4 Years Ago

• We lived in St. Louis

• We had 2 Beautiful Girl Monsters, and had recently found out that we were adding on a Boy.

• Adam was waitlisted at UMKC. We thought we would have to wait one more year to start Dental School.

• Adam was assisting in his Dad's office.

• Kelly was only 3 and Paige was 18 months.

• I was 24 and Adam was 25.

• We lived in our "Dream House" it had everything that we wanted and needed. 3 bedrooms, 2 bath and a huge fenced in backyard.

Don't you think that time goes by super quick?

Dear Dad,

Dear Dad, We love you! Thanks for all your help this week. Thanks for loving my babies. Thanks for putting up with me. I love you. I know job hunting stinks, but remember:

The Economy Sucks... NOT you.

I hope you realize what a valuable asset you would be to any company. You are fabulous

Still Doing

The House is coming along. Adam has a "to-do" list with about 75 items on it. I have ONE. But still I would trade with him in a heartbeat. What is my one, you ask?

WALLPAPER REMOVAL

Obviously this is just another test of my patience. One that I am failing... as usual. I have learned several things this week.

1. I need therapy

2. I need Anger Management classes

3. I need more percocet

4. I need A LOT of therapy

Actually, I am controlling my anger. I'm just in denial about how STUPID wall paper is. My one little job STINKS. I HATE IT. Wall paper? Who even invented wall paper.

Wall paper is like a life size scrap book. Who would ever think, "Hmmmm maybe I should take a whole lot of paper and GLUE IT TO MY WALL!" Are people crazy?

I know some of you are sitting there thinking... "She can't be talking to me, my wall paper is cute".

Well guess what IT ISN'T. NO WALL PAPER IS CUTE. And the people that tell you that it is, are just trying to be super nice to you so that one day when you realize that you want it down, you WON'T call them.

On a positive note, I finished ONE wall today. Yes you read that write ONE WALL (and it was only a half wall)

Oh and before you leave your "sweet" little comments saying: "Have you tried...." or "It comes down easily with ..." DON'T

Just know that I have tried many things... including drinking (joking of course)

Actually though if you do want to VOLUNTEER TO COME AND HELP ME I will not turn you down. In fact you might see tears of joy from me. So If you are in the area PLEASE HEAR MY CRY FOR HELP!!

P.S. Yes, I HAVE ALREADY TRIED USING A STEAMER!

I am a Dreamer

I am a dreamer. He is a Doer. This is why we work. This is our "secret to success". I have visions of Grandeur. I see things that don't exist and my Visions are always bigger then my abilities.

But not Adam. He is a doer. He just does. He does it all and doesn't stop. He packs homes, cleans carpets, does dishes, fixes teeth, knocks down walls, builds up homes, plays trains with his sons and then passes out by 10pm.

I dream of refinished furniture, he does it.

I dream of painted walls, he paints them.

Sometimes I think about how productive I would be if I was a Dreamer AND a DO-er. After I think about it I usually take a nap. It's exhausting to even think about being Adam. No wonder he is asleep already.

p.s. I will post pictures of the house eventually. Just not yet. For now it is still our secret home. (or at least that's what my friend calls it.)

It's a Jungle out There!

Superstar! So I have spent the last 3 weeks being the nice humble mother that has been quietly excited for her daughter's first play ever.

Background: When Kelly did dance, we would have to push her onto the stage.

So when she came home to tell me that she got one of the leads in her 1st grade play, my first reaction was fear. I was wondering if she knew what she was getting herself into. Then she showed me all her lines and told me that the performance was in less than a month (was not excited about that part).

So last night was her Grand Performance. She was beautiful and more talented then I ever expected. I couldn't stop smiling and at the end I tried my best to hold back my excitement. When the mother's would come up and tell me that she did well, I just smiled and said "Thank You"

On the inside I wanted to SHOUT IT FROM THE ROOFTOPS!!

So, if you are wondering why I am putting my friends through reading this entry that is OBVIOUSLY just an "Ode to Kelly" it is only for one reason. I plan on printing this out and saving it. Someday I want Kelly to read through this and when she get's to this post she will know how proud I was of her. How I sat there glowing. How when she spotted me in the crowd and wiggled her nose at me... I giggled. I loved it.

She will know that when we were practicing over and over, I kept worrying that it would be a Dance Recital all over again. As we were practicing, I was having total Flashbacks of a unconsolable little girl who would not let me leave the dressing room. She has grown so much. There was not an ounce of "stage fright" in that little girl.

Hopefully she will always know that I am proud of her, but there are some nights that stick out in my mind more. This would be one of them. So without further ado Here is Kelly, starring as Stripes the Zebra on a quest for the Key to Happiness.

Oh and Gram we missed you. We are ordering a video so that you can eat some popcorn and enjoy a private viewing of your Superstar Grandaughter.

King Leo isn't happy, he sends Stripes and Spots on a search for the key to happiness.

After meeting the Cheetahs, Monkeys, and Hyenas they have finally found the key to happiness. It is "stopping to smell the roses"

The most FAN-TABULOUS Teacher ever. He really knows each of his students. He was just as proud of her as I was.

TA-DA!! Not scared at all. even a little bit.

What we've been up to.

We have a lot going on right now, so it's time for an update!

We have found a house. Actually strike that. A house found us. Yes, it is as strange as it sounds. I have been "house hunting" for about 2 years. I have looked religiously at all of the houses on the market for the past 2 years. I can tell you what areas sell quickly, what time of year is busier, which houses have dropped the most. I know EVERY house in the 20 mile radius that we have been looking. The funny part is, is that now I find out that all of that was a waste of my time. I mean it kept me hopeful that eventually we would be in a home, but in the end it had NOTHING to do with how we found our house. I've repeated the story countless times, but I'll post it for everyone else.

I am a Troop Leader for Kelly's Daisy Troop. The other leader's name is Elizabeth. She is great to work with and we became fast friends. Her husband (Jim) was raised in St. Louis, and his parent's have stayed in St. Louis. Jim's father passed away 1 1/2 years ago. His mother had been very sick and they moved her to a nursing home in Kansas City. She passed away this past December.

When I met Jim for the first time, I mentioned that we were moving back to St. Louis in May, and he joked around about having a house for us.

Well in the end it really wasn't a joke. He did have a house for us. The house needs some love, but it is perfect for us. It is a 2200 sq ft ranch, with a finished basement. There are 3 bedrooms, 2 baths on the main floor and 2 bedrooms and 1 bath downstairs. It also has a sunroom.

It is less then a mile from Adam's office and 1.3 miles from my mother's house. Adam can get to work with 1 stop light. It also has a neighborhood pool and pond.

So I think that's about it. I'll post pictures after Spring Break. We are suppose to close next week and then we are going to start doing some work on it during spring break.

It hasn't been easy, we are quite stressed, but I am trying to stay focused. Keep our eye on the prize. We know that this house won't be our dream house when we move in, we don't expect it to be. We just know it's the right place for us. We know it is where we are suppose to be.

My only regret is all the time I have spent looking for the "right house". Then again, who could have predicted this one.

Trust me, I know the hard work is just beginning. I am not delusional. I do not believe that since Adam is graduating, that all things will suddenly be sunflowers and daffodils. I know it is hard and will continue to be that way for sometime. I also know that we take each trial as it comes and deal with it.

So, now that I have typed out the story HOPEFULLY I won't have to repeat it 40 zillion times.

It's late, and I just realized that it's Daylight saving, so I'm going to bed.