World Domination Bowl Champion!

I DID IT! I won the World Domination Bowl Championship in our 13 man 1 woman Frenchie Rules Football League!!! This is my 5th year (I'm pretty sure) in the league. My first season I went to the bowl, but lost to Frenchie. The following 3 years I made it to the playoffs but was eliminated before the final game. This was my year! yaye!!!! I LOVE FOOTBALL!!

Chinese/German/American evening

My sweet sweet husband took me to Wan Bao tonight! It is Chinese food, in Burstadt! I've been wanting to try it for quite a while, but today when we were walking around town, we went by and grabbed a menu and took it home to look over. It came time for dinner, and since we really need to get some groceries tomorrow, he said, SURE, let's try it! He doesn't so much care for Asian food, but he went with me and had some chicken and rice. When we left the nice man gave us warm towels, and gifts! A calendar and a lipstick compact! They were so nice, and the food was good. No 35 bypass Jade Garden, but good. :) (what did Stacey use to call Jade Garden? Was it Wong Dongs? I can't remember!!)

At any rate, we will probably call in an order and pick up SB a pizza on the way home next time. But I really enjoyed going there tonight.

Christmas Day 2007

White Christmas!

It hasn't really snowed here, but it has been in the 20s/30s for over a week. This makes for some BEAUTIFUL scenery, without the icy and dangerous road conditions. There is just enough dew to freeze on the trees and make a white Christmas. I like how you can see in the super close up how some of the ice looks sharp, like thorns!

Husband's home, that's all I need for Christmas!

You Are a Minimal Christmas Tree

You're not a total Scrooge, but you feel no need to go overboard at Christmas. Less is more, and your Christmas reflects refined quality.

What Christmas Tree Are You?

Missing you

As you may know, I cannot access the blog at work. What you may not know is that Stephen is in Florida this week at a conference. He has the computer with him for homework. So, I am typing this message at my friend Marisa's. The library has also put the blockers on blogspot and all gaming sites. I had to come check out my line ups here for the Fantasy League as well.

Anyway, point is, it might be pretty quiet around here until next weekend. See ya soon~h

Ghosts of Christmas Past and Present

I'm not sure if you know or not, but the "Christmas Markets" of Germany are HUGE! It is THE thing to do to go every year to at least one, but many people go to several every year. We went to 2 or 3 last year. This year, just one. And after about 20 minutes, "yeah...I just don't get it." It is the same stuff over and over. Some of it is kind of neat, but it is over priced and seriously repeated in each market and year after year.

So we left, walked around downtown Mannheim a little while, ate at Enchiladas (MEXICAN FOOD!) and had a good dinner date. I should also mention that I was wearing my Baby As sweatshirt and ate a chimichanga. No match for Chuy's, but the Nutty Colada was AWESOME! :)

ps-these are last year's pics because I forgot the camera :( But like I said...same stuff different year!

Heather's Run

Heather, with her mastery of the "pizza" manuver, shows that she is on her way to Winter Wonderland! (Notice her close call with a punk snowboarder at the beginning of the video)

For Kathy

Reposted for close up access:

Happy Birthday Skiing!

Yesterday was Stephen's birthday, and we went SKIING! Outdoor Rec had a special pre-season trip, and for $25 plus lift tickets! They provided the ride up there and back, the where to go knowledge (so we didn't have to look anything up or find anything) and the boots, skis and poles!

I skiied the hill 8 times. The first time was painful. Emotionally and physically painful. I was frustrated, upset, and pretty sure I could not do it. But I was determined. This is something Stephen REALLY enjoys and I wanted to be able to do it. I can waterski, skate, and ice skate. And I skiied once as a kid. Shouldn't be too hard...right? WRONG. I fell about 100 times and every time was a GIANT struggle to get back up. I would get 1/2 way and my ski would go forward. It was terrible. FINALLY, when we got toward the bottom, it leveled out a little, and the snow was perfectly packed without being icy. I did really well on that part. So then I knew a little better how to control myself and the skis. The second trip was a little falling, but more up than down. By the third and fourth trips I was falling only once, and where I was falling was a REALLY steep part. Even he agreed it was a particularly steep part for the easy hill. The 5th and 6th trips...I DID IT! NO FALLS!

