Christmas #3, 4, 5 . . .

So I blogged about Christmas with my parents and Christmas with the Wulbers. We also had Christmas morning with some gifts from Santa and presents for Aubrey and me. Later on Christmas day, we celebrated with my mom's family, although I'm not allowed to post any videos, and just yesterday we had Christmas with our friends, the Seuberts.

On Christmas morning, I was so excited for Aubrey to see her presents. I had seen that Santa had brought her an art easel and I got her a kitchen. Both were sitting unwrapped around the Christmas tree. Aubrey walked into the living room, right past everything, and sat on the couch with Mamaw and Papaw (who came to watch her open her presents) and asked if it was Christmas Eve? She was a bit dazed and I had to tell her 3 times to look around the tree to find her presents.



After gift opening, we went to church where the children presented The Little Drummer Boy, Aubrey was a shepherd.



Later that day, we went to one of my aunt and uncle's houses and had Christmas with my mom's family. Aubrey got a Barbie campout set and a dance leotard, which she proceeded to wear over her clothes for the rest of the day.

We went to see the lights at the Columbus Zoo on Wednesday. We had Christmas at the Seuberts yesterday. Aubrey got a balance beam that she's very excited about!



We are laying low on New Years' activities this year, but I've been wanting to eat at the Texas Roadhouse, so we might have to go out for supper.

-A

Merry Christmas

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas.

We had Christmas with the Wulber family yesterday and Aubrey was playing it up. She sang for us and then spent a lot of time playing games with Grandpa and jumping on Uncle Nathan. I think they were probably both worn out when they left. We had a wonderful time!

We hope you all have great family gatherings as well.



-A

Merry Christmas

We are well into the swing of our Christmas season. This is my favorite time of the year. It is always a little bittersweet because our anniversary was also this time of year, but it gives me a chance to reminisce. I watch our wedding video this past Saturday and shed a couple of tears, but mostly I laughed at the things that were going on that I didn't remember or probably didn't even notice that day!

Here is my pretty girl and her cousins at church on Sunday, dressed in their best Christmas dresses.



We wish a blessed Christmas to each and every one of you!

-A

"Our" canum

We went shopping with my parents tonight and we left their car in Arcanum so that I wouldn't have to drive all the way back to their house when we got close to home. After we dropped them off at their car and headed out of Arcanum, Aubrey asked me if we were in Arcanum. I told her that we were already out of Arcanum and that the place where we dropped Papaw and Mamaw off at their car was Arcanum. She said, "that's "our"canum but where's theircanum?"

-A

Cutting Down the Christmas Tree

Aubrey is so excited for Christmas this year. She is so amazed by all the lights and decorations and she was a big help decorating our Christmas tree tonight.

On Saturday, my mom helped me hang Christmas lights around our porch. I bugged Ryan for several years to put Christmas lights out, but we never had outlets on the front porch. This year, both our neighbors put lights up and when Aubrey asked where ours were, I didn't have any reason not to put any up. I had to go buy some, but we have lights outside now!

We went on Saturday afternoon to cut down our Christmas tree. We put it up last night and I got the lights on. When we got home this afternoon, Aubrey helped me put the ornaments on.

Here is Aubrey and I at the Christmas tree farm.



-A

Go Blue!

I wish that I had had something in Michigan colors for Aubrey to wear because I would have definitely put her picture here, but I did not. I will say: GO MICHIGAN! This was the first game in seven or eight years that Michigan has beat Ohio State and Ryan would have been so excited and gloated about that win to many of his friends. I did proudly wear one of his old Michigan shirts on Saturday and risked ridicule by my very much Ohio State backing family by wearing it to a family birthday party. I had to do it for Ryan.

I made the mistake of telling Aubrey that Christmas will come soon after Thanksgiving and she has decided that since it wasn't the day after, it isn't coming fast enough. She has asked everyday when Christmas will be here. I need to get the advent calendar from the basement so we can be prepared for Thursday to begin counting down the days. Since she has already seen Santa, she's very excited!

Happy Belated Thanksgiving - I hope you all counted your blessings this year. I am thankful for many things and people, my parents being at the top of the list. I'm thankful that Aubrey is a lot like Ryan (a trait that I'm sometimes also not so grateful for). Aubrey is thankful for her Lilly.

Above all, we're thankful that God watches over us each day, that He provides for every need we have, and that His plan for each one of our lives is better than we could have imagined for ourselves.

-A

Tis the Season

Santa Claus is coming to town! Well, he came to Versailles tonight and Aubrey went to see him. She told him that she wanted a baby doll and later she told Mamaw that Santa told her he probably wouldn't be able to get her a doll. I'm pretty sure he didn't tell her that, but she sure has a great imagination.



-A

Monkey

This morning while I'm trying to get ready for church, Aubrey is playing with a dry erase pad that has pictures and you're supposed to write the words that the picture shows. I tried to tell her that it was a little hard for her because the picture showed a monkey. She said it wasn't, so I asked her if she knew how to spell monkey. She promptly answered A-U-B-R-E-Y :)

-A

Trick or Treat

I know it is a little late for Halloween pictures, what can I say, I'm slow these days!

Aubrey's cousins, Kaitlyn and Camryn as well as our friends - Brooklynn, Elliott, Cassidy, and Cade came over last Sunday for trick or treating. We were out for the whole two hours, now we have mounds of candy to eat!

