Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Chester, Illinois





























I know it has been sooo long since my last post. Sorry, but I have been exhausted and have had little energy to do anything. Last weekend Scott and I went to Chester, Illinois for a look see trip. This is the last town on our short list. My parents arrived Thursday afternoon. They drove all the way out here to take care of the kids while Scott and I went away for the weekend. We left Columbus Friday afternoon and arrived in St. Louis early evening. We got our rental car and headed south to Chester. We came into town on the Missouri side. Chester sits on a hill overlooking the Mississippi. Very pretty!! As soon as we got checked into the hotel we met up with a realtor to look at some land. Brenda has lived in the area her whole life and definitely knew her way around town. The town of Chester is around 5,000 but they always trow in the inmate population of the state penitentiary that is on the river. So really it is more like 8,000. Any way, we some some great properties and I am very excited to see some more in the future. Brenda gave us the scoop on the school districts and some area activities. I love how the whole area has numerous outdoor activities, like horse back riding trails, hiking, skeet shooting, boating, sports and so much more.
Saturday morning Steve Hayes, Memorial Hospital CEO, picked us up for a fun filled day. We toured the elementary school, city parks, drove to Sparta and Steeleville. Both of these towns are about 20-25 min outside of Chester. Steve's wife packed a very nice snack bag for me. She heard that I am in my first trimester so she had sprite and water to drink and some crackers to snack on. So sweet and they did come in handy. I was fighting being sick all morning. By the time lunch time came around I wasn't so sure about real food. Steve took us to a wonderful little diner down town called the Farmhouse. They have yummy home cooked meals and a wonderful display of pies. After lunch I was just about to my limit but we had to meet with the town realtor for a tour. We told her right away that the tour would have to be short and just hit the highlights of town. I needed to go back to the hotel for some much needed rest. She showed us the court house and its amazing view. We drove down to the prison. Looks pretty secure to me. Glad I am on the outside and not the inside. She showed us some of the higher end houses, and of course showed us one of her priciest on the market that just happens to be ready to move in. I think she was trying to make a sale that day. The tour was nice but I needed rest so we went back to the hotel. Steve was going to pick us up about 4 to go see some more sights. We went to a small town on the Missouri side called Perryville. They have this wonderful community center that has an indoor swimming pools with slides, movie theater, library, track, gym and outdoor activities. We then drove back to Chester to see the country club. Small but very nice. I think our dads will be very pleased with this golf course. I was feeling pretty run down so we went back to the hotel for an hour. Steve and his wife picked us up for dinner. The restaurant was down by the river. We ordered our food but I couldn't eat one bite. We had a nice time talking to Steve, his wife and another physician from the hospital but I really wanted to leave so I could rest. As soon as we got back to the hotel Scott and I went swimming. It was a very full day and we needed to talk about things. By this time I think we both knew that this is the place for us. We figured we would tell Steve tomorrow before leaving for the airport. The next morning we slept in and hung around the hotel. We were going to try a church down the street but I wanted to rest. We had to check out of the hotel at 11 so there would be no resting for me until we got home around 10 that night. We met some people at the hospital for lunch. The CEO, board members, Scott's future partner and a few other people. Lunch was nice. After lunch we went to one more town for a tour of the hospital, the town of Red Bud. Small community but good size hospital. After talking for what seemed forever we walked out to the parking lot to say goodbye to Steve and give him the good news. If all the negotiations work out with the hospitals Scott would come and be their surgeon after residency. We feel great about our decision and hope all goes well in this next stage.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Sterling-Rock Falls

