Working Hard For No Money

Robert's working again! Yeay! He got his first paycheck and we had a good chuckle over it...we had to I supppose - sure beats the alternative. Thankfully, we weren't expecting anything, and that's exactly what we got, so we weren't in the least disappointed.


So far the job seems to be going well - for those of you who aren't up to speed yet, he's working at Menards - a retail store similar to Home Depot/Lowes. He's going through their crazy Management Training program which is about 12-weeks of long hours, lots of reading and test taking, and when you come out the other side they have lots of opportunities available for advancement; and right now, you just cant beat that. Robert is also pursuing an Accounting degree (in all his spare time) online through the Univ. of Phoenix- he's survived two semester-long classes packed into 5 weeks so far. All in all, he's been crazy busy - we see very little of him these days; however, we are so thankful and proud that he's working so hard to get us though to the other side of this recession. Its been tough, but we're all hanging in there. We're surrounded by people who are praying for us, supporting us (in more ways than one), and cheering us on - and we're confidant that God is not finished with us just yet. There's always a silver lining...

Austin & Barb's Visit

So, playing catch-up here --- a little behind on our picture posts, but thank Blogger for backdating!

Austin and Grammy Barb came to visit us, and fun was had by all - despite the cruddy weather, Swine Flu, and living on top of eachother for 5 days. We kept pretty busy with the birthday party for Eden, a visit to the Zoo and botanical gardens, and some 'antique' shopping (no atiques were actually shopped for, but we saw some pretty neat stores from the outside). It was so nice to reconnect with both Grammy and Austin. The girls didnt miss a beat with either of them, they all seemed to pick up right where we left off...which is nice to see. There are more pics of our shinanigans up on Picasa! Enjoy!

Party Like You're 1 Year Old!

We had a birthday party for Eden's big ONE. She did us proud mutilating the duck cake, opening all her presents (painfully slow), and having a lovely meltdown after all the celebrating was over. Its good to be one years old...

More pics on Picasa.

Happy Easter!

Its Easter! We had a good day celebrating today...although, slightly neglectful on my part as far as 'the real reason for Easter'. We've been a little sick (which seems to be our Easter tradition) so I skipped out on the superbowl of church services this morning - Robert had to work (yeay!) and I wasn't up for doing it on my own (boo!). We were up at dawn (as usual) and the girls had fun tearing into their Easter wagons. Then we took the celebration outside for a chilly morning of egg gathering and chocolate eating. It was fun watching Emma going hog-wild grabbing all the eggs; and then watching Eden try to copy her, but not quite getting what was going on. She knew one thing for sure though - that there were treats in those eggs! I have a few more pics of our day up in Picasa. Please excuse our goopy noses. =(

Happy Birthday Eden Kay!

Dear Eden,

Today is your 1st birthday! I can't believe you're actually a toddler now. You're taking it in stride though, and this past month I've noticed that you have become quite the big girl now. You're walking like a pro, the climbing has increased in difficulty and danger level (much to my dismay), and you've mastered a few words (momma, dada, kitty) and have figured out how to get your point across with "no" by shaking your head. You've also got the pecking order figured out between you and your sister; however recently have decided that you're not ok with being second in line all the time, and we've all gotten used to hearing about it. For the most part though, you and Emma are learning to play very well together. You love to eat...anything and everything. If it can fit in your mouth, thats where we're likely to find it - sticks, rocks, sand, lug nuts from a Grayhound bus, etc. etc. You're also becoming quite the social butterfly - and love meeting new people and exploring as far and as fast as we'll let you. You are a pretty big fan of books too (your great-grandma would be so proud). Your favorite right now seems to be Brown Bear Brown Bear, and if you're not sitting in someone's lap reading it, you're carrying it around and chewing on it. As a family we've gone through major changes since you've joined us; we've moved twice - one of the moves being a pretty drastic one. You've also taken a major roadtrip vacation through 9 states and other than a few complaints about the carseat, seemed to enjoy it. All that to say that you seem to be pretty resiliant and just go with the flow...for the most part anyway - we still need to work on this 'sleeping through the night' thing, cause for-sure that is getting old and Im slowly losing the last few marbles your sister left behind. Your Daddy and I love you though, more than life itself, and we are so happy to be celebrating this special day with you. Happy Birthday Eden Kay. XOXO Mom

The Flower Girl

Of course the bride was beautiful, the groom dapper, and the wedding heartfelt...but our little flower girl - what can we say?! She did great.

There's a few more pics on Picasa. Check em' out.