Then we ate lunch at the little restaurant, and went for the big lift. To this point we were riding the little rope pull thingy. You grap a disk as it's going by and put it between your legs, sitting on it like a rope swing. It pulls you along on your skis to the top of the hill. It was a lot like waterskiing and I liked this part! After lunch we got on the chair lift that went all the way to the top of the hill. Once was enough for me on this. It was much colder up there, a lot of wind, and VERY LITTLE visability which was a big problem for me. Also, the snow was very powdery and it is much harder to not fall in these conditions. It fed into the smaller hill we had been skiing all morning, and once we got to that part I was fine. Again only falling on the steep part.

Now I was ready to take a break. So Stephen went back up the chair lift about four times and I sat and people watched a bit. There was a beautiful black lab that was much thicker than Dude, and was sniffing all around the snow and getting snow on his face, too cute. Another dog was chasing his owner down the sledding hill barking and running all around. That was pretty funny. I was AMAZED at the children. There were a few that were 4-6 yrs old all cruising aong on their skis like it was nothing. I even saw a toddler with a pacifier dressed in a tiny snow suit toddling along in the snow. She wasn't skiing, but I saw her parents held a tiny sled. My first thought was "that seems a little young to be out here", but then I realized that it is all in what you are use to. This is their life every year, so just like we take kids to the beach before they can walk, these families are on the slopes from birth. Snowboarders are an interesting bunch. It looks much easier to get up from a fall, but you definitely fall a LOT from a snowboard. You can't just stand on it like you can skis. If you are up, you are going. So if you have to stop, you have to sit down. Some of the snowboarders were even going to the end of the hill and then doing tricks (like skateboard tricks) off the snowbank at the bottom.

After about 3o minutes I decided I better go one more time because it was going to be time to board the bus soon. I got on my skis and went up as we had been doing before. Again, I did great all the way down until I hit that steep part. But I went for it. I got going REALLY fast and when I wiped out, and it was major. I slid probably 15-20 feet (although I later told Stephen 50 yards) and a lady from our bus happened to be coming by, "are you okay??" yep, I said, I'm use to this part! I got back up and finished the hill. Stephen and I met back at the bus. He had a good time, and got a little crazy. When he came back to the bus he was covered with snow, inside and out of his suit. He had done the top of the mountain 4 times, and the smaller one another 3.

I think it was a successful trip, we will definitly go again. Once my body stops hurting ALL OVER. a couple of places (neck, back, knee and ankle) hurt from falls and twists, and the rest hurt from using muscles I don't have (arms-front, back all of them, chest, legs, butt, hands, etc!)

Off to take some more Advil...

Heather's Office

This is my office. The door looking out from the desk on the left is Dan's office, and there is one to the right that is Alice's office. These are my bosses. I don't have their pictures...but will soon! :)

USAG Mannheim Holiday Party

CSM Seay and LTC Fletcher




The Hollenbach Feast (Frau Hollenbach is famous throughout the community for wonderful catering.)







LTC Fletcher and Mrs. Coleman sing for the crowd.





Today was the Garrison Holiday Party. It was a lot of fun, and it is always good to visit with the people SB works with.

I love this song.

http://www.andiesisle.com/didsheknow.html

A day at home

Well, I woke up with a headached, but I think I might have jinxed myself. I've been saying for a while I need to take a sick day. So I didn't go to work today. Once I felt better (about 8:30), I could have had Stephen come home and get me, but I decided to take it easy. Instead, I cleaned the entire house (including hanging some things on the wall, and mopping the floors, my most hated chore). I sat down for a total of about 2 hours (one of which I was creating a wall hanging from my 72d Sig Bn throw) and the rest of the time I was cleaning. It feels SO good to have a spotless house. Now no one can eat, use the restroom, shower, take clothes off, or track in anything for...well, forever! I don't want it getting messed up!

Greetings!

http://www.kvue.com/video/greeting-index.html?nvid=198055

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!
Love,
Heather and Stephen

Eating and driving...thats about as handy as skiing and doing your taxes.

People complain all the time about people who drive and eat or talk on the phone and drive or whatever. I know that is more dangerous, but it is just as annoying (if not more) to see people standing and/or walking and eating! It's a way of life around here.

If someone asked you to name 3 things about the mall, not 3 stores, 3 things- what would you say? I asked S to do this, using Baybrook Mall as the example. He said, "uh...it's big...(he was just getting started) it has that sunken little play area or whatever kind of in the middle over there...and...the food court."

