Can you believe we are having 80 degree weather in November. Yesterday it was so nice outside, I called Chris to see if he could have lunch with us in the park. It was so nice!! I wanted to get some pics of Madi in the leaves, but they clean the park up too fast. There wasn't any pretty leaves left on the ground. There are more in my backyard from the neighbors than what was in the park. Also, all the pretty fall flowers have turned brown. So, we didn't get any fall pics taken. But, Madi is slowly starting to sit on her own. She does really good as long as she has toys in front of her and they stay within her reach.

She also has come down with a cold. Saturday she was miserable. She had diahrrea all day and her nose won't stop running. She's getting a little better. She at least isn't as cranky, but still tired and her nose is still running.

I had a wonderful time this weekend with my mom and Tabatha (my sister-in-law). Tabatha got us started in with scrapbooking. We spent a total of 5 hours in Hobby Lobby in two days looking at all the scrapbooking supplies and getting ideas. All three of us were able to get some pages done and they look wonderful. Of course, my subject is Madi. Mom did a page with Madi and my dad. Tabatha did pages on Bud (their dog). But I sent all the scrapbooking tools home with mom so I could get some sewing projects done this week.

Got to get busy. Have a great rest of the week and enjoy the nice weather while we have it!

Love, Amy

I hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween. I haven't written in awhile because I was afraid I would write something about the surprise addition we were working on for Chris' Grandparents. They left for NH 3 weeks ago and the last 2 weeks everyone in Salina has been at their house working on a kitchen addition. They arrived in Salina Tuesday night at 5:30 to a brand new and huge kitchen. If you haven't been in their old kitchen, it was so narrow that the refrigerator door wouldn't even open all the way and there was only enough room in there for one person to work. As you can see, we can get alot more people in than one now.

Yesterday, Grandma Betty made breakfast for the girls. Jane, Terri and I came over for breakfast with Grandma and Grandpa. It was so good and I know Grandma had a ball cooking in her kitchen. Madi and I were at their house most of the day yesterday. Jane and I took Grandma Betty out to find a table to put in the kitchen. We found a nice one at K-Mart and went back and set it up. It looks really nice. Grandpa is excited that they can sit in the kitchen and drink coffee now. It will be so nice at Christmas this year when everyone comes home and it will be easier to fix a big meal!!















My mom and I got Madi's costume done this last weekend. Madi also had orange booties that went with her costume, but I don't have any really good pictures with them on. She was so cute. She had her costume on at Grandma Betty's, so everyone got to see her there. We then went to Chris' other Grandma's house and stayed and visited. Then we went to my Mom and Dad's and visited with them for awhile. We didn't want to have to get her in and out of a carseat this year to visit a bunch of people. Next year we will do the drive all over town and hit everyone's house thing.








Chris is off to Beloit this weekend to go pheasant hunting. Dan, Bob, Bobby and Chris will stay in Bob's big tent out at the farm. Dad and Jason will also be there. They always have a big party Saturday night out in the shop. Eat, eat and eat. Also drink, drink and drink. We thought about taking Madi up this year but have decided not to. Sorry Andrea. We always have our girls weekend when the guys leave. We sew and watch movies and order pizza. Just hang out and have fun. This year we have two new girls joining us, Madi and Tabatha. So it will be a lot of fun!!! I figure this will probably be our last year for our girls weekend. Next year it will be alot easier to take Madi up and she will have alot more fun, running around and playing.


Well, I have to finish getting the house cleaned up, it has been neglected for three days. And also finish getting everything washed up for Chris for the weekend. Take care and have a wonderful weekend!!

Love, Amy

We had a fun and crazy weekend. Bob's Creative Taxidermy had its open house Saturday. He had a great turn out and we all had a really good time.

Friday was supposed to be a cleanup and get ready day. Turned out to be a mess of an afternoon. Chris and Ryan(his employee) were moving dirt on the side of the building and getting ready to lay more rock in the parking lot. They were leaving to haul off some dirt and concrete when the wheat truck they were driving fell into a sink hole behind the shop. Totally destroyed the truck. The ground gave out underneath the back left wheels and fell into a 3 ft hole. They were okay, but a little shocked. We had the police and city workers out. It took an hour for the tow truck driver to get the truck out of the hole. (Pictures should be coming soon!) Crazy sight to see.

Here are some pics from the open house. The top picture is Bob (on the left) and his son Bobby. Bob had two drawings for pheasant mountings. Chris went crazy at Wal-Mart Friday night and got a bunch of stuff to give out as door prizes. He had so much stuff, almost everyone there walked away with something and he was drawing numbers every five minutes. It was great and the kids that were there had fun.

The second picture is some of Bob's mounts. He has a lot of neat mounts and I will have more pics in my photo albums.



