. On Sunday after fighting through the crowd heading to Boston's St. Patrick's Day parade, we finally made it to lunch with Reba and Iesha. I just want to say that one of the best parts of that was that I got a Frappe, I was so excited! After I said by to Nettie, I headed out only to have to dig out my rental car in order to head out to Natick, MA for business. Thanks to Reba who had a burst of energy, we had it out pretty quick and I soon said goodbye to all my friends in Boston. The business part of the trip was okay, but nothing stellar to report. By the end of it all, I was ready to go home and see Mike and the kids. Thank God for a direct flight and nice flight attendants (I flew home on a different airline). I made it home and then loved spending time with Mike for the rest of his Spring break.

We did find time to hang out with friends in his last few days, including going to a Japanese Steakhouse in Topeka with Jenny, Jaime, Bobby & Lindsey and also our normal Friday night dinner with the gang. We even found time to take in a movie...all I can say is...I almost piddled in my seat during Wild Hogs. Any movie that starts with someone getting hurt and some good laughs is a keeper. Rate it an A! Sad to say that the weekend came to a close and I ended up doing laundry and repacking while Mike studied. Doesn't that sound like fun. And now here I sit waiting for my flight to Atlanta...Ho Hum...Ho Hum...

I can say though that I am excited for my visit to see Mindy, Chris & Luke at the end of the week. I just have to survive 5 days of training at the CDC first. So this is all she wrote (for now anyway).

Still surviving...

Mike and I are keeping ourselves busy and have just been trying to survive the cold. Mike is still busy with school and working less (which is a praise), and he still finds time for breaks as you can see. He is starting to think about what he wants to do over the summer, if anything. After this year he probably won't want to do anything...at least that is what I've heard from him and Lindsay.
It has also been nice to have a reprieve from the freezing cold weather, even Tiger got tired of it. I guess having a little body makes it harder to stay warm so he was resourceful and figured it out for himself. It doesn't help either when it is so cold that your water pipes freeze up and you have to call a plumber to pay them $100 to blow hot air under your house. Mike says next time I will be going out with a hair dryer to unthaw them, boy is he a dreamer. But thank goodness for Bobby and Lindsey being right down the street so at least I could shower during that time. I love winter but there comes a point when spring starts to look really nice.

Here is a close up of him just in case you can't see it well in the other picture.

Hammy and Cinder have survived the winter so far also. They have found ways to keep themselves warm by cuddling, that is of course when Hammy is not trying to bite or chase Cinder. Here's another comparative picture of how big they both are on the TV. I can't believe that Hammy is only 9 months old and that big. I pray he doesn't grow that much more. I'm sure Cinder hopes that too, since she is not fully able to sit on top of the TV.

As for me, I am keeping rather busy at work as things have finally picked up and now everything has a deadline. I'm excited about what I am doing now too. I'm excited also for my business trip coming up where I get to go back to MA. My boss told me to work in some vacation time to visit old friends and ENC, so I will get to see Jeff, Joy, Joshua and Jordan, along with Nettie, Reba, LaDawna and who knows who else. It's been ages since I have been up in MA and I can't wait. I will share more after I get back from my trip in two weeks. BOSTON OR BUST!!

I'm also staying busy with life and my recent endeavor is the second edition of the church's picture directory. There are enough new people coming and new babies in the church that it is needed. Hammy has also decided that he would like to help me with this and so he was proofreading it for me. He is a very intellectual kitty when he isn't as dumb as dirt. Really all he was doing was following the mouse on the screen, but he looks smart doesn't he. Mike and I will laugh at this until the day he sticks his nails into the computer monitor.

As for our families, my mom is doing really well recuperating. The doctor did prolong her scheduled time to go back to work for another two weeks, but God willing she will be back to her old self soon. Mike's mom and dad are doing okay. I actually haven't heard from them in awhile, but in my family no news is good news. The most recent thing in our family was Sharon's little accident where she totaled her car in a bad winter storm when she was trying to avoid other cars having problems also and fishtaled and hit an ambulance on the side of the road. Thank goodness she came out of it safe and now she will be sporting a red PT cruiser. Overall, we have a lot of things to be thankful for and God has been so good to us!