Open Soon??

It's hard to believe, but we keep getting closer and closer. Here are some pictures of where we are now and where we have come from.

Sean and his friend Todd made the sign. We still need to put the toilets in and get final approval on the signs to we can put them up. One of our neighbors is going to paint the name and number on the building.

As you can see from the one picture, Sean is going to paint the area around the windows dark blue. The checkered floor is the entry hall between the shop office and the space that will be leased, it leads to the bathrooms.

So, enjoy the then and now! We were just looking at them and can't believe just how far we've come.


















We Hope!!

Soccer Star

Here is Mr. Michael in his soccer uniform.


Next weekend he has a tournament in Leavenworth. It was one that their coach was hoping they could get in.

Catching Up

It seems like playing catch up is all I do on here at times. The time goes by so fast, before I know it, a week (or sometimes more) has gone by.

We have been pretty busy:

• Sean~more cement has been poured, he put the floor in the main hall and bathrooms so that sinks and toilets can be put in. It looks like the guy who had all the crap may not continue to rent (fingers crossed) We should know more in the next week or so. We ordered t-shirts for the business today. Our church is having it's anniversary celebration coming up so the four of us will be wearing them.

• Noelle~tried out for show choir today and will be trying out for the school play tomorrow. She has started to babysit for the PTA at Michael's school off and on. She and I had a great "mommy/daughter" night with the two of us watching a movie in the basement. It was wonderful and something I need to do more often.

• Michael~has started soccer again. His team has actual uniforms now. I took his picture last Sunday before his game, (they won) and I'll get that posted. He has been home from school sick the last two days. I think he has inherited the "Ehmke Allergies" and it seems I'm developing them too. Nevertheless, it started with a runny nose and turned into a temp of 101.4. He should be going back to school Wednesday.

• Me~I worked three days last week and have been trying to catch up on laundry.

Saturday night we watched the boys and had a great time. We took them to McDonald's and they didn't get to bed until 9. It's amazing how much they have changed and how their vocabulary has grown. I now understand what it was like when Amy would talk to the kids when they were little.

I can remember Amy asking me what Noelle or Michael had said. How could she think they had said "I have a boo boo" when it was completely obvious they said "I had chicken for lunch"?

This Friday, Michael will go to his first concert. Starlight Theater is having a "Rock The Light" concert Friday and Saturday. As luck would have it, we will be sitting smack dab front row center. Noelle is going with the youth group on Saturday. I ended up being able to get tickets for both days. It works out well because the church didn't have enough drivers. (our church is thinking about getting a bus) It will be neat to share this musical experience with both kids.

Last but not least, Happy Birthday to my beautiful, smart, loving, fun etc. baby sister!!! I think back to all of the times that we would fight and mom would tell us "someday you'll be glad to have a sister".

Don't you hate it when she's right.

Thanks Mom!

Sometimes, when you're an adult and you have a different relationship with your parents, it's nice to remember that no matter how old you are, you're always their little girl.

The other day, I was having a "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day". While I was on the phone, my mom told me that no matter what, she and my dad will always love me. That there is not anything I have to do for them to love me, I have to just "be".

The amount of love, hugs and kisses I could feel through the phone was indescribable and immeasurable.

Isn't is amazing, that no matter how old you are, with just one sentence, you're suddenly three years old, sitting in your mommy's lap and magically, she can make the bad feelings go away?

Thank you mommy, I love you!!!

Where Does The Time Go

I'm sitting here at work tonight, eating dinner wondering to myself where has the time gone.


When I double checked the kids pictures for their first day of school, I couldn't believe just how truly grown up Noelle looks. She is wearing contacts now, so I'm sure that's part of it, but mostly I noticed how she just does not have that little girl face anymore.

When I look at those pictures, I see a young lady full of promise, hopes and dreams. So loving and trusting. So willing to help others.

I went back and looked at the kids first day of school pictures from last year and the year before.

Michael hasn't seemed to change as much. Maybe part of it is the stage of life they are at.

Noelle is at the stage where she is starting to want to spend more time with her friends. She wants to fix her hair, talk on the phone and her parents embarrass her. (she does though, always give me a hug and kiss when she leaves no matter who's there)

Michael is still at the stage where he wants to play with his friends, but he wants to be home too. He loves to snuggle and if he had his way, he would sleep in my room forever.

I guess that "blink of an eye" is real. Time to get some toothpicks to hold these eyes open.

First Day Of School

The kids went back to school today.


For Noelle, it was more of a social gathering than anything I think. She found out she does indeed have a lot of friends on her team.


Michael found out he had a couple other friends in his class as well.


Enjoy the first day of school photos. (I can't believe how grown up Noelle looks!)

The Other Little Girl Was Just As Cute

I, as I'm sure a lot of you, have been watching the Olympics. (go Phelps!!) I was a little saddened when it came out that the officials in China had selected the children that were in the opening ceremony because they had a "certain aesthetic beauty". I'm not blind to the fact that, unfortunately, society dictates what everyone should look like.

I was more disgusted when it came to light that the little girl they showed singing during the opening ceremony was lip syncing! Apparently this was done out of " national interest". So what if the little girl who actually sang the song has crooked teeth?

According to China's chief music director, Chen Qigang, "The national interest requires that the girl should have good looks and a good grasp of the song and look good on screen,".

Really??? The national interest of China really depends on how a 9 year old girl looks? I for one am so glad that everything in China is just hunky dory and that the last order of business China had to worry about is what a girl singing a song called "Ode to the Motherland," looked like.

Home Again

Well, after two back to back weekends of travel, we are home.

We made it home by about 7:45 last night. After showing her dad all of her treasures, Noelle was off to call of her friends to let them know she was home. Keep in mind, she was on her phone several times during the trip.

