Sunday, August 26, 2007

Disaster at Diamond Lake

Last Thursday night as the storms were going through the midwest, a tree fell on my parents' house. It literally split the house in two right through my parents' walk-in closet and bathroom and then finally resting just above the bedroom below, causing a hole in the floor. Thank God they were not home. Here are some pictures of the removal of the tree that weighed 50,000 lbs. and had to be removed in 8,000 lbs. sections. To see a video clip of the house on the news click on the following link and then click on the video. WNDU News Coverage

A tree also fell on their neighbor's house, but it seems like there was little to no damage.

Here are some pictures of the interior. It is a little scary.

I cannot thank God enough for protecting my parents from the damage to their house and I pray that this hole mess is taken care of quickly. I wish I could be there to help out, but I know that there really isn't anything I could do now anyway. The house is uninhabitable and the entire structure might have to be torn down. An engineer will be there in a couple of days to determine wheather it can be repaired or needs to be taken down. Please pray for my parents as they deal with this.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

FUZZI BUNZ PHOTO CONTEST

As you know, we use cloth diapers for Owen called Fuzzi Bunz. Well, this summer they are having a photo contest. So I thought it would be fun to have our own little contest and then submit the winner to the official Fuzzi Bunz Contest. Below is a brief discription of what they are looking for and the prizes. Please vote on which number you think is the best by clicking on the comments link at the end of the blog entry.

2007 Fuzzi Bunz Contest

'Bunz on the Run' Summer Photo Contest Details

We’re looking for the best, cutest and most original photos of your babies sporting their Fuzzi Bunz this summer. Whether vacationing near the Eiffel Tower or Great Wall of China, or just simply lounging at the beach or grandma’s backyard, send us your most creative baby in Bunz photograph and you could win $1,000 (USD) cash and $500 (USD) worth of Fuzzi Bunz diapers and accessories. Plus, your baby’s photo will grace the homepage of FuzziBunz.com!

Judging:
Photographs will be determined by a panel of judges selected at the sole discretion of Mother of Eden, LLC. The winning photo will be determined according to the sole discretion of the judges. Judges will be asked to consider the following criteria:

Location – Is the location of the photograph interesting, unique, fun, etc.?
Photo Interest/Creativity – Does the photo have creative or interesting elements?
Baby’s Expression – Is the baby enjoying the process (smiling, funny expression, etc.)?
Clarity of Fuzzi Bunz – Can Fuzzi Bunz be clearly seen and deciphered in the photo? Is it a positive image of Fuzzi Bunz?

These two are not entries because you can't see his face, but I love them and wanted to share them. Don't forget to vote for your favorite!

Monday, August 20, 2007

The Goodwins

Oh how we have missed the Goodwins!!!! Doug and Jill have been living in Maui for the past year and are now back on the main-land living in Portland, and expecting a little Goodwinette. We are very excited! Sad that we didn't get to visit them in Maui, but excited for their family and to have them a little bit closer. They were in NY visiting Jill's family so we drove down there to see them for a couple of days. It was very nice and good timing because I got to go to a baby shower for Jill.

Here are the boys and their new toy. They went for a walk and found this jeep in the trash. It was bulk trash day. It worked enough to make the different noises and for the guys to push Owen around in it. We had a lot of fun with it for the day and then put it back.

Here we are playing a Swedish lawn game called Kubb. It is a lot of fun and I can't wait to make our own set and teach people here to play.

Jill's sister hosted the baby shower for her at their parent's house. Here she is with Doug and her very cute lab, who is named Owen. It was very funny calling Owen and seeing the two of them respond.

Diesel and 'Owen'. Where's Maddie?

Jill is one of the cutest pregnant ladies ever! So jealous. It was incredible to see her with her little belly and her natural glow of happiness. We are so excited for their little girl to come and be a part of our extended family. We are also happy to hear that they have decided to use Fuzzi Bunz diapers, which should be no problem for them living in the environmentally conscious city of Portland.

We are really going to miss Uncle Doug and Aunt Jill!!!!

Good Timing

Uncle Timmy and Sadye came in town from South Carolina for a night, the day Mike and Bruce arrived with the moving truck. They were in Vermont for a wedding and flew out of Boston so they could see all of us. What good timing, and a good time we had seeing them. Now they just need to move back east too!

Friday, August 17, 2007

We Moved!!!!

Our lives of living in limbo for the past year are now over, at least for the moment. We have officially taken the leap and moved to the east coast. Although everything has yet to be established, Mike has a job, we have a wonderfully generous place to stay as our condo is under contract but not yet finalized, and I have a second interview next week. Things are looking up and we couldn't be more excited. The move is bitter-sweet as we have said however, because we loved living in Chicago and all of our friends and family in the area. We can't thank everyone enough for the love, support, and help in moving. Here are some pics of the transition to our new lives...

Owen and Daddy taking one last trip through the sprinkler at 1908 West Chase.

Owen being very helpful as we pack up ALL OUR STUFF!

We took a break from packing to have a Potluck Open House Going Away Party. An interesting concept that worked out well. We had about thirty people come and go throughout the afternoon to say goodbye and everyone brought something to eat. It was so nice to see everyone one last time, although there are always those that couldn't come and we are sorry we missed saying goodbye.

No comment!

Owen and Gwen, one of his Chi-town girls, writing on the chalkboard wall one last time.

After the party was over it was back to packing. Nana and Papa came to help out for a couple of days. We are really going to miss having them just a couple of hours away. Thank you for being such amazing parents and grandparents. We love and miss you already!

Here is Papa stuffing diapers as the rest of us do the real work. Just kidding Papa, we love and appreciate you.

Our last week in Chicago was spent having a lot of "lasts", or I guess we could call them, "until next time(s)." There were a couple of restaurants that were definitely on the list. The first was Wholly Frijoles in Lincolnwood near Mike's old school, which is still weird to say. It is one of our favorite Mexican restaurants, where we met up with Collin and Cheryl one last time. Here is Owen blowing them kisses as we left.

Then we went to the Casba Cafe with Joan and Richard Kohn. I am really going to miss working with her on all of her exciting projects. Joan was such a blessing when it came to my work and having Owen. I can't thank her enough for everything these past two years, but mostly just her being Joan. We love you Noni.

Then Mike and I went out for one last romantic dinner at Fulton's on the River. It was amazing. The food was incredible and the view will be missed.

Grandpa Bruce flew out to help drive the cars and moving truck back east. On moving day we had the help of some friends and neighbors. Thank you all so much!
Here are Gwen and Owen saying goodbye one last time in all the chaos. Too cute.

After the truck was loaded, we headed up to Diamond Lake to pack the truck with even more stuff that we had stored there. Who knew we had so much stuff?! OK, Mike did, but once we move into a house it won't seem like so much. Hee, hee!