The Schoen Family

Ten for the Week

2012-01-30T09:45:00.000-08:00

1. I'm typically at work on a Monday morning however Savannah was sick all weekend long with stomach flu. She is back to her normal self but Frank felt it would be best to keep her home just one more day to make sure she is no longer contagious. She puked on me twice and was running a low grade fever. She missed church yesterday and just spent quality time with mommy. It's no fun having a sick baby at home.

2. I attended a Pampered Chef party on Wednesday night. We purchased a slicer and enjoyed everyone's company there and all the yummy food. We didn't get home until late and I stayed behind to pick up the mess from the kids.

3. On Thursday night Frank had his emergency base shop meeting at his new office. We ordered pizza and Savannah and I got a tour of the new office.

4. Frank's current lease is ending on Jan 31st so he has been busy packing up and will be renting a moving truck tomorrow. We are still waiting to sign a new lease. We are hoping that we can just move in our furniture and than the lease would officially begin on March 1st. As part of the agreement they are doing a buildout to add additional office space. We are going to be getting the first three months free for a 5 year contract. The new office is right off the main tollway and will be in a more central location for everyone to come visit us. We have several people renting office space from us. The business has been booming lately. I'm so proud of Frank and all of his hard work and dedication to the business. It hasn't always been an easy road and continues to be a struggle. We just keep pushing forward and hopefully we will blessed with financial security.

5. Friday night Sarah's boyfriends dad dropped her off at home after his wrestling match. I was fortunate not to have to drive out to her mother's house. It was nice to just come home and get some things done.

6. Saturday morning I woke up and than two hours later Savannah started puking. I thought she was feeling better and ran a few errands with her after her three hour nap in the afternoon. Apparently she was still sick because she threw up the next morning right before church. I was going to keep her home anyways. Frankie gave a talk at church. Our friend Tom Higgins surprised Frank by showing up to church. He is co worker from WFG and sometimes comes to church with us. I'm not sure what his interest level is in the church. He surprised everyone!

7. On Saturday afternoon Frankie managed to jam the value that shuts off the water on the shower. He woke me up out of my sleep to help rescue him. I was worried if I pulled too hard that I would break off the handle. I think I have been watching too many movies...lol! Luckily Frankie's friend Max came over and forced back the handle and shutoff the water. I realized at that moment I better figure out where the shutoff value was on the house in case of an emergency. Last night we had a FHE home improvement addition. We discussed about what to do in case of an emerency and we walked through the house to better educate ourselves. I was surprised that the kids didn't know what to fully do in case of a fire. It was a good reminder for us all and now I know a little bit more myself.

8. Sarah was invited over to Grandma Delores house. Auntie Dawn picked her up and they made a pasta dish, canoli cake and one other type of cake. Frank started a diet and already lost 5 pounds. He re-lapsed this weekend. Apparently the cakes were too much of a temptation for him. Sarah has been wanting to learn how to cook some Italian foods and really enjoyed spending time with her family.

9. We are looking forward to filing our income taxes soon.

10. I'm excited only two more months of yucky winter!!!

Chuck E Cheese

2012-01-21T21:59:00.000-08:00

Savannah loved riding the horse

Savannah could barely reach the pedal

Look who's in the drivers seat

Savannah loved getting all the tickets and prizes at the end

Play Doh Time

2012-01-19T19:48:00.000-08:00

Party Time

2012-01-15T20:53:00.000-08:00

Today we left church early so that we could celebrate Sarah's birthday. Sheila cooked a nice dinner with Auntie Christine and family, Grandpa Louie and Auntie Dawn and Sheila's family. We celebrated a total of three January birthdays in the family. The men watched football and the kids played upstairs. This monkey hat was one of the gifts that Sarah received from Sheila.

Happy 17th Birthday

2012-01-14T13:30:00.000-08:00

Sarah turned 17 years old this week. She had the best day EVER at school with her friends. She received lots of presents from her school friends, was attacked by silly string in the hallway, and received balloons from her mother and Auntie Dawn at school. Her chemistry teacher light a table on fire for her birthday (I know this sounds strange she was thrilled). Her mother cooked her a nice dinner and invited her sister Sabrina over to celebrate her birthday. She went to the movies to see Sherlock Holmes and had fun playing around in the snow and spending time with her boyfriend Tony.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow

2012-01-12T19:28:00.000-08:00

Yummy hot soup!

Today we received the first snow storm of the year. We have been having a snow drought this winter and very warm temperatures for the month of January. Savannah was trilled to see the snow finally return and couldn't wait to get out there and play in it.

Baking Time

2012-01-08T19:08:00.000-08:00

Savannah loves helping in the kitchen. She is helping dad with a no bake chocolate cheese cake.

Just Because

2012-01-08T17:33:00.000-08:00

Hanging out with my Daddy

Savannah trying to lick Daddy's face

I love my new pj's

Just being silly

Ten for the Week

2012-01-07T18:00:00.001-08:00

1. Frank has been coughing off and on for months and the doctors kept misdiagnoising him. They kept telling him it was just his asthma and prescribed him some Symbicort. The medicine really wasn't helping him. One day this week he starting coughing up lung tissue. Frank saved a sample for the doctor and than he scheduled an appointment. The doctor immediately ordered up a CT scan and the results came back as whooping cough. He has been on antibiotics all week and should no longer be contagious. Luckily we have all been vaccinated in our household. Frank has already started to feel better. It will take about three weeks to completely go away.

2. Sarah is turning 17 years old this week. We are looking forward to celebrating her birthday next weekend.

3. Frankie headed over to his mom's house this weekend.

4. Frankie started church basketball this week. He has invited his friend Max to play with him on the team. They won their first basketball game today.

5. I finally took down all the Christmas lights outside.

6. I worked some overtime hours today. Afterwards I spent some time visiting with my friend Wendy.

7. My old babysitter Mary watched Savannah for me one day this week. Afterwards she took us out to McDonald's to visit and allow Savannah time to play. She had a blast playing in the play area. She even made several friends while she was there. It was very cute this little 5 yr old boy was watching after her and even called her his "little baby". I thought I was never going to leave that night. After 2 hours she was ready to go home.

8. Frank is having a guys night tonight and invited a couple of friends over to play Axis & Allies.

9. The weather has been really nice outside lately. We enjoyed 55 degree weather yesterday. We are experincing tempetures about 10 degrees higher than normal. We are currenlty having a snow drought in Chicago. We have had more rainy days than snow this year. It's a nice break after last years "Blizzard of 2011".

10. I received my new VT route this week. They gave me the sister who is currently living in our old house. I'm not sure how I feel about going back to my old house to visit her. I still have mixed emotions about this. They did this to me once before and I complained to the VT coordinator and they switched my previous route. Maybe I should pray about it! I received my new Primary class on Sunday. I love teaching the 5 yr old girls.

Happy New Years 2012

2011-12-31T22:15:00.001-08:00

Christmas 2011

2011-12-25T18:06:00.000-08:00

Final Product

Come on mom let's open up some presents..Savannah made out like a bandit this year

What is this a PS3?

Pure Excitement

I received all the gifts I asked for this year

Crazy for Muppets

Mommy's New Necklace

All the cousins coloring ornaments

Savannah was so excited to see Santa she ran over to him first

Savannah kept asking Santa for some presents. Unfortunately she was second to last to receive her gifts from Santa.

Singing Christmas songs and ringing Santa's jingle bells

Your never too old to sit on Santa's lap...lol

Finally it's MY turn to sit on Santa's lap. She was a little shy at first but than started talking to Santa and even sat on his lap willingfully

Savannah loved her Dora bath toy

All the cousins together

Family Photo

Christmas Lights

2011-12-23T21:39:00.000-08:00

I talked all day about going to see the Christmas lights with Savannah. Needless to say about 20 minutes into the car ride Savannah threw up. We had just picked up Jenny's friend Marlene to come along with us. Savannah was fine all day with no signs of being sick. We think she may have the stomach flu and is running a low grade fever. We had to go all the way back home where Frank took her inside and cleaned her up. She went back to playing like her normal self. Frank thought it would be better to keep her at home. The girls continued to head down towards Rosemont and saw all the lights. The temperatures dropped down this afternoon and was only about 25 degrees outside. It was a bit chilly but we ventured outside and looked at all the decorated houses, huge Christmas tree, petting zoo, and Jenny sat on Santa's lap for a photo. We drove around the neighborhood and saw all the Christmas lights that were decked out in this part of town.

Christmas Cookies

2011-12-22T16:39:00.000-08:00

This year we invited Auntie Jenny and her friend Marlene over to bake holiday treats with us. We made candy cane cookies, sugar cookies, pretzel rods and sour cream twists. We had a great time baking together and the clean up was easy too with everyones help. Savannah loved decorating the sugar cookies with Jenny. She helped spread on the frosting and poured on the Christmas sprinkles.

Look who came to visit

2011-12-18T17:51:00.000-08:00

Savannah warmed up to Auntie Jenny shortly after she arrived in Chicago. I was going to take Savannah to the airport but she wasn't up from her nap yet. She has absolutely fallen in love with her Aunt Jenny and wants to spend all of her time with her. It's nice to have a little break for once. I love seeing them play together...I miss not being close to my family!!!

Songs of the Heart

2011-12-15T20:13:00.001-08:00

One of Savannah's favorite bedtime songs that I sing to her is I am a Child of God. She is always willing to lye down for me at bedtime just so I can sing to her. She loves listening to me sing. To my surprise tonight she started singing along with me and she didn't even really know all the words. Apparently she has been paying attention to the words of the song. She did her very best to keep up with me. It was a very special moment that melted my heart. I loved every minute of it! I hope she grows up loving to sing just like her mommy and daddy. A couple of weeks ago Frank made a comment during church that he loved the Christmas song that we were singing in sacrament. Savannah quickly replied that she also loved the same song. Funny - especially since she hasn't heard the song since she was a baby. We started to sing the hymn when Savannah grabbed the Spanish hymnal and was holding it upside down and singing as loud as she could and wasn't making any sense of course - just a bunch of babble. I swear she was the loudest one singing amongst the whole congregration. She sang along to the entire song all four verses. I couldn't help but get a little choked up myself while I singing. What a very sweet and memorable moment!!!