I had Madi in her camo outfit. She was so cute. These two pictures were in the workroom in Bob's shop. He had a bear skin laying on the table. We layed Madi on it and started snapping pics. I think they turned out pretty neat.

She had fun Saturday too. She had a lot to look at and people holding her. She did really good. She took an hour nap in the morning before everyone got there and then a half hour nap in the afternoon when things started slowing down. She was a tired girl that night.

I hope everyone has a great week!!

Love, Amy

Next Saturday is Bob's (Chris' cousin) open house for his Taxadermy business. There will be food and a chance to see alot of Bob's awesome work. He just finished a peacock yesterday. I haven't seen it, but I can only imagine that it is just beautiful. If you aren't busy, please stop by. He is in the new addition to Chris' shop. I think everyone knows where it is, if not, give me a call.

This was just too cute to pass up taking a picture of. I had her on the counter while I was making supper and had all the bottles out for hamburgers next to her. She is very persistent in reaching and getting what she wants. And of course everything goes into her mouth. (Don't worry, it was empty and cleaned out.)

This is the face she makes when she is trying to get something. It is so funny. She juts her chin out and sticks her tongue out and tips her head back. She is such a card.

This same night, one year ago, I had just found out I was pregnant. What a trying and rewarding year it has been. And if you know me, keeping a secret is really hard. But we wanted to make sure everything was going to be okay this time before we told all of our family. So we had to wait until Thanksgiving before we would tell anyone. (Except our parents and siblings of course). After that, it was still really hard for me to plan too much or buy anything. I don't think I bought anything until February. I had morning sickness almost the whole pregnancy and if I let myself get too hungry, it would make me nausious. We had only been in our new house for two months when I started having pregnancy symptoms and one of mine was getting sick with certain smells. Our house had sat empty for awhile before we bought it and they smoked in the kitchen. There was this odor in the walls when you walk in the backdoor (at least I could smell it, maybe not everyone else) but everyday when I came home for lunch it would make me sick and I would have to run to the bathroom. It was horrible. But I would do it again in a heartbeat!! Madi is the greatest reward ever!! I couldn't imagine life without her and more babies would be icing on the cake.

Take care and have a great week!!

Love, Amy

Burr!!!! It went from being nice and having the windows open to being cold and needing the heater. What happened to the nice low 70s fall weather?

Well, I guess my projects right now fit the weather. I have 3 sewing projects going. I am still working on a baby announcement cross-stitch wall hanging for Madi's room. I have been working on this since I was put on bed rest before she came. Slow going. I am also working on quilts. I am making Chris a jean quilt to take with him to deer camp and if I get it done soon, he can take it pheasant hunting also. I thought I was done with the top and I had him make sure it was long enough. Of course, he wants it longer so I need to add a couple more rows. But it isn't hard and I am having fun working on it. My mom came over this weekend and we worked on it together. Sewing is something we both enjoy doing and it is so fun to work on projects together. I am also working on baby rag quilts. I have one that needs to be done very soon and then I have 2 more cousins that are pregnant and will need to start on those. I also still haven't made Madi one and want to get that done before it gets too terribly cold. I have moved my sewing machine upstairs onto the dining table so I can work on them more while Madi is playing.

Two weekends ago Jason and Tabatha were in town. We all went out to eat Sunday and then wanted to go to the Bison Company and pick pumpkins. Of course, the guys didn't want to go, so the four girls went. Madi made her first trip to the pumpkin patch!!! But she will never know, because she slept the whole time. I was so surprised. We had her in a wagon in her carseat and pulled her through the pumpkin patch and she didn't even budge! (Insert pic but blogger won't, ugh!! Check out October pics in my pictures) It really didn't feel like pumpkin pickin' time that day because it was 97 degrees. Hot, sweaty, but fun!! We should go again now that it is cooler.

Last weekend Chris was at his parents house all weekend helping to reroof two sides of their house. Madi and I went over for a little bit on Saturday to watch. She enjoyed sitting outside and watching the trees blowing in the wind. It was cute!! We went home and meet my mom to start sewing while Dad went to Beloit.

I am off to cut more jeans up. If anyone has any jeans laying around they want to get rid of. Let me know, I would be glad to take them off your hands. I am hoping to make several more. Everyone take care and enjoy the weather!!

Love, Amy

We are home!!!! We had a nice vacation, but I was so ready to be back in Kansas and on familiar roads.

We left Salina at 2 pm Friday. We drove straight through to Chris' Aunt Beth's house in South Carolina, pulling in at noon on Saturday. They didn't know we were coming so it was a surprise for them. Walter (Chris' cousin) and his wife Laura came to town and we went out for supper and had a nice visit with them. Walt and Beth and Marybeth took us to Krispy Kreme at 11 pm. We had fresh hot donuts. It was wonderful, Chris fell in love! That was a lot of fun. And you wouldn't believe how busy this place is that late at night. Sunday we went shopping and Tommy (Chris' cousin) came home for the evening. Beth cooked supper and we had a nice visit. We had a wonderful time at Walt and Beth's.

