Dream House

Back in 1984 (I believe that was the year), after my Great-Grandpa Klenke passed away, some of his land was going to be sold at an auction. My parents decided that they wanted to buy a section of 121 acres located on Hoxey Road, south of Hamel. As a kid, we spent a TON of time out on this land. Somehow, over time, it became known as "The Farm". In the early years, part of the land was planted in various crops and harvested by some family members and friends. Beginning in 1993, Dad put the tillable land in a conservation program through the State of Illinois. Over the following years, several types of trees were planted in these fields. The first field that was planted in trees was 15 acres and it now contains 2,000 walnut and 2,000 pecan trees. I have a lot of memories from planting the trees including needing a johnboat to get to one of the fields after Silver Creek, which cuts across a corner of the land, floaded. Several other snapshots from planting the trees that have been saved in my memory include my Grandpa, who's been gone for almost 10 years now. Some other great memories of time at The Farm include riding 4-wheelers for hours, peeing behind a tree and not being ashamed (LOL!), and stepping on a thorn which went through the sole of my shoe and had to be pulled out by my Dad. Dad and his buddies have always used The Farm for deer hunting. A few years ago, Rob was inducted into the group of hunters. I could seriously talk about my memories from The Farm for hours...just ask me. :)



Sorry, I got a bit sidetracked there! When Rob and I bought our current house, we agreed that we would stay here a minimum of 10 years. We've been here almost 3 years already. Time sure does fly! Over time, we've both developed a passion for the house that we want to build someday. We talk about it almost daily. Its almost become an obsession for us! Ever since I was a little girl, I have wanted to live at The Farm. Luckily, Rob has grown to share that dream. Some time back we shared our dream with my parents. They have graciously agreed to give us a few acres of The Farm when we are ready to build our house. I know it won't happen for quite a few years, but we have already decided on a floor plan that we LOVE. Here's a picture of the outside...
Some of the highlights include...
The front porch that I have always dreamed of.
Main floor master suite with a bathroom and walk-in closet. That is located on the far right side of the picture.
Three car garage (one of Rob's "musts")
Four bedrooms
A dining room, that I really wish I had now

I used to say "IF we can build our dream house" when Rob and I would talk about it. We agreed that we have to talk about it knowing that it WILL happen. Until then, I clip coupons and question almost any purchase we make in an attempt to save money, all with this picture in my mind. For the next few years, I just have to be patient.

Friday Favs, a day late

Sorry for the delay...just too many great things going on!!!

At the top of my favorites list this week are:

Spending ALL of last weekend one-on-one with Ella...talk about some Mommy/baby bonding time!

Giving Rob his tickets to the Bears game on Nov 22!!! Go Bears!

Surviving another week of class (6 more sessions to go!)

Ella going potty on the Big Girl Potty two more times

MMOM Sale at SWIC http://memom.org/sale.htm

Taking about 10 minutes per night to read in bed before passing out

Ella starting another session of Play Pals

One last lunch with Mom while she still has her job...its been so awesome having her work a tenth of a mile from my office. We've been so spoiled by that. If either one of us was having a rotten day, the other one was just a phone call and 2 minute commute away.

Whew! Just thinking about this past week is exhausting! Lots more great things to come this week...

Too much Sesame Street?

So, Rob got home from his weekend Cavallo trip about 7:00 last night. As we sat down for a late family dinner, the Emmy's were coming on TV. Rob says "Is this the Oscars"? Ella's eyes lit up and she exclaims "ELMO?!?!?!"

Gotta write that one down in her baby book...

Friday Favs

This week has been crazy, to say the least. But, this week included a lot to be thankful for, including:

• Mom & Dad's 35th wedding anniversary - What an amazing example you two set for the rest of us. You both are a blessing in my life and I definitely wouldn't be who I am today without you. Congrats on 35 years and I hope you are blessed with another 35.
• Celebrating Mom & Dad's anniversary - We took them to dinner at Bella Milano in Edwardsville. It has to be the best, or at least one of the best, Italian restaurants that I have ever eaten at. The food was amazing and we had a great time spending the evening celebrating with them.
• Making it past another deadline at work. September 15th is the deadline for extended corporate and partnership tax returns. For the first time in five months, I had to work last Saturday. I can't say that was a favorite, but it helped me get more things done. I'm glad the deadline is behind us.
• Receiving an employment contract offer from LarsonAllen that I am pleased with. Salary wasn't what I'd hoped it would be, but the benefits make up for the lack of increase (specifically 4 cents per hour). Its nice to know that on 10/1 I will still have a job.
• Edy's Slow Churned 1/2 the fat ice cream - especially the French Silk
• Today we took Ella to the apple farm for the first time. I loved watching her try to pick an apple with one hand, grunt, then pull with two hands and eventually pick the apple with a little assistance. I hope to post some pics later.
• Having today off work since I had to work on Wednesday. It was really nice to still have a 4 day work-week despite the deadline and HR meetings.
• Beasley's Fish in Grafton
• Uppercase Living - these things are SO COOL!!! http://kris.uppercaseliving.net/Home.m

Early this week was crazy busy and stressful. I'm looking forward to a mellow weekend, with not much (other than homework) on the agenda. Have a great weekend!!!

Facts of life

Wow...I don't even know where to start. So much has changed since the last time I posted anything. In no particular order....