Exactly. The food court. There are a lot of places to get food at the Rhein Necker Zentrum (mall right by post) but NO WHERE TO SIT! You could try to squeeze 1/4 of a cheek on a crowded bench with 10 other people, some who may or may not have DOGS with them, but really most everyone is just standing around or walking with their pizza slice, fish/fries, sandwich, etc. There are a few places to sit at tables, but they are restaurants. You can't just get a slice of pizza and sit there. You have to order from the restaurant. How silly is that?

People love to look down on Americans for eating on the run and not sitting still long enough to enjoy a meal, but don't let 'em fool you...Germans do it, too!

The tree has been lit!

Tonight was the annual Mannheim community tree lighting. It is really nice, some singing, a big production of turning the lights on the tree, and the streets are lined with the paper bags w/ candles in them. Here is a pic from last year...we for got the camera this year!

Thanksgiving 2007

Beautiful table!

Jack carving the bird

Rebecca tests the wine

Sitting down to the feast!

McKenna kissing Andrea

We had Thanksgiving dinner with our friends Jack and Rebecca. They invited us to their house, along with Rebecca's neighbor and our friend Jen, R's friend from CT Andrea, and our friends Rob and Aimee. Rebecca, Aimee and I knew each other mostly as we all had the same job as FRSAs. Anyway, we had a great time.

$1 will net you 65 euro cents.

Wow. And people wonder why we don't shop at the grocery store in our smalltown. Why we don't travel constantly or shop the Christmas markets coming soon. The thing is, everything looks about the same pricewise, and your mind sees one euro and says to itself Oh, one dollar. Not so.
Price tag says 10 euro? That's $15.38. You get 100 Euro out of the bank and it shows on your debit receipt $154. (plus any fee you might incur!)

When we got here it was 85 euro cents to the dollar. So our buying power has decreased by 20% since August 2006. Which also means all our bills (rent, phone, elec and gas) have increased 20% as we pay them in euro and we are paid in dollars.

This is not to say "send money now!" We are doing fine. I have a new job that pays significantly more than the last one and I think our COLA (cost of living allowance) may have gone up a tiny bit. I just wanted to try to explain the economics of the situation. The good news is that as long as we are shopping on post we don't pay tax! :)

Posted to the dream blog

and I'm going to TRY to keep it up!

Update

October 14 I posted that I was going to start eating more healthy, exercising and losing some weight. Well, I don't have numbers, but I know that some of my clothes are fitting better...or fitting! and a couple of people have told me that I look like I'm losing weight. I'm not visiting the gym as I had said, but we are going to try to remedy that situation soon!
The especially good thing is that I feel better. I take my lunch each day to work, eat whole grains, fruit, veggies, etc. I still love the salt and the red meat, but I'm okay with that!

So, there's my update!

Farewell 72nd

Today my old unit, the 72nd Signal Battalion held a Farewell Luncheon for me. It was SO great! FRG Leaders, FRSAs, Commanders and 1SGs, the Bn Commander and XO, the CSM and staff members came and we all had a great time!

And there's a pic of the snow!

SNOW!

Last "winter", it didn't snow until the second day of Spring. Yesterday, Nov 14, it snowed!!! Really and truly! It didn't stick on the ground, but then I guess it did it again last night because there was a thin layer on the truck and yard. COOL! I would post a picture, but its still on the camera and I'm too lazy to get it off right this minute! :)

Looking back

So, my friend Shauna pointed me in the direction of a website: http://www.blurb.com/. It's pretty neat, you can write and publish your own book there. It's cool for photo books, but you can also do wordy books and even import your blog. SO, I started one, importing the blog, but it looks like a LOT of work to edit and make perfect (which I would feel necessary) so I don't know if I'll ever do it. Plus all the pics were too low res to work, so I'd have to reupload all of them...ANYWAY, this "book" would have started with "ok, sometimes change is hard, but we are starting this new blog" or however it started when I switched from blogstream to blogspot. I went to check out the old blog, and ended up reading from before I got to Germany through April 07. It was pretty cool to go back and see where we were then.

