Where did Summer Go? And was it even really here?

SO! We have had an amazing summer! The weather was strangely fantastic, even though it made for a poor pool season, and it went by WAY too quickly.

We spent June preparing for summer:

setting up the pool, fixing the yard and the deck, building a firepit

Plus play dates and get togethers.

Then July, crazy as always, brought strange weather.

We did not hit 90 AT ALL! Second coolest July in IL!

BUT, I went to the Cardinals game for my birthday with my Hubbie

and Sister & Brother-in-law and the Cards won, of course!!

Then, we had a Cookout with great friends & family.

Also, the girls started taking a dance class and are excited for it to start back up in the fall.

Plus, my sister Angie came to IL for a visit. It was nice to spend time with her & Addison. Her hubbie Brad came to join them before they left and it was really nice to see him again as well.

After that came August!!

Sean's Dad turned the big 7-0 and we had a very nice celebration for him, including letting 70 balloons go with names attached so that we can see where they end up!

THEN mi Familia de Zamora, Mexico came for the 2 Day Family Reunion!!

IT WAS FANTASTIC!! I have not seen most of them for 15 years and the rest I finally got to meet. I met family I never I had as well. What a fantastic treat. Now I look forward to going to Zamora and spending time with my family there. Hopefully we will be able to go next year!!

Then it was the dreaded day.......the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL :-(

Mommy was very sad when my BIG 5 year old wanted to ride the bus for her First Day of Kindergarten with her BIGGER 2nd Grader Sister :-(

They are really enjoying school though and making more and more new friends everyday.

I am looking forward to a great school year for both of them.

Last but not least, I had to get in a Fair trip and get my traditional 'garb'. And let's just say the Taffy did not make it very long ;-)

I hope everyone has had a very blessed summer. And I hope that Fall brings us even more miracles!!

Love to you all!!

Time Flies when your having fun...

So it has been a while since I have posted anything and have been harped on to update our blog.

Here it goes - Miley, our beloved Christmas puppy had some unexpected & fatal kidney problems arise and had to go back to the breeders. Our breeder, bless her heart, gave us a FULL refund AND another little puppy. So now we have Jackson (Miley's 'brother') who has different parents but looks just like his 'sister'. He is spunky and all of us, including Chance, love him very much. It was quite the little ordeal dealing with vet visits and a trip to U of I Vet School, but the girls were very strong and brave and, although they will always love & miss Miley, gave her a lot of love and wished her well when we left her with her Mommy & Daddy. We are very proud of them.

Next, we found out that my baby sister, Angie, is pregnant with Baby #2 due 09-09-09. Her little girl Addison will be ONE on June 28. They are very surprised & excited. She is doing well and, after seeing her today, growing a happy little bun in that oven of hers. So please keep them in your prayers because all of us parents know how much prayer she wil need with a newborn & a 14 month old. I know she will be fine and Dad will be there to help as often as he can, but the power of prayer is a wonderful thing.

On a different note, Kara is almost done with the First Grade and has come such a long way since the beginning of the year. Her teacher has been amazing and she has advanced leaps & bounds. We look forward to Second Grade and what new mountains we will be climbing then.

Alyson, on the other hand, is beyond excited to start Kindergarten in the fall. She has been practicing her letters & numbers and loves to do 'schoolwork' with her sister. Hopefully that will carry over in school.

So, as you can see, we have been busy keeping up with life as we know it and look forward to the new adventures that summer has in store for us.

Hope all is well with all of you.

We love you & miss you all!!!

Spring is coming.......or not

Oh how we love March. Yesterday and today we have highs in the 60's & 70's and next week it will be in the 40's. Spring is almost here. The robins are singing, the flowers are poking up their heads. Now if the weather could just maintain the temp, we will be outside before you know it.

On a different note, Kara & Alyson are getting bigger by the day. Kara just got glasses and is entirely too cute with them on.

And Ms. Alyson reminds us daily that she gets to start Kindergarten in the fall and ride the bus with her sister. She is starting to practice for school too.

Miley is now 4.2#. WOW! We think she may end up at 8# max. She will be spayed at the end of the month so we'll see how much she grows after that.

Other than that it has been life as normal as we know it.

Is Spring coming?

I HAVE A JOB!!!

Just want to update everyone that I finally have a start date for my new job. I start working full time on Feb. 16th with Dr Andrew Boyer, DMD. YEAH! I am really looking forward to starting. They have a beautiful new office and I am anxious to get in there.

As for the rest of the family, Kara is doing really well in First grade and we just signed Alyson up to start Kindergarten in the Fall. :-( PLUS, we just got our Family pictures back, so here are a few. We love you & miss you all!