I Love my Grandpa

2011-12-14T17:43:00.000-08:00

Savannah loves spending time with Grandpa Schoen.

They were decorating picture frames for the holiday season.

Ten for the Week

2011-12-03T20:47:00.000-08:00

1. Frankie had the week off for Thanksgiving break. Frank's father is back in the dating field and met a wonderful woman named Sheila. We had been invited over to her home for Thanksgiving dinner. It was a great holiday!

2. Thanksgiving evening Sarah and I went Black Friday shopping with our family members. We survived the madhouse at Walmart and I'm looking forward to doing it again next year. I know I must be nuts to venture out again. I hated the crowds but love all those bargains.

3. The very next day I was feeling the holiday spirit and was looking forward to setting up for Christmas. I was thrilled to set up my new house. Savannah really enjoyed helping get out all the decorations and playing with all the ornaments. She couldn't keep her hands off of the Christmas tree. I haven't taken time out to purchase the stuff to put up a real Christmas tree and due to lack of space I decided to put up my 4ft Christmas tree. It may be small but I'm happy how it turned out.

4. Savannah and I decorated the front porch with Christmas lights. I love the fact that I have several bushes and a

tree to decorate in the front yard and the two porches. I have the best yard to decorate!!!

5. I learned this week that I won the contest amongst all the early collectors at work. This is my third consecutive month in a row. I have won a total of four times. I'm pretty proud of myself since I never win at anything normally. My hard work has been paying off and I have only improved at my job over the past 7 years.

6. Sarah joined us again this week for a weekend visit and her boyfriend Tony and his mother came over and they went to the mall for a couple of hours. It was nice to finally had a chance to meet her boyfriend. They orginally had plans to go down to Chicago for the day. Unforunately plans fell thru and it rained all day. I guess it worked out for the best.

7. Tonight Cody found a mouse and was holding it in his mouth. I saw him in the living room and freaked out of course. We tried to capture the mouse and was unsuccessful. Now I'm walking around on pins and needles. Unforunately the mouse got away and hide underneath the stove. Poor Savannah was afraid to go to sleep in her crib upstairs. I told her not to be scared of the mouse. I probably shouldn't have told her not to pick up the mouse otherwise it would bite her and give her rabies. lol!

8. Frank just told me last night that we have a squirrel living up in our attic. Great!!! My house must be a refuge for rodents during the winter months.

9. Frank was asked to give a baby blessing for my best friends baby. Her husband isn't a member of the church. We are looking forward to seeing everyone in attendance. I will have to leave my Primary class for a few minutes to attend the blessing.

10. We are looking forward to Auntie Jenny's arrival for Christmas break.

My Little Angel

2011-12-03T11:27:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving Day

2011-11-26T08:02:00.000-08:00

This year the entire Schoen family was invited over to Frank's dads new girlfriends house for Thanksgiving dinner. We came along with his brother Brian and sister Denice and family. Savannah and I made deviled eggs for an appetizer and we were supposed to be there around 3pm. It was a little struggle to get everyone out the door on time and I thought Frank took off without me. We were supposed to be carpooling together. Luckily Sarah had a friend sleep over Wednesday night. She was knows this woman because her uncle was married to her. She was able to give me directions to her house. We had a very nice dinner together and she made plenty of food. The men played pool downstairs and the woman just visited. Savannah was the hit of the party again and was getting all the older kids excited and running around the house. I decided to drive Sarah over to Auntie Dawn's house for a sleepover and Black Friday shopping. I took Savannah home with me and decided to venture back out. I mostly just went for the experience.
When we arrived at Walmart the parking lot was completely full of cars. The sales didn't start until 10pm so we just browsed the store. It was a mad house in there. You couldn't walk down the aisles without hitting into someone or their shopping carts. All associates were on duty that night. They had stock piles of merchandise and Walmart associates guarding the stuff and would yell at you if you even thought about touching the stuff that was off limits. Sarah came along this year. We headed over to the toy section and as soon as the clock turned ten o'clock things were flying off the shelves. We had walked past the Garden center where the video games and DVD's were in abundance. The room was filled to capacity and police were on patrol. You had to leave you carts off to the side. I did manage to get three movies for $2 a piece. I accidently hit someone's else cart who had her 2 yr old son in the cart and she gave me the most evil look ever. It was just a mistake...Geesh!!! I thought it was disgusting how people brought their young children with and they were all tired and crying and parents were trying to put them to sleep in shopping carts and had treats on hand. Dawn really wanted the electronics to go on sale around midnight. We waited for the TV's to go on sale. I was exhaused after 2 hours and couldn't go on. I went home early and the girls continued to shop all night long. That was quite the experience!

Fall Leaves

2011-11-19T23:18:00.000-08:00

The family got down to business and went outside to rake the yard today. It took about 3 hours and isn't perfect but good enough. Savannah and I went out in the morning to rake some leaves. After I was too tired to go on I made the teenagers come out and do the rest. I never imagined that we would have as many leaves as we did. It was a huge project! The joys of begin a home owner I guess. It was cloudy and windy which didn't help the cause. I knew that we had to get it done this weekend before the snow comes. I decided to place the leaves inside the garden to keep them contained. We will get around to burning them tomorrow when we have permission from the city to do so. I know it's the Sabbath but we can't burn leaves except for Wednesday and Sundays. The kids had a great time playing in the leaves. Savannah was up to her neck in leaves and was pretty entertained the whole time. Frankie managed to lose my I pod by jumping into the leaves. After about 20 minutes of searching he finally found it. That pretty much killed the fun after that point. Here a few pictures of the day.

Eleven on Sunday

2011-11-06T06:23:00.000-08:00

1. Last week on Sunday I was able to attend Relief Society since I only had one student in Primary. I was able to get away for third hour. It is always nice to be feed by the spirit and actual participate in an adult dialogue. I have been in the Primary for the past 6 years.

2. This year trick of treating was amazing with Savannah. I took a 1/2 day off from work. The babysitters family taught her how to say trick of treat and Savannah said it the entire car ride home and was so adorable doing it all by herself. We stopped off at the local Walgreen's to pick up some Halloween candy on the way home. While I was at the checkout line she walked over to the M&M display and picked up a package of candy and placed it in her Halloween bucket and came back over and said "Look mommy". I had to quickly turn around and put the candy back and apologize to the store clerk for her behavior. She didn't know any better and I had to give her "THE" talk about stealing as we walked out of the store.

3. We arrived home and Frank dressed up Savannah in her costume and we went around the neighborhood for about an hour and than came back home. Trick of Treating wasn't too successful. I had received an invite to go back over to the baysitters house to go with them so Frank stayed behind to hand out candy and we went to a much better neighborhood.

4. I was so excited about Halloween I forgot to feed Savannah any dinner and she ended up eating a popcorn ball and banana while we were outside. We picked up a few neighborhood friends and walked around a couple of blocks. I pushed Savannah around in the stroller because of all the walking. She was so cute she kept saying Trick of Treat to get the people to come to the door. She really had a great time doing it and caught on real fast. Thank you Auntie Lara for making the Ghost costume!

5. Frankie dressed up as a bunny this year (don't ask) and went to a few houses. His was mostly hanging out with friends the whole night. He managed to lose his candy by the end of the night.

6. Sarah came over this weekend and we picked her up late from the HS. She went to the Chicago Art Institute and came home around 5pm and them had a drama practice.

7. Frank had a friends and family potluck lunch on Saturday. We all didn't have a large turn out so we ended up not singing karoke. Just visited and played some video games.

8. I had an opportunity to go scrapbooking with work afterwards for a few hours. We used the lunchroom at work and had leftovers from Fridays catered lunch. I was rushing through and finished 12 pages. I just need to add my pages into a new album.

9. I came home to the cops parked right outside my house. It turns out that Sarah butt dialed 911 while she was rollerblading outside. She actually dialed 0 + 8 and that sent a signal to the authorities. It tracked the signal to a cellphone right in front of our house and stopped by to verify whether of not she did in fact call the police. All they police heard was heavy breathing in the phone and thought someone was in danger. I saw them interviewing my neighbor. I hope they don't think we are a trouble making family.

10. It's official I won the contest we were having at work last month. It was a very close race and I barely won against my competitor. I going to try to win again this month since the metric those chose this month is one of my strengths at work.

11. I will be switching babysitters real soon since my current babysitter may be taking a full time position at her second job. I will have my friend start watching her for me during the week. I will be sad to see her go!

Trick or Treating

2011-10-31T18:41:00.000-07:00

This year Frank really wanted to go trick or treating in the neighborhood. He wanted to meet some new people and hand out candy. We live in what is called "old town" and apparently there wasn't very much participation from our neighbors. Savannah was the youngest trick or treater in the neighborhood. There was just a small handful of kids out in the area. We only found about 7 houses that were handing out candy at the time that we ventured out. It was quite a disappointment for me. I didn't have very high expectations for this old town.

I had also received an invite to go trick or treating in my babysitters neighborhood. That was a much better turn out and I really enjoyed our time there. It was cold but it wasn't too bad after we started walking around. Savannah was really excited this year! She refused to wear the costume at first but we convinced her to put it on so she could go around and get candy. Earlier in the day I stopped by Walgreen's to pick up some candy and Savannah pick up a package of M&M's and proceeded to walk out of the store. I had to teach her what stealing was and we took the candy back. Savannah's friend Dominick was Gene Simmons from KISS and she dressed up as a ghost this year. She was so cute walking around saying trick or treat all night long. Instead of knocking on the door she would yell out trick or treat to get people to come to the door. I ended up having to ring the doorbell or knock on the door. She made out like a bandit and was a real trooper seeing how she didn't eat dinner until later on in that evening. She snacked on some candy and a popcorn ball.

Terrible Two's

2011-10-30T19:06:00.000-07:00

One Stubborn Little Girl refusing to eat her dinner

Ten on Sunday

2011-10-30T17:27:00.000-07:00

1. On Saturday we stopped by Goebbert's Pumpkin Farm. Savannah wasn't cooperating with us and didn't want to take any cute pictures (go figure). She wanted to keep moving all the small pumpkins over by the large pumpkins and was pretty entertained by this.

