Gym Time!

Unfortunately, my visit here in KY doesn't mean I get to slack off on my workouts. And thankfully, Mom and Dad have a little workout room in their basement. I've been encouraging Dad to eat better and workout and gave him a diet plan. He has done so well with it. He lost 11 pounds the first week! Way to go, Dad! This weekend, we recruited Mom and Abby Kate to feel the burn for an hour as well.

Abby Kate spent her hour contemplating picking up the weights and staring at us like we were crazy, but then she discovered a flashlight which was much more fun.







Thank you, Lyndsay and Carrie, for inviting me to go to the gym with you several times during my visit. I really enjoyed going back to my old gym and getting to do some of the classes, which I love.

Abby Kate and I are set to head back home later this week. We are SO excited to see Mike. But of course we will be sad to leave Mom and Dad and all of our loved ones here. We really appreciate you letting us come visit for so long. We enjoyed every second, as always, and it made the time away from Mike fly by. I feel so blessed to be able to travel home to my family when Mike's away. Mom and Dad, thank you for loving us so much and always welcoming us with open arms. We love you and we'll miss you. Please come visit us soon!

About Design Shop

As most of you know, I'm a freelance graphic designer. I used to work for Lexmark International when we lived in Kentucky - a job I really loved. Since Mike joined the Marines, I'm now working in my field the only way I can, which is from home. It's almost the perfect setup, except for the fact that I miss the face-to-face interaction with co-workers. Most of the clients I have now I've never even seen before. All my work is done via e-mail, phone and ftp sites. But it's great considering my circumstances (moving to different states, having a toddler, etc.).

Primarily, I design for print - everything from business cards to billboards. (I may venture into Web design in the near future.) I love doing invitations and stationery and other personal pieces, but the biggest part of my work comes from businesses in several different states.

If you know of anyone needing a designer (my rate is considerably less than most firms), feel free to give them my name! And thanks to everyone for all the business you've sent my way the last four years simply by word of mouth. It has made all the difference!

You can find my new site here. Please excuse the fact that it's pretty basic right now. Updates will come. Also, please let me know if there are any viewing/browser issues on your end. Thanks!

Snow and Other Delights

Turns out the snow wasn't that big of a hit with Abby Kate. I bundled her up and took her outside to play in it for the first time. I put her down and she didn't move a muscle, just looked at it like, "uh, so what?" My thoughts exactly. So I said "you're right, it's dang cold out here, let's go back in!" But not before I got a couple pictures as least. She kept saying "nose?" She can't quite get "snow" to come out right. ha, ha.

Just so you know, Daddy, Abby Kate has had a packed social calendar lately. Rosies, Babies & Tea Parties - what more could a little girl ask for? Yesterday we visited my friend, Sara, and her beautiful, 3-month-old daughter, Isabella. (Sara, you look wonderful and Isabella is precious! It was great to see you, thanks for inviting us to come by.)










Then we came home to find roses from PawPaw for Valentine's Day.


William came over to play after that and the two of them had the best time, laughing and running around. They even learned to play Ring-Around-the-Rosies together. They couldn't wait to get to the falling down part, however, so they kept going down on the "pocket full of posies part."







And then today, my grandmother had her three grand-daughters (Holly, Kristy & me) along with all of our daughters (Maggie, Raelin, Emily & AK) over for a tea party. Mawmaw has some little antique tea sets that were perfect. The girls drank "tea" (apple juice) and accessorized with Mawmaws scarves, hats and jewelry. They were so cute. Abby Kate was not interested in the hats or scarves, but she is crazy over the jewels!

Happy Valentine's Day, Daddy!

Daddy - Here's a silly picture of me having fun with my new "bees" [beads]. I miss you! You've been gone too long now. Time to come home. Love, Abby Kate

Happy Valentine's Day, honey! Hope you had a good day today. Good luck with your flights tomorrow and Saturday. Be careful and fly safe. We are counting the days until we see you again. I love you, Casey

Play Date at Aunt Carrie's

As I mentioned in an earlier post, we had a play date at my sister-in-law's house. A few of our old friends from high school came over with their children and they all played for a couple of hours. It was nice to catch up with my friends and to watch our kids play. It was weird though - how did we all grow up and have kids of our own so fast? Carrie, BJ, Cristy - it was great to see you all!!! Your children are precious!

"Mmmm, your cookie looks gooooood!" Ak with Savannah.

Abby Kate enjoyed hangin' out, and eating of course with her cousin and friends. From left: Caden, AK, Savannah, Miller and William.

A Kiss for Daddy

My mom has several pictures sitting around the house of Mike and me. Abby Kate knows exactly where they are and points to each of them saying, "Daddy?" There's one in particular that sits on the mantle that she likes to carry around. Yesterday I asked her if she could give Daddy a kiss, and she immediately leaned over with puckered lips. I know she misses you a lot, Mike - as do I - and can't wait for you to come home. I can't imagine how excited she'll be when you get back.

Mike talked to her on the phone this morning and asked her if she was going to play in the snow today (we got 4 or 5 inches last night). She replied "no-mee?" [Snowman] ha, ha. I guess we'll be building her first snowman today!

El Centro

Mike sent me a link to a video where you can see exactly what he's doing over in CA this month. Thought you might like to see it, too. It is really impressive how close they fly to each other. The main thing they're learning, however, is how to use their weapons and hit targets and such. It's a little less than five minutes if you have the time. Looks dangerous, Mike, please be careful!!! We love you.

A Special Valentine Treat!

I realize the typo in the word Valentine's. I'm too lazy to fix it. :)

Horsin' Around in Horse Country

We arrived safely at my parents' house on Friday. The trip wasn't bad at all. We had no more than 30 minutes of fussiness the entire 8-hour trip which was great!

On Saturday, I traveled to the Lexington area for a double baby shower for my friends, Meredith and Ellen. They are due to have little girls within the next couple of months. It was so great to spent time with all my college buddies that I hadn't seen in awhile.

Since then, we've just been hanging out at home. I've been extra busy with work lately, so we haven't done much outside the house except have lunch with Dad one day. And we went to the gym this morning. AK played in the nursery with William while Carrie and I sweat for an hour or so.

Abby Kate has enjoyed the extra space and all the fun new things to look at and touch in Grami and Pawpaw's house. In the basement, she found the rocking horse I made back when I took a woodworking class in college. I knew all that sanding would be worth it someday!

We're looking forward to lunch with Lyndsay tomorrow, a play date at Carrie's house on Saturday, lunch with Sara and Isabella on Tuesday, and a tea party with AK's great grandmother later in the week with all her little girl cousins. Should be fun!

We miss Daddy and wish him well on his trip out West tomorrow morning. We'll be thinking of you and we love you!