Update Time

So, after 3 weeks with our family, Miley is surviving very well. She went to the Vet this morning and weighs in at a grand 2.8# now. And despite having the beginnings of an ear infection, she is doing very well. Chance is finally starting to get used to her and the girls still don't leave her alone for more than a minute at a time.

Other then that, Kara gets to stay home from school today due to the FRIGID cold. All of the schools in this area are closed today because right now it is 3 feels like -23. She was very excited. So, I think we are going to go to my mom's and visit with my little sister for a bit before she leaves again.

Anyhow, I hope everyone is staying warmer than we are right now.

Miss ya & Love ya!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year Everyone!

We are so blessed to have a happy & healthy family.

And we thank God every day that we are able to be as happy as we are.

Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right. ~Oprah Winfrey

May the Lord bless each and every one of you with friends and family to always surround you and love you no matter what your shortcomings and may you always feel the love that you are surrounded by.

Have a great year!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Meet the newest member of our family.

Her name is Miley Marie Whitley.

She is a Shih-Poo and will be 11 weeks old tomorrow.

Chance is still unsure of her, but He watches everything she does. The girls on the other hand cannot put her down.

They are so in love with her and they were so surprised.

We had a great morning.

We look forward to many years of joy from this little girl.

Hope all of you got everything you wanted this Christmas too. Wishing you all Love & Joy and a great rest of the year.

Love Always, Sean, Missy, Kara & Alyson

Merry Christmas Eve!

Just thought we'd wish you all a Happy Holidays! This is a wish for everyone getting what they wanted for Christmas and sharing great memories with those that they love.

We hope that all of you are surrounded by love this holiday season and everyday throughout the year.

Merry Christmas to all........

and to all a Good Night!

Love you!

10 Days & counting...

We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of my little sister, her husband & my newest little niece, Addison Mary. We are also expecting my youngest brother and his long time girlfriend as soon as his finals are done. When everyone gets here, it will be the first time in a very LONG time that all of my siblings will be together at the same time in one place.

We are being as patient as we can and watching for updates daily.

With my Christmas shopping done, my baking 2/3 done and the presents wrapped, all I can do now is sit back and wait and hope that everyone gets here safely. I hope that all of you are having a great week before Christmas.

Happy Holidays!

Santa Claus is coming to town...

Yesterday when Sean was in town he found the neatest thing and took a picture to show the girls. He told them a great story about how Santa was on his way and sent one of his reindeer to make sure that we were getting ready for him.

Then, when we woke up this morning we saw snow coming down and starting to cover the ground. It is the first real snow of the year. So, Sean told the girls that the reindeer did his job and led Christmas our way. They were so excited. What a great way to start our day today.

We are looking forward to more snow as long as the ice doesn't follow too quickly. I love this time of year.

Ready or not...

So, Thanksgiving dinner was a success. I tried 5 new recipes and ALL of them are keepers. The turkey was awesome, it was moist and flavorful and even Sean, who doesn't like turkey, loved it. The stuffing was fantastic and the green bean casserole was very good. I also tried a pumpkin bread recipe that was very good. Then, to top dinner off, we had to have some sort of pumpkin pie. So, not having any eggs left that weren't hard boiled, I searched for a good recipe. I found No Bake Pumpkin Pie II on Allrecipes. It is a definite keeper. I used a graham cracker crust and put it in an 8" square pan. Perfect! I will be using this one year round I'm sure.

So, anyway, all of my dinner concerns were quickly settled when the turkey fell right off of the bone and everyone said, YUM!

Then Black Friday was here. I got up at 2 and hit Penney's, Wal-Mart, Gordman's, Starbuck's, Menard's, back to Wal-Mart, Michael's, Barnes & Noble, Target & Meijer and was home before 11. I got everything I went out to get plus some extras on the way. It was great fun!

27 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!

Happy Thanksgiving

We want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

And, for those who venture out the day after, a Happy Black Friday!

I am one of 'those' people and I love it. I will be up and at 'em and out the door by 3 a.m.

Good sales start early, ya know.

Anyhow, I am cooking my first whole turkey tomorrow, just for us, and I can't wait.

I found a great recipe and am hoping for the best. I hope that all of you,

cooking or not, have a happy day.

I love this time of year and miss you all even more when the holidays fall upon us.

So, be safe and eat plenty.

God Bless!

We thought we would enter the wonderful world of blogging and try this out. This is our first entry and hopefully I can keep up on it. I will try to post as often as I can. And, hopefully, I will be able to post some of the girls pics too. I look forward to the fun that I will have creating this and the joy I will get reading the comments from all of you.

Love ya!

Sean, Missy, Kara & Alyson

oh! and Chance too!!