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Road Trippin' and Chicken

Do I dare say that it has been a busy week? I mean, who is not busy, really?? Monday through Thursday, Ava and I went to Iowa to stay with my sister, Katie, and her little boy, Josiah. Her husband was on a a business trip for the week. My main mission was to help Katie out since she and her family are MOVING TO MINNESOTA!!! Her husband, Ryan, was offered a new position through his company, Syngenta. They could move anywere in Minnesota and picked the Kasson area. You rock Ryan! Katie made sure that fun was on the agenda also. And fun it was indeed. On Friday (Halloween), Mark, Ava, and I went to a Fall Festival with my parents and then met up with his family afterwards. We were the proud parents of a cute little chicken that night. Pictures are in the Smilebox below. All in all, it was a busy but great week!

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Lutefisk Lover!

Well, it's official... Avalon is Norwegian indeed. Not only did she have her first taste of Lutefisk this past week, she also couldn't get enough of it. On Tuesday night, we met up with my mom, grandma, aunt, and uncle to partake in the the Norwegian tradition of the Lutheran lutefisk dinner. I have been to several of these dinners before, but go mainly for the family time, not the fish!

Nana and Papa took Avalon for two nights this past week, so Mark and I were able to meet up with some friends of ours. We met their adorable 10 week old twin boys, who are nothing short of a miracle! They have been in the Mayo NICU since birth and are very tiny, but they are in extremely good hands. Speaking of Mayo Clinic, I can give a health update also. Yesterday, I went in for some brain and spine MRI's and received some wonderful news from my neurologist. The lesions (areas of demyelination) on my brain and spine have stayed the same size, which means that my condition is staying very stable. The worst case scenario would be if the lesions were increasing in size or if new lesions were appearing, and the best case scenario is stability in their size and shape. This was great news to hear!!! I am meeting with a Multiple Sclerosis specialist on November 6th, but other than that, there are no more doctor appointments for me in the near future. Yee Haw!!!!!!! And just to be clear, I am NOT DIAGNOSED with MS. The neurologists need to make sure to rule out any other conditions that may be mimicking MS. Although they suspect it is MS, I do not have a clinical diagnosis at this time. =) On a totally different note, below are some new pictures (some from Ava's 1 year portraits). Have a great weekend and love you all!

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Project time is ending...

Now that the days are cooling WAY down, our work time outside is coming to an end. It is bittersweet because we love being outside, but at the same time, we look forward to a season (or two) of rest from yard work. As of this afternoon, Mark has completely finished the lattice work project below our deck and it looks amazing! But now he's getting busy with his beer making hobby and is even going to visit a brewery up in the cities next weekend. He'll be going with Matt, our neighbor and fellow "zymurgist" (beer maker). Mark and Matt can talk about beer making as much as middle school girls can talk about boys... Avalon and I are still recooping from her big birthday party last weekend (pics to come later). Below are some pictures of what we worked on this summer. Happy Fall!

Avalon is one!

It's hard to believe that a year has come and gone. Honestly, it seems like just yesterday that Mark and I found out the big news that I was pregnant! God decided to send a little angel, Avalon Rose, down to us. It has been such a privilege being the parent of a child with a heart so big, a love so deep, a laugh so contagious, a smile so brilliant, and a joy that lights up the room. Man, does she have us wrapped around her finger or what??? I thank God for her every day and am amazed at how deep love can go... and even more amazed to think that Christ loves us all this deeply!

I posted Ava's first birthday pictures (and even a couple of videos) in the Smilebox below. A word to the wise: When you open the Smilebox, HIT THE "PAUSE" BUTTON AS SOON AS YOU SEE IT. Then you can just click the arrow to move through the pages at your own pace. Autoplay does not seem to work the best when videos are in the Smilebox. Enjoy!