Our first trip to Munich, mail being super slow (some things don't change!) Lil T was officiall adopted 11/16, I had just met my friend Marisa (who I was at that time referring to as IACS Marisa because that's where she worked) while I was volunteering as the Welcome Coordinator, and on into Thanksgiving and Christmas. This year we are going to go to Rebecca and Jack's for Thanksgiving afternoon, and at lunch SB may be serving at the Dining Facility.

It was neat to look back.

(This is a pic taken in our first few weeks here. We had gone driving around, got out to walk through Worms and got caught in the rain)

http://www.visitingeu.com/central-europe/czech-republic/2006/10/karlovy-vary-spa-wafers.html

http://www.visitingeu.com/central-europe/czech-republic/2006/10/karlovy-vary-spa-wafers.html

I found these wafers online. They are the EXACT ones! They are SO good!!! Vanilla nut and apple cinnamon are my favorite!

Czech it out!

This weekend, I went on a bus trip with my friend Marisa, her son Khameron and 40something other shopping crazy women! We drove about 5 hrs (including a 30 minute stop) to the Czech Republic to do some bargain shopping. It was a great time. The bus ride was murderous, much like the Venice one, but not quite as long or overnight. But that aside, it was fun to meet new people and do something different in a different place.

One really interesting thing: Remember that movie Last Holiday with Queen Latifah, and she thinks she is dying so she goes to a hotel in Europe to spend all her money having a great vacation before she dies? WELL, the Hotel Pupp is in the city of Karlovy Vary. Pronounced /kal-uh-vah-ry/. We parked right by it! We strolled around that town for a couple hours and then headed for the MADNESS of the Asian Market. It reminded me a lot of just across the border Mexico with the bargaining and people everywhere, etc.

This place had hot off the press wafer cookie thingys. They are SO good!

More pictures here:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?Uc=11pcpqol.799bhxep&Uy=73yqks&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&mode=fromshare&conn_speed=1

Jim's meat was too small!

Quan, our not-so-brilliant waitress at dinner was having some trouble. Wrong appetizer, almost an hour after we ordered it, and then there was Jim's steak...It was over done for the first thing, but he sure wasn't going to send it back and have to wait another hour, so he said it was fine. Minutes later, here she comes again with another one. She seemed to want him to trade it out. He explained that it was fine and she finally got the message across that she wanted him to keep them both by saying, "no, because you meat, too small!!!" We all had a good laugh and then took many pictures of one another with her in the background trying to get a picture of her!

On Business and Pleasure

Just after our visit from Wade, Nik and Jim were a couple hours north of us! Jim had a trade show in Dusseldorf, and they were staying in the neighboring town of Bonn. So, Saturday morning we drove up and met them to spend the day! We went to the wine country, tasted some great wine (and a couple grapes for Nik and I!), had a great lunch, walked around a small town, went to a wine festival, had dinner back in Bonn and then parted ways. It was wonderful to see them and we had a great time! Here are a few pics:














For more photos, click here: http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?Uc=11pcpqol.70h23j0h&Uy=mnyxmw&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&mode=fromshare&conn_speed=1

Got told!

Looks like I got told in my comments that it was time to update! You are quite correct Aunt Paulette, I'm on it!

What a Rush!

25 yrs. I would guess that is about how long my brother has been Rush's #1 fan. One of the things I remember so clearly growing up is hearing those albums blaring through his door, watching him play drums, bass and air guitar to Free Will, Tom Sawyer, Limelight, etc. Last night, I had the pleasure of seeing this incredible band real live in person at the SAP Arena here in Mannheim. I sat next to my brother (and my husband) at my first and his about 50th Rush concert. Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart are not spring chickens. I don't know how old they are, but they had their 30th anniversary tour a few years ago. Neat story, my brother and his best friend from childhood went to their first concert in 1982 or 1983, something like that. And then they went together to see Rush on their 30th anniversary tour in 2005 or 2006. How cool is that? Anyway, I expected to go and have a good time, but I was really amazed at how talented these musicians are. Both Stephen and I commented separately how they sound JUST like their albums! Not like so many who manipulate their voices to sound good for recording and then are a disappointment on stage. There was no opening act. They played for almost 3 hours, with a 25 minute intermission mid-way. There were, of course, some songs I hadn't heard. I haven't heard much since those early days through the bedroom door, but those I knew the chorus, or bits and pieces here and there took me back and then the new ones that I really liked as well. I couldn't always understand the words, you know, the rock and roll!! But I had a great time and was so happy to get to share in something my brother loves so much. Because I love him so much. Now…I have to check on Olivia's tour schedule. Because he promised to go with me! :)

It's already starting...

