Visiting Ellie

Here is the picture of us visiting Elle Bell. She looked so good! I was really happy to see her smile. It was so great to get to see her and visit with Ryan and Alicia. She really is a trooper!

FLOWERS! :)

I was so excited to get my hands dirty after the big move. Justin was even excited to see what it would like when I was done... Here are a few shots of the new pots and flower bed.

(They look a little sad in these pics but they are already coming around and taking shape!)

Memorial Day weekend

Over the weekend we were busy little beavers! We started our big move over to North Mankato Friday evening and finished pretty much on Sunday. Thanks to my parents, Jess & Mitch, and Justin we got everything moved over pretty quickly. Since I am obviously not in the best condition to lift things I kept busy putting things away, painting, and directing traffic. So, for now we are semi settled which is nice. (I even got flowers planted and Justin tilled the garden!)

Yesterday JR and I hopped in the car for a quick day trip to Iowa City. We headed down there to see Ellie, Alicia, and Ryan. It was great to catch up and check in on them. (I have a really cute picture that I will get up as soon as I find my cord to get pictures off of the camera) She looked great and seemed to be in good spirits which was great to see!

Tomorrow morning I leave for Washington DC. I am going out there with LEEP but I am hoping to get to spend time with Ali, Trent, and April while out there. Friday is Ali's b-day so we are planning to at least get together for that.

Hope everyone had a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend!

20 Weeks

Today was the big day! We are at our 20 week mark and I couldn't be happpier. I am finally beginning to feel good about 95% of the time and the throwing up is very few and far between which has been a real change of pace!

We had our ultrasound this morning. Justin was geared up to try and cheat and figure out what we were having but lucky for me the baby hid the goods! When we started it was sleeping face down with its head on it's arm. The tech got some great shots of thefull body so that was great. THEN Peanut decided to play hard to get. Everytime she tried to get different views it would flip over, turn the opposite direction, or throw its hands over its face. I think she spent about 10 minutes trying to get one certain shot and there was NO cooperation on the babies end.

Since the baby was so active we were unable to get a clear 3D shot of the face but that is ok. Probably would have just made me want October to get here even sooner! Enjoy the pictures!

Ultrasound

Well tomorrow is the BIG day. I can't wait to see my little Peanut moving all over!!! I can't tell you how long I have been waiting for this. I just hope s/he cooperates and hides the goods so we don't have to worry aboug "accidentally" finding out what we are having. I really can't believe that we are at the half way point.... just doesn't seem possible!

Ellie Smiley - Prayers Please

Hi Everyone,
Justin and I have some really good friends from Cedar Falls that are going through a rough time at the moment. They just found out that their 5 year old daughter Ellie, has a brain tumor. They did surgery yesterday and unfortunately it didn't quite have the outcome they had hoped for. Things are going better today and she is responding however, it will be a long road to recovery.

I am writing about this because I am hoping that I can ask all of you for your thoughts and prayers for their family. Alicia is an amazing friend and even more amazing friend, I hate to see her suffering. I only wish I could do more for them. Alicia is blogging about Ellie's progress and recovery on her blog. You can read more about what happened by either clicking here or on Smiley Family on my blog roll.

We appreciate your help and prayers. Ellie is very important to us and we only wish for the best for her and her family.

Highlights of the past few days/ week

- Saturday was the 3rd Annual Torch Ride Event. It is a Special Olympics (SO) fundraiser done nationwide but we (LEEP and New Ulm's teams) have been holding one for the past 3 years. Anyway, Saturday morning we set up and sent off 60+ riders on a 100 mile bike ride around Southern MN. I couldn't believe the number of riders since it was 43* when we got there to set up! BRRRRRRRRRRRR!!! Thanks to my mom and Justin for their help with everything! I needed all the help I could get so it was great!

- Sunday we had our SO Area Volleyball tournament. Our team played well but we still only came away with 4th place. I was proud of what our team had done however as they had begun to really work together!

-Justin went golfing Friday morning (or night to him). It sounds like they had lots of fun but the best part was that I didn't have to go! :)

-We have been busy little beavers packing away all of our crap to get moved. We are off to the new place starting this Friday. I can't wait to be DONE so this could lead to a VERY long few days! I guess our Memorial Day weekend won't be too exciting.... moving is about the extent!

- Thursday morning is our BIG 20 week ultrasound. We won't be finding out what we are having BUT we will get to see our baby again! I can't wait to see how much it has changed in the past 11 weeks! Justin thinks he will be able to read the ultrasound and is hoping to figure out what we are having, I hope he is wrong!

- Next weekend I take off for Washington DC with LEEP. We are taking a 5 day vacation and going to see all of the sights out there. It is Ali's birthday on the 29th so we are hoping to spend time together too. I just found out I will be headed to Disneyland/Universal Studios in CA at the end of June and San Diego in the middle of July for LEEP as well. This summer should be fun! I really do love to travel. :)

-Tonight we find out who will be the winner of Dancing with the Stairs and listen to the finale of American Idol, gotta LOVE TV!

I can't think of too much else that is happening for us these days. I really do have pictures of the Torch Ride so I will get those uploaded soon. I love looking at all the bikes! Hope all is well with everyone. Sorry if I hibernate for awhile but I am thinking we will be kinda busy with the move, etc. Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend!

My Top 5

I have been addicted to the "Top 5" lists you can do on Facebook so I thought it would be kind of fun to post it on here. I realize I am a big dork but I would love to hear your Top 5 under these to categories.