Trying on Underwear

Aubrey and I went shopping tonight after our supper. I will admit that I was probably keeping her in the store past the amount of time that she was able to listen well, but I had a coupon, I had to look at everything, right? Anyway, we made it to the underwear department and I was looking around and Aubrey found something she wanted to try on. I wasn't paying that much attention to her and when I turned around, I saw that she had found a large pair of women's underwear and was proceeding to try them on.



The common sense in me told me that I must get the underwear away from her and put them back on the rack, but I kept hearing Ryan laughing at her, so I just let her go. She proceeded to put the underwear on and run out into the aisle exclaiming I have underwear! Two older ladies came around the corner and saw her and one said, "Well, yes you do!" I did laugh and then proceeded to get the underwear off of her as quickly as possible :)

-A

Chocolate Fountain

We went out for supper with my parents and Jake, Brandi, and the girls tonight. We went to Golden Corral and they have a chocolate fountain. Aubrey enjoyed a chocolate covered strawberry and part of a chocolate covered marshmallow. She truly enjoyed every bit of it.



I received a box of books that I had ordered from Amazon the other day and Aubrey helped me open it and decided that the books should be hers. Then, she discarded the books for playing with the box because that was more fun at the moment!



We praise God for a beautiful week last week and look forward to an enjoyable week coming.

-A

Aubrey Dresses Herself

Aubrey is very independent these days and loves to decide which clothes she wants to wear. Most of the time, I pick out clothes for her in the evenings because we are slow moving in the morning. On Saturdays and Sundays we have a little more freedom. Aubrey picked out her entire outfit on her own yesterday. Here she is:



-A

Prairie Days

We went to Prairie Days this afternoon. Aubrey stirred some apple butter and made a candle. We also made a bonnet and rode on two wagon rides, one pulled by horses, the other a tractor. We had a good time but it was during Aubrey's nap time and so she is now taking a late nap today. I'm going to have to wake her up soon or she won't sleep tonight!

Here are some pictures of her in her new glasses and from today with her friend Brooklynn.

The Glasses Are Here

Aubrey's glasses finally came in and we went to pick them up right before her dance class last night. I think we're going to have to go back there because they keep sliding down her nose, but I noticed that her ears were a little red from where they sat on them last night. I think they need adjusted. Anyway, her Mama thinks they are pretty cute, but they do cover up her pretty face some.



So I hardly mowed my yard at all this summer and now fall has arrived and I mowed on Sunday and I'm going to have to mow again today. I enjoy mowing, but it seems like I have to plan for it to take up a good part of the day. I don't have that big of a yard and it takes less than an hour to mow, but it just seems like a big task for some reason.

-A

It's Raining, It's Pouring

We have been happy that it is raining in Versailles; although I think we've about had enough for a few days :) I had a patio put out in the back of my house and it was finished Thursday afternoon. They tore up the yard getting everything from the front to the back and so we had grass seed planted. I watered on Friday and Saturday in the extreme heat, but haven't had to water since then - thank you God for sending the rain. When Aubrey and I got home this afternoon it wasn't raining, so we checked on our grass - it is growing! We also walked to the library which we haven't done for a few weeks. It was warm enough to just wear a sweatshirt, so that was nice as well.

Over the weekend, we had friends from Pennsylvania visiting. They arrived on Friday night and enjoyed playing ball and riding in the Barbie jeep.



On Saturday we went to the beach at Lake Loramie; we also had the Seuberts over for supper. When the kids were all playing in Aubrey's room, she stuck a stick in her mouth and then proceeded to run into the door with the stick still in her mouth. We had some blood and tears, but in the end, everything was ok.







We spent the day at my parents' on Sunday and then they headed towards home on Monday morning.

Last Friday morning, Aubrey had to go to the eye doctor; she has to get glasses. She picked out red frames; I'll post a picture when she gets her glasses.

-A

Love Lives On

Songs really speak to me and it is when I'm driving in the car, usually to or from work, that I think about Ryan the most and I hear songs on the radio that remind me of him or something we did together. Many of you have not seen me cry much; I cry a lot in the car.

I heard the song Love Lives on by Mallory Hope sometime before Ryan passed away (this was the song sung at his funeral). It spoke to me then and continues to speak to me, as I think about Aubrey growing up and keeping Ryan alive in our hearts and minds, especially because her own memories of him and things they did together with be few.

One way that Ryan lives on for us is through the fair. Although this has been a really tough week and going to the fair will probably always be a little tough, we go because that's what Ryan would have wanted. Ryan loved the fair and I could have cared less if we went more than one time. I remember the first time we went to the fair together and we had to buy passes for the whole week. I was convinced it was a waste of money and that we wouldn't go enough to pay for them; I was wrong . . . we went a lot and continued to go a lot every year. We even went at least 2 times the year Aubrey was just a little over 2 weeks old!



Last year we made it to the fair one day, but this year, we went to the fair 5 days! I actually went 7, but 2 were just at lunch time. Aubrey loves the fair - she loves the rides and the horse races and seeing the animals. We had a lots of favorites: food - cotton candy, ride - the Paratroopers, animals - the Wuebker's cows, special activity - the kiddie tractor pull, favorite horse - Kaptain. Aubrey got 9th place and a trophy in the tractor pull tonight.



Favorite picture:


I really appreciate all the cards, notes, and flowers I got this week. I really appreciate that you all think about us and pray for us often. It truly means a lot to me.

-A

Concert Fun

Aubrey and I (and lots of our friends) have been enjoying The Great Darke County Fair! Ryan's dad raced horses on Saturday afternoon and evening - got a 2nd and a 4th. Aubrey likes the horse races (I do too) so we went in Saturday evening to watch and then walk around a little.