2. Frank came home early to work on our pool. We have all the dirty water drained out of the pool and all the leaves raked up. We took the wet vac and cleaned up any remaining dirt off the bottom of the floor. We still need to clean out the inside of the pool with a scrub brush and with Tide detergent. We will attempt to put clorine water & a filter in the pool next year so we can start using the pool.

3. A couple of weeks ago I took Savannah to Randy's pumpkin farm and we just walked around. Savannah was not staying still long enough to get any good pictures.

4. We also took a trip to the Little Red Barn as a family. We arrive late and only stayed for a few minutes. Savannah chickened out and I ended up getting my face painted. We visited a petting zoo and walked though a corn maze. We ended up buying both an apple and pumpkin pie. We stopped by the grocery store and bought some ice cream and whip cream to top off our desserts.

5. On Friday we celebrated Halloween at the office. We had a costume contest and decorated our supervisors cubicle. We had hotdogs, chips and pop and also desserts for lunch. It was a fun day!

6. My friend Wendy gave birth to a baby boy on Monday evening. He is a healthy baby and mommy is doing well. She is making the adjustment to having a newborn baby. We went over to the house on Wednesday to visit.

7. Frank was unable to take Savannah to the annual trunk or treat this year at church. He had to attend a meeting for work. I had to work and wasn't able to take her :(

8. We carved pumpkins last week wih the babysitter and her family. I discovered Savannah loves playing in piles of leaves.

9. Frankie went out with some friends Friday night. He went to see the movie "Footloose" and than his mother picked him up for her weekend.

10. Tomorrow I am only working half day and will be taking Savannah trick or treating in the neighborhood. Frankie is going out with his friend to a different neighborhood to get candy. Frank is planning on handing out candy and may even join us for some trick of treating. Savannah is going to be a ghost this year. I wanted to wish mom a Happy Birthday and Happy Halloween to everyone!!!

Goebbert's Pumpkin

2011-10-29T16:39:00.000-07:00

Halloween is one of my most favorite times of the year. I know this is overkill by this point but I had some extra time today and wanted to stop by my favorite pumpkin patch. Savannah was being another stinker today so I didn't get many good pictures. Can't wait to go trick or treating on Monday with Savannah and than I will be done this this holiday.

Pumpkin Carving

2011-10-23T17:14:00.001-07:00

Who's ready to get this party started

Savannah and her friend Dominick

Deep Concentration

Let the carving begin

Amy's Pumpkin

Finished Product

Frank's Pumpkin

Sarah's Pumpkin Says (Spooky)

Savannah's babysitter Mary invited us all over for a Halloween Party. She had invited several of her neighborhood friends over for pumpkin carving. This year I ended up buying some ugly pumpkins. Frankie chose not to participate in pumpkin carving. I guess he has outgrown having fun with the family. We had fun watching all the kids jump around in the leaves. We played a couple of group games and ate yummy food and enjoyed each others company.

The Little Red Barn

2011-10-22T19:47:00.000-07:00

Brotherly Love???

Savannah had fun riding around in the little red wagon

Savannah chickened out of face painting and mom stepped in since we had already purchased the ticket

The whole gang

Savannah's first corn maze experience. She continues to be one difficult toddler!!!

Amy with the horse made out of corn huskes

Sarah, Savannah, and Daddy

Frank and Sarah watching the ducks and geese

One Happy Family

Tea Time with Mommy

Silly Teenager

This is how our day ended...Savannah hanging upside down refusing to comply

Randy's Pumpkin Farm

2011-10-22T13:58:00.000-07:00

This year we visited Randy's Pumpkin Farm. Savannah was being difficult all day long. We did manage to stop by just for a few minutes and I was able to get some cute pictures. It was really warm outside today and we didn't even need to wear jackets. This is my kind of weather around this time of the year.

Ten on Sunday

2011-10-16T16:19:00.000-07:00

1. Frankie was finally able to play in his first football game of the season this past Friday. He was on academic probation from last year and missed the first eight games on the season. He continued to be on the football team and went to practices every day and attended all the games. He took his studies much more seriously this year and is getting all A's & B's again and was able to play sports. He was the alternate starter for the defense side (line blocker???). He will play his final game next week. The team has won every game except one this year. If they win next week they will be conference champions. Go Whippurs!!!

2. Last week I was given a talk assignment on the 11th Article fo Faith. I was at a loss for words and needed help from my husband. I took the majority of my talk out of the Article of Faith book. My husband gave me negative feeback on the talk and assisted me by making some changes. Little did I know until this morning he took out 1/2 of my talk.

3. I saved his version over mine and realized later that he took out a big portion of my talk. Needless to say I wasn't very too happy and ended up having to re-write my talk and just barely getting out the door on time. I was typing as fast as possible and than had to proof read my talk. I ran and got dressed and than had to fight with Savannah to get her dressed and feed before church. I ran out the door with no shoes or coat for Savannah. I simply couldn't be late and I had no one to help me.

4. I arrived at church 10 minutes early which was miracle and my best friend showed up at the church to watch Savannah for me while I sat up on the stand. I wasn't too nervous and gave my talk even though my husband didn't support my decision to give the talk that I wrote. About 1/2 way through my talk I see Savannah running down the aisle towards me and my friend Rob jumped up and chased her down and took her out of the sacrament room for the remainder of the hour. I thought it went well and now I can relax for at least another year.

5. I had to finish preparing the rest of my Primary lesson which I didn't have time to get to. I arrived to Primary late and found out that my team teacher was absent today. I had to try to keep my seven 6 yr old boys in line which never really works for me. The Primary president came over to me and told me that she called a new couple to teach CTR 4/5 boys and I will be getting a new class next week. She re-assigned me to the CTR 6 girls and one boy class. Hooray!!!
I asked for additonal help today and the sister they gave me was awesome. She put one of the boys on her lap and even took two of the children out to theirs mother's however she ended up coming back with both boys. Their behavior seemed better after her little talk with them. The kids all have ADD and have very little attention spans.

6. Frankie went over to his mother's house this weekend. I had the weekend with just me and Savannah. Frank went on a business trip to Atlanta to the Legacy Stables. A few people on his team won a trip down there and they visited the home office and enjoyed a BBQ, canoeing, fishing, horseback riding and bonfires. He is on his way home right now.

7. My friend Wendy came over on Saturday morning to babysit Savannah so that I could go to work. It was a really good weekend since most people were calling in to make their payments. I am still leading the pack on a contest we are having at work on whoever can collect the most outbound payments. I have won the prize twice in the past couple of months and looking to win again this month. Each month the competition changes to a different metrix.

8. On Saturday afternoon Savannah and I headed to McHenry for a family picnic. It was cold and very windy and wasn't too pleasant. It was good to see everyone again and I tried to get some pictures of the family. We didn't stay too long and celebrated a couple of birthdays.

9. I raked up a bunch of our leaves and than burned them in our firepit.

10. We are looking forward to picking up pumpkins this week and attending a Halloween party. We are heading over to a pumpkin farm on Saturday.

Day at the Park

2011-10-15T13:41:00.000-07:00

Josh & Savannah

Auntie Christine & Buddy

Savannah

Breanna, Sabrina & Buddy

Sarah & Josh

Auntie Christine & Savannah

Elena & Breanna

Ricardo Jr aka Buddy

Elena & Breanna

Sarah

Josh, Savannah & Breanna

Auntie Denise & Savannah

Today we celebrated two birthdays one for Josh who turned 13 years old and Auntie Denise.

It was very cold and windy outside today but we all enjoyed a day at Shamrock Farm Park. Grandma Delores baked a banana cake and everyone was supposed to bring their own picnic lunch. I don't think anyone ate at the park but I did manage to pick up a happy meal for Savannah. I was running late because I had to work this morning but made in enough time to see everyone and let Savannah play around in the park. Her favorite thing to do was to swing in the swings. The family recently had a tree planted in memory of Sharon Schoen. She past away this year in May. We will miss her very very much!!!

Halloween Costume

2011-10-03T20:42:00.000-07:00

Savannah loved the outfit but refused to wear the tutu around the house. She wasn't cooperating very much tonight. Sorry I didn't get too many good pictures. Hopefully she will come around and want to wear the tutu before Halloween arrives. I personally love the costume and am very grateful for all the love you put into making this costume for Savannah. We love you Auntie Lara!!!

Ten on Sunday

2011-10-02T07:50:00.000-07:00

1. This was our big project this weekend painting the master bedrooms 1/2 bathroom. I taped off the bathroom and Frank and I painted it together. It's a small room but took more time than I would have expected. After it was all said and done I went around and did some more touch up paint and put the bathroom back together. The color matches the bedroom and looks a lot nicer than the dirty old white walls that were there before. The previous owner must of not liked color because the whole house was painted white and a light yellow color upstairs.

2. Frank also took down the basketball hoop on the garage. It was destroyed by Frankie and previous owners. It was old and rusty and just a plain old eye sore to look at. We are eventually going to purchase a new one and put it back up in the near future. Besides the holes on the garage siding it looks much better!

3. This weekend was homecoming for Frankie. Sarah attended her homecoming two weeks ago and went with a date. She seemed to have lots of fun with of all her friends. She even purchased a new dress for the occasion. Frankie's original date fell through and ended up asking a girl on Friday during school to go to Homecoming. I know this was very last minute but she said yes anyways. Frankie and his friend Max spent most of the day being excited and getting ready for the dance. He came back home after I was already in bed so I haven't heard how it went. He went over to a friends house afterwards for a late night dinner.

4. Frankie's football team played Friday night and they won the game against Conant. The varsity team won also which was surprising since they don't have a great record. It was two very close games with exciting endings. Go Whippurs!!!

5. On Saturday I had to work overtime and my friend Wendy came over to watch Savannah for me. My friend had a birthday party to attend for Rob's one yr old cousin so Wendy took my daughter with her. Savannah was gone for the most day which was nice I was able to get the painting done and finished doing some house cleaning. She came home all excited with party balloons and a goodie bag full of candy.

6. Autumn has finally arrived and the cooler tempertures are here and the leaves are beginning to change colors. I'm looking forward to picking apples, pumpkin carving and haunted houses and walking through a haunted corn mase. Aunt Lara made Savannah a Halloween costume this year and I can't wait to see what it looks like.

7. Frankie has mono, Frank is suffering from allergies and asthma, Savannah came down sick with a cold. I am trying to fight off getting sick. I have managed to stay healthy so far although my allergies are bad around this time of year.

