Miriam got a hair cut (courtesy of my mom ... a talented hair stylist and the lady who has cut my hair all but a handful of times in my life). Abby says mommy has Aunt Shelley hair now (that is a good thing Shelley).
Long hair just before.
The side shot of long hair in the seat and ready to take the plunge.
This is not a dead dog. This is similar to what the new vacuum cleaner bag contents look like though.
Beautiful new style to complement an already beautiful face.
I am trying to start a tradition of putting up some kind of train each year ... hopefully one that will go around the tree and among the presents. Abby and Luke thing it's a good idea.
My big helper.
All bundled up with his mama.
Trying so hard to be just like her daddy.
Daddy's snow angel.
And Abby's angel? Looks more like a butterfly, but it works for me.
On 12/16/07 our church put on the annual Kids Christmas play. Abby took up her designated post of being an animal and Luke was a star. Miriam asked Abby what animal she wanted to be and she replied, "A snake." I don't think Abby has quite grasped the symbolic meaning of the snake in relation to church yet ... you know the whole satan in the form of a serpent thing (not really appropriate for the Christmas play). So, after ruling out a snake Abby had to choose between a bumblebee and a lion ... should have been a pretty easy choice right. Abby chose a bumblebee. She was super cute.
Check out the stinger on that one.
Above is how Abby looked in the play. I was charged with transitioning Abby from her church outfit to her bumblebee outfit. She had on a sweater over her long sleeve black shirt and jeans on over her tights. She, of course, wouldn't go anywhere without her boots. Little did I know that Miriam had intended for me to merely replace the sweater with the bumblebee costume and remove her boots. I removed her pants and put her boots back on ... I thought it looked cute. Kind of fashionably 80's ... which is back in style.
Who could resist giving this bumblebee a hug?
A couple of weeks ago my side of the family had our Thanksgiving/Christmas bash. We rent out the Levasy Civic Center which has a basketball court, some bleachers, a stage, and a kitchen. This is just perfect for us to get together, eat, play, have fun, and let the kids do their thing.
The group consists of mainly my mom's side of the family and looks like this:
So there were quite a few kids running around. Grandma Mary (my dad's mom) was also there. The kids had a blast ... I had a blast. There were all sorts of toys, balls, and little kids kitchenettes to play with. My dad and Uncle Rog brought Cornhole and we played it indoors. My dad smoked me. I am still recovering from the loss (but if I get depressed enough from continually losing to him, at least I can wrestle him to the ground and put him in a submission hold). My dad is actually a member of the cornhole association or something.
I didn't have my camera with me and so I don't have any pictures so I am looking for some help from the fam here. if you have some could you email me some, burn them to a CD and email them to me or post them on the web. Thanks.
And I am pretty sure I am at least 51% kid and 49% adult. Games of all kinds just peak my interest.
That is what I tell our new vacuum. We bought a Eureka 4870 Boss vacuum cleaner. This thing really sucks in a good way. New carpet we have had for 7 months and vacuumed numerous times with our old vacuum still had tons of new carpet fiber on it. Our new vacuum bag was full after 15 minutes of cleaning the new carpet. WOW! I am extremely happy with the performance of this vacuum after just 30 minutes of using it. It is only $130 and is a Consumer Reports Best Buy choice beating the pricey highly touted Dyson cleaners. Did I mention it is only $130. You can get it at WalMart. Now, hopefully it is reliable. I'll keep you updated. I am sure you're on the edge of your seat.
Abby opened one of her Christmas presents early ... a custom made apron from Mommy!!! She was thrilled, as you can tell by the look on her face (not being sarcastic).
Helping mom make sugar cookies ... and snickering a bit in the process.
Hello Everyone!
We hope and pray that you are having a blessed Christmas season! We are enjoying the season around here. Abigail was thrilled when we put up our Christmas tree and lights outside. She loves to look at them, but she reminds us that, “we just look, we never touch.” It’s always a bit sobering to hear your own words come out of your two year old’s mouth. We often hear her singing familiar songs to her babies as she nurses and rocks them and she prays with them before they “eat” when she puts them in their highchair. She loves to read them her favorite stories.
As you probably guessed, Abby is doing very well, I often need to remind myself that she is only 2 and not 5. She talks and acts like she is much older than her two years. She loves to undress her baby brother, the other day while I was cooking dinner, she and Luke were playing in the living room. Abby came running into the kitchen and cried, “look at me, mommy, I have Wukie’s pants on!” She was thrilled that she had stripped him down and swapped pants with him. She was quite a site to see with his 6-9 month pants on; tight high-waters would describe her look well. Meanwhile, Luke was rolling all over the place in the living room, happy as can be, with no pants on. Luke is quite a content, peaceful little man. He loves to roll all around and play with his toys. He’s at the stage now where he is pushing his torso, from the waist up off the ground (female push-up style). He’s such a blessing. And it is such a joy for us to see Abby play with him, and his round little face light up as he giggles and kicks with glee. They sure love each other, and we hope that continues for the rest of their lives.