Monday, after everyone left for work and school, we went to Charlotte, NC for the day. We went to Lowes Motor Speedway and were able to go into the middle of the track. It was so awesome. Richard Petty driving school was there that day and they had cars out racing. They had a Dale Jr. car and we got our pictures next to it. A man working for Petty came over and we started talking to him and asking questions. He then asked if I wanted to sit in the car and get my picture taken. Of Course!!! It was so COOL!!! We walked around like we owned the place, no one said a word and it didn't cost a thing. I was on cloud nine of course and I really want to go to a race now. We left there and went to Hendrick Motorsports. He owns Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch's race teams. Not at all fan of those drivers but we wanted to get Chris' dad something, he likes Gordon (Blah!!) We then went to Roush Racing. Saw the shops of Mark Martin, Carl Edwards, Jamie McMurray, Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth. While we were at Kenseth's shop, his crew chief, Robbie Riser walked out of the shop and Chris asked if we could get his picture. So, I got my pic with him. Still not one of our favorite drivers, but he is a past champion and could win again this year. Next was Dale Earnhardt Inc. They had a nice place and a lot of Dale Sr. memorabilia. Got a bunch of stuff in the gift shop. We were hoping to see Jr. there, but we didn't (darn). Ya right, I probably would have peed my pants!!! We then rushed to Richard Childress' shop and museum. They said they were open until 5. We got there at 4:15 and they wouldn't let us go through the museum with less than an hour until they closed. Would have been nice to know that before we drove an hour to get there. Oh well. Got a lot of nice things in the gift shop. But we know there was a lot of Dale Sr. stuff in the museum, we could see part of it through the back door. So, we left there and drove back to Beth's and stayed the night.

Tuesday we said our goodbyes and left for Charleston, SC. This starts the Civil War hunting of our vacation. Chris is really in to wanting to find relics and learning all about the Civil War. Really wanted to get himself a gun. We went to Charleston and visited Fort Sumter, which is where the Civil War began. We took a boat ride out into the mouth of the harbor right before it opens into the Atlantic Ocean and visited the Fort. It was really neat. Madi had her first boat ride!!! She did such an awesome job. She got a little sun that day but she was such a doll. After we got back we went to the open air market and shops. But everything closes at 5, it was a little disappointing. But it was such a busy town and so cramped. We decided to leave town and head towards Atlanta. We wound ourselves through Georgia, Tennessee, and Missouri for the next couple of days just visiting battle sites.

Madi had her 4 month checkup on Friday before we left town. She is 11 lbs 15 oz and 24.5 in long. She has made it to the 72 percentile in height and 18 percentile for weight. No cereal yet, she wants to wait until 6 months. Which is fine, she is doing much better with her bottles. I also asked about the teething and the doctor said that babies really start to drool at this age but teeth don't usually come until 6 months. She got a cold while we were gone. She has a cough and you can feel it rattling in her chest, it's getting better, just keeping up with the cough medicine. We finally graduated to 3-6 month onesies but alot of the separates are still way too big for her. Her waist is just so little, she was still wearing a pair of premie shorts on our vacation. Her new thing is that she has found her toes. It kept her occupied several times on our trip.







I am still working on downloading pictures. So, please check back soon and they should be done.

Love, Amy

I haven't been keeping up lately like I have been. When my back went out, I couldn't get on the computer and I just haven't been in the mood lately to sit down and do anything.

A couple of weeks ago, we went to Beloit and got pictures taken by my cousin Andrea. Here are a couple of my favorites.


She did such an awesome job. It is going to be tough choosing which one I want to put in the living room.

My mom and dad are on vacation right now. I talked to them yesterday and they were in Yellowstone. They left last Wednesday and were headed to Montana. Dad has always wanted to see that part of the country. I am sure it is just beautiful. I can't wait to see their pictures.

Chris has been working non stop for the last month and a half. I don't think he has taken a day off yet. But it is wearing on him and he is ready to get away. As long as nothing comes up in the next couple of days, we are planning on leaving town Friday for a weeks vacation. Chris wants to go to Tennessee and Virginia. There are alot of Civil War sites in both of these states. We had so much fun 2 years ago in Gettysburg exploring and learning about the battles that went on there. It should be fun learning and visiting other battle sites. It will also be an experience doing this with a 4 month old!!!

