A 40th Birthday!!!

Not much has changed for this beautiful 40 year old!! A few pictures to reminisce!! Cathy with Kendall when she was still a little one!!

Also with Madison. Madison looks so little here and she truly loves her godmother and "Auntie".

At the hospital when Olivia was born. From L-R: Amanda (Cathy's stepdaughter), Madison, Cathy with Kendall on her lap, Laci, and me holding Olivia. GIRLS, GIRLS, GIRLS!!!

Auntie holding Olivia. Cathy got to be in the delivery room with me for Laci and Olivia's births. She was also the first to notice shortly after Olivia was born that she had dimples.

Holding Olivia again!

Saturday was Cathy's birthday and we surprised her with dinner at The Brown Bottle. She got a funny gift from our cousin Michele. Cathy likes to wash Ziploc bags to save and reuse them. Michele wrote in the card about "I think 40 is going to be stressful enough for you, so here are some Ziplocs you can just throw away." We all had a good chuckle. Cathy hasn't been looking forward to 40, but she did enjoy her birthday and I think was glad everyone came to help her celebrate!

I can truly say that I am so blessed to have such a wonderful big sister! At times when we were younger, we didn't always get along, but I can't imagine life without her. I also realize that having a sister is such a wonderful gift and am thankful that my girls have sisters that will be their forever friends also! Love you Cath!!!

The House Building Continues...

Since last I posted, a lot has been happening with the house thanks to the beautiful weather we have been having. Supposed to get colder tomorrow though. The roof is shingled. All windows are in the house. The garage is missing the window right now, but that will go in soon. The patio door is in and the two walk-in garage doors are in also.

View of the back of the house with all the windows in and the patio door.

The stairs to the basement are in also. Makes me a little less nervous walking through now because there isn't a big hole in the floor.

Today the plumber started working and the electrician started working also.

Today they also started putting the soffit on the back side of the house also. Siding will be coming soon!!!

A Fun Weekend!

This weekend was really busy but fun! Friday night we had rehearsal and dinner for Terry's twin brother's wedding. Saturday morning we were up early and got ready for the wedding. Terry was a groomsman and Madison was the flowergirl. Here are a few snapshots from the wedding - I didn't do very good at taking pictures. This is the mother-son dance. Gloria and Tracy are dancing on the right of the picture and during the dance, Kim danced with Terry and Tracy's dad, Tom.

Also, during the mother-son dance, Terry and Todd joined Gloria and Tracy. Troy was no where around, so he missed out!

Here is a picture of Madison and Olivia by the dance floor. They danced quite a bit, but we left somewhat early. Laci wasn't feeling well.

Sunday we went to Tracy's to watch them open presents and then after we did a bit of shopping. The girls all got new pajamas! Madison's have peace signs all over them.

Laci's have "BFF" on them and a couple of monkeys.

Olivia's have a moo cow on them. They say "I get my cool mooves from mom". Olivia has a stuffed cow that she can't live without, so we just loved these pajamas and had to get them for her.

Looking More Like a House!

Framing began in the last week or two. The crew was off for two days last week because they donated their time to the Extreme Makeover house that was being built in Iowa. Framing of the main floor.

This is a view of the west end of the house. The doorway that is near the middle of the picture is the doorway to our master bedroom. The doorway that is on the left of the picture will be the laundry room/mudroom.

This is the kitchen area. In the left side of the picture is the framing of the walk-in pantry.

Living room area with a bedroom in the background.

Today the roof started to take shape also. Moving right along!!!