I wanted to share another Abby issue I encounter frequently with her. It involves shopping, which is not very fun with two little ones. Abby insists upon walking while we shop (she shops too), and I thought I would share with you a few of the things I have said to her, based upon the things I have found in our cart…”Abby, please put the Vienna sausages back, no we don’t need corned beef hash either.” “Why do we have these?” Abby—“I want them, mommy.” “No, Abby, we don’t need Doggy Temptations.” (apparently some type of doggy treat for a dog that we don’t own). Or, my embarrassment at having to dump 27 packages of socks of assorted sizes on the floor by the sock racks at Target, because I was too tired and too frustrated to sit there and sort them and put them back while she proceeded to pull more down. The one advantage of having her walking next to me, is that she is a talking Christmas wish list, it makes shopping for her quite easy!
Speaking of Christmas, last night I had the fabulous idea to make Christmas sugar cookies for Abby to “paint” with icing. Even though I followed the recipe perfectly, and even refrigerated the dough to cut down on gooeyness while rolling, it was still sticky and nearly impossible to roll out and a disaster to use cookie cutters with. So, while I am fuming inside, trying to roll out this impossible dough, Abby is standing next to me on a stool with a mound of cookie cutters in front of her. She would quickly grab one and jam it into the dough while I wasn’t looking, ruining that portion of dough, and requiring me to re-roll it, which only worsens the sticky problem. I was getting really frustrated, and she could tell (perhaps because I said, “gosh-darnit” after another one of her swipes at the dough). She looked up at me with a sugary sweet smile (the kind she uses when she knows she’s done something wrong) and said, “Are you happy mommy?” While thinking about how to answer that question, she added, “Do you love God?” and proceeded to ask those two questions over and over. Nothing like being reminded by your young daughter about the reason for the season; I encourage you in this season of busyness and (and sometimes even frustration) to, from the mouth of my 2 year old, “Be happy and love God!”
Have a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year!
Love,
Corey, Miriam, Abby and LukeAbby loves to play with the nativity scene. She often rearranges it ... usually with some pretty interesting combinations.
Moving the shepherd boy. Yes that is a black panther in the back (It's my little addition to the nativity scene every year).
Admiring her work.
And trying to ride the camel and why not? Camels are supposed to be ridden ... right? Poor camel.
I made a bunch of posts recently so be sure to scroll down and view them all. Also, if you are interested in some non family stuff you can check out my blog cradle4.blogspot.com.
Not the greatest picture but it gives you a feel for our living room this Christmas. Abby loves the nativity scene at the right of the picture.
We spent Monday before Thanksgiving through the following Sunday at Miriam's Mom and Dad's house. We had a great time. Here are some pictures from the week.
Hallie, Me and Abby. Hallie (her cousin) and Abby are in cute matching pajamas.
Luke (our boy), Natalie (Joel -miriam's brother- and Shelley's girl), and Tristan (Dan -miriam's brother- and Sarah's boy). This is the youngest of each of the family that was there over Thanksgiving.
Me, Abby, Hallie, Will (Dan and Sarah's oldest), and Mom Block enjoying the hot tub. The kids loved it.
In general, we had a great time. Food was good, family was great, the games we played were fun (even with those who can't follow directions). And Dan is amazing at fixing/tearing apart/putting back together an ATV ... just for the record.
I posted this entry with windows live writer so if you don't like the way the pictures are linked to then let me know. I may switch back how I was doing it before.
So this post is a little late but ... better late than never.
Check out Marvin Mann's story here. Miriam and I know Marvin from Kirksville. I am not sure how Miriam knew the Mann Family (a story for her to tell) but she knew them when I met her in 2000. It would be hard to put all the memories I have from their house/ranch/farm into this post. If you read the link then you know about Marvin's injuries. Marvin is an amazing fellow. No doubt about it. I have had the privilege of getting to know him and his family. I helped Marvin build a playset (more like a small apartment complex) for their kids when I was in college and there is just something you learn from being around a guy like him. Laura (Marvin's wife) is a great lady who will never let you leave her house on an empty stomach (great for me outside of wrestling season ... not so good in). I have much respect for Marvin. Thanks to all the folks who have served or are serving honorably in the military.
My nephew, Brycen (he's just over 3) ... the thuggish pirate.