8. On Friday I took a half day from work and went on a follow up appointment with my oncologist. He said I looked great and told me to come back and visit him in 6 months. I will have another mammo in 6 mos at the hospital. It is coming up on 2 1/2 years cancer free...YEAH!

9. I arrived at my doctor's appointment an hour early and just happened to run into a close friend near the doctor's office. We decided to meet up at Panda Express for lunch. It was nice to get a chance to visit and get away from my chaotic life.

10. Watching General Conference today. We are staying home to watch conference and Frank is cooking a nice breakfast for us all to enjoy.

Gift from Africa

2011-09-26T07:32:00.000-07:00

Mom and Dad sent this hat straight from Africa. Savannah was modeling the hat around the house.

Miss Smartie Pants

2011-09-18T18:54:00.000-07:00

Savannah just loves playing with mommies cellphone. She really enjoys playing educational games and kid music videos. Her newest love is forming letters from the alphabet by moving shapes over to form the designated letter. I guess it is like putting a puzzle together. She is very proud of herself in these pictures! She almost knows the entire alphabet, can count to ten, shapes and colors. She really enjoys being read stories.

We love you girl!

This is the Life

2011-09-18T17:45:00.000-07:00

This is the life relaxing on the recliner chair, eating a bag of Doritos and watching Monsters vs Aliens.

Doesn't get much better than this on a Sunday evening.

Ten on Wednesday

2011-09-07T16:26:00.000-07:00

1. Frank was released from Primary after only a month and is going into the YM presidency as a second counselor. I'm happy for him but am worried about being left all alone with 6 six year old boys for Sunday School. I hope they call someone in to help me out with this class of very active boys.

2. Last Saturday we held our first team BBQ at our house. The whole event was a huge success and everyone had a great time. We had about 30-35 people over and everyone brought a dish to pass. We played Bocce ball after we ate lunch.

3. Savannah and I went to Septemberfest in Schaumburg. We attended the annual parade and saw some old friends and than went to the carnival. Savannah was tired and fell asleep in the stroller so we headed back home early.

4. Frankie is on the JV football team and Frank went to watch his practice in the afternoon. He had a smaller BBQ that evening with a neighborhood friend.

5. I was finally able to Skype with my parents on Sunday. I haven't been able to talk with him for a month because they ran out of internet minutes.

6. I took the day off today to go to the hospital for my semi annual mammogram. The results came back with a clean bill of health. I can relax again until the next years screening in March.

7. I left Savannah at the babysitters in the afternoon so that I could get some errands done which is always a treat to do alone.

8. The kids are both looking forward to attending Homecoming this year.

9. Frank and I recently had to purchase a new lawnmower since Frank failed to check the oil in the last one and it didn't last very long :(

10. The weather has started to cool off and Fall is near approaching. I'm sad to lose the warm sunny weather.

I Love my Daddy

2011-09-06T20:49:00.001-07:00

Labor Day Parade

2011-09-06T20:37:00.000-07:00

Savannah watching the parade

She loves pushing around her stroller

Savannah was scared of the loud sirens

Can't get enough of my candy

Savannah getting in on the action

Favorite Pastimes

2011-09-04T21:39:00.000-07:00

Everyone loves a good Dr Seuss book

Savannah loves looking through picture books and having mommy read her stories

Blowing Bubbles

Look at Me

2011-09-04T21:35:00.000-07:00

Coloring Time

2011-08-18T16:52:00.001-07:00

Ten for Tuesday

2011-08-09T19:10:00.000-07:00

1. Frank and I just returned home from Las Vegas. He had a WFG convention and wanted to attend the event with me. Vegas was great I loved the sun and hot weather. I laid out by the poolside everyday without any kids. It was pure enjoyment and very relaxing. Frank attended the conference and enjoyed himself. I attended bits and pieces of the conference. This event was sold out and there were 40k people in attendance.

2. We were without a car in Vegas so we were at the mercy of other people to drive us around. We did get out of the casino for a little bit and went to the Freemont light show and ate dinner. We walked through a few casinos and watch the water show at night. We stayed in the MGM hotel. I didn't care for all the walking, casino atmosphere, smoking...etc

3. Frank did an awesome job this year and came away with 5 awards. This is the most I have ever seen him get all at the same event. Frank is opening up his 7th office in the last 1 1/2 years. He is starting to make a better money and will have a great year financially.

4. The kids stayed behind at my best friends house. Her husband is currently unemployed and was able to oversee things at the house. Sarah watched Savannah for me during the day. The older kids left on Friday night to go over to their mother's house.

5. Sarah made the decision to go back to live with her mother. She is starting the eleventh grade and wanted to mostly go back to be with her friends. Her mother's husband is looking for a job and could possibly be moving out of state in the future. Sarah would move in with us if this was the case. The future is still undetermined.

6. Frank went today to register Frankie for the tenth grade. He will be starting over this year at his new high school. This is the same school that I graduated from many many years ago. Apparently they built a new school 3-4 years ago and from what I hear it is really nice inside and has three stories and a football field. He wants to go out for sports and will be starting driver's ed this year. We may look into private lessons if the costs are too high at the high school.

7. The Village of Gilberts gave us a citation for the dirty pool in our backyard. I'm very annoyed because the previous owner left this mess for us to clean up. We have until August 12th to get it all cleaned up. Frank is jumping in literally and trying to scoop out all the leaves and sewage inside the pool. I hope we can get an extension seeing how we were out of town for a week. I can't imagine how much it would cost to have a professional come in to do the work. I'm sure it is not in our budget to afford.

8. On Sunday Frank and Frankie attended an ice cream social for seminary students. Frankie is not looking to school or seminary. This is not a surprise! Seminary starts at 5:30am which is thirty minutes sooner than last year. The good thing is seminary will be held at a members house which lives 5 minutes away and we are going arrange for him to leave from the teacher's house and catch the school bus.

9. We are mostly unpacked and continue to make little improvements on the house.

10. Frank was involved in a small fender bender with his new car. He thought the guy in front of him turned right on a red light and Frank rear ended him because he wasn't paying close attention. We have to get the insurance company involved to cover the damages to the gentleman's car. Frank had some front end damage and it wasn't bad enough to file a claim. He fixed it to the best of his ability. Maybe we can replace it somewhere down the line.

Las Vegas Baby

2011-08-07T15:28:00.000-07:00

Living Quaters

WFG Convention

World's Largest Chocolate Fountain

Bellagio Hotel

My husband

Artwork made out of real flowers

Ceasar's Palace

Freemont Lightshow

Temptation

MGM Hotel

Wisconsin Dells

2011-07-31T07:11:00.000-07:00

Lara and her family came up for the week to see the new house. They took off during the middle of the week to go up to the Dells. It rained the first two days that they were there and they spent most of the day swimming at the indoor water park. They camped out in the trailor at the Chula Vista resort and Frankie and Sarah camped out in a tent. They went shopping, visited a waterpark, swimming in a lake and rented a boat with an inner tube on the back. Logan went down the 50 ft drop slide a couple of times. This kid really has no fear. Logan lost a tooth #3 on this trip also. Everyone had a great time!

Ten for the Week

2011-07-27T18:05:00.000-07:00

It feels like a decade since I wrote one of these Ten for Tuesdays...not from a lack of things to say just the opposite I'm afraid. My life has been crazy busy lately and I will try to catch you up on our lives.

1. So we finally purchased our new home in Gilberts and clean up the condo in Schaumburg and moved out about a month ago. We rented the largest truck available from Uhaul and we barely fit everything in. I was amazed at how much furniture and possessions we really own. Needless to say we had enough to fill up a house.

2. Frank did most of the work on the house and unpacking, etc...It is still a work in progress but is starting to feel more like home.

3. Lara and her family drove up from Arkansas last Friday. The teenagers left for the weekend to their mother's house. We have been busy all week going to a Wild Western town and Discovery park for the kids. The kids had a great time doing all the cowboy activites and panning for gold nuggets. We attended a shoot out show and Savannah started crying as soon as the cowboys started shooting off there guns. We had to leave the show early. We went on pony rides, went to a petting zoo, and the kids went around and around on a water ride.

4. On Monday Lara took her kids and Savannah to a Railroad Museum in Union, IL. Yesterday they went to the Brookfield Zoo and spent the entire day there. Sarah and Frankie stayed behind because they didn't want to go to the zoo again this year.

5. Lara took the entire family including Frankie and Sarah up to Wisconsin Dells which is just North of us. It's about a 2 1/2 hour drive and will be camping for the next three days. They are planning on attending a water park everyday and will be going around to see the sights.

6. I kept Savannah & Frank here with me and will be enjoying some much needed piece and quiet. I should have taken some time off from work but needless to say I'm not. I don't want to use up all my vacation time.

7. Frank and I are planning on taking a business trip to Las Vegas from August 2-5th. I will be leaving the kids with my best friend Wendy.

8. I am looking forward to the kids returning back to school on August 15th. Frankie is looking forward to attending a new High School and is hoping to still be able to play football this year. He may also be planning on trying out for basketball. He will be in 10th grade. He will start driver's ed this year...I'm not ready for two new drivers in the household.

9. I recently received a raise at work which was a very nice surprise. Frank continues to work hard on his business and his team continues to grow.

10. I'm looking forward to my life slowing down since we are all moved in. I have been going a 100 mph for the last few months. It's time to pump the brakes!

Donley's Wild Wild West

2011-07-23T20:56:00.001-07:00

Playing House

2011-07-15T16:53:00.000-07:00

Savannah was given a play kitchen around Christmas time and it has been sitting in storage for the past 6 months . We finally took it out and set it up for her to play with. She is in love with her new kitchen set. I have to go and get her pretend food and other cooking utensils down from her bedroom.

New House

2011-06-30T19:32:00.000-07:00

Front View

Our House

Garage

Amy and Savannah

Front Porch

Back Porch

Backyard

Kitchen

Living Room

Master Bedroom

Main Bathroom

Living Room

Loft Area

Frankie's room

The girls room

This Old House

2011-06-26T15:09:00.000-07:00

The Schoen Family is moving and it is official. After 8 long hard months of getting a short sale approved TWICE we are finally closing on our new house on Monday June 27th. This is my first home ever and our first home together as a married couple. We are moving back to Gilberts and will be back in the Elgin 3rd ward. The move in date will be on Friday July 1st. I am busy packing and will have tomorrow off to do any last minute items. Frank and his crew will be loading up the truck and transitioning all our stuff over to the new house. I will truly miss this little condo and neighborhood. Goodbye to all our Schaumburg friends!!!

