just a tuesday post

I don't really have anything brilliant to blog about so I'll just share a few pictures with you! This week at work has actually gone pretty fast considering I was off for 9 whole days and really did not want to go back! I only have 2 more days this week and then Thursday I'm going on a float trip on the Illinois River with Crystal, Stacy, and all the patrol officers that work B shift with me! All of us dispatchers could go too but me, Crystal, and Stacy were the only ones that ended up really wanting to go. The officers are having a shift change on Sunday so this is just a way for us all to hang out before some of them have to change shifts. We're supposed to leave by 8:30 Thursday morning and just float and relax all day long! We have one female officer on our shift, Allie, that we're good friends with and we're all using rafts instead of canoes and they fit 4 people so all of us girls are sticking together!! I'm really afraid we'll be picked on the whole time though! It'll be a nice change of pace anyways! And actually tomorrow we're having a food day at work and those are my absolute FAVORITE days to go to work!! Haha! I'm making a 7 layer dip and probably brownies and I can't wait to eat all the yummy food.

Ok, on to the more important stuff....like my kiddos! Here's my little artist coloring her Mama a picture! This was before I got her bangs cut so she wanted them pulled back out of her face and Gene fixed her little headband for her!

Corey got his braces taken off last Friday and he was very very excited about it! We made shish kabobs for dinner that night so Gene and the boys were putting them together. They didn't turn out quite like we wanted them to but they were still pretty good. If you have some suggestions I'm all ears!!

Grace is giving her Daddy either eskimo or butterfly kisses! Every night that I'm home and put her to bed she always has to give him a regular kiss, butterfly kisses, and eskimo kisses and then after I read her a bedtime story and turn her light off she has to give me all 3 also before she goes to sleep! It's precious and I so cherish those sweet moments with my baby because I know she won't always want to!

Say "CHEESE!!" Corey and Grace played outside Saturday morning quite a bit while I was doing stuff inside and he loves taking the camera out and taking pictures of her and of random things and this one was one he took! Isn't she so darn cute?

Have I mentioned that I love my husband and that he's amazing?! Well, he is. Just so you know. First of all, he built our whole house pretty much by himself and he built this corner entertainment center out of oak and behind the doors is our satellite, dvd player, stereo, and used to be all of our dvds squeezed in there. I had been telling him that I wanted him to build us a dvd rack because 1) we don't really have a good place for a big enough one on the floor anywhere and 2) I hadn't found one I liked. So, on Sunday afternoon he and Colt went to Lowe's, bought some oak, and came home and built this!!!! Oh I was so excited...and proud! It looks good and is out of the way, plus it's high enough up that Grace can't reach them! He's debating about whether or not to make doors to put on it. We'll see.....

Gene just got back from picking Colt up from school and he is now officially done with his sophomore year!! Corey has to stay the whole day but at 3:20 he will be done with his 8th grade year. It's so crazy to believe that Colt only has 2 more years of high school. I'm very proud of him because he's become very much more aware of his grades and realizing that they are now counting towards graduation and also for college and Thursday night I quizzed him for almost 3 hours for his Civics test. We have already ordered his class ring and before we know it we'll be ordering his cap and gown. I don't even want to think about it. :( When Gene and I first got together he was 12 and now he'll be 16 this year. It goes way too fast. Corey stands almost a whole foot taller than me and I can't believe that he'll be in high school next year. Next thing I know Grace will be starting kindergarten, and that is most definitely something I'm not ready for. I've been praying that God provides a way for me to go back to school and get my degree in education so that I can start teaching by, if not right after, Grace starts school. I've already got several credits, I just need to finish. So, if you think about it, say a little prayer for us!!

I think that's about it for now. I need to work on some laundry and spend some time with my cute dimple-cheeked husband, musically inclined son, and blonde headed toddling daughter before I have to go to work!