Labor Day 2012

Yesterday, September 3, 2012, marks 4 years that we have lived in Central Illinois.  And, starting today, this is the longest we have lived anywhere since 1998.  I wish I had some pictures of us moving 4 years ago.  It was a VERY hot day.  I wish I had more pictures of our house in Michigan.  I couldn't find any of it with landscaping.  But here's where we called home 4 years ago...

It was a good house for us and we hope that new memories are being made in it still.

I don't know that Morton is our forever home, but that's where we are now.  Today.  I know many folks who have moved multiple times with Caterpillar and I wonder if that is ever in our future.  They say in the CAT world that all roads lead to Peoria so even those that have moved somehow seem back in Central Illinois again.  Only the man upstairs knows what's in our future.  I do pray about it, though.  It certainly changes things when you have 3 children now in school.  Uprooting that would be a tough call. 

Anyhoo...no need to fret over that right now.  There is some celebrating to do here!

Fifteen years ago today Mr. Shook popped the question.

I remember it like it was yesterday.  We were on a vacay to Florida which started by Tampa and ended at Sanibel Island.  It was a really fun time (which 15 years later my Mom can still make scandalous!) and we got engaged on a Thursday night, on the beach, in the rain.  A light rain, I should say.  I was one excited girl and didn't tell anyone for 2 WHOLE DAYS!  And then when we did tell people I didn't know what to say! 

It was a great time, a very exciting time and the best decision I ever made.  I know there are days that Mr. Shook thinks what has he gotten himself in to, but he assures me, almost every day, that there is no place he would rather be. 

Ditto.
xoxo

This time last year...

Mike gets MLK Jr.'s Birthday off at work. I don't know why I didn't remember this but it was a pleasant surprise last week. I said to Mike I wonder what we did last year on this day. He said probably not much. I went on about my day and in the shower - where I get my best quiet time and do some deep thinking amongst the hot water - I realized that we were moving our stuff out of our Michigan house this weekend last year. How could we forget that??!! Hard to believe it's been a year since we sold that house and officially became members of the Land of Lincoln. What a relief that house sale was, too!

Yesterday we quietly celebrated by taking the kids to see The Princess and The Frog. I would be interested in hearing what other's thought about the movie. I left a little disappointed and not thrilled with some of the imagery. Why is it that EVERY Disney movie has to have a really sad moment and a kind of scary moment, too. Luckily the kids didn't think it was scary so maybe it was just their parents. The last thing we need is scary dreams from a rated G movie!

Things I Miss

Today was an absolute beautiful day here. It made me miss some things about Michigan. I can't believe I just typed that! There were some great benefits to living there. There are some great benefits to living in Central Illinois, too. Here are a few things I miss...









- I miss the great parks we had in Michigan. We had some terrific play structures in really nice parks. I am not finding that here. Nice parks but older play structures.

- I miss Greenfield Village and the Henry Ford Museum. Today would have been a perfect day to go to Greenfield Village. It is an old fashioned village that replicates the time when cars were first manufactured. The Village and the museum were created by Henry Ford. If you are looking for a get away I highly recommend this as a tourist visit. We had a membership and went quite often. The carousel alone is worth the trip! The attached picture is on the carousel and yes, I am very pregnant with Amanda in it.

- I miss my friends in MI Heidi and Tamsen. They were my partners in crime. We all originally were neighbors and now none of us live there anymore but I still miss them. I have kept in contact with Heidi but not so much Tamsen. I need to find her number and give her a call. We could all talk for hours!

- I miss my MOMS Club friends. I loved that on any given day there would most likely be an event planned and you could choose to go or pass. We used the Evite system and