Ava's First Birthday

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Summer 2008 PhotoBook

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Summertime Sentiment

Being that it has been a couple of months since my last update, I figured it was time to post! Isn't it funny that I actually thought I would update every week??? Mmmm, hmmm... right. I started this blogging thing before having an active little girl! I will try to maintain it monthly from here on out. We shall see! So here are the updates...
July ~ Earlier in July, we went down to Iowa to help my sister's family put up a pole shed for their horses. My aunt, uncle, and cousins came too, which made it more like a big party. Well, the guys probably would say it was anything but a party. Later in July, my whole family (parents, sisters and their families) went to Wisconsin Dells and stayed at the Chula Vista Resort and Waterpark. We went to the Tommy Bartlett show and were able to see Lake Delton all drained out. Needless to say, there were more juggling acts than there were skiing stunts. We celebrated dad and mom's 35th anniversary at Marley's Caribbean restaurant which was great. But the most memories were made in the watery wonderland at Chula Vista. And of course, all of the kids LOVED the waterpark!
August~ Mark continued working on outside projects while I continued working on... you guessed it... landscaping. One August highlights was going to the Steele Co. Fair with my mom, sister, and relatives (saw some Ze-donks & kangaroos at the petting zoo!). Also, Mark, Ava, and I went to the Tommy James and the Shondells Riverside concert (and celebrated Mark's dad's, um, 40th birthday), and we also made it to the Hatfield family reunion (Sara's side). Mark said that on our reunion nametags, we should have been the McCoys. So like Mark! Last, but definitely not least, we went to our niece Zoee's birthday party. It was dog-themed and we had a howlin' good time! The house was called "The Dawg pound", there were hotdogs, puppy chow, and other themed foods, served in dog dishes (newly-purchased of course!). Shawn, our brother-in-law, placed the pinata strategically over my dad's newly purchased '08 Corvette. Dad caught onto that one right away. No heart attacks ensued. Fortunately we were not mandated to bring our dog, Cash, to the party.
September~ Earlier this month, Ava and I were able to go to the Marigold Days parade with family. We watched our share of marching bands, firetrucks, and shriner cars (that was Ava's and Josiah's favorite!) The following weekend we co-hosted a neighborhood picnic. We had a great turnout, but unfortunately had about 30 people in our garage due to the cruddy weather. Then last weekend, we went on a car run over to Wisconsin with my parents and many other couples. They took the Corvette and we took their Camaro convertible. We went to Hanson's Holdup (by Arcadia) which was a western-style bar & grill. It had an awesome view! Luckily we were able to do the run baby-free because Mark's folks took the rugrat. She now knows many new bad habits! kidding... THE BEST HIGHLIGHT OF THE MONTH IS THAT AVA IS WALKING!!! She has changed ALOT over the past couple months and is going to be one on October 9th. Where has time gone???

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Catching up for June!

Hello! Here are our June highlights in a nutshell (Make sure to check out the SmileBox that follows this posting too):

We got to hang out with Katie and Josiah (my sister and nephew)when they came early on in June for a little family time. Josiah was showing Avalon the proper way to execute the baby swing sitting position. He's a pro!

Father's Day was busy! Ava made breakfast in bed for Mark. She is really quite proficient in the kitchen! Then we went to mom and dad's church and their Park'n'Praise car show after the service. We also hung out with the rowdy in-laws, who showed up just in time for some food, croquet, and ladder ball. Competition has never been so hot! Chuck (Mark's dad)re-enacted a scene from weekend at Bernie's (snapshot in Smilebox). My dad, on the other hand, is trying out for Abercrombie modeling (snapshot also in SB).

Mid June was when we got to have Avalon's cousin Zoee over. We took advantage of our nearby park. Zoee showed Ava what playing hard is all about. =)

Later in June, we celebrated Mom's birthday by going to Red Lobster. Only the best treatment for the Queen! She even held a lobster. Yuck. Mom and dad also celebrated 35 years of marraige on June 30th. Congrats you guys!

Lastly, yours truly and her other half have been slaving away on the landscaping. Literally, slaving away... it started out fun, but you know how that turns out. I was working on our back hill, completely rearranging the 2,000 sq foot butterfly garden. Mark was in the front yard, working on our retaining wall. No picturs of these yet, but will get some posted soon.

A day in the life of a duck...

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Pinewood Visit & Memorial Day...

Well, I was able to make it into Pinewood again to see my former students! It was a blast because the weather was perfect and I was able to see almost all of my old kiddos. I love you guys! Remember, in a couple of years you can be Ava-sitters! ;)
Last weekend, we spent Memorial Day in Fairmont at Mark's grandma's house on the lake. Go figure that I remembered the camera, but left the battery for it at home in the charger. So no pics, but in a nutshell, Mary and I slaved away all weekend landscaping, and Mark and the guys played frisbee-golf, went on the kayak, played the Wii, and so on and so on. Luckily, they have hard working women who know how to turn dirt, watch kids and babies, and make a mean egg-bake. Thanks again Tonya and Meggie for playing Ava-mom #2! Now Mark and I are in the process of remulching our butterfly garden in the back, 40 bags and counting!

Mark and I are looking forward to going to Mark's cousin's wedding in WI this weekend, so Papa and Nana get to watch Ava for the WHOLE weekend! I am excited to have my first overnight break from motherhood because I know she is in good hands. Papa... easy on the accelerator! Oh, and here are a couple of pics of mom and I hiking with Ava in the woods behind her house; the blue bells were awesome!