On Sunday after our family reunion, we met our friends the Seuberts at the fair and the kids rode rides. After they went home, I rode a few rides with my daredevil daughter; we rode the Music Express and the Hurricane. I was finished with rides after that, but she rode a couple more ;). One of the ladies that I work with had extra tickets to the Rodney Atkins concert and Aubrey and I went along with Lois, her daughter and granddaughter. We had a great time, you can see from our picture above.

Tonight, Aubrey's friend Brooklynn was in the Little Miss Darke County Fair pageant so we went to watch her. My mom and Kaitlyn and Camryn came along as well. The kids rode 2 rides and had snacks from the fair. We've had a couple late nights in a row; tomorrow we're going to take it easy.

Mule Riding

Ryan grew up riding mules and Aubrey has always loved being around the animals. Aubrey's grandpa was racing horses on her birthday and couldn't come to her party, but he wanted to do something special for her so he set up a mule ride around the farm for Aubrey today. After work we went out to the farm and Aubrey got to pet all the horses and Uncle Russell led Gretchen around part of the track for Aubrey's ride. She did really well holding on and not sliding off. She'll be a good rider one of these days!

After our mule ride, we went out to supper with Uncle Nathan and Auntie Rachel. We ate at Sideliners and it was pretty good!


-A

Back to Work

I had to go back to work yesterday. For the first time in many years, I wasn't ready to return at the end of summer. I know last year that I didn't go back right away, but when it came time for me to return to work, I felt like I was ready - at least ready for the distraction.

I had a busy day yesterday, so it wasn't too bad. Today it hit me a little more.

We're getting close to the one year anniversary of Ryan's death and I had a rough day today; I would appreciate your prayers as I adjust to going back to work and I've been reflecting on the many things that have happened in this past year.

-A

Happy 3rd Birthday, Aubrey

Today was Aubrey's third birthday and she had a big party! Our friends Curtis and Karen and their boys came up last night and we went to Red Lobster to eat. My parents were watching Camryn and they joined us. Here are the five kids after we tormented the waiters during supper.



When Aubrey woke up this morning, I sang happy birthday to her and then she immediately wanted to head to Jumpy's (where we had her birthday party). I had to explain that we were going to church and then having lunch before her party. We went to Jumpy's after lunch and our family and several of our friends joined us there for jumping. We also had cake and ice cream and Aubrey opened some of her presents.



After Jumpy's, my family and a few of our friends came to our house for supper and Aubrey opened more presents and played with her new scooter and hand-me-down Barbie Jeep.



We have now entered the year of 3 and I'm afraid it will be a whiney year. She has been deprived of sleep the last few days though, so maybe the problem is just lack of sleep!

-A

New Homeowner

I was able to close on the house I've been living in in Versailles yesterday afternoon; I'm now officially the owner of my house! I was excited. That means that I pretty much have everything taken care of related to Ryan's estate and I'm looking toward the future in things that need to be taken care of around here. As I'm doing that, I'm looking at the calendar and realizing that my precious summer and free time are getting close to being gone . . . Aubrey and I have really enjoyed this summer and all the things we've done and I'm not ready for it to be over yet.

I'm going to be doing some landscaping around the house, removing the bushes from the flower beds and finding some more attractive flowers to plant. I'm also hoping to have a patio put in out back before fall gets here; I'm going to find out what the estimate for that job is tomorrow, so we'll see if we can get a patio or not :)

We went to Kings Island yesterday and had a lot of fun. Tonight I'm going with Jake and Brandi and my friend Emily to a Little Big Town concert; mom won tickets on the Tiger and didn't want to go. I'm looking forward to that.

I'm having a garage sale next week. I still have some of Ryan's tools that I'm hoping to get rid of, we've got baby clothes, all the stuff that went with Aubrey's nursery decor, some books, a couple ceiling fans, and a couple old tables to sell. If you need anything we'll be around Wednesday afternoon-Friday trying to sell it!

We also have Aubrey's birthday coming up next weekend! She is super excited.

-A

The Most Magical Place on Earth

We have just returned home from a wonderful, but tiring vacation. My parents took us (my brother, his wife, me, and their three granddaughters) to Disney World for vacation this past week. We had a blast! Everyone is tired; at least everyone at this house is, but it will definitely be a vacation to remember. We left last Saturday morning and drove to the airport in Columbus to catch our plane. Aubrey went to Florida with me in May, so this was her second time on the plane, but it was Kaitlyn and Camryn's first time flying. They all enjoyed the flight (and we had a good one). We arrived at Disney in the middle of the afternoon and by the time we checked in and got all our luggage around, we were hungry. We decided to eat, then swim, then we headed to Downtown Disney for a little while.



Sunday through Thursday, we hit the parks. We spent two days at the Magic Kingdom, and one each at Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom. Aubrey loved the carousel at Magic Kingdom. She kept asking at the all the other parks to ride the carousel. We ate supper with Cinderella, her stepsisters, and Prince Charming. We had a Winnie the Pooh and friends dinner, and the last night we were there, we went to Mickey's Backyard BBQ; that was a wonderful time, dancing with the characters.





Yesterday, we headed away from Orlando to the beach. Aubrey really enjoyed the ocean and didn't even want to sit out for a very long snack. The sun was really bright and the water was very warm yesterday. I think most of us got sunburned.



We headed home late last night and arrived home early this morning. I'm doing laundry and unpacking and I keep thinking that I need to take a nap . . . probably won't get around to that today, maybe tomorrow.