Frank's New Ride

2011-06-26T15:02:00.000-07:00

I realize this post is long overdue but over a month ago he purchased a 2008 Pontiac G6. We had to say goodbye to our 1999 Pontiac Grand Am.

Bragging Moment

2011-06-08T17:44:00.000-07:00

Weird Face I Know

I can't help but to brag about how awesome my daughter truly is. Savannah has been potty training for a month now and is already telling me when she has to go to potty and will go into the bathroom and undress herself. She will pull up her stool step and put the toilet seat on the toliet all by herself. She has already gone #1 and #2 without very much coaching at all from mom. Today she took her Elmo doll and sat him on the toilet as she held him there. She was quite proud of herself and even told me that Elmo went to the potty also. She loves getting praise for going potty!

Forever in our Hearts

2011-06-04T13:32:00.000-07:00

Till we meet again, Love Savannah

On Tuesday morning we lost our precious and loving mother and grandmother Sharon Schoen. This was Frank's biological Aunt who adopted him when he was 3 years old and raised him as her own child. She has been struggling for years with her health and was ommited into the hospital Monday night for liver failure. She fought for her life as long as she could. Luckily I had already taken the day off Tuesday because I thought we were going to be moving. It was a good thing I had the day off even through we still haven't moved yet. We had received several calls early Tuesday morning and I rushed down to the hospital with Sarah and Savannah. I asked Frank to come with me and he decided not come because of some family issues he is having with his sister. He didn't want to make a scene in the hospital. He told me to leave Frankie at school which I did. When we arrived she wasn't doing very well and was hooked up to all these machines. The doctors were working very hard to stabilize her blood pressure and than they were going to take her to have surgery to take out part of her colon which was causing all the problems. After about three hours of being at the hospital everything took a turn for the worse and her heart stopped beating. After about 20 minutes of performing CPR the doctor's decided she was gone. I was actually on my way to see her again when everyone was rushed out of the room. The family immediately started to break down into tears. I felt their pain and was crying right along side them and trying to be strong for each family member. I felt it was important to go and get Sarah out of the waiting room so she could grieve along with the family. Savannah had no clue was what happening the whole time but was so sweet wiping mommy's tears away from her eyes. She could sense everyone's sadness and was there to bring a ray of sunshine to everyone in the hospital. We all said our goodbyes to grandma!

Last night we attended a wake for her and said our goodbyes once again. The flowers arrangements were so beautiful and they had a ton of family photo's on display. They had a video playing throughout the ceremony. I was happy to see my husband showed up towards the end. We all attended the eulogy today and I was asked to do a reading for the prayer service. We than attended the church services at St. Patrick's catholic church. Savannah refused to stay quiet and sit still. I spent most of the service outside with my daughter and her 3 year uncle Ricardo Jr. aka Buddy. Afterwards we had a nice luncheon at Firewood restaurant. It was nice to be able to see the whole family again and the food was delicious. Grandma will always be in our hearts forever!

We love you Grandma Sharon

xoxoxoxoxo

Ten for the Week

2011-05-25T18:45:00.000-07:00

1. Savannah went to the emergency room on Saturday afternoon when I mirror fell on her head and broke into a million pieces. She had to have a couple of staples administered to her head. She will go back to the doctor in a couple days to get them taken out. She was a real trooper! The hospital visit wasn't very pleasant with a very tired two year old but we survived her accident. The older kids were a big help with their little sister and keeping mom calmed down.

2. Found out Savannah had an ear infection that day and has been on an antibiotic all week and has been more tired than usual. Her body is trying to heal. Poor Baby!

3. We have been experiencing more showers than usual lately with all the crazy weather cycles coming through my neck of the woods. I'm grateful I'm not have to be dealing with all the tornadoes down south. Keep Safe Scheele family.

4. I recently had my performance review at work. I'm glad that is over! It's never fun being in the hot seat.

5. Sarah's last day of school is on Friday May 27th. Summer is almost here. Frankie still has a couple more weeks to go. Poor kid is in a different school district.

6. I'm losing my current babysitter in about a week. I met a new lady named Mary who is going to be taking care of Savannah for us. I really hope this will work out. I'm nervous about trying someone new. This is the first time I'm trying to go outside of church members. She came highly recommended to me. I met her on Saturday and she seems nice with two older girls she watches during the day. Sarah will be helping me out on my late nights.

7. We are still waiting to hear back about the house in Gilberts. We may have to walk away after all this time and effort. The second mortage company is being very stubborn and refusing to sign off on the deal and ignoring our attempts for contact. It will be a big disappointment to us seeing how we are so close and have everything ready to roll. Pray for us that he comes to his senses! We may need to start our search all over again. Yuck! We are running of time and need to move very soon.

8. Frank is about to graduate from Inner Circle. It a special class that he is attending through his company to help improve his business. When he graduates he will go heading down to Atlanta for a graduation ceremony in August.

9. Frank was asked to fly to New York to teach a special class for WFG. He will be leaving right before Fourth of July weekend so it will be just me and the kids this year. We will miss you hunny!

10. We had a very nice visit with my parents 2 weeks ago. They were a big help with packing up our house and watching Savannah. We will miss you very much when they leave for Africa!

A Trip to the ER

2011-05-21T16:33:00.000-07:00

Today was quite an awful day for me and the baby. Savannah and I came home from running a few errands in the morning. Sarah had placed her full length mirror in the living room. Apparently when I was in the other room trying to clean up my bedroom I heard Savannah start crying. She must have been playing with the mirror when it fell over on top of her head. I immediately rushed over to her aid and found her laying on the floor with the mirror on top of her and broken glass everywhere. I picked her up to comfort her and took her into my bedroom when I realized she was bleeding all over me and the floor. I quickly took her into the bathroom and started to clean her up. The kids were a big help. I was obviously freaking out and the kids remained calm and help stop the bleeding. She had cut her lip and had blood in her mouth. The back of her head had a small gash in it and was bleeding all over the place. I quickly rushed her to the hospital and walked into the emergency room. We were able to get her in right away. Savannah didn't have a nap all day and was supper crabby upon arrival. She freaked out whenever the nurses and doctor would slightly touch her. I know she was scared and wasn't use to being examined by medical doctors. She was extremely difficult to handle and I had a tough time trying to restrain her. The doctors eventually left me alone with her and it took me quite awhile to calm her down. I did get to rock her to sleep for a few minutes and she was much more pleasant afterwards. The nurse took her in for some x-rays and it took two people to restrain her. I had to hold her down and she started to calm down a bit once she realized it was just pictures. It turns out the x-rays came back good. A female nurse came into wash her hair and gave her some princess stickers and a popsicle. The doctor administered two staples to her head and she just cried a little right after and than it was all over. I was amazed to see how well she took it after seeing how badly she reacted when we first arrived at the hospital. We are happy to be home and on the road to recovery.

Looks Who's 2

2011-05-07T19:00:00.000-07:00

Our baby has been such a blessing in our lives for the past 24 months. She is a human sponge and is learning so much everyday. She is expanding her vocabulary and talking more everyday. She has taken a real interest in reading books lately. She is actually sitting still long enough to read her a short story. She is learning her numbers and colors. She still enjoys helping mom cook and clean the house. She recently went on her wellness checkup and the doctor told us she is underweight. She weighs 21 lbs 33 inches long. I have to go back in 3 months to get her shots and see if she has gained any more weight. She is very active and I think she is just burning off calories. She seems to be healthy and thriving. She is very independent and loves playing with her toys. We recently started potty training and the other day she went pee in the potty for the very first time. We are very proud of her! She loves playing in the park. We are so blessed to have her in our lives. Happy Birthday Savannah!

Party Time

2011-05-07T18:20:00.000-07:00

Savannah turned two years old on Wednesday we celebrated that day by opening up some gifts from Auntie Lara and Grandma and Grandpa Nichols. We headed out to Dairy Queen for some ice cream. Today we had her birthday celebration. We invited family over and the balloons were a big hit amongst the kids. We opened up her presents. She became bored after feverishly opening up her gifts and decided to go play. We had to pull her back in to finish opening the rest of her gifts. She received a couple of toys and mostly all clothes. This is tradition in the Schoen family to just give clothes on birthdays. Savannah received a very cute new wardrobe. This will really come in handy come summer time. She has a new swimsuit and several Sunday dresses along with a bunch of summer clothes and pj's. I was overwhelmed by everyones generousity. Auntie Denise baked a birthday cake and we enjoyed some ice cream. We love you honey!

Happy Birthday Savannah

2011-05-04T18:48:00.000-07:00

Savannah was excited to open up her presents

no hestitation at all
Wow Books!!!

Savannah is becoming more interested in reading books

Checking out her gifts from Grandma Nichols

Love this little face

The family went out to Dairy Queen for dessert

This sure is one big sundae

Easter Morning

2011-04-24T11:20:00.000-07:00

Checking out my new princess lip gloss

Easter Egg Hunt

Mine all Mine

Sarah enjoying her salt water taffy

All ready for church

Daddy has the good candy

Mommy and me

Egg Coloring

2011-04-23T12:07:00.000-07:00

Savannah wasn't too happy about her hands getting all dirty. She is definately an Amy Jr.

This year we have the older kids for Easter. This is not our normal holiday with the kids. Sarah was big help with Savannah's first egg coloring experience.

Easter Egg Hunt

2011-04-23T09:10:00.001-07:00

Watching the other kids collect eggs

What's inside the egg?

Savannah didn't get very many eggs unforunately

Opening up Easter eggs are hard mom!

