Cailin is 1

Cailin turned 1 year old last Wednesday. Incredible. I can't really believe it has been a year since we brought that little bundle home. She is a blessing.

We waited to celebrate her first birthday on Saturday (Jan. 24) so everyone could celebrate with us. My parents came up from KY and stayed a long weekend to celebrate our little one's birthday. We had a few family members over and enjoyed a lovely celebration. Cailin was quite overwhelmed with everyone focusing their attention on her. She was in awe when we all sang Happy Birthday to her. She kept looking around with this look like "wow, everyone is singing to me!" Cassidy was quite the big sister, making sure Cailin got her cake, helped her open presents, and helped her rip up wrapping paper.

I took Cailin to her 1 year well child. Doctor says she is perfect. She weighs 19lbs. 4 oz. and is 30 inches long. Dr. says she will be tall and thin (definitely doesn't take after me!).

It was a great weekend of celebrating our little one! Happy Birthday Baby!

P.S. Pictures to follow!

Remodeling Part I

As some of you may know, we took about 3/4 of our garage and had it converted into a bedroom with bathroom (master suite?). It is basically done. We have a few aesthetic type things to do, but it's coming along nicely.

Looking in from the soon to be hallway (currently the utility room).
The bedroom
The bathroom


Now, we are converting our old bedroom into the girl's room. There is much to be done to complete this project: removing carpet, tearing out the built-in closet/dresser thing, painting, and replacing the floor. This should keep us busy through this cold, cold winter.

The Holiday's

It seems that I should finally update! It has been awhile. Let's start here: Kentucky.

The week before Christmas Lucas, Cassidy, Cailin and I headed down to Chavies, KY to visit my parents and to see Josh. Josh was on leave from the Air Force, so we went to visit with him. This was especially important because he is leaving January 20, 2009 for a deployment to Iraq. As an added bonus, my Grandma (Shunk) was visiting my parents too! It was a nice visit and it was good to see Josh before he headed out. Our thoughts and prayers are with him as he prepares to leave. We pray for a swift tour and safe return.

Next, we arrived back in Frankenmuth to begin our prepartions for Christmas and the New Year. Lucas returned to work for a few days and then started a two week vacation on Christmas Eve. My parents arrived in Frankenmuth on Christmas Eve while Lucas, the girls, and I were at the Magnus Christmas. We enjoyed spending time with the Magnus' and Santa even made a stop! Cassidy and Cailin were not impressed with Santa at all! Jean, Lucas' cousin, brought a small bounce house for the kids to play in...I don't think Cassidy took a break until we deemed it off limits while we ate...she loved that thing! Cailin enjoyed toddling around and watching all the "big" kids. After the party we came home, visited with my parents, and headed off to bed for visions of sugarplums dancing in our heads.

Christmas day morning we spent at home. We enjoyed unwrapping presents while our breakfast casserole cooked. The girls received plenty of gifts and Lucas and I got a few too. The girls had lots of time to play with their new toys before we headed over to Mom and Dad Hart's for Christmas with them. We headed over to Block Rd. to celebrate Christmas with Mom, Dad, and Caleb Hart. It was quiet, calm, and enjoyable with a fire crackling in the fireplace (my favorite part!). The girls received some lovely gifts there too. (we got some too!) What a wonderful morning and afternoon. In the evening Mom and Dad hosted Christmas Dinner, which was delicious! It was a wonderful evening filled with good food, great people, laughs, and conversation. Merry Christmas!

The next few days we enjoyed some time at home. We did some work on the new room, including a ceramic tile floor (Thanks, Dad!). Everything is coming together nicely in that department...more later...

Fast forward to New Year's: Lucas and I packed up the kids and headed northwest to Canadian Lakes where we met up with some wonderful friends. The Soupal's, Stewart's and Fox's joined us from a New Year's Eve celebration. It was relaxing and fun. The kids (Cassidy, Cailin, Drew, and Marcus) enjoyed playing together. We had lots of good food and great fun. What a great way to celebrate the New Year!

We headed home to enjoy the last few days of Lucas' vacation. It was a great holiday season, and a wonderful time to remember our many blessings. We hope you enjoyed a time of gratitude and peace during holiday season 2008. Here's to good times, good friends, family, and many more blessings in 2009!