By the way, I think I have the house unpacked and all the pictures hung on the walls, so if you're wanting to see the new house, feel free to stop by. I'm going to start tagging things for my garage sale in a couple weeks!

-A

Birthdays in Heaven

These days I wonder about things in Heaven that I've never wondered about before - do they celebrate earthly birthdays? As I thought about blogging earlier today; I thought about writing about how this would probably be Ryan's best birthday ever because he's celebrating it with our Lord, Jesus. When I sat down to write just a little while ago, the thought occurred to me that maybe earthly birthday aren't celebrated in Heaven. Maybe they celebrate the day you came to Heaven, maybe they celebrate the day you gave your life to follow Jesus, maybe they don't celebrate any of those days because every day is a celebration. However it is, I'm sure Ryan had a blessed day.

Today would have been his 31st birthday. Aubrey sang Happy Birthday to him this morning and we took flowers to the cemetery tonight; she looked up to the sky and said, we brought you these flowers, happy birthday. It blesses my heart to know that she doesn't talk to the ground or the headstone, thinking that he's there; she knows he's in Heaven and that's somewhere in the sky that we can't see right now.

Aubrey went fishing for the first time today; she caught two fish.




-A

Living in Town

I don't think I'd ever dreamed that I would tell someone that I liked living in town, but I'm enjoying it. Aubrey and I stopped at the library yesterday on the way home from our dentist appointments so I could request a book for inter-library loan. She chose to check out a movie and they have to be back in a couple days. She was done with it today and after her nap, she wanted to talk a walk. We walked to the library and returned it, found another movie, and then we played on the school's playground for a while. It kept looking like it was going to rain, so we only played for 10 minutes or so before heading home. It never did rain!

Some of our backdoor neighbors came over last night. They have three children, one of which is just a few weeks younger than Aubrey; he will turn three at the end of August. They played on Aubrey's swingset for a little while. Aubrey wanted to have a picnic and eat lunch outside today so we did and then she wanted Reed to come over and play again, but they weren't outside, so she had to settle for playing with me.

I think I unpacked the last box today! I am mostly down to putting pictures up on the walls and organizing things. I still need to organize Aubrey's room and the bathroom closet. My aunts unpacked things and got them put away, but I'm not tall enough to reach everything on the top shelf in the cabinet! I'm glad it has been out of boxes though!

-A

Closing & Closure

We finally had a closing with the Wulber Family this past Thursday. This process drug on way longer than I wanted it to, but everything is taken care of now. I have about another month or two to finishing up Ryan's estate to the point where I can close that. Somewhere in between that time, I will also be able to close on the house I'm now living in and then I'll be a homeowner! That means I'm going to have to mow my grass. I didn't mind mowing the grass at all at the farm because I could ride around the yard for a couple hours in peace. I will have to push mow here because the yard is a little small to be mowing with a rider. I'm not sure if I'll enjoy it quite as much then or not, we'll see.

I also wanted to share with everyone that I certainly feel that this is the house that I'm supposed to be living in. Sometime during the week after we moved in, last week, my mom told me that two of my aunts watched a butterfly fly around the living room while we were moving in Saturday. I didn't see it, but the butterfly has been my sign since last August, so when mom told me that, it made everything fell comfortable. A few nights after we moved in, I could also smell Ryan's cologne in the house when I would walk in from the garage; I just had this feeling that he was here and telling me that I did the right thing.

I'm smiling a little more these days, although Aubrey has been asking for daddy a lot in the last few days. She "talked to him on the cell phone" from her swing set one evening this week because he didn't call her last Sunday. They must have been really busy in Heaven last week since he forgot to call :)

We are still slowly unpacking. I have a lighter schedule this coming week and hope to get rid of boxes upstairs and organize things that have already been put away.



-A

Unpacking the Kitchen

I was sure that it wouldn't take too long to get the kitchen unpacked. It was my singular goal every night last week. It finally got completely finished up yesterday. There are still pictures to hang on the walls, but there are no more boxes sitting around on the floor and everything has been put away in cabinets! My mom came up one evening last weekend while we were not home and worked on unpacking - there would probably still be boxes in the kitchen if not for her.

My next goal is to get the office unpacked. I have lots of books and so it seems to take me a while to determine which shelf I want everything on. I have 1 of the 3 bookshelves full, so I'm at least 1/3 of the way there. I moved some office supplies around and put into a cabinet last night and moved some garage sale things downstairs. I can see more of the floor now. I'll keep chipping away at it this week. There are a few boxes in the living room, but mostly boxes of decorations that I really don't need to unpack until I have everything else situated. The third project will be going through the closets that we unpacked for me and figuring out where everything is!

Thank you for your continued prayers. If anyone saw Aubrey's fingernail polish on moving day, let me know. She wants to have her nails painted and I can't find the polish.

-A

A New House

Thanks to lots of family members and a few friends, we were able to get everything moved to the new house. We had almost everything moved on Saturday. We went back Sunday for sand for Aubrey's sand box and the gator. I had help yesterday with moving my large kitchen hutch and a shelf from our bedroom. Now, everything has been moved. I've been slowly going through the process of unpacking boxes. I keep thinking each afternoon when I go home from work that I'm going to manage to get the kitchen unpacked. It hasn't happened yet. It is still my goal for tonight, we'll see.

We had a small crisis on Saturday because we lost Lilli (Aubrey's doll) and Aubrey had to sleep without her Saturday night. Part of me was hopeful that she wouldn't be found so that I wouldn't have to take her away someday, but the mom in me knew that Aubrey probably needed her, especially with this move. Luckily, Mamaw found her smashed between 2 boxes on Sunday afternoon.