What a weekend!!! Friday afternoon we left for Sterling Rock Falls, Illinois. Our flight left at 3:45 in the afternoon. We got to the airport parked the car, rode a bus in and checked in at the counter. Security was no big deal. Sailed right through. The trouble all started when we arrived at our gate. We were one of the last to board. The lady said that she didn't have seats for all of us. American Airlines over sold the plane. The lady said she would be right back and went down the ramp. Next thing we knew our plane was pushing away from the gate without us. The lady came back and said that she would try to get us on another flight. Needless to say Scott was very upset. He decided to take Grisham for a walk and I waited to see what was going to happen. Quite a while later she came back with tickets with Continental. The flight left at 4:57 and then we had a 3 hr lay over in Cleveland. She also gave us three $250 vouchers to help make up for our inconvenience. I was very happy with this. Now we had to go back to the main concourse check in with Continental and go through security again. Once we got to the counter the said that they only had a ticket transfer for Scott, not the rest of us. We had to wait even longer for them to iron it all out. By the time all was said and done we had 10 min to get through security and to our gate. We did make it on tho the plane but it was one of those turbo props and it was very bumpy and scary. I was very pleased that the ride was 30 min. We landed in Cleveland and found a nice place to rest. We killed three hrs by walking and looking for the non existing play area, eating and watching a movie. The ride to Chicago was uneventful. When we landed at O'hare we had to get the one bag checked with Continental and then go find American Airlines for the bag that did make that original flight. It was almost painless but by this time we were all so tired we just wanted the night to end. Now we had to go find our shuttle to take us to the car rental place. While Scott stood in a very long line I went and got the kids ready for bed. The van that we were renting was supposed to have car seats for the kids. I was very uncomfortable with this arrangement. I wasn't sure if I could really trust them to have good seats. When they finally rounded up two seats after getting it wrong a few times (one infant and then a regular booster) we got everything packed up and headed out for our two hr drive to Sterling. The kids were asleep before we left the parking lot. We arrived at the hotel a little after midnight. My parents arrived hrs earlier, and they came out to help us up to our room. They had the kids beds set up in their room so that when we had to get up we wouldn't disturb the kids. The next morning was full of meetings with Clinic people then late morning we met up with a realtor couple who were going to show us the town. We stopped by the library, fine arts academy, farmers market, high school and then we went to lunch. We went to a really popular Mexican restaurant downtown. At this point I was feeling a little queasy but I was also very hungry so I ate. After lunch Ed wanted to show us some properties. We drove by the YMCA and then to outskirts of town for some houses. I started to feel really really sick and I ended up having to call off the tour to head back to the hotel. Half way through town I new I couldn't make it so Ed decided to stop by his office so I could use the restroom. We pulled up to the office and discovered that his wife locked the door so Ed had to run around back to let us in. I couldn't hold it in any more. So I threw up in their flower bed in front of the office, right in the heart of down town. I think I had a few people watch me fertilize the flowers. I was soooooo embarrassed!!! I wanted to get back to the hotel ASAP. Now I am not sure I threw up because of the baby or if I was car sick, could have been a combination of both. After getting back to our room I slept for a couple hours and felt pretty good. We had to get ready for a dinner held at one of the physicians homes. I didn't eat any thing, just sipped water all night. By the time dinner was over and we went back to the hotel it was 10:30 and I was ready for more sleep. None of us were looking forward to the next day of travel. I kept working myself up all morning by thinking about having more delays and not being able to get home. Scott was very patient with me and helped me through all my "panic attacks". We did arrive home safely and on time. I hope next weekends trip isn't as eventful as this one was. At least my parents will be here to watch the kids for us.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Ladies Night Out

Tuesday night the ladies form my Bible study got together for dinner. We were wishing farewell to two Lisa and Julie. Lisa and her husband Sam are moving to Cincinnati for fellowship and Julie and Josh are moving to Detroit. Josh is changing to Urology. They both move at the end of the month and this was the ONLY day we could all get together. We went to a yummy Italian restaurant. My favorite. I was pleasantly surprised to see everyone had dressed up a little. We usually see each other at our worst, wearing yucky jeans and baby stained shirts. It was so nice to relax and enjoy their company. Of course I left the house without my camera so no pictures to day. So sorry!! After dinner most of us enjoyed some dessert. I had two scoops of vanilla Blue Bell ice cream. My favorite in the whole world. Keren made an announcement at dinner. After we were finished we could go over to the hospital and see Jessica and baby Eva. I was sooo excited. Mary and I arrived first to the hospital, then Julie. We went down to Jess' room. Baby Eva was out of the room for the moment but would be back soon. Jess looked great and she was in little pain. She was really happy, a little tired but happy. Eva has exceeded every ones expectations. To see pictures of Eva go to their website caringbridge.org/visit/clearfield. We all had a chance to hold her and love her. We have all been praying and hoping for this exact moment. We praise God for granting us this special moment that we all will never forget. It was a happy yet tearful meeting. Eva looks great and is so strong but the prognosis is still the same. We just pray now that Jessica, Dan, Hannah and Eva have an easy transition from hospital to home. Where they can spend time together as a family before God calls Eva home. I think Eva is a true testament to God's amazing and perfect will. He has a purpose for her and she has touched so many lives in the little amount of time she had spent on this earth. She is a miracle!