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Ava's dedication and more...

Well, Avalon was dedicated last Sunday and we had a fun brunch/swimming celebration that followed the dedication service. I am so grateful to my mom, Mary (Mark's mom), and Katie (my "local" sister~ missed you though Mandi!) for helping me out with food preparation. You guys are the bomb! It was great to see everyone and thanks again for taking time out of Mother's Day to celebrate with us. I have created a Smilebox where you can see pictures from the dedication and celebration... if you were there, you may be in it! For other news, we had our wonderful neighbors move out this week. We'll miss our walks Kelly and Devin! Mark and I are also currently in the process of re-staining our deck. A few words to the wise... Seal Maxx or maintenance-free decking is the only way to go!!!

A few things...

Well, there are a few things worth mentioning this week. First, Avalon is going to be 7 months old tomorrow. These past 7 months have gone by in a blink of an eye. Ava's newest quirk is making a smacking noise with her tongue on her lips. She thinks it is hilarious when we make that noise back at her. She continues to love looking at herself (where does she get that from????), and it's a guarantee that when she's looking at herself in the mirror, she's as happy as a bug in a rug. The picture confirms how narcissistic she really is.

Second, Mark has made the 10 year mark at Crenlo. I'm sure that he would say it's not even worth mentioning, but I think it is. His time at Crenlo has built our home, sustained our family, and is taking care of 100% of his college tuition. Not too shabby! And the icing on the top of the cake is that we get to pick a (small) gift as a token of Crenlo's appreciation. I guess 10 years of hard work gets an individual a pair of binoculars. Now we can go peeping on our neighbors. Watch out Freemeyers and Heinos!

The last thing is that Ava is being dedicated at our church this Sunday. It is a ceremony where we, as parents, publicly commit ourselves to raising up Avalon in the ways of the Lord. We are having a brunch for friends and family following the dedication. The brunch is at the Comfort Inn & Suites and we have access to the swimming pool. Yee-haw! I'll for sure post pictures of that. Well, that is it for now.

Welcome to our blog!

Greetings! I figured that with so many friends and family out of state, in addition to trying to keep up with former students, I figured a blog was the only way to keep up with everyone. I should have listened to the promptings of my mom and started a blog over a year ago... mother always knows best, right?! This initial post will be a little lengthier just because it is the first. Well here is an update for you all...

Mark is very busy supporting his family. I am proud of him for working so hard, allowing me to be a full-time mom. He has been working at Crenlo about 10 years now! He is also working on his business degree (with an emphasis on Finance) through Augsburg College in Rochester. He is a couple years into his schooling and is trying to take on-line classes, in addition to his regular classes. Other than work, school, and fatherhood, he is working on projects around the house (hopefully the basement is next). He also tries to find time to listen to music and play the Wii that he just got for his birthday gift. Let's just say he thinks he is now a professional bowler...

Sara (yours truly) is staying occupied with being a full time mom and wife. I am so grateful and blessed to be at home! I miss my students and my old colleagues, but know that God has placed me in the most important job in the world... wife and mother. I also have been a lia sophia advisor (direct selling of jewelry) for a little over a year now and have been doing 2-3 shows a month, which has been a perfect balance! When I am not cleaning, cooking, doing laundry, taking care of lia sophia business, playing with Ava, or pestering Mark, I like to get together with friends and family, do a little reading, or just get outside for a little bit. I cannot wait to get back into my garden! My newest hobby is creating Smileboxes (e-greetings) because it is a fantastic way to avoid doing something constructive. As my oldest sister's senior quote stated, "Procrastination is the art of yesterday." Now, with maintaining a blog, I have a new means of procrastination. Hallelujah!

Avalon Rose (aka "Ava") is 6 months old now and is currently sitting up, eating solids, rolling over, and her newest passion is hanging out in her Jumperoo. She has 2 teeth and is drooling up a storm. She is the biggest blessing that Mark and I could have ever expected; she is an Angel Baby. I'm being totally serious when I say that... she is honestly way easier than I ever would have expected a baby to be and I don't expect any future children (Lord willing we have more) to be as happy and easy-going as she has been. She sleeps 11 hours a night, and is content pretty much wherever she is put. Her one tick is that she is very aware of who is holding her and she is sometimes not too sure that she likes going to total strangers. That is when she does "the lip". Some of you know what I am talking about! Otherwise, she is always wearing a smile and loves to be sung to, read to, bounced around, and danced with.

That is it for now. In a nutshell, God has been good! I'll try to maintain weekly posts, but we'll see what happens. God bless!