We would appreciate your prayers as we are adjusting as well as prayers for a closing, as we haven't yet been able to close on either house.

-A

Packing, Packing, Packing

We have been doing lots of packing and moving boxes around the last 2 weeks. We are moving on Saturday. Please pray for us and for our friend Nicole Manges.

I will blog more next week when things settle a little.

April

Traveling Adventures

Aubrey and I (and my mom) have just returned from almost a week in Florida. This past year I have had the amazing opportunity to participate in a committee for the International Reading Association's Teachers' Choices Project. The purpose of this committee was to review almost 400 books ( with help from teacher readers) and be helpful in choosing the top 30 of the books we received.

We flew into Orlando around 7:00 on Saturday evening. On Sunday, we went to Sea World and it was hot; I got a sunburn ;(,



As part of this project, we presented a panel discussion at the IRA conference with Elizabeth Partridge, Loreen Leedy, and Jon Scieszka, whom I got to introduce.

Below is a picture of Jon and me!



Later on Monday, I was to attend a dinner reception with author and illustrators from Holiday House, I rode there in Loreen Leedy's vehicle, a Ford Escape (I used to drive one!)

Tuesday was another presentation, this time book talking the 30 winners of the Teachers' Choices awards. I had dinner with authors from Penguin, Gayle Forman, Gennifer Choldenko, and Judy Schachner, of Skippyjon Jones fame. Someone else took the pictures and I have to wait until they email them to me to post them!

Wednesday was the final day of the conference and I actually got to attend a few presentations. We ate at the Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney on Wednesday evening, that was fun!

Thursday we went to Universal Studios Islands of Adventure and spent much of our day in Seuss land. Aubrey enjoyed her time there.



-A

Moving Forward

Good Evening,
Aubrey and I have been very busy lately. My sister-in-law, Rachel, sent me a mother's day card explaining that mom is spelled backwards because sometimes moms don't know if they're coming or going - it is perfect for me right now!

We got a call from Russell a week ago and he has gotten the go ahead from his lender to prepare for a closing on the partnership. We have a closing date set for May 16; following that, I will still have some issues to take care of to completely close Ryan's estate, but we'll be able to move forward a little faster on the new house.

Speaking of the new house, the new floor went in earlier this week, we are still figuring out what we're going to do with putting the old trim back up, so it isn't quite completed yet, but the floor looks good! Now, I'll have to get my dad back up there to put the toilet back in and install my new sink, mirror, and lights in the half bathroom.

It looks like we might begin moving at the first of June, with the big "moving day" being Saturday, June 4. This isn't set in stone yet, but it is what we're hoping for. I've started packing things upstairs. It appears that I have more things to pack than I thought I did!

We appreciate everyone who continues to remember us in your prayers. We have enjoyed the sunshine the last couple of days and even played outside some this afternoon!

-A

Happy Easter

This morning we went to two Easter egg hunts! We went with Aubrey's friends Brooklynn and Elliott. The kids had a lot of fun and it was a beautiful day for Easter egg hunting. Both hunts were held outside, and it was just a little windy, but the sun was shining and the air was warm.

After hunting for candy and winning a very large water gun, we went to our new house to do a little painting and get things ready for the new flooring to be installed in about a week. We are getting close to having the kitchen all painted and we have just one more light to put up. Now we're in the process of changing door handles.

Thank you to mom and dad who have been doing much of the work. Thanks also to Lance for letting us borrow some of his tools and to Justin for helping us move the appliances!

-A

Painting, Sanding, & Replacing Lights

Last week I signed the contract for the new house. It isn't ours yet, we've set a tentative closing for May 31. We are still waiting on the closing with Russell, we don't have a specific date for that yet, but once that it finalized, then we'll be able to have a date for the closing on my house. The owner of the house I'm buying is being so very patient and understanding about this whole process. He is even allowing me to go into the house and begin getting it ready to move in. When we do finally get to close, I will hopefully have the house ready.

We are doing some painting in the kitchen and the half bathroom, and maybe in the room that will be Aubrey's - we haven't decided on that one for sure yet.

I'm having dad replace lights and ceiling fans, and eventually the dishwasher and the sink/mirror in the half bathroom. We are getting new flooring throughout the hallways, kitchen, and half bathroom and new countertops in the kitchen. I'm getting very excited about the new house!

Aubrey is ready to move her swingset there, but I don't think we're quite ready for that yet!

We are praying that the closing with Russell will happen soon.

-A

Cruising Right Along

We are cruising along in our neck of the woods. We are eagerly awaiting a closing with Russell, who is buying out Ryan's third of the family partnership. I will be signing the contract on the new house on Monday and then will be ordering new flooring and countertops for the kitchen. Aubrey and I have been to the "new house", which is technically not ours yet, but we're treating it as so, to look at cabinet pulls, match flooring, measure windows, and just run up and down the hallways. The new house has a full basement in it and Aubrey wants to go downstairs every time we go there. We are looking forward to having a place to ride our bikes - well, I don't have a bike, so I may have to get one - walk to the park, and play with neighbors.

