| Winter Fun! |
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Last Friday, 12/19, we had our first MAJOR snowfall. Even though southeastern Wisconsin got it bad, areas near the lake got it the worst.
I didn't shovel before leaving for work and had to walk through over knee deep snow to get in my vehicle. Franky also had a very hard time finding a place to do his business. As I left for work in my 4x4 extended Yukon, it was clear that only four wheel drive SUVs would be able to drive on the streets of the east side of Milwaukee. I passed tons of people digging out their cars that were parked on the street, but I'm not sure how many of them were able to make it anywhere until the plows finally made their way through the east side. Thankfully the freeways and roads were pretty clear away from the east side.
Although I wasn't able to take a snow day as so many of my neighbors did, I let Laurie know we would have most of Saturday to go have some fun in the snow with Audrey.
On Saturday, Laurie, Audrey, and myself got bundled up and finally got to use the little sled Laurie had purchased at a rummage sale for Audrey. We strapped Audrey into the sled and away we went! Audrey had an absolute blast as did Laurie and myself.
We pulled Audrey over to the sledding area on Lafayette Hill although we did not send her down it:)
One good part about going into work on Friday was that my Christmas present from Laurie, Canon Digital Rebel XS, arrived via UPS! I was able to start playing around with the camera and take some nice photos of our winter fun. |
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| He's a Keeper! |
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On October 13th, 2008 at 11:08AM God blessed us with a new little boy! Brenden James was born to us weighing in at a light weight of 7lbs, 15oz. (We were expecting a much larger baby - due to the over extended stay in mama and the doc's prediction. But, he’s a keeper!) The entire delivery was an answer to prayer! Lea had been in labor too long - the last 3 kids (24hrs, 12hrs and 10hrs), so we were praying for a fast and quick delivery and God answered! We checked in at 9:30 AM on Monday morning and little Brenden was born at 11:08AM! A record 1 hour and 38 minutes! Since things were going so quickly after the first hour I thought it might be a good time to suggest that at this rate - the next one will even go faster! Well, Lea didn't fall for it and just looked at me and laughed - I don't think I got the green light on that one yet.
In the end both Lea and Brenden were doing great! Lea, of course, handled it like a champ and made me proud! I wish all of our kids had her pain tolerance - but to my dismay some of them take after daddy - ready to pass out at the smallest scratch and slightest hint of blood and pain. Lea did get the "walking epideral" which is just a shot vs the IV, but it works faster and effects do not last as long. But, guys lets not kid ourselves about what our wives go through to have these babies – in the words of my youngest, Brianna as we were heading out the door to the hospital, “Momma’s gonna have a baby and it’s going to hurt!” – yes Lea appreciated those last words of comfort.
It is day five and although the nights have been sleepless, the dirty diapers many, the sweet cries of a newborn getting louder – he’s still a keeper! And I am still grateful and thankful to the Lord for this new bundle of joy! Kids are truly a blessing from the Lord and we, as parents, have been given a great gift to nurture, train and invest into these kids lives on a daily basis! Don’t miss a day of it – time flies too fast. David is almost 12 and as Lea and I were thinking – it is very possible that he meet his wife in 4 more years just as I met Lea at the age of 16!!! What’s up with that?!?!
Well, I think it’s my turn to check on Brenden – it just so happens that every time it’s my turn he has a “full” load and ends up “showering” me in the midst of the diaper change! But, that’s ok – he’s still a keeper!
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| A great week of vacation. |
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Last week was one of my first Mid-West vacations in many years, but it was one of my best vacations in a very long time.
We started off Friday night by grilling out with some new friends from Laurie's mommy group and their husbands and babies Audries age.
Saturday we took the SS Badger across the Michigan to spend some time with Dan & Cathy in Pentwater. The Badger ride took about six hours but was a lot of fun. We had a small state room that we used to give Audrey a nap. The rest of the boat had some food and entertainment to make the time go by fast. We really enjoyed the ride. Pentwater was as great as we remembered and we had a blast! It was also nice to meed Dan's family who we have heard so much about. Thanks again Dan & Cathy!