Madi is doing well. We are dealing with teething right now. At least I think it is teething. She is constantly chewing on her fingers and anything she can get in her mouth. Drooling like crazy. Since last Friday she gets very cranky in the afternoons and I couldn't do anything to relieve her pain. I called the doctor and he said to give her Tylenol as needed. It has helped but I can't wait to get her to the doctor on Friday. She has her 4 month checkup and shots. I am debating on whether to take her for her shots tomorrow or wait until Friday. I just don't feel comfortable getting her shots Friday morning and then making her travel. I am also hoping they will say to start giving her cereal. She just doesn't seem satisfied with just a bottle anymore. But I will keep you posted and let you know on Friday.

I have to finish laundry and getting the house cleaned up before leaving Friday.

Love, Amy

It has been a tough week around here for me. My back has been out and I have been in pain since last Wednesday. It got so bad that I couldn't pick Madi up or hold her for very long. Chris' mom came over Friday, Monday, Tuesday and this morning to help me out. This weekend we both went to my parent's house. I have been going to the Chiropractor and got some medicine from my regular doctor. Both seem to be working and I have finally been able to take care of Madi today by myself.

Chris is still working on the inside of the new addition. They got the electrical done, insulation in, and wood put on the walls. He has been painting when he can. He has been forced into coming home early and taking care of Madi. He has been a trooper. I don't have any new pics but will probably get some this weekend.

Have a great rest of the week
Love, Amy

Wow!!!! In just 3 days, Chris was able to get the whole addition done on his building. Just amazing. Here is everyone who helped work on it: Chris, Dan, Jane (Chris' parents), Jon (his brother), Bob (cousin to Dan and moving into the new addition to do Taxedermy), Bobby (Bob's son), Vicki and Jeff (Bob's daughter and her husband), Patty (Bob's wife), Claire (Bobby's wife), Tom and Betty (Chris' grandparents), and I finally made it down Monday afternoon. My mom and dad cooked lunch and brought it down on Sunday. Which was very nice. To see the transformation look at the pics in my shop photo album on the left. Satuday it rained almost all day. They were all wet and cold. They had the heater running in the shop during the day. By Monday it was sunny and warm and they had the fans blowing.

Saturday, Mom, Dad, Madi and I went to Beloit to get pictures taken by my cousin Andrea. She did a wonderful job and she got a lot of great photos. I'll pass them on once I get them. It was a great day. We stayed at Andrea's and visited all day. Of course we had plenty of entertainment between Ella, Andrea's almost 2 year old, and Madi.

Well, we have determined that Madi is teething. For the last month she has been drooling like crazy. And the last couple weeks she can't keep her fingers out of her mouth. But, she doesn't have enough coordination yet with her hands to keep a teething ring in her mouth for any length. I have been sitting with her in the evenings and holding it for her and massaging her gums. It seems to help. I think that may also be the cause of her non sleeping habits. I am just glad that it hasn't been keeping her up at night, yet.

I hope everyone has a great rest of this short week!

Love, Amy

Last night, we had all of Dan's family over for supper. That means we fed 14 adults and 3 kids. I made swiss steak, mashed potatoes, corn, and vinegar cucumbers. It was so good. I have never cooked that much food for that many people. It was hard work but I enjoyed it so much!! I could probably have Christmas at my house, now that I know I can do it. Madi was such a trooper during the day. She played on the floor and sat in her swing while I chopped and peeled vegetables. But she was so tired last night. She had a few really good crying spells while everyone was here. She is starting to tell me when she has had enough with noise and people I think. Good thing about it was she went to sleep pretty good last night!! She must have been exhausted because it is 9:00 am and she is still sleeping.

I had to post this pic. She is just too cute. They said she was trying to look at the glasses on her face and she was looking cross eyed!!


Chris starts building walls tomorrow down at the shop. Hopefully it doesn't rain. Madi and I and my parents are going to Beloit tomorrow to have pictures taken. My cousin Andrea is going to take them. We also want to visit my Great Aunt Marlene and Uncle Tom, stop at the cemetary, and make a trip out to the farm. We are just going to hang out in Beloit for the day, it is going to be a lot of fun.

I miss going up there. We used to go to the farm a lot when we were younger. We had so much fun, riding four wheelers, sleeping outside in the back of the truck, getting scared by a frog that had found its way into the truck on our sleeping bags, shooting off fireworks and watching them fly clear to the "tird cellar" as my Uncle Frank would say. I thought that was so funny and I remember that still today. Darci, do you remember when we were going to walk to Uncle Melvins house and we tied our shoe strings together. As we walked the knot got tighter and tighter and we couldn't get it out. I think you ended up walking back with your shoe off and I had it trailing behind me. We weren't always the brightest kids, but we had fun!!

Enough reminiscing. I need to finish getting the kitchen cleaned back up and dishes done. Have a great weekend.

Love, Amy