I have to keep reminding myself that things move in God's time and not mine. I sometimes tend to get a little impatient with how slowly I feel things are moving. I would love to have an exact moving date in mind, but I don't yet. I hope that it will be in early June, but we'll see how things go. For now, we are happy that we can see them moving ahead and that we're getting closer each day. I would really love to be able to move before I have to mow my grass, but I don't think that's going to happen. I probably should start looking over the mower to determine if there are any flat tires and see if it will even start! I have figured out more about how things work since I try to do it my own and not rely on someone else first . . . I still rely on my dad and Russell for things, but I can figure some things out myself :)

Aubrey has definitely beaten her pneumonia. She is still coughing which I think is an allergy issue, so now she's on claritin, but she's sleeping and not coughing at night and I'm thankful.

-A

Marriage Proposal

I was asked last night, by Aubrey's friend, Carson if he could marry Aubrey. Luckily, Papaw was also there and was looking out for Aubrey's interest by asking Carson about his future career path. I had to tell Carson I wouldn't be able to give him an answer to that question for several more years, but that I would keep him in mind.

We met the Shoemakers down by the Fairfield Mall last night and ate supper and then went on the mall's train ride. We also went to Target and Aubrey got a new swimsuit and bedding for her new room and big girl bed when we move to our new house. That won't be for another month or two, but I figured that if I waited, it might not be there when we were ready for it. Aubrey was excited.

She is still coughing, but feeling much better.

-A

Feeling Better

We went to the doctor again today. Aubrey is doing better. She's not completely well, but she's getting there. She has slept much better the past two nights and is coughing less. Thank you for all your prayers. She seems to be back to her normal self, behavior wise, ornery as ever!

-A

We've Got It All

Well, actually Aubrey has it all. Her strep throat seems to be better, but she's been coughing quite a bit and I didn't feel comfortable about it. We went back to the doctor today. She has a double ear infection, bronchitis, pneumonia, and her oxygen level is a little low. She had to get a breathing treatment in the doctor's office and then we brought an inhaler home with some albuterol for the next couple of days. She is also taking a steroid and a different antibiotic. The good thing is that she acts like she feels much better than she did even two days ago. So, we're stuck away from the other kids for another day or so. I really wish the weather would get nice so that we can get outside and dust off all our germs!

Aubrey coughs a lot at night, so I haven't been sleeping very well. Please pray for both of us.

-A

Strep Throat

Aubrey is sick again. Poor little one went to bed Wednesday night with a rash that I was a little suspicious about, but didn't worry too much. After she started coughing, then woke up around 1 with a fever of 101.5, and then threw up the tylenol half hour after I gave it to her, I knew something was up. She went to the doctor yesterday afternoon. By that time, her rash had overtaken her whole body and she was running a fever of 104. After 2 doses of her antibiotic, I do have her fever a little more under control, but she still had a low grade fever this morning. She did act like she felt a little better this morning than she did yesterday.

Pray for her.

-A

Wonderful Weekend

Aubrey and I had a great weekend.

Friday after work we went to Jumpy's in Troy with our friends, Greta and Christy. Jumpy's is a building with those blow-up, inflatable jumping things (5 in one place). The girls had a blast and because they wanted to go down the largest slide they had, Christy and I had to participate to get them to the top. It was really fun.

Saturday morning, Mamaw and Papaw came over and I went to Muncie to a Thirty-One party. This was the only bad part of the weekend because not only did I spend money buying some cute bags and a new purse, when I was backing out of my spot in the driveway, watching so as not to hit another car, I hit their basketball goal post with the front of my car. That trip over there was a little expensive for me, as I will probably have to replace a piece on the front fender to fix it :(. I did have fun at the party though, so in the whole scheme of things, one minor mishap doesn't ruin everything. Saturday evening, we met our friends Curtis and Karen and their boys down in Dayton for supper and then went to the mall. While Curtis watched the four kids, Karen and I got manicures and pedicures, it was very relaxing!

Today we spent the day at my parents, Aubrey played with her cousins and I got to read a book, which I'm going to have to sit down and finish here shortly.

Nice to have a weekend like that.

-A

Taking Applications

Bath time was Ryan's domain. When Ryan first got sick just a little over two years ago, I had to take over giving baths. At first Aubrey wasn't very happy about this, but after a while, I got the hang of things. Ever since then, unless I can get someone else talked into it, I've been giving Aubrey her baths. This might just be my least favorite mom job. I've decided it is time to look for someone who would like to be hired to give Aubrey her baths at 7:15 every other night :). I'm not sure what the pay rate will be for this position, still figuring out the fine details! Obviously, I'm just kidding, but we've been talking about daddy a lot lately and we miss him a bit.

Last night I went to the Versailles FFA banquet where they honored Ryan's memory with a wonderful poem written by Shayne Cheadle and a slideshow of some pictures of Ryan's FFA years. I appreciate so much what others do and say to honor Ryan's memory. It was shared that a tree will be planted at the school in memory of Ryan and this will surely be meaningful to Aubrey when she is a student there in the future.

Thank you all who still think about and pray for our family, we appreciate it.

-A

Our Status

I haven't blogged much about how Aubrey and I have been. Unless something majorly stressful happens, and we've had several of those situations, then we generally deal with things fairly well. Aubrey asks about Daddy often and usually prays for him at bedtime. Otherwise, I think she is adjusting well to just Mommy at this point, but she's still young. I've been noticing lately that I'm very concerned when we go places and it is just Aubrey and me. I never in a million years thought I would be a single mother and sometimes feel self-conscience about that. I think God has been trying to speak to me about this issue though. A couple of times we've been in a restaurant, just the two of us, and a complete stranger will come up and tell me that she is well-behaved and that I'm a patient mother. It is usually in those times that I'm not feeling very patient with Aubrey at all, but I think God has been sending little reminders to me. Last night I was reading a magazine and there was an article titled, "Co-Parenting With God", and I realized that although Ryan wasn't meant to be able to be on earth for all of Aubrey's life, that God has promised He would never give me more than I can handle and that he'll always be with me.