5 Things I Hate Doing

1. Throwing up everyday!
2. Folding and putting away laundry
3. Cleaning the bathroom
4. Paying Bills- especially when I suddenly see my bank account hit the big $0 mark....
5. Giving Bear a bath, even though he stinks!

5 Random Things I Secretly Love to Do

1. Vacuum
2. Organize my life through a planner
3. Sing really loud and off key to annoy Bear
4. Read lots of celebrity gossip
5. Indulge in Reality TV- (ok so this isn't such a secret!)

Ok, now it is your turn! Just leave your thoughts as a comment!

Happy Mother's Day weekend

Over the weekend I headed back to Ringsted to enjoy Mother's Day with my mom. I decided to head down there Friday night after I drug my feet for a few hours. I got down there around 9:30 and everyone was camped out in the living room. I was wiped so I called my night early and headed to bed.

Saturday morning my mom woke me up and we headed into Ringsted to do some flower shopping. We picked up a bunch of hanging flowers (which were buy one, get one free!!!) and quite a few annuals to plant in flower pots. We thought we had plenty of flowers but soon realized we were short and ended up running over to Estherville to pick up a few more flowers and some more potting soil. We got back did a few more pots and got cleaned up to head to the movie. We went to "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" which was cute but is a very typical chick flick.

The most entertaining part of the movie was all the high school kids that were ridiculously ANNOYING in the theatre. Long story but to make it quick a mom ended up hitting a girl in front of us with her coat to tell her to shut up and put her phone away. This was right before I had to tell the couple behind me to shut up even after I made my mom move to the opposite end of the row cuz they were talking so loud. I swear they got louder after we moved so the "bitch" came out in me and I told them to shut up or move. Needless to say they were pretty quiet the remainder of the movie. :) I honestly don't remember being like that in HS. I mean I am sure I was dumb but I don't' remember just being out and out rude...

Yesterday was really a nice day... My Mom, Dad, and I went to church and met my Grandma over in Estherville for lunch. It was nice to have a a family dinner where we all could just chit chat. When we got home in the afternoon my mom and I finished all of the flowerpots and put in 3 flower gardens. (I think I must have a green thumb now after all of this!) In total I think we planted 20 pots on top of the flower gardens we put in. Let's just say it was a weekend full of lots of dirt! I did enjoy myself and if I do say so myself my mom and I did a pretty fantastic job! :) (Pictures will come later... I am an idiot and didn't take any.... have to hire my mom to get some taken for me!)

Happy Mother's Day to all of you Mom's!

17.5 Week Appt.

Today we headed off to our 17 week appt. Basically we just found out that we are right on track and that the baby's heartbeat is in the 150's. Everything looks good and the Dr. was happy with my progress. I have lost more weight (how and where does it go?! good question) but he isn't worried about it. We have our big ultrasound May 28th so when I get baby pics I will definitely post them. We are not finding out what we are having so it will be a guessing game until October. Justin is still trying to push for it BUT I am holding strong. So far I have heard lots of different thoughts but I suppose one never knows till they actually get here.

Hunecke Housing Crisis- SOLVED

As I have mentioned in the past we were a little concerned about where we were going to end up living in the next month or 2. Luckily we did find a house over in North Mankato where we will be able to land for at least the next 2 years if we so choose. I am excited to get over there and get going because I really want to get the babies room started. I finally have lots of energy so I am trying to take advantage of it. From what I hear it won't last too long.

The house is a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom home with a nice yard and a single stall garage. Justin is probably most excited about the bar that is in the basement. We were lucky to find it and even luckier that the landlord would work with us. :)

The final piece of the puzzle is finding out if we will be homeless for about 2 weeks. We are still waiting to hear back from the police department on whether or not we actually have to "vacate the premises" as of May 17th. I have called but need to call again and try to talk to a human. We crossing our fingers that everything works out and we can at least hang there until June 1st.

Our LIfe- Updated!

Over the past few weeks I have been feeling a bit overwhelmed with everything that is going on in our lives. I am super busy at work and finally feeling the pressure of only being 1 person doing 3 or 4 people's jobs. I feel like I am floundering in some ways and finally excelling in others. I am learning though and that is the most important part.

Justin got me out golfing this past weekend. His sister Jess and her BF were up for the weekend so we got to do some family bonding. After an intense game of Trivial Pursuit Friday night where the girls WOMPED the boys in a cut throat final round I called it a night. Those 3 went out and had a bonfire and then headed in to bed. We got up Saturday and did some shopping for LEEP and headed to the golf course.


I have to admit I really am a terrible golfer. I don't like it all that much and after 9 holes I am ready to be done. Mitch said he expected a lot worse so I am not sure if that is a compliment or not. I think I did have a few good drives but my putting game pretty much bites. Justin had fun though and was already to get back out there today. Apparently he improved his score by about 5 strokes so that's always a good thing.

This weekend is Mom's day and I am headed down to Iowa to hang with my mom. Justin has to work (of course) so he can't come along. Hopefully the weather somewhat cooperates and Bear can enjoy life on the farm for a few days.

The next few weeks will be full of packing since we will be moving for sure June 1st. I will write more about that at a later time. The good news is we did find a house to rent and we will hopefully (fingers crossed) get to stay there at least 2 years! So on the move we are yet again... wow I can't tell you how ridiculously tired of moving I am. Well off to volleyball! Have a great night!