Savannah shoving in all the candy at once

Ten for the Week

2011-04-17T15:26:00.000-07:00

1. My house has been fully restored back to it's former glory. It actually looks better than it did before I moved in three years ago. State Farm Insurance covered the damages under my liability policy and the work began on Monday. I had the entire house cleaned and repainted, carpets cleaned and couches. The final cost was just under $10k. Wow!!! 2. Last Friday I went in for a minor sugerical procedure at the hospital. I had my mediport removed after 2 long years. I had to be awake for the procedure which I wasn't thrilled about. I survived the whole ordeal and go back on Tuesday to have the stictches removed. 3. Frank went on a business trip down to Atlanta on Wednesday evening. He carpooled down to help save on gas expenses. Gas went up to 4.26 a gallon up here in Chicago. OUCH! He went to the Legacy Retreat and really enjoyed all the motivational talks and meetings. 4. I had to be the seminary driver at church this week for a couple of days. I also had to let the workers in around the same time. Needless to say I was late picking up the kids and later found out that the seminary teacher drove them all to school which was nice of her. I wish I would have known sooner so I didn't have to rush in the morning and drive down there for no reason. 5. Frankie went over to his mother's house this weekend. She picked him up late Friday evening after she went out to dinner. She had to bring him back early today due to scheduling conflicts. 6. I had to re-organize the entire condo since the contractors moved eveything and put all away incorrectly. That was a huge task for myself. I have way too much stuff and should start looking into packing it all up soon. 7. My friend Wendy came over to help me watch Savannah. I went into work for few overtime hours. Work was actually really good and enjoyable. Afterwards we headed out to lunch to a Mexican restaurant. We had a nice visit although miss crabby pants ruined it towards the end. 8. Savannah was difficult at church today she didn't want to sit still. I think she was fine by the time she headed to nursery. She missed a couple of weeks of church and was just excited to go back. She missed last week due to a cold she picked up. 9. We are still waiting on the second mortage company to accept the bank offer. I'm hoping to hear something back this week so we can move forward. I'm getting anxious and I am hoping to close on the house between May 15-30th. 10. We are looking forward to Easter. I have no plans yet and am looking into possibly going on an Easter egg hunt with Savannah this year. We are also looking forward to her 2nd birthday coming up in a couple of weeks.

Day at the Hospital

2011-04-08T09:30:00.000-07:00

This morning I had to wake up very early for a minor surgery. I actually feel back to my normal self although very sore from the surgery. Coming up on my 2 year anniversary from being cancer free. It was about time to take out my mediport. I was looking forward to it but was a bit nervous this morning. I had to get the family up really early @ 5am and we arrived at the hospital by 6:15am. I was omitted into the hospital which brought back a ton of old memories of the last time. The surgeon started the operation sooner than I expected. I received a local and was awake for the whole procedure. I didn't like that part a bit at all. They numbed me up which was probably the worst part of it all and than removed my port. They proceeded to show me what it looked like. I was surprised at how big the port was. The doctor stitched me back up and I was on my way home. The port removal was a really weird feeling. I'm now on the recovery train and look forward to putting this chapter behind me.

Savannah as a Cat

2011-04-05T06:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we took Cody to the vet because he stopped using the litter box and it was becoming a problem. We found out that he was starting to develope a small UTI. Today Savannah decided to climb right in an pretend being a cat.

My Baby is Growing Up

2011-04-04T20:55:00.000-07:00

Savannah just turned 23 months old today. I can't believe she is almost 2 years old. I love her so much! She is always full of life and energy. She is constantly keeping me on my toes. She truly is the love of my life. She definately takes after her mommy. She enjoys helping around the house. She mimicks everything I do such as cleaning, laundry and cooking dinner. We have similiar interests in foods. I have never met a kid who loves to eat salads as much as she does for her age. She is understanding more and more each day. She is talking more and constantly repeats whatever she hears. The other day Grandpa Nichols let out a big belch and she tried to copy him by making a loud grunting noise. It was too funny! Kids are so impressonable at this age. I love watching her grow each day and learning new things. I love her beautiful face and great big smile. She really enjoys nursery and loves playing on mommy's cellphone. She loves to watch these little kid videos on my phone and trys to sing along. She is also learning her ABC's and will often time repeat the letters on the computer. She loves anything having to do with technology. She is also learning her numbers. I have yet to start teaching her colors. She enjoys taking care of her baby dolls. She even tries climbing into her baby dolls pack and play and pretends to be the baby doll. She is very independent and wants to do everything herself and sometimes with assistance. I recently purchased a potty for her and will be starting this adventure soon.

Here's whats new

2011-03-27T16:53:00.000-07:00

1. Frankie was cooking some chicken nuggets on the stove and failed to turn off the stove (electric) and went outside to play. The neighbors called the fire department and they came in and turned off the stove. The condo had quite a bit of smoke damage and we are just grateful we still have our house and everyone was safe. We continue to clean up the mess. We may need to bring in reinforcements. 2. My friend took me out to Olive Garden for my birthday. I turned another year older last Sunday. Frank took me out to dinner for my birthday and purchased me a bread maker. 3. The family headed down to Tennessee to see the Grandparents and Aunt Jenny. I took a week off from work to spend some time with my family before they leave on their mission. We are hoping they will join us once more up in Chicago before they officially leave for Africa. I would like to have them here to celebrate Savannah's 2nd birthday and see the house that we are in the process of purchasing. 4. Frank and I drove all night long to get to my parents house. We made it just in time for church and afterwards we celebrated my birthday with a nice ham dinner, cake and ice cream. 5. We took Savannah down to the Hands on Museum. She had a blast and was a little timid at first but quickly felt comfortable and was running all over the place. We stayed there about two and a half hours and she past out in the car. 6. The family went bowling together and I managed to win both games. Frank, Frankie and Jenny went to the video arcade and played laser tag. There team won the game of laser tag. 7. We headed down to Knoxville and went on a Lost Sea Adventure. It was a really cool cave that was formed by an underground lake and there was a boat ride at the end. We saw a bunch of rainbow trout that were trapped inside the cave. 8. Grandma and I took the baby down to Knoxville again to go to the zoo. Savannah was quite tired but really enjoyed looking at all the animals. The weather was cool and we enjoyed the time we shared together. We enjoyed watching the baby monkey at the park. 9. Frank and I took out our parents out to lunch at the Super China Buffet. They had really good food and then we said our goodbyes and headed back to Chicago. 10. Sarah is on spring break this week and joined us on Saturday. We attended the "We Believe" broadcast and YW recognition. It was a good broadcast however I thought it was a bit long (2 1/2 hours). 11. We had ward conference today. Savannah was a handful and very difficult to handle today. I will need to work with her on getting back on a normal routine. 12. Update on the house...seller's bankruptcy is finished and we are in the process of getting the short sale approved again. We leared that she has two mortages and we are hoping that it will go through this time. We are shooting for closing sometime in May. Pray for us that the bank will approve the short sale. 13. Filed our income tax refund and are expecting a really nice refund this year. This is going to be a good year for us financially. We are already off to a good start already and it is only March. We are planning on paying off our debt. 14. We purchased a new 42 inch plasma TV and brought it home yesterday. Our old TV was dying and wasn't going to last much longer. We also purchased a new DVD player. Frank is excited to transfer his old VHS tapes onto DVD's. 15. Sarah is looking forward to getting her drivers license soon. She has completed all herdriving requirements and just has to take her driving test now. 16. I just found out that I will need to find a new babysitter starting on June 6th. I'm hoping to be moved by than and will miss our current babysitter. I just hope I can find a new babysitter that is going to work out just as well. I really dislike having to find child care :( 17. Frank is hoping to open up a new office in Johnson City, TN. He recently opened up two new offices in the Chicagoland area. His business is starting to expand and really take off. 18. The weather has turned cold again in Chicago. We were a little spoiled being down in Tennessee with all this warm weather. 19. My 6 month checkup went well and it will be my two year mark next month. That is definately a relief and cause for celebration. The doctor gave me the green light for having more children. We are looking forward to baby #2.

Knoxville Zoo

2011-03-24T19:30:00.000-07:00

Now thats a big bird

Savannah loved playing in the play area at the zoo. It took us about 30 minutes to pull her away from this section alone.

Savannah riding a tractor trailor

Mommy and me admiring some zebras from a far

Looking at the Meerkats

Grandma feeding the camels

Someone failed to take a nap in the car ride over and didn't make it till the end.

Fire Department to the Rescue

2011-03-18T19:20:00.000-07:00

Tonight I received a very disturbing call from our landlord. Frankie came home from school and was cooking lunch for himself. His friend showed him how to fry chicken nuggets on the stovetop and apparently left two nuggets in the pan and spilled some oil on the stove top. He swears he shutoff the stove before he left to go outside play. I think he forgot to turn off the burner. Needless to say he nearly burnt down our house. We have a ton of soot and smoke damage in our house. Luckily our house never caught on fire which I am grateful for. One of our neighbors called the fire department and the landlord. The firefighters disconnected the stove and opened up all the windows. The screens were removed off the windows when I came home. The house is a mess literally and will take forever to clean up. We have to repaint the house and probably clean the carpets after its all said and done with. Frank and I both came home late from work. Frankie was quite shocked and amazed when he came home to see what had happened. He told me he heard the fire trucks coming and even saw them turning onto our street and thought it was for someone else. Crazy Huh!

Thankfully we have all of our possessions still and are all safe.

Ten for the Week

2011-02-19T15:23:00.000-08:00

1. Frank had his hernia surgery last Friday and spent the whole week at home trying to recover. He watched Savannah two days for us to help save money on a babysitter. He is still a little sore and will take 6-8 weeks to fully heal.

2. I managed to mess up the date of my doctor's appointment on Friday. I orginally had the day set for the 18th and than a few weeks later the doctor's office called me back and told me that they had to switch my appointment to the 25th. To make a long story short I had forgotten to change the date at work . I worked a half day yesterday and on my way home I realized that I never received a reminder call and and realized that the mistake had been made. I was grateful that I went home first and didn't drive all the way out there for no reason. I had to re schedule my appointment for March. It will work out good since I have another appointment for my ultrasound/mammo next week.

3. Frank was a little surprised to see me at home. It was nice to have some time off and I was able to sneak out of the house while Savannah was napping. I managed to get a lot of little errands done. I forget how easy it is to do things without a child stuck to your hip all day long.

4. I managed to run down to the DMV to replace the license plate for my car. Apparently there was a recall quite a while ago on plates because the paint was starting to chip off. All I had to do was call a number and they will ship me a new one in about 90 days. It was so easy that I don't know why I didn't do it sooner.