There was ice on the windshield this morning. :(

COMPLETELY unprofessional.

I know that "kids today" and even old fogies like myself are using some email slang, not using proper punctuation, leaving out letters for faster IM and text capabilities. However, I received this email from someone in another office. Seriously.

if u are referering to a dd2875, the IASO cn sign block 22,and g2 security manager completes part III.
G8 should have its own IASO. if u don't have one yet, I cn sign block 22.

It takes only a fraction of a second longer to type "you" than u. U is not appropriate. Cn is not can. Referering? This is ridiculous.
And this person did not answer my question.

Meetings, meetings, meetings!

Funny things about meetings! People at work are ALWAYS scheduled for a meeting. Here are a few things I have noticed: 1. If it is with anyone important, it always trumps any other meeting that may already be scheduled. 2. Most meetings are scheduled and rescheduled several times. I think this is because if there is an important attendee, they may have something more pressing.
3. Several times I have seen what I call "the meeting pawn off". I get an email appointment notice, and then I get a CC on an email to someone saying "hey Ms. Suchandsuch, I need you to take my 2pm meeting with Ms. B regarding this. Please cover the following issues…" It takes longer to do this than to just have the friggin meeting!
4. Many meetings are scheduled for WAY over the necessary time. So when someone is "in meetings all day, some of them overlapping" They are not. They got out of the first one 30 minutes early, so they hem hawed around a while and then went to the second one, which they found out was canceled. The third one, a lunch meeting, goes over because of someone getting there late, but it's ok. The meeting was pushed back 30 minutes to accommodate the VIP that was coming!
What a meeting mess!!! I think some of them do it just so that their Outlook Calendar will look like they are super busy!

Accountability

Well, I'm putting it out there. Starting tomorrow (you know, because it's Monday), I am eating healthily and working out. My goal is to lose 35 pounds. I hope to lose 15-20 by the end of the year, and the rest by the end of March 2008. This is totally doable. My purpose in telling the world that I need to lose this weight is because I plan to see you all again and I'm hoping that the shame of NOT doing it will motivate me! Also, anyone who wants to get healthier, lose weight or any other goal, join me!

See Progress Ticker at bottom of blog. It's difficult to read, I know. Best I could do on Sunday night. Time for bed!

Jargon heavy, light on reality

Has anyone seen the Army Wives show? We just began getting it over here, or we've been getting it a while and I didn't know it. I watched "After Birth" last night, the one where the lady is a surrogate and she delivers the twins and is "hiding them" from everyone and telling people her babies died. This was the first episode I had seen and honestly, I was VERY disappointed. I think they are only getting it about half right, and even that is AT BEST. They put just enough acronyms and military speak in there so that it *seems* real, but then they mess it all up on things that aren't even important.

For instance: This lady being a surrogate-I guess it could happen. No, surrogacy is not rampant in the military, I've never heard of it. I'm not sure if the aim is to say that military families don't make enough money so they have to carry babies for people to make up the difference or if it's just a story line they thought of and decided to go with. Not having seen what lead up to the delivery show, I don’t know why it had to be a secret. Was she using military medical benefits for babies she was not keeping and that was at issue? I don't know.

What really did it for SB was that one of the more experienced wives tells the new one while she is going though the deployment checklist that if she "needs any extra gas mask filters, we've got them laying all over the house." yeah. Those are kept under lock and key and issued as needed.

Other little things: Guy gets news his unit is going to Iraq, new wife is upset. This happens. However, #1, you don't buy his shirts at the PX (on the show she did), you get them at the Military Clothing and Sales Store. And you don't have to sew tags with his name in them. #2, he doesn't find out and leave quickly. There is, with most, a LENGTHY ramp up period. That is not with everyone, some units have to be ready to roll w/ in hours of orders, but this is not the norm.

I was irritated with the way the FRGs were portrayed. Yes they are a group of usually ladies, yes they can be gossipy and nosey. One comment really got to me, that was when the new wife asked what an FRG is, the "higher up's" wife told her they were Family Readiness Groups. She asked what they did. "The official answer is that we empower spouses…" to something, cope with military life or something and then she says, "but with all the casualties, it has become more of a sweeping up the pieces of their shattered lives" or something like that. I know the casualties are high. One is too many. But figure in how many soldiers have been, and how many times. That is NOT all the FRGs are doing!