Tues night we took the badger back to Wisconsin from 7PM to Midnight. We ended up getting home around 2AM. We would have made it home sooner except they loaded a huge tank on a trailer onto the boat which took an extra hour to load in Michigan and an extra hour to unload off the boat in Wisconsin.
Wednesday and Thursday were spent enjoying the east side of Milwaukee around home.
Wednesday we had a sitter in the morning and at night which was real nice. In the morning I finally got to sit down by Altera at the Lake and have lunch. I say I because Laurie has gotten to do it periodically. Afterwards Laurie and I went sailing for the longest and farthest we have ever gone together on an Ideal18 sailboat. We had great wind! At night we walked down to Brady and ate at our favorite American Mexican restaurant. It was a great day.
Thursday we had Audrey all day which was a lot of fun. We started out by biking to altera for lunch... again! Afterwards we biked around for a while. Later during Audreys nap we finally spent some time in our nice backyard and patio. That night we walked down to bradford beach where Laurie played volleyball with Janet & Pierre while I played with Audrey on a blanket in the sand. Perfect!
Friday through Sunday was spent at Green Lake with my parents, grandma, Luke, Christopher & Shawna, and their friend Kristin. We had great weather and it was a great end to a great week of vacation! |
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| Sailing! |
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I've been talking about buying an old sail boat for years. The problem had been that I didn't know how to sail, ha, and I've never taken any real steps to learn how.
That all changed about a month ago when Laurie and I joined the Milwaukee Yacht Club! Our friends Dan and Cathy had been members for about a year so we have been familiar with the club, and this spring we finally joined.
Being a member has some nice benefits but for Laurie and I, use of 6 eighteen foot Ideal sailboats and the boathouse pool/spa sealed the deal.
Days after a crazy morning sailing lesson from Dan, Laurie and I had our first sail on an Ideal! Since then I've taken Ideals out several times by myself with Franky.
This past weekend Laurie and I went on an overnight sailing trip to Port Washington with Dan and Cathy on their 27' sailboat! We had a great time and did some fun sailing in some really windy conditions. It was a blast! |
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| 24" of RAIN in Green Lake |
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Green Lake got 24" of rain in the last two weeks. 5 1/2" of it last Tuesday, and 5 1/2" last Thursday. We received a call from Bonnie Jensen about the heavy rain on Thursday. So we contacted a neighbor to check our basement and sump pumps. He found water covering the floor-but didn't check further fearing an electrical shock. Sump pump was working. We contacted our builder who called with the news it was sewer backup. We stopped to get rubber boots and two wet vacs on our way there.
The good news is that our sump pump handled all that water, (we were prepared!!) the bad news is our Green Lake Sanitary Dept. could not handle it. Being the lowest in the area our basement took the pressure off the system until they came out and pumped water out. We cleaned out an inch of terrible moisture in the basement (you can ask Dad for details-he loves describing it!)
We worked from noon Thursday to midnight. We started in again on Friday and by 6:00 in the evening we were thinking of quitting when Bill and Sue Shimmons arrived with Bleach and Blower in hand. (And, you guessed it-a bag of nuts!) They revived us enough, and with renewed vigor, together we worked another couple of hours.
We are now contemplating how to best prevent any future outbreaks.
The Sanitary Dept. assured us this was a once in 500 year occurrence. (I wonder how he knows this information-I don't think the Sanitary Dept. has been in existence that long. Does that mean it won't happen for another 500 years? I wonder???
Well, I hope you enjoyed the previous post photos, because things have changed somewhat. The lake water has risen 24", covering most piers that were not removed-although you may see piers floating with heavy objects on them like-rocks, flower pots, large plastic containers of water, cement blocks. There are no boats allowed on the lake, except to remove watercraft.
As you know we've had water problems with every house we have owned.(Is there something God is trying to teach us-that we're just not getting?) But for the record this has been the worst to clean up, I really don't want it repeated.
Anyway, we have survived, and we have chosen to consider it pure joy, for the testing of our faith stirs up the power to endure. |
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