Michael found out he has the teacher he was hoping to have for school this year. So far, one of his friends is in his same class.

While I was gone, Sean called to tell me that the TV in the living room had no picture, but did have sound. This is a TV that we got one heck of a deal on.

Not long after we moved in, the people next door were moving out. They had a big 62" TV in their living room. They were getting a divorce and I had told Sean if they decided to sell the TV, I wanted to buy it. As luck would have it, they decided to sell it!! We bought it for $500 and they had had it for about two years.

Earlier this year, dad had to replace some part that had to do with turning it off and on. Well, now there is some other problem that dad can't fix. Since we can't afford for someone to come and figure out what is wrong with it right now and can't afford a new TV, we are using a TV we bought at a thrift store that will go in the shop.

On the big screen, when you pull up the cable guide to see what is coming on, the show you are currently viewing is moved to the top right hand corner of the TV. That box is 19", and is the size of the TV now in the living room.

We Are Shoppers!!

It was a successful day of shopping for all of us, mainly for Noelle of course. She ended up with the following:

• 13 t-shirts
• 10 spaghetti strap tops (to go under other shirts)
• 4 pair of pants
• 1 pair of gauchos
• 2 pair capri's
• 2 sweater tops
• 3 long sleeve tops
• 1 knit 3/4 sleeve shirt
• 1 zip up short sleeve top
• 4 polo shirts
• 1 pair of green shoes (flats)
• 1 pair tennis shoes

We also picked up some pants and overalls for the boys, some jeans and a top for Michael, some shirts for me, shorts for Sean, shorts for dad and some tops and pants for mom.

Tomorrow we are going to the Amana Colonies. We went there last year and bought some heavenly bread~yummy!!!

Today, we also drove through downtown Cedar Rapids. Before dad retired, he did a lot of work at the airport here. Mom would come with him once in a while and do some site seeing. (she also stumbled upon Stuff) There was a wonderful Czech museum that she found very interesting.

Sadly, it is now gone due to the flooding. Hopefully, they, along with many who live here, will be able to rebuild.

For now, we are watching the Olympics. For dinner, I went to Hy-Vee and bought some frozen snacks that we heated up in the microwave because we didn't want to miss any of it. We did go out and get some ice cream during the woman's volley ball. (we figured we really didn't need to see half naked woman jump around in the sand)

We have watched Michael Phelps win gold and set a world record. We just saw the woman's relay team win silver. It was so neat to watch Michael Phelps mother in the stands. You just feel the love and pride she felt for her son. Then, after swimming, he looked in the stands to find her.

I hope that Noelle and Michael can feel the pride and love I have for them in everything they do.

Cedar Rapids

We're here!

We hit two used book stores and found some bargains. Later, we had dinner at "Granite City". (Noelle of course had chicken strips and I had the Chicken Salad Clubhouse on Focaccia~yummy!) Tomorrow, we will hit the two thrift stores in hopes of finding some great back to school deals.

Right now we are watching the opening ceremony of the Olympics, the "Parade of Nations" is on right now. Mom and I were talking about how neat it is to see all the countries walk in with their flags, but how really neat it is when everyone walks in together on the last night. I could sit and watch the Olympics nonstop.

Earlier this week, one of the stations was talking about the most memorable Olympic moment. The following is one that I remember and I honestly feel, is one of the best:

Barcelona 1992. Britain's Derek Redmond tore his right hamstring in the semi-final of the 400m and fell to the ground. When he saw the stretcher-bearers running towards him he began to hobble on one leg down his lane, at which point his father elbowed past officials to assist him to the finishing line. It won a rousing ovation from the 65,000 crowd.

I read in an article that when his father was asked how he was able to get past security and to his son so quickly, he answered "when it's an emergency, you don't need credentials".

China has just walked into the stadium. Walking with China's flag carrier, Yao Ming, is a little nine year old boy who survived the earthquake in May. He was one of 10 survivors out of his class of 30. He was able to free himself and then went back in to save two of his classmates. When he was asked why he did so, he responded by saying, "I'm one of the class leaders, it was my responsibility". What an awesome example that little boy is.

As I watch all of these nations walking in, I can't help but wonder why is it that for several days every two years, everyone is able to put aside their difference's and not care what color, sex, or religion the person next to them is? It makes me wish the Olympics were everyday.

Not Enough Hours In The Day, Week, Month etc

As you can see, Noelle picked up the slack and posted an update. Thank you peach!

The kids, dad and I did make it to South Dakota and had a good time. We drove "Katie". It was so nice to have the room. It made the trip so much better. It also made it nice for when we took gramma and Ronnie to dinner in Watertown.

Dad drove most of the way up and I drove all the way back. As is tradition, we listened to a book on tape. It is one of the Amelia Peabody series. I would love to get the series in hard back. (big, big hint there mom, dad, Amy, kids) We didn't get it finished, so I have been listening to it on the way to and from work.
**(inside joke to dad~"the following is an excerpt from manuscript H"~ugh!!)**

As Noelle said, the two of us are going with mom to the consignment stores we went to last year. I can't wait. The three of us had so much fun.

The kids go back to school August 19th. Noelle can't wait and Michael can.

Noelle is wanting "unlimited texting" for her cell phone because apparently, she is "the only one of her friends who doesn't have it". The deal is she gets A's and she can have it. I'm sure we will be adding that to our plan sometime in October.

We are getting closer and closer to being open. Most of the cement is poured and someone was out today to measure for carpet and linoleum for Sean's office and the space to be rented. We are really hoping and praying that the guy who is slow to move all of his crap will soon be gone. His rent will go up in September or October and we aren't sure if he will be able to swing that. I have a feeling that even if he can't, it will be a major ordeal to get him out.

I'll try to do better about posting and will get some pictures up soon.