Miriam flew out with Luke on Friday night to see her sister in Columbus, Ohio and won't be back until Tuesday night. She flew Skybus and got a ridiculously good deal ... like $40 round trip ... seriously. There are limitations to the airline but if you fly in or out of Columbus, Ohio check it out at www.skybus.com.
So what does a daddy and his daughter do when mommy leaves for the weekend. We dropped Miriam off at the airport at 9:30 pm on Friday and got home and Abby in bed around 10:15 pm.
Saturday, Abby woke up at around 7:30 am. We goofed around and wrestled on the bed for a while. We ate some breakfast ... cereal for both of us and of course Abby's daily dose of "dip my graham cracker in my milk." We went to the gas station, Walmart (diapers, ammo, and hair ties), and then off to the YMCA. Abby played in soft play area while I swam and worked out. We got out of there about 11:20 am and headed over Aunt Stacy and Uncle Pete's house. My dad was there ... nice surprise. Aunt Stacy watched Abby inside while the boys went out and shot .22's, shotguns, and my cousin BJ let me shoot is new glock (sweet handgun).
We left around 1:50 pm or so and I had Abby in bed by 2:30 pm. She slept until 5:30 pm while I picked up the house and did some things on the computer. Abby woke up, we ate some dinner and played around the house. Then around 7:30 pm we went to McDonalds to get some ice cream. Abby loved it and we had a great time. We also so some friends, Mike and Penny Lotz, and chatted with them for a while.
On the way home at 8:30 pm, we stopped by some friends that live 2 blocks away to tell their just-turned-4 daughter happy birthday. We didn't end up leaving until 9:30 pm ... their just those kind of folks ... always welcoming and always a pleasure to hang out with. Because of the time we skipped Abby's bath and went straight to bed. I did some more work around the house and went to bed about 11:30 pm.
It is now 7:45 am on Sunday morning. Abby was up at 6 am ... apparently daylight savings doesn't mean anything to her. We played, ate and are now getting ready to take a bath and go the 9 am church service.
We are missing mommy and Luke, but having a good time with just the two of us.
So if you know me then you know I am (or attempt to be) organized and can sometimes get uptight about it. Well, recently I have had kind of a mental switch from keeping everything because I might need it to getting rid of the stuff that we just don't use. It is a stress producer for me to keep track of all our stuff. I have a tendency (thank you dad) to be a bit of a pack rat. I don't need to keep everything. I always think, "I might need this 6 months down the road so I better keep it." Doesn't matter I haven't used it in 2 years. Well, now I am leaning towards, "I haven't used it in 2 years, so get rid of it." If I need it 6 months down the road, I'll go buy it. It'll save me stress. You may be wondering what this has to do with Digitizing and Energy Savings ... wonder no more.
As part of my getting rid of stuff, I occasionally go through my filing cabinet (where I file too much stuff) and see what I can weed out. I had to file an Aquila (electric) bill and saw that I had all my Aquila bills for the last 3 years (basically since we got back from Romania). Aha! A perfect candidate for weeding out. I can scan these 36 pages of bills into just 3 documents and store it on my computer as a pdf, then shred those paper bills. As I was looking at my bills I noticed our energy usage from last year for that month was considerably lower which got me thinking. And me thinking can be dangerous (and potentially time wasting). So being the geek that I am, not only did I digitize my Aquila bills, I also entered the important data into a spreadsheet and graphed some of the stuff I find interesting(It only took a total of 2 hours to throw all this together). The main point of me looking at this data is to find out how we are "spending our electricity" so I can slow our usage a little and SAVE SOME MONEY.
In 2005 (the most recent date such statistics are available - links to an excel file at the department of energy) the average american household used an average of 938 kWH (Kilowatt Hours). In Missouri that number was 1102 kWH. In 2006 we used an average of 699 kWH/month, which was well below national and Missouri averages for the prior year ... yay for us. Unfortunately, our 2007 monthly average is already at 1000 kWH. So I want to know why this is. What happened that caused us to use more electricity? check out my geeky cool graphs for some insight.
So this graph (above) shows our average daily use per billing period (total kWH for billing period / number of days in biling period). Check out the spike around August (billing period 8). Hot summer? Run our air conditioner too much? Our new deep freeze purchased in december of 2006 working too hard? What gives?
And here is daily change.
The last graph is a big one for me. This is how much money we could have saved had we only used as much energy as we did the year before. $280. It's not life changing but hey $280 is an iPod.
So, I will be consciously thinking about turning off lights and trying to save energy. Good for the environment (at least as much as piddly little me can make) and good for my wallet.
So what about you, how much electricity do you use? Let me know in the comments or send an email. And you don't have to tell me, I am a geek ... I know this.
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