On a different note, I have found another house. I made an offer on it yesterday and the offer was accepted. In all actuality, the morning after I blogged about moving and looking for a house, I got an email from a friend about a house her uncle was selling. I went and looked at the house two days later, looked at it again that weekend, and made an offer that was accepted yesterday. I am excited about moving. It will probably still be a couple of month and the house needs a few things, but I'm looking forward to a clean palette for decorating!

Aubrey wasn't feeling real well last Tuesday and I took her to the after hours doctor. He said her throat was red and put her on an antibiotic. She seemed ok by Wednesday afternoon and went back to Sandy's on Thursday, when I picked her up, she was running a fever again. I took her back to the doctor Friday and she said that Aubrey had pneumonia. She got a different antibiotic, and I think this one seems to be working. She hasn't had a fever since Friday afternoon and her cough has become more productive. We have a follow-up appointment this Friday to make sure her lungs sound better.

Thank you for your prayers.

-A

A New Direction

It has been with a lot of prayer and thinking that I have made the decision that it is in the best interest of Aubrey and me to move. I probably made the decision back in December, but I haven't been very vocal about it because I wanted to have time to get things in order for my third of the partnership before I told everyone. We (Ryan's family and I) are now in the final stages of taking care of this issue and I am house hunting. I actually had a house picked out in Versailles, but it had a contingency offer on it, and when I made an offer, the first buyers removed their contingency to sell their house and just closed on the house I wanted this past Saturday. I was disappointed, but I'm sure that means that God has a different plan for me, I'm just not sure what that is as the housing market in Versailles is slim at the moment. I am really wanting to stay in the Versailles area because Aubrey loves her baby-sitter and I know the process I went through baby-sitter hunting the first time. I also like the idea of Aubrey going to her daddy's Alma mater, so I'd like to stay in the Versailles school district. I think that at this point in the game that I am better off living in town with a small yard to take care of and not much work to do to keep the house going. This farm house seems much too big when just Aubrey and I are here.

I also want to stay in the area so we can come out to the farm and take tractor and combine rides with Uncle Russell and Grandpa and Aubrey also enjoys petting the mules and Grandpa's horses.

I would really appreciate your prayers on this matter, I want the right house for me and I also want to be able to move in a timely manner.

On another note, Aubrey went bowling for the first time yesterday, and we only had to get someone to get our ball from the lane twice because we didn't roll it hard enough. She had a good time. I'll try to post pictures in a day or so; I'm having trouble loading them from my iPad.

If anyone knows of a house in Versailles with an attached garage and 3 bedrooms, let me know!


-A

Can we see the goats there?

The goat farmers are having a fish fry tonight and my parents are coming up to go eat fish with us. I told Aubrey that earlier today and she wanted to know if we could see the goats when we are there? I tried to explain to her that there aren't any goats there, but I think she thought I was lying to her.

So, if anyone out there has a good explanation for a two year old as to why there are no goats at the goat farmers' ranch, I'd love for you to share.

-A

A Good Birthday

Well, today wasn't too bad. I haven't been too worried about turning 30, just another day right? I got several phone calls and emails throughout the day wishing me a happy day. After work, Aubrey and I went to Red Lobster for supper. She was really good in the restaurant and ate almost all her food; she must have been showing her very best behavior for my birthday. She was supposed to have a bath when we got home, but she was almost asleep, so we postponed bath until tomorrow.

Thanks for making my big birthday a pleasant one.

-A

The Worst Birthday Ever

This may have been the title of a post almost 1 year ago. Last year on my birthday, which is tomorrow, Ryan was in the hospital and I had planned to go directly there from work. Unfortunately, Aubrey was sick and I had to stay home to take her to the doctor. Strangely, I thought she was going to have to make a trip to the doctor yesterday. Last year at this time, it was snowing. It was snowing so much that after we got home from the doctor's office, it was too bad outside to head to the hospital, so on my 29th birthday, I was stuck at home with a sick child - away from my husband. Last year, I said I was having the worst birthday ever.

As my birthday approached this year, I started to have a feeling that maybe last year's birthday wasn't so bad . . . this year I don't even have the option of talking to Ryan on the phone and I'm going to be turning 30! I started feeling sorry for myself and thinking that maybe this year's birthday would be the worst ever.

However, I was surprised on Sunday with a birthday party to celebrate my 30 years of life and I felt old! Aubrey had been up most of the night complaining that her ear was hurting and we were at my parents, so we ended up sleeping on the coach, when I finally got her to sleep around 3:00. I was so sore when I woke up that I felt much older than almost 30. Anyway, I don't think this will be the worst birthday ever.

I'd like to thank my parents, family, and friends for remembering my big day and continuing to keep Aubrey and me in your prayers, we appreciate each and every one.

-A

More Days Off

Another week, and more days off school. Aubrey and I have watched movies and played with baby dolls the last couple of days. I hope that the weather clears up a little for tomorrow because I think I will be tired of being stuck in the house with no where to go.

I can say that the good thing about all of this is that we still have our electricity. I was really nervous that it would go out and I wouldn't be able to get anywhere. I spent a lot of time praying yesterday that it wouldn't go out and it didn't.

That's about all from our house.