5. I had to work in the morning and my friend Wendy had come over to watch Savannah. She took her to a basketball game. I had some more time to kill. I had plenty of time to clean the house and get all my errands done. I even managed to do some shopping for myself.

6. Frankie had a basketball game at the church today. It was against the two best teams in the stake. We were playing against our old ward in Elgin. Frank and I were not in attendance unforunately. Apparently we missed a great game. It was a close game and even went into overtime. Frankie played most of the game and got a steal in the end of the game which assisted in them winning the game. It went into overtime and at the final seconds of the game our ward shot a 3 pointer to win the game. I was a little concerned because our best player was out of town this week and another one of our good players had sprained his ankle. Our young men came away with the victory and now they are going to play in the playoffs and will compete in the championship game.

7. Frank has been helping me watch Savannah for a few days while they babysitter took some time off. I still need to cover babysitting for over spring break. It has been a real blessing that Frank has been able to spend some qualiy time with her.

8. On Wednesday night Frankie had to be dropped off at church early. The boys were going over to Motorola for a tour of the facility. It ran longer than expected and I had to wait for him to return back to the church. It would have been nice for someone to call me. I had to wait 30 minutes.

9. Frankie recently purchased an I Pod Touch with his birthday and Christmas money. He has loved playing with it ever since.

10. Frank has been busy with the tax season and getting back to work.

Cookie Monster

2011-02-02T07:15:00.001-08:00

Snowmageddon

2011-02-02T05:58:00.000-08:00

Here is the view from the house this morning. All the cars were buried under a foot of snow and it continues to fall down around us. Some poor guy tried getting out this morning and was stuck on the side road. As far as I know we still have work although I hope that will be changing soon. I will call into work if needs be but there is no way we are getting out of here.

Blizzard 2011

2011-02-01T20:57:00.000-08:00

Here is the view from our back porch. We are experiencing high winds up to 60 mph, thundersnow (flashes of light), and hugh snow drifts. We are still awaiting the heaviest snow within the next 24 hrs. The weatherman is predicting the Chicagoland area will get between 12-24 inches of snow. I was able to leave work around 4pm and went to pick up my daughter. It took me one hour to drive home which normally takes me around 30 minutes. Tomorrow I am supposed to report into work around 11am and work until 5pm. I'm really hoping Honda will cancel work. I have never seen work close before but maybe tomorrow will be a first. You know that is BAD when the Chicago office closes for bad weather. The snow plows have not been down our streets all night long and there is no signs of any cars on the road. It is truly a ghost town. The grocery and hardware stores were running out of food and winter supplies. This is the worst snow storm that I have ever seen in my lifetime. This is the 3rd worst blizzard in Chicago to date.

Ten for the Week

2011-01-30T20:37:00.000-08:00

1. Even though Sarah turned 16 years old two weeks ago we decided to throw her a sweet 16 party on Friday night. She had seven of her closest friends over and had a great time. Her church friends all left the party around 9:30 and headed over to another friends house for pizza. We were disappointed that they didn't stay longer at least to finish the party. Her two other friends from school stayed a while longer. She had one girlfriend spend the night.

2. Sarah had a driving lesson with her instructor and ended up leaving her friend behind for about 2 1/2 hrs. I went to go to the church to watch Frankie play basketball and took Sarah's friend to pass the time by. The boys won there game and still remain undefeated in the stake. I had a hard time watching the game because I had to keep running after the baby. She was more interested in playing in the nursery.We stayed and watch a few more games and Frankie played with his friends from the Elgin ward.

3. The girls wanted to go to the mall for some shopping. Sarah's birthday money was burning a hole in her pocket. They had a good time being typical teenagers!

4. I was pretty exhausted after everything was all over. I also came down with a sore throat this weekend. It is never fun being sick and having to throw a party. Luckily the kids were all well behaved and well mannered.

5. We had invited some friends over for dinner tonight. The one friend had cancelled on us at the last moment. We still had the other couple over to eat. We had a good time visiting with them.

6. Frankie's birthday is on Friday and he will be turning 15 years old. The party mode will start all over in about 2 weeks. He will be with his mother this weekend.

7. We are expecting a blizzard over the next 3 days. We have had a very mild winter so far and now its our turn to get hit hard with a snowstorm. I am not looking forward to this at all especially after seeing how bad it is supposed to be on the news.

8. We thought the deal on the Gilberts house was dead, however a call on Friday night from my realtor gave me a ray of hope. My realtor has contacted the seller directly and still wants to sell us her house. Her bankruptcy should be finished by the third week of February. The trustee makes a decision on whether or not to release the property. If that happens then they can sell us the property as a short sale.

9. I met with my new visiting teacher this week. We met at the church so our kids could play with the toys. I completely forgot about the appointment and was contacted on my way home from the grocery store.

10. Have a great week!

Sweet 16 Party

2011-01-28T20:56:00.000-08:00

House Update

2011-01-23T22:01:00.000-08:00

We recently found out that the house in Gilberts is currently on hold. The seller went behind everyone's back and filed for bankruptcy without consulting anyone. We are still interested in this property and we will have to try to wait it out. We are checking with the lawyers to get an estimated time frame. We think it will take 4-8 weeks for the seller's bankruptcy to be complete than we will have to re do the paperwork for the foreclosure and put another bid in on the house. We are waiting to see what happens. We may eventually need to move on and find a new house if this one doesn't work out. We have had so many problems finding a quality house without have any issues. Wish us luck!

20 Months and Play Time

2011-01-16T20:15:00.000-08:00

Savannah loves her new Mega Blocks

Three Monkeys Jumping in a Bed Toy

Savannah is taking care of her new princess doll. She is washing her face with a baby wipe and even put a diaper on her. She proceeded to put on her winter hat and gloves. It was too cute!

My big girl getting ready for church

I love this little face!

Savannah loves the play in the couch cushions

Playing with her daddy's dice set

One very happy and adorable baby. She continues to be a copy cat and does whatever I do. She loves to cook with mom and helps me clean the house. She gives me warm embraces and squeezes me whenever she hugs me which I love :) She loves playing with her new toys that she got from Christmas. Her new trick is playing in the couch cushions and sleeps with a blanket over her head. She loves to jump.

She recently discovered snow and loves to play in it and eat it. I have to keep her away from the yellow snow. lol! She continues to love being in the nursery. Her speak continues to improve. She can understand more words now and is starting to talk more everyday. She is exploring everything in her path. She is mastering how to drink out of a cup without spilling all over herself. On the bad side she tries to escape out of her carseat while we are driving in the car. I still have to work with her on remaining still and in place at all times. Any ideas?

Merry Christmas 2010

2011-01-07T16:52:00.000-08:00

This year we drove down to Arkansas to spend time with the Scheele's, Auntie Jenny, and Grandma & Grandpa
Nichols. We had a great time making cookies, gingerbread cookies, swimming, and ice skating.

Family Reunion

2010-12-22T21:29:00.001-08:00

Giddity up cowgirl

Cowgirl in training

Finished Product

Let the fun begin

It takes teamwork to get the job done

Landon's Baptism

Family Photo

Savannah enjoying a cold day at the park

Leah hitting the slide

Landon just hanging out

Savannah exploring playdoh with her cousins

Getting right into the action

Savannah playing the role of the baby

Savannah in the baby crib that Grandpa Nichols built

Leah taking care of her baby doll

Ten of Tuesday

2010-12-07T06:25:00.000-08:00

1. Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. Frank and I traveled down to TN for the holidays with my parents and Jenny, Barbara and Gary. We had run into real slow traffic around Indianapolis and than around 4am Frank hit a raccoon that had run out into the road.

2. When we were an hour from my parents house we got a flat tire and had a nice gentleman pull over to assist us with a flat jack. Frank was not prepared properly and needless to say this gentleman had a spare in his trunk that he just gave to us. Real nice people in VA on Thanksgiving day. We had to drive on a donut so it took us another 90 mins to arrive to our final destination.

3. We assisted with Thanksgiving dinner and had a wonderful meal together. Afterwards everyone went to see the new Harry Potter movie. Grandpa and I stayed home with the baby.

4. The next day we picked out a Christmas tree and than came home to decorate it. Grandma, Auntie Barbara and Sarah did most of the work. We also went bowling and had a great time. We took off on Sunday and forgot to bring our homemade lunches. We went to an hour of church and ended up arriving at home @ 10pm. It was a long trek home and ran into more traffic in Indianapolis.

5. We are still awaiting the bank approval for the property in Gilberts. We hope to hear back from them soon. They are in stage 4 out of 5. We are still trying to get our earnest money back on the last property. We think now we will be closing sometime in early January. The worst time to move that is for sure.

6. The weather has turned cold and we received our 1st real snowfall on 12/4. Happy Birthday to Leah! I can't believe that you turned 4 years old already.

7. We recently were told that everyone in my department at work are switching to a new supervisor and that we will be changing desks as well on Thursday. I just was moved again and am going to miss my new neighbor that I just received a month ago.

8. On Sunday I just learned that a sister at church that was around my age just past away from lung cancer. She had cancer at the same time that I did last year and unforunately didn't have as good of a prognosis as I did. She fought a good battle and is now leaving behind three beautiful children and a spouse.

9. Frank and I are getting ready to travel down to Arkansas for Christmas. Sarah chose to go to San Diego, CA with her mother this year. It will be strange not having her join us this year. I can't believe she will be turning 16 years old in January.

10. I still have not started shopping for Christmas yet.

Thanksgiving

2010-12-01T16:27:00.000-08:00

Time to Eat

Christmas Preparations

2010-12-01T16:17:00.001-08:00

The finished product

Grandma Nichols, Mommy and Savannah

Just picked out the Christmas Tree

Twelve for the Week

2010-11-21T20:42:00.000-08:00

1. Frank and I placed a bid on a new house and are just waiting to hear back about a bank approval. This house I fell in love with when I saw it online and in person. It is an old farmhouse in Gilberts that has been completely remodeled and has 3 bedrooms and 1 1/2 bathrooms. It has a basement with a front and back porch. The backyard is all fenced in with a 2 1/2 car garage and a swimming pool. It was a short sale that had been approved already. There was a counter offer on the property quite some time ago and therefore we have to get a new approval from the bank. Rumors have it we should have a contract by Monday. Wish us Luck!!!