Easton and Strawberries


















I am so behind on my posts. Last Friday, at least I think it was Friday, my friend Lisa and I took the kids out to Easton shopping center to play in the fountains. It was a beautiful sunny day. The sun was really warm but the air was a bit chilly. I really didn't think Grisham would play in the water. I was right. The water was absolutely freezing. Sam found a beach ball to toss around. The kids stayed pretty busy chasing the ball in and out of the fountains. Sam was the only one who would go near the water. After playing for a while we went to lunch. Lisa kindly paid for our lunch. It was a very nice morning out of the house.

Today, Wednesday, we went to a farm to pick strawberries. When I arrived at the farm it was packed. The fields were full of pickers and I was so scared that we wouldn't have any to pick. Just before everyone else arrived, they put up the closed for picking sign. I went into the barn where you purchase the baskets for picking and they said that they were closed except for the playgoups that called ahead. Thankfully Erin did just that this morning. Good thinking Erin!! After we all got our baskets we headed out to the fields. The berries were pretty small and picked over. It was a little more labor intensive then I thought. I wore the wrong shoes, my flip flops. I ended up twisting my ankle stepping over a row of strawberries. Grisham had fun looking for the red berries and then eating them before they made it to the basket. Same with Genevieve. She crawled down the isles and pulled all the good ones off and ate them before I could get to her. She really enjoys strawberries. Soon we all had full baskets and headed back to the barn for our strawberry slushees. Good thing too, it started to rain! I am so glad we were able to do this today. It was a good experience and maybe next year we should go when the farm opens in the morning.


Monday, June 8, 2009

Stroller



Last night Scott and I went to Sam's club. I had to take the stroller out of the van to make room for all the groceries. I set the stroller on the ground by Scott's car. Around six Scott got paged to the hospital. I forgot to tell him about the stroller. Well needless to say he ran over it with the car. It isn't as bad as we originally thought. I can still push it. The frame is ok. The outer wheel and the break don't work. I think I will still be able to use it. Good news!!

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Fun With Friends
























This last weekend was spent with our friends. Sunday we went to McDonald's to celebrate Hannah Clearfield's third birthday. We were the first to arrive so as I got Genevieve settled in a high chair for a snack I started to talk to Dan's mom. I discovered that she and her husband had flown in from California just about an hour before the party and then they were leaving the following day. What a birthday present!! Hannah was super excited about her Curious George themed party. She is a cross between a princess and a monkey. She's a monkey princess!! The play area is great at the particular McDonald's and they let them set up the party in the play area. After all the friends arrived the kids played, then ate their happy meals and then played some more. I must say the cake was extra yummy. Not sure if it is because of the state that I find myself in at the moment or if the cake really was that good. I had at least three pieces!! Hannah opened her presents and was delightfully surprised to have received many new books about Curious George! The party was a success. Hannah had a great time and I think mom and dad did too:)

Monday night Grisham and I went to Greg's soccer game. He has been playing in a four and five year old league. I was so happy to have finally made it to a game. The weather was perfect for the game. The weather report was chances of showers but the rain held off and we were able to enjoy ummmm... how should I put it, messy soccer? Since the kids are so young there really isn't a whole lot of structure. They all run down the field chasing the ball, sometimes in the wrong direction. Greg played goalie for the first part of the game. He stopped a few balls and seemed very proud of himself. The game was about an hour long with many breaks for water. After the game, Grisham and Greg kicked the ball around together. I was fun seeing Grisham run and dribble the ball with his feet. I may have to look into a three yr old soccer league. We will see. It was so nice to see Mary and catch up a bit with her. Her schedule has been soo busy this school year so we don't get to see much of each other. I am hoping maybe when school gets out I will see more of her.