Alive and Well

I totally forgot about this blogging business with the onset of Facebook.  I may need to resurrect it for Family Events.

Last winter

Well I sure didn't get much posted did I?  I downloaded pics from my phone and camera today, so I will try to catch up a bit.....

The Year in Pictures

I am going to try and post my pictures of the past year in order. Obviously, though I didn't write it, Aly's baby shower was in May, not the day of the post. May 21st to be exact. I will try to make sure the dates are in the info for future posts.

Aly's Baby Shower

This will start off our year in review. Pics from Alyssa's Baby Shower. Note how Dad liked to spend the afternoon. Actually, LeVon got him up for a drive after eating lunch.

Before and somewhat after, a work in progress.

Update

Ok, so Chris wants to know why we don't have any new postings on our blog. I don't know how to put pictures on from our camera so it will be photo less. Lots has transpired since my last posting.
In November, Dad and Mom came to live with us. I no longer work for US Bank, as I am a caregiver for them. We have lots of adventures. They enjoy it here. We had Thanksgiving, Christmas and Mom's birthday party here with all of the family. Lots of fun times!
We are planning a spring trip to Utah. All of our kids, Dianne and her family, Aly/Drew, and Nicole and family are out west now, plus all of Dad's family. So we will have lots of visiting to do in our two short weeks out there.
So there you have it in a nutshell. When Britt comes back I will have her show me how to post pictures.

What Papa does for his grandkids!

After the demise of the tire swing, Papa set about to put up a new and improved setup. It obviously took some creativity to reach the necessary limb, however. Our neighbor, Brian was driving by and saw Chris at the top of his ladder. He stopped and informed us that he is with the volunteer fire dept. in McCausland and decided it was better to stop now and help hold the ladder, than get a phone call later to come and help pick up pieces. LOL
Mission accomplished by super genius Papa for his grandkids who love the tire swing!

New digs for the grandkids

This is Brittney posting for Mom. She got the kids these outfits at Walmart so they could show their love to their Papa. Thanks Mom-Mom!!!

Reflection Ranch in the Spring

These are the before pictures. The after pictures will be posted soon. Enjoy!

New Address!

We are back online!! We are in our new home. According to Chris it will be known as Reflection Ranch (when you come to visit, you will see why). Our mailing address is now
2 Prairie Meadows Dr. Long Grove, Iowa 52756. Our actual address is 2 Prairie Meadows Dr. McCausland, Iowa 52758. If you mail anything to the McCausland address we won't receive it. It's kind of like when we lived in Rickardsville. Our mailing address there was in Durango. Who knows why it is the way it is.
We absolutely love our new home. As soon as I find my camera, I'll post pictures. We've actually moved very little into the house. We are replacing the carpeting in the living room and hallway the week after next. And next week three bedrooms, a bathroom and the laundry room are getting a fresh coat of paint. (one of the bedrooms was bright orange with blue curtains! Chicago Bears fan)
Hopefully everything will be put together for Alyssa's shower here on Sat. May 22.

It's Here

Can you even believe it? The day has arrived! We close on this house in a half hour, do our final walk through on our new home at noon and close at one!! I'll post pictures as soon as I can.

Madness

Who knew it would take so long to get rid of and set up utilities! I've spent the whole day on the phone. I'm not getting anything done I wanted to.

Anticipation

Can you believe it? Two weeks until we move! I'm am so not finished packing!

Bird's Eye View

If you ever need a home inspection done, Kevin Bird, of Bird's Eye View Home Inspections out of Cedar Rapids is the one you need. Granted, he is my cousin, so I may be a little bias. But I have never seen a home inspection done in a more thorough and professional manner than Kevin did ours last night. I can hardly wait to see the finished report.

It's Official !!

We are Moving!! We close on our house here in Farley in the morning of April 29th and close on our new house in McCausland in the afternoon. Yay! We are very excited.

Count 'em

Count them up..ten days on the market and we have an accepted offer. If all goes well we will putting an offer in on the house we want on Tuesday!!

How Does So Much Time Go By???

I bet you all thought I fell off the face of the earth... It's been kind of crazy around here. We have put our house on the market as of last week. We have several homes we are looking at in the Quad City area. Three hours of driving time every day for Chris has gone on for too long. (over a year now!) We have an open house this weekend. Lots of time spent packing, cleaning and rearranging. I'll be glad when it's all over with.
Seminary is going well. Bro. Evans came to visit this morning. He is our Supervisor person from CES in this region. We had a very enjoyable visit and the kids really like him. I think that is probably what I am going to miss the most when we move, is teaching seminary in the morning.
Well, back to packing... I'll try to post more often. ( You notice I always say that)

Prayers are Requested

Our son in law David leaves in the morning for Afghanistan. Please keep him in your family prayers to keep him and those he serves with safe. Prayers for Amanda, Malia and Abram would be greatly appreciated also.