2. We were unable to get the last house because of an encroachment issue with the neighbors house. The previous appraisal had some red flags on it and no bank will finance this house. I wish they would of told us that from the very beginning. Apparently that wasn't where we were suppose to live. We are still trying to get our earnest money back on this property.

3. It has been a long hard process finding a home on a budget. I feel pretty good about this property and would love to move back to our old neighborhood. It is a bit out in the country in a small town. I feel pretty safe in the neighborhood and will back in our old ward. It will be close to both of our jobs. We are hoping to close on this property by 12/30.

4. My parents will come back up with us from Arkansas right after Christmas if all goes well. I can use the extra hands to help move and pack up the house. I'm not thrilled about moving in the dead of winter with all the snow but I can't really get around all that. I just hope we can keep living in our current home until than. My lease ended in September and we are living month to month at this point.

5. We are going to be purchasing the furniture that was left in the condo when we first moved in two years ago.
The owner wants to sell it and get rid of it and since it is so nice we are getting it all for a really nice price.

6. Frank and I took the family out to another ward today for a baby blessing for the Korbels. Afterwards we enjoyed a nice lunch and dessert.

7. Savannah has started nursery and absolutely loves it! She enjoys playing with all the kids and toys and doesn't even cry and is not clingy whatsoever. She practically runs in there every Sunday. What a relief! Everyone tells me that she is a well adjusted kid. I must be doing something right:)

8. This week I had my performance review at work. It went well although I have some room for improvement in some areas. I will definately have to try harder on the next review. I'm relieved that we are doing great with our collection numbers and that we haven't had to work any overtime hours at this point and we don't have to work any overtime the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

9. We are getting ready to leave after work on Wednesday for a road trip down to TN. We are joining my folks for the holidays with Barbara and Gary. I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone again. We are looking forward to seeing the new Harry Potter movie.

10. Frankie joined the wrestling team at school and is looking forward to competing.

11. I just learned the entire collections team will be getting new supervisors and desk assignments at work. This change will happen the 1st week of December.

12. Had a nice visit with Sarah this weekend. She continues to learn how to drive. She was a big help driving me around this weekend running errands.

My Little Italian Baby

2010-11-16T06:21:00.000-08:00

Savannah loves eating her spaghetti

18 Months Old

2010-11-06T12:49:00.000-07:00

Savannah turns eighteen months old finally! She is going into nursery on Sunday...Oh Yeah!!!

I can't believe how old my baby is getting. She has been such a blessing in our lives. She is so much fun to be around. She laughes whenever there are people laughing around her. She is always smiling and loves playing with her toys. She is a good eater and sleeper. She thinks it is funny to pull off her diaper and run around the house naked. She is starting to understand more words. She enjoys playing in the park and has started throwing tantrums.

Daddy and Me

2010-11-06T12:44:00.001-07:00

Daddy and Savannah enjoying a nice lunch together

America's Sweetheart

2010-11-01T06:28:00.001-07:00

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T20:13:00.000-07:00

Savannah and Sarah trying to warm up on the way to Auntie Denises house

Sarah was exhausted after a long hard day

This year we had the kids with us for Halloween which is a really rare treat. They normally spend this holiday with their mother. We took the kids trick or treating and gathered WAY too much candy between the three of them. Frankie decided to go with a few friends. We decided to get together with Frank's sister Denise and their kids for a little visit. She had made some food for dinner and they had a mini bon fire in the driveway where we roasted marshmallows for smores. Savannah had a great time playing with her cousins and getting into all their toys.

Halloween Party

2010-10-30T19:35:00.000-07:00

We attended the annual chili cookoff at the ward Halloween Party . This year was much more memorable. She has learned at a very young age what candy looks like and wants it whenever possible. She dressed up as an angel although she refused to wear the wings that came with the piece. She was a real hit at the party and everyone kept giving her lots of candy and tons of attention. They had coloring and puzzles for the younger children and had other games for the older kids to do such as a ring toss and bozo buckets. Afterwards they had a parade with all the kids in it and than they handed out Halloween buckets for all of the kids. We finished up the night with a haunted house and trick or treating. I had to collect the candy for Savannah and she kept pulling out the candy and trying to eat the candy through the wrappers. She even tried snatching a few pieces of candy out of other kids buckets. Overall it was a good night!

Costume Time

2010-10-30T13:37:00.000-07:00

Sarah dressed up as a NERD this year

High Heel Diva

2010-10-24T20:24:00.001-07:00

This was Savannah first attempt walking in high heels.

Sonny Acres Farm

2010-10-23T21:51:00.000-07:00

A day of family fun

Brotherly Love

The kids

Frankie getting in on the action

Frankie posing with the llama

Savannah feeding the sheep

Savannah amongst the pumpkins

Look mommy I'm growing

Few for the Week

2010-10-21T17:57:00.000-07:00

1. Frank and I are in the process of purchasing our first home. We outbid eight other people for our house in Elgin. We were very lucky to come away with the win!!! We are in the process of taking out a 203k loan. We are hoping to borrow some money to fix up the house. My parents have agreed to come up when we close on the house and help us move in and do some of the repairs on the house. We received a great deal on the house and the home inspection passed with flying colors.

2. I will be happy when we sign the final papers and get the house remodeled. It will be nice to be settled. The house has four bedrooms and two full bathrooms. I love the fact that the kids will all have their own seperate rooms. Yeah!!! It has over 3000 sq feet including a full basement downstairs and a yard for the kids to play outside including a swing set. We have large rooms throughout the house. It includes a kitchen and dinette area, formal dining room, living room, laundry room and a one car garage. The kids will live a mile from the High School and we will be moving back into our old ward. I'm not looking forward to moving out of our current ward in Schaumburg. Our goal is to live in this house until the older children graduate from High School than move closer to my family.

3. Frank went down to Atlanta for the annual WFG retreat. He was gone all week long attending seminars and meetings.

4. I recently had to find a new babysitter for Savannah. The girl was watching her just had too many kids to watch all by herself. Savannah is still trying to adjust to the new sitter and loves playing with her three girls.

5. We practiced the Primary program last Sunday. We have another rehearsal tomorrow night.

6. The weather started getting cooler outside recently.

My Big Girl

2010-10-09T14:41:00.000-07:00

Savannah loves to play on the computer

BEWARE Student Driver

2010-10-09T14:40:00.001-07:00

Azoosement Park

2010-10-09T13:55:00.000-07:00

Savannah loved this ride

Sarah got stuck on the kiddie ride with Savannah. She looks like a giant!

Mommy playing keep away from the goats

Sarah was feeding the goats since Savannah wasn't participating

Savannah visiting the baby cow

Mommy and Savannah getting up close with the animals

This was Sarah's favorite sheep to feed

Savannah admiring the baby sheep

Savannah was scared to ride on the pony

Play Time

2010-10-04T17:14:00.001-07:00

Mommy called into work today to get the brakes repaired on her car. Savannah and I had a great time together at the park.

My Naughty Girl

2010-10-04T17:08:00.001-07:00

Savannah thought it would be fun to play in the DVD's and relive life as a baby.

A Lazy Sunday Morning

2010-10-03T07:26:00.000-07:00

Four for the Week

2010-10-02T22:01:00.000-07:00

1. Frank and I continue to look for houses. The last house we backed out of because the home inspection failed. We are currently bidding on a house in Elgin and just found out that eight other people are trying to outbid us for this house. We should hear some news back by early next week. Keep us in your prayers! It may be a long shot to get this house. I just hope we can find something soon otherwise it may be back to renting. Our lease just finished on September 30th. We have a little more time until we will have to move out.

2. Sarah came over on Friday night. Frank took off the day from work and watched Savannah. After work I headed over to his office to get ready for his birthday party. He recently turned 40 years old and we had a party for him. We played 3 card poker and than went home early. Frankie was locked himself out of the house so we had to go back to left him in. He has managed to lose every house key that we have bought him.

3. I worked overtime this morning and cleaned house and than went over to my friends house to visit and to go shopping. We headed over to the mall and ate dinner. She moved this week and we wanted to see the new townhouse.

4. We are looking forward to General Conference tomorrow.

16 Months Old

2010-09-19T19:11:00.000-07:00

My precious little baby keeps growing like a weed. She prayed for the 1st time with the family this week. Very cute! Her new favorite word is MOM. She says the word whenever she wants something. Figures!

What a great smile!!!

Ten for the Week

2010-09-12T20:48:00.000-07:00

1. Frank took Savannah for the day on Friday to help save money on babysitting. He was having a tough day with the baby so I went to his office after work to relieve him from his babysitting duties. He wasn't at the office when I arrived so I decided to wait for him. After about an hour I went to pick up Sarah from her mothers house.

2. Sarah continues to learn how to drive. I'm trying to give her as much experience as possible when she is with us for the weekend. I belive she only needs 30 more hours of driving experience before we can get her driver's license in March 2011. I can't wait for this time in her life so she can drive herself around.

3. On Saturday we had a girls day out with Sarah and Savannah. We went with her two Aunts and a couple of nephews downtown. We had lunch at Ed Debevics and than headed down to Navy Pier. We went shopping and walked along the pier. We ate Hagen Daas ice cream and than headed home. It rained on us in the morning hours but cleared up just nicely before we left.

4. Frankie and Sarah went to a youth dance last night. They seemed to have a good time although didn't talk too much about it.

5. I had a presidency meeting today after church. Sarah had her interview for her p blessing. We have to schedule it in the next couple of weeks. She has wanted to get it for awhile. Frankie also had a meeting afterwards which kept us at church pretty late.

6. I tried attending Relief Society today but didn't have too much luck seeing how Savannah doesn't usually hold still for too long. Frank and Frankie went home teaching after church. The kids ended their day with a fireside.

7. Frank attended a Super Saturday for WFG. He was busy with the event and was pretty exhausted by the end of the day.

8. We have been spending the past month house hunting and have found a few that we liked however we were not successful on getting our offers. We have a bid in on a house in Elgin that it a fixer upper but has a lot of potential. It is large and spacious and we are hopefully that we may be able to get this one. Personally I'm tired of looking and will need to find something soon seeing how our lease is coming to an end very soon.