Also, there is a lot of domestic violence in the show. A female Lt Col comes back from 2 yrs in Afghanistan (2 years? Yeah, that's what I said…never heard of that, but maybe in some units) and is drinking a LOT and is very sexually aggressive with her husband. When he protests once and says they need to work on their intimacy issues, talking, communicating, etc, she flips out and accuses him of cheating, and the next morning says she wants to separate. I'm not saying it doesn't happen. Reunification is a hard thing. But it doesn't always happen this way either. And then there's the storyline of the teenager who is hitting his mom. He says in one scene that he is refusing to go to Westpoint, "this is not the life I chose, this is the life you and dad chose. I can't say I'm from Chicago or somewhere, I have to say I'm from the Army." I don't hang out with Army teenagers all the time. And I do know that there is some talk of a new demographic, one of American teenagers who have never lived in America. However, I've not gotten the impression that teenagers feel this way. Maybe some do. ???

There are a couple of scenes where things do ring true. One where after the lady says she wants to leave he is talking to another long time military spouse and she is explaining how most people don’t get how it is with reunification. They see the parades and welcome homes but not the hard stuff, when it is just the two of you and you have both grown and changed and not together. You have to work at it. But mostly it is just Knots Landing with some acronyms and uniforms thrown in for good measure. SB said that any discrepancies with uniforms should be forgiven as it is against the US code to "impersonate a member of the military" so they have to be a little bit off here or there.

I guess the bottom line is that they are trying too hard. And for me, it isn't working.

Tearful Goodbyes

This morning was one of my hardest on record. We had a group head out, and it was a sad, sad sight. Everyone gathered in the gym, I was there with my old unit's FRG ladies, providing goody bags, snacks, tissues, a coloring table for the little ones, etc.

Most of the women I was with have been through it, many more than once. Rebecca and I were the newbies, and we had a particularly difficult time with certain things. My hardest was an older man, father of a Soldier, quietly wiping his eyes as the Chaplain prepared to pray. Hers was seeing a child cry waving to his daddy who was boarding the bus. There were 4 or 5 who I recogized as Soldiers I had welcomed last October-December. One of them, who's spouse got pregnant shortly after they arrived, said goodbye to the baby they just had weeks ago. The lady who I followed in the welcome coordinator position was there to say, "see you in 15 months" to her husband. Our friend who we went to dinner with the retired General last year was going. She is single, and such a sweetheart. I'm glad I was there to be her "goodbyer".

In the coming days, the rest of the group will go, and that will be worse in some ways. Not as bad I hope because now I've at least been to one before, but worse because my friends, Marisa, Adrienne and Deanna will do the goodbying.

I'm not sharing this to make you cry with me, but to remind you that (as one of the other Heathers in our group said) these are not just news stories. We know these people. We shop with them, live near them, know them. Please remember them in your prayers. The Soldiers and their Families.

Thanks.

The rest of the pics...

From the Oktoberfest/Black Forest trip!
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=11pcpqol.8ysjkjq1&x=0&y=-gz49ej

Putting things in perspective

A few posts back, I mentioned rather excitedly that we were GETTING A DOG!!! Well, turns out, we are not. And when I read the first line of the email, "I won't be needing a dog sitter afterall." I was disappointed. Then, I read, "My husband has been injured in Iraq. I'm not sure of the extent of it right now. But I know I won't be leaving for the States right now." My heart jumped into my throat and I just began to pray for Oreo's dad, and her mom. What must they be going through? I have emailed her a couple more times, just to let her know I'm thinking about her and praying for her husband's recovery. She has responded positively, thanking me for thinking of them.

We don't have a dog. But my husband is sitting beside me watching that annoying Sports Channel, flipping channels constantly, and I would never want it any other way. Please take just a minute to be thankful for what you have in your life. God is good.

Also, Hooptie is worse off than we were told. We will be a one car family again. So, until we find something else, we get to ride together all the time. :)

Friends, Fun, Fest

We just returned from Oktoberfest with our friends Bill and Linda. Here are a few photos for your enjoyment!