William and Emily's Wedding

Well, the day finally came! The much anticipated and talked about wedding of William and Emily Pool took place last night (Friday) and was beautiful. Dave was an usher and I manned the guest book. We had a great time at the rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner, and of course the wedding. Emily looked beautiful...both nights. We really enjoyed seeing a lot of our friends that we hadn't seen in awhile and having a child-free evening. My good friend Melinda watched Noah for us so that we could be free to do our duties...Dave and I had a great time....and Melinda reported that Noah was very good for her. We got back late last night and now I am doing the usual return home stuff...laundry and putting my house back together...only to have to get ready for vacation next weekend (We're getting really excited!) Congratulations to the new Mr. and Mrs!

Happy Birthday Summer

Happy Birthday to my friend Summer, who turned 25 today! We went to eat at Don Pablos for a birthday lunch. Hope you have a great rest of the day and that this next year rocks!

Weekend...

It's time for a long overdue update...

Saturday: Dave and I spent the morning making my dad's birthday present...a stepping stone for his garden with Noah's handprints in it...A creative idea in theory (he loves gardening). The actual process did not resemble the 5 easy step directions that it boasted. A few hours later, we managed to have it looking somewhat presentable. We spent the rest of the day looking at storm doors at different home stores (but didn't buy) and went to Applebees for family dinner where Noah always gets a free balloon. (He loves that!)

Sunday: Church in the morning. Tony preached a really good but hard sermon on relationships and restoration. It made me think a lot. Afterwards, Heather watched Noah while Summer and I went shopping (for the elusive dress among other things) sans children. Let me tell you, it was liberating. We went to all sorts of places and made great time because we didn't have to adhere to kid's schedules. AND...I found the dress! Summer handed it to me and made me try it on. It was one that I would never have picked on my own at all...but it fit perfectly and was on super sale! WooHoo!



Monday: I headed home to Kankakee to help celebrate my dad's birthday. He is now 61 years young. :-) During the day, I met with my close friend Tiffany. We went to the State Park and walked a little bit. It was beautiful and serene. Tiffany actually was the catalyst that brought me to Christ oh so many years ago. We have both moved around a lot and are enjoying living closer right now. She is such an encourager and a great person to "process" with. Her husband Jon, is taking his first set of boards this Thursday, so after we met, we went back so that we could pray over him. It was good.


That evening my family went to Blue's Cafe to celebrate my dad. Holy Cow is that the greatest food ever. That place has been my favorite restaurant since my 11th birthday when I first ordered chicken fillet (the beginning of a lifelong love affair.) Afterwards, we watched the Illusionist...a really interesting and great movie.

Happy Birthday Dad!!

Tuesday: I drove back this morning, had a fun chat with Sara, took a nap, and am now getting ready to get back into the swing of things by going grocery shopping and cleaning. Go me.

Update

Yesterday, Dave came home with flowers...Little did he know (or maybe he did) how much I really needed and appreciated them. We then made homemade pizza...mmmm so good. I honestly think its better than eating out! Afterwards, we took Noah and Chester on a stroll. We ran into our neighbors and friends from church, Norm and Sue and had a great time sitting on their front porch chatting and enjoying the beautiful weather. They have a fake owl hanging off their porch to scare the birds away...and Noah was convinced it was a cat... (tat! tat!) Norm even found a doggie treat for Chester. It was an unplanned, but great way to spend the evening.

Today, I helped Heather clean out her apartment in the morning. When I came back Dave had cleaned our house! I can't tell you how nice it was for ME to walk into a clean house after working! :-) It was really very kind of him.

The day has been on and off since. We keep getting phone calls from people requesting services/things...mostly because Dave is the president of the homeowners association...but he isn't home, so I couldn't help them. I went dress shopping for a dress for Emily's wedding. I had to take Noah with me...Boy was that a mistake! #1) Although he had just gotten up from a nap, he still seemed tired #2) He thought crawling under the changing room doors and taking off was the best game there was. (Me, trying to throw clothes on and chase after him was not so impressed with this game). Eventually I gave up and headed home. I've read a good book and had a good chat with my friend Sara, who always makes me laugh.

So all in all, it has been a typical day, filled with ups and downs...but the ups have far outweighed the downs. :-) (Have to go get my crying kid now)

Jane's Gourmet Deli

So, Noah and I went to the zoo again this morning...this time with Becky W. and her son River (who is 11 days older than Noah). The boys had a good time and I enjoyed getting to know Becky better. We then went to Jane's Gourmet Deli (where her husband works...and where they met!). It was FABULOUS! It is this little joint off 4th street and its great. We even met Jane herself. It was nice to experience more of a taste of Lafayette besides Wendy's and Steak n Shake. If you are interested in a good meal and nice atmosphere, you should check it ou! Now, Noah is napping and I am thinking that is not such a bad idea. :-)

Columbian Park Zoo

Today Dave, Noah, and I checked out the Columbian Park Zoo. Although small, we had a lot of fun (and it was free!). Although Noah was often more interested in the dirt and the animal's water...he still seemed to really enjoy himself. We saw Gibbon monkeys that talked and sang for a good ten minutes...I have honestly never seen anything like that before...and we could have left Dave there for hours perfectly content in watching their antics. :-) Noah's favorite part was the petting zoo...where he managed to pet almost every goat there was. Thankfully the goats were so mild mannered they tolerated all of Noah's "pets". We had a lot of fun and it was a nice way to spend the afternoon.

VACATION

Is it time for vacation YET?????