• For my ENTIRE LIFE, my Mom has been an employee of Chicago Title Insurance Company. In fact, she has worked there since high school. She took a couple years off when I was born, but remained an employee during that time. When she returned to work, it was part time. Eventually, she returned to working full-time. After adjusting for her time off, she has been with the company for approximately 33 years. Late July they were informed that the office would be closing and most of them would be losing their jobs...Mom included. Naturally, the news has been hard to swallow. Now they are in their final days and Mom has started cleaning out her desk. Dad keeps reminding Mom that when one door closes, another door opens. At this point, her plan is to take some time off and see what happens. I'm glad she'll get a break and continue to pray that the next step be clear, smooth and a blessing. Mom, please know that I'm here for you, that everything will be ok. I admire your dedication to your job and to CTI. I love you and will support you in whatever the next step may be for you. You are in my prayers. I love you!!!
• On a lighter note, I am finally in the last class of my MBA at SIUE. I'm currently taking MBA 534, which meets on Monday nights. This is the Capstone class of the program and it really is a lot of work. Each week I struggle to get the homework done for the following week. But, at this point, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We have 7 more class sessions, with the last one being Nov 2. Commencement will be Dec 19. My master's degree has taken longer to complete than my bachelor's degree, but at this point, I'm just thankful to be on the final leg of this journey.
• This fall, Rob started his master's degree. He is going to Missouri Baptist University and studying to be a counselor. When he has completed the requirements, he will be a LPC and able to provide counseling services for those in need. He hopes to be done with the program in December 2010. He's super excited about the program and I'm glad to see him studying something that he enjoys. Rob, keep up the good work. We're all proud of you!
• Ella...what happened to the little 7 lb 6 oz baby girl that I swaddled and rocked to sleep not that long ago?!?! That baby girl is changing right before my eyes. About a month ago, she learned how to climb out of her crib. I was out scrapbooking with "The Girls" and Rob called. He asked "When did Ella learn how to climb out of her crib"? My jaw dropped. She proceeded to show him how she did it several more times that day. Luckily, when we purchased her crib, we bought one that converts into a toddler bed. After much discussion that evening and some tears on my part, we decided we would convert it to a toddler bed the next day. It wasn't worth risking her hurting herself. The move to a toddler bed has been difficult at times. Now that she has the freedom to get up whenever she wants, it has been harder to get her to fall asleep. I knew we would obviously make this transition eventually, but I assumed it would be on our terms, not hers. Later THE SAME WEEK, she peed on the "big girl potty" three separate times. It was almost too many changes for me to handle in such a short time. Granted, since then she has indicated the need and desire to go on the potty, but nothing has resulted. Either way, it was excited to know that she understands what happens on the goofy shaped porcelain thing in the bathroom that Daddy sits on for a long time. Her vocabulary is exploding. Some of her favorite words include banana, grape, why (insert eye roll by Mommy here), Gacaw (Grandpa), and Mommy (FINALLY!). I love each and every day with her and am thankful for such a wonderful blessing.
• Ok, so this isn't a change, but something I've learned. This lesson has been learned both recently and over time. It has been hard to accept at times. Its about friends. Some friends will be there for you, no matter what. Other friends say things that hurt. Sometimes they talk behind your back. Some friends let things come between them. True friends don't insult you, or let time or distance interfere. True friends want what is best for you, not what is best for them. I guess this is all part of life, but that doesn't make this lesson any easier to swallow. So, to my true friends...thank you. Thank you for listening, when I just need to talk. Thank you for supporting me. Thank you for caring. Thank you for letting me share in your life. To the "other" friends...all I can say is that I hope I've been a better friend to you, than you have to me.

Lots of big changes happening in our lives. Lots of lessons learned. Lots of prayers said. Lots of tears shed. Overall, I guess these are all just facts of life.

Job changes

Well, I figured I should start with the biggest change going on in my life right now.

It all started late August when an email was sent to everyone at work (GMCH) informing us of a mandatory staff meeting on Friday, August 28. Immediately, we were all nervous. No one seemed to have any idea what the meeting was about. Mandatory staff meetings historically have occurred around tax season. A meeting of this nature in August immediately caused a lot of worry, confusion, and gossip. My main concerns were that we cutting jobs, cutting pay, or closing some of the satellite offices (mainly the one I work out of).

Luckily, the day of the meeting, right before we left to go to the meeting, my boss Tim decided to fill us in so we wouldn't be as surprised as most others in the firm. We were informed that GMCH was being sold and would become part of LarsonAllen, effective 10/1/09. We were told that all offices would remain open and that each GMCH employee would receive an employment offer from LarsonAllen. The news, however, did not reduce the worry, confusion, or gossip. In fact, it increased these fears and created more. Would we be taking a cut in pay? Would our culture mesh with the culture of LarsonAllen? Would we be required to report to a different office? Would our work duties change? The questions were endless.

As we continue to approach the date of the merger, some questions have been answered, while other new questions have been created. After our HR meeting this past week, a lot of the basic questions about our employment were answered. The main things that I am excited about at this point are 1) getting a laptop to work from, 2) working out of the same office and with the same people, 3) less expensive insurance benefits, 4) short-term disability insurance that is company paid and can be used during maternity leave, 5) more PTO and paid holidays that I didn't get with GMCH.

Overall, I still experience mixed emotions at times. I'm sure there will be some good changes and some that will take time to get used to. It will take me a while to accept that I will no longer be an employee of GMCH. I've been with the company for 4 years and 8 months and for the most part it has been great. I love the flexibility of my job. I love the people I work with. I love my clients and the work that I do for them (most of the time - that answer would likely be different around a deadline. LOL!). I'm sure there will be things about GMCH that I will miss, but I'm sure there will be a lot of positive changes too.

Please keep me and my co-workers in your prayers as we go through this HUGE change.

I know, I know...

Yeah, so its been several months since I've posted anything. I hate the fact that time flies by so quickly. I typically think about posting something during the day while I'm at work and check my friends' blogs, but then when I get home I forget. Oops. So, this weekend should be pretty low key. I'm hoping to spend some time catching everyone up on my life lately then...

Check back soon....good things are soon to follow....