We're home

I know I've seen many of you since we got home but for those of you far away: We're home! We had a great time but we're still trying to get back in the swing of things so stories of flying with almost-2 yr olds and scaredy-cat husbands will have to wait for a few days.

Glad to be home, lots to do, we'll talk soon!

We're leaving on a jet plane...

Tomorrow is the big day, sort of! Tomorrow after work we (Joel, Georgia, Bethany, and Brandon) head up to the Twin Cities on the first leg of our 5 day journey. We fly out of the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport at 6:15 am Friday morning. After a brief stop in Denver, we land in Spokane WA. Joel's Grandma actually lives in Post Falls Idaho but Spokane has the closest airport. I think I speak for all of us when I say I'm nervous about flying! I keep telling myself that its in Gods hands but there's a little piece of me thats scared.

Wish us luck, mind Wisconsin while we're gone.

Packing

I thought that with Georgia gone I would have a lot of free time to pack for our trip to Washington (state, not DC) but I was wrong! It seems that with more time comes more opportunities to goof off! Yesterday Joel and I went to LaCrosse with Bethany and Brandon to the Boat, Sport, and Travel Show. I will admit that I wasn't looking forward to going but the boys did so good while Beth and I shopped at the mall for hours that I felt like I should suck it up and go! I will admit that I had a great time once we got there. We spent close to 2 hours looking at all the RV's and travel trailers. For about $50,000, you can really have a nice time "camping"! It makes me really appreciate my Aunt Mary. She took me and my 4 cousins camping up in the U.P. of Michigan and Northern Minnesota every summer, for weeks at a time. And when I say camping, I mean tents and campfires, not RV's and indoor toilets! :) We had the best time though...Anyway, enough nostalgia-back to packing!

My baby left without a backward glance...

Well, its Friday night and I should be excited. Me and my hubby are going out to eat with two of our bestest good friends and there won't be a toddler in sight (except maybe at the next table)! I should be really rarin' to go but I'm strangely sad. Georgia went to visit her Great Grandma Smick down in Geneva IL with my parents and left Joel and I home alone to fend for ourselves. They left today, although G spent the night with Gma and Gpa Murphy last night...I was lonely last night too. What made it worse was the fact that she was so darn cheerful as she said bye...isn't she supposed to cry and latch onto me and say no??

Anyway, Joel's telling me to get ready so I'll leave it here for now. You can expect more heartache and misery tomorrow.

By the way, here's what Georgia and I normally do on Friday nights:

Now you can see why Joel's so ready for us to go out! :)

All Grown Up

Here's what Georgia looked like almost two years ago:

One month later, in Daddy's arms with her best friend Allie Jo:

First Christmas:

1st Birthday:

Summer 2009:

Christmas 2009:

Now:

It's really hard for me to believe that in less than 2 months she's going to be 2 years old...She really is the best kid in the world! :) Happy Almost Birthday Georgia!

Life is hard...

Life isn't fair. We all know this but while some of us are worrying about what to make for supper, others are going thru things that are so much more difficult and challenging! My brother-in-law (Joel's stepbrother) and his wife had a baby on December 29th, 2009. Nevaeh Mae is our first niece and the cutest little girl; but she also has some birth defects that are making life a struggle right now. Dave and Mel have been living at the Ronald McDonald House in Rochester since the end of December and will more than likely be there for several more weeks. They are doing a really great job keeping us all informed and updated (thank goodness for CaringBridge...) but they need everyone's prayers. We are in the process of planning a benefit for them so stay tuned on how you can help! Hopefully we can help make life a little easier for them...