Guess who's engaged

Yup. That's MY porky hand with the ring on it! Sean and I got engaged two weekends ago. We had to get the ring sized and just picked it up today.  The pictures don't do it justice.  It's pretty and perfect. Plans are still in the works.  We were thinking Vegas but it's not really what I'd always pictured for a wedding so now we're thinking about waiting until the fall and heading to Hawaii.  Like I said...it's all up in the air. All I do know is that by this time next year, I'll be Sara Halihan. :)

Enjoying our Christmas Loot

Here are a couple of pictures of us enjoying some Christmas gifts.  Molly got a bone that was 3 sizes too big for her but she loves dragging that thing all over the house.  Mom and dad gave me an Illini apron and here I am whipping up some snickerdoodles.  Sean didn't seem overly excited when I told him what kind of a cookie I was making but he must have enjoyed them.  I think they were gone in 3 days. 

Christmas 2008

No comments about how long it's been since I've added anything to the blog. I'm lazy and forgetful...that's all it boils down to.  So Christmas was good as you can see from the pictures. We went to Sean's parents on Christmas Eve and had a nice dinner out and went to his parents church for Christmas Eve services. We picked up Sarah and Sam on the way back and had them until the Monday after Christmas.  Christmas day my parents came over and Sean cooked a yummy meal.  We unwrapped some gifts and watched Appaloosa.  The Saturday after Christmas we packed up the kids and the dog and headed to Charleston for Christmas with the entire fam.  The Amyx in was thoroughly packed so we decided to stay at the Worthington Inn.  I don't think I'll be visiting that fine establishment again any time soon.  While the room was adequate, we were sent to three different rooms with locks that didn't work before we finally made it to our room. We went to church the next day and then watched part of a sad, sad Cowboys game then headed home.  All in all a good Christmas.  Sean and I spent New Years in Peoria with Melissa and Jason and family.  Audrey stayed up as late as I did! I couldn't believe it.  We played games and ate too much and watched the ball drop.  A good time was had by all...sorry no pictures. Are you really surprised?

Winter Wonderland

So it's been forever since I posted. We just haven't had anything blog-worthy going on lately.  Sean got laid off the Monday after Thanksgiving.  It's been a stressful month, but thankfully he was offered a position last week.  He starts at Strata Decision Technology in Champaign on January 5th.  It looks like it's going to be a good opportunity for him. 

In other news, the weather has been completely delightful lately.  Note my sarcasm.  The first big snow a couple of weeks ago was kind of pretty.  Molly loved it.  She doesn't care how cold it is...she just wants to frolic.  Speaking of cold, yesterday it was around 3 degrees with 30 mph winds.  We had to take the kids back to Bloomington and the wind made for an interesting drive. I'm not sure how cold it got last night but they were calling for around -5.  All I know is that it's bitterly cold.  Our duplex is older and seems insulated well...but the older windows and doors just can't keep up.  There's are a few big drafts in the living room.  Even the door hinge is frozen this morning.  I thought it was interesting so included a picture. 

Hopefully we'll get some pictures over Christmas to post.  Christmas eve we're heading to Morton to spend time with Sean's parents.  Then we pick up the kids and come back home.  Christmas day, my parents are coming for Christmas dinner and to spend the day with us.  Then Sean and the kids and I are all heading to Charleston on Saturday to have Christmas back home.  Should be a busy but good week.  

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

So we've been really bad about updating the blog lately.  We forgot to take any pictures over Thanksgiving.  We went to Peoria to my sister's house.  Sean made the turkey and mashed potatoes and gravy and everything turned out great.  On Friday we went to Morton and visited with Sean's parents for a while.  On Friday evening we went to Joe's Crab Shack and had dinner with my old friends Shannon and Lance and their new little one, Addison.  And of course....didn't have my camera then, either! So frustrating.  

We got home Friday night around 9:30 and woke up this morning and went hunting for a Christmas tree.  I've attached a couple of pictures.  Getting our crooked trunked tree properly in the stand proved to be a challenge but Sean got it figured out and we decorated it and we both like it.  We made some puppy chow and now we're relaxing.  

I'll try to be better about updating.  I promise. :)

The Illnesses Have Ended!

FINALLY we're both well. Sean's bout with duo kidney stones seems to finally be over so other than the usual sniffles from the weather change, we're both healthy. You don't realize how much you take your health for granted until you get sick. We haven't had a whole lot going on the past week. We're slowly gearing up for the holidays. I think we're getting all of the Christmas stuff out of the attic this week so we can go through it and see what we have. We pretty much know what we're getting most people for Christmas. We know what our Thanksgiving dinner responsibilities are going to be. Now all we need to do is stick to our budget. Easier said than done.

We had this kids this past weekend. Dog duty is so much easier when the kids are here. Sarah loves taking the dog out. Even when the weather is horrible she asks if she can take the dog for a walk. So we bundle her up and send her out. On Saturday I went shopping with my mom in Tuscola. It was really cold and rainy but we still had a good time. I didn't buy much but my mom got several things. Then Sunday we tried out a new church. We all seemed to like it, especially the kids. It's the First Christian Church in Champaign. We were all in amazement about how big it was. The children's wing was enormous. They even have a full size indoor playground. We have the kids again this weekend and we talked about going on a short trip to Arthur. We'll have to see, though.

Like I said, nothing much exciting going on this week.

This week in review...

So when I got better, Sean got sick. Why can't we just be well at the same time? We were both feeling normal by Thursday and were back at work. After work on Thursday, I went to a "Ladies Night Out" event at the new iHotel at U of I with Andrea. It was pretty much just a bunch of vendors showcasing their stuff and having a lot of drawings. Their way of getting your contact info so they can bombard you with their junk mail. It was WAY too crowded for my liking. We stayed about 45 minutes then headed to Walmart for some yarn for Andrea and a new crochet hook for me. Don't get too excited...even with the new hook my stuff looks like crap and I got so frustrated I put it all away. When I got home that evening, Sean had cooked a seafood feast! We had roasted fingerling potatoes, sauteed asparagus, bacon wrapped sea scallops and steamed mussels in garlic and white wine. So yummy!

So Friday I'm sitting at my desk and in comes Sean. He's hobbling looking like he's been hit by a truck. Evidently he's passing a kidney stone. He's had many of these before so knows what he's dealing with. Unfortunately, since he started a new job he doesn't have health insurance until December 1st. A doc at his work suggested the ER, but not wanting to blow through a few thousand bucks, Sean went home. Luckily, Sean's parents came to his rescue. Janice has an arsenal of pain killers because she's had so many surgeries. Jack and Janice came to Champaign yesterday and brought him cranberry juice and some pain meds. Sean was pretty miserable last night and he's still laying around this morning. I'm ready for it to be over and it's not even happening to me.

It's cold and dreary outside so it's a good weekend to stay in anyway...I just wish he was well.

I'll update soon...hopefully with good news next time. :)