-A

It Has Been A While

I know, it has been a while since I've posted. That's because there isn't really a whole lot to report. Aubrey and I have been going to a tumbling class at the YMCA on Monday nights. It isn't supposed to be a parent participation class, but she insists that I come out and sit in the circle when they do their stretches, and then the teacher in me insists that I intervene when she's supposed to be standing in line and she's running around the gym. It is fun though and on days that are not Mondays, she asks about going to class.

I have been very busy at work. Someone looking at my calendar would probably not be able to figure out when I'm supposed to be coming or going someplace; some days I struggle to keep it straight. After another couple weeks, my calendar looks like it might calm down a little, but that could change quickly. I know that we've had enough snow lately, but I'm strongly hoping for a delay tomorrow so I can sleep in a little. I'm tired!

I guess that's all for now, we continue to appreciate your prayers for our family.

-A

Another Snow (umm Ice) Day

We are off work again today, and I bet you'll never be able to guess where I am . . . at work! I was in the office for about a half day on Monday and at a school yesterday. I'm supposed to be out both tomorrow and Friday. I have an appointment in town this afternoon, so I thought I could probably use a little time in the office to clear off my desk and get caught up on a few things.

Aubrey and I played baby dolls and watch Strawberry Shortcake this morning, then she went to Sandy's around lunchtime so she could have an uninterrupted nap. I came to town, stopped at Wal-Mart, and headed to my office. I think I can actually see most of my desk right now, so I'm taking a quick break to update you all on our happenings, which have been few lately.

Over the weekend, we had 2 birthday parties - one for my cousin, who turned 14 and the other for our friend, Elliott, who turned 2 today! We had a lot of fun at both parties. Last night Aubrey and I went to Kohl's and she got some new dresses and tights, which she promptly wanted to put on when we got home. I talked her in to waiting until Sunday to wear a new dress to church. We also ate supper at Panera Bread last night where Aubrey delighted all the older people in there watching her help me get napkins and drinks, and later (when she was ready to leave) sit under the table and proclaim to the whole restaurant, that she wasn't going home with me. Two year olds are so much fun! :) She was actually very cute, but after the fifth time I asked her to get out from under the table, I was getting a bit impatient.

Anyway, that's about all that's going on at the Wulber household.

-A

Snow Day

I got to stay home with Aubrey today, but I think it is a bit windy to play outside. So, we've been putting puzzles together and putting clothes on the baby dolls. Aubrey has also been watching movies and riding her rocking horse.

We played outside in the snow on Tuesday afternoon. Aubrey rode around the yard in her sled, but I think she was a little cold because she didn't want to stay outside too long.

I think I've had about enough snow and it is only January!

Ice Skating

Yesterday I took Aubrey on her first ice skating trip. I know, she is still pretty little, but that's the best time to start! She took off walking on the skates right away. She dashed out onto the ice and I had to grab her. We got her a skate aid to help push around and she did pretty well with that. After two laps around, she told me she was done. Grandma talked her into another lap, and then it was time for a snack. After her snack she was ready to head out for a few more laps.

The rest of this weekend we took it easy; tomorrow afternoon we have our second tumbling class.

We are getting closer to finishing up Ryan's estate, unfortunately, this process is a long one. We ask for your continued prayers as we continue to try to get everything figured out.





-A

Test Results and Tumbling

I'm pretty sure I posted on here before Christmas that Aubrey had blood in her urine and I took her to the doctor. They initially diagnosed her with a urinary tract infection, but the cultures came back negative two days before Christmas. That was good news that she didn't have an infection but left me to wonder why the blood and white blood cells were showing up? Her doctor wasn't too worried about it at all, but he knew it would ease my thoughts to have her urine retested. We took a sample in last Wednesday and got the results on Monday - no blood -so everything looks good.

Last night we went to tumbling class at the YMCA. The class is really for three and four year olds, but I thought Aubrey would enjoy it so I called to see if they'd allow her to do it. They said it was ok. She wasn't focused on the class the entire time, but she did well and I guess she enjoyed it because she wanted to go back tonight. It is hard for a two year old to wait a whole week to do something fun again!

I think it should be Friday already, I'm tired enough for it to be.

-A

Happy New Year

I know, I'm a couple days late already, but better late than never! We celebrated New Year's Eve at Jacci and Wade's house. I didn't really know how Aubrey would do, the party started at 7:00 which is about her bed time. She acted tired at times, but she made it all the way to midnight. We watched the ball drop and then left shortly after. She was out before we even got out of the driveway. She slept until about 9:00 on New Year's Day. We went to Tricia and Justin's after we got ready and celebrated Christmas with them. Aubrey likes playing with Brooklynn and Elliott. Then we went to my parents' where Aubrey finished her nap and then we went to Dayton for supper for my grandma's birthday. Aubrey was especially well behaved, even though she fell off her chair twice.

After church this morning, we headed to Troy to celebrate Nathan and Grandpa Shoup's birthdays. We ate Mexican. Aubrey's performance wasn't quite as stellar today, but she did ok. She is now napping. I think staying up so late is catching up with her, she slept on the way to Troy, before lunch; she also fell asleep on the way home and is still sleeping!

So, it is a new year and many of you have probably made a resolution - I'm not much for making resolutions, but I do anticipate the joys and challenges that come with a new year. Last year at this time, Ryan had been healthy for 4 months and was really getting back to feeling good. We anticipated a great year, things didn't go exactly as we planned them, but this reminds us that God is in control of all situations. We didn't plan on losing Ryan, but I know that God has it all in his hands, so in this coming year, we pray for His guidance and blessings and leave the rest up to Him.

I have to head back to work tomorrow. . . I'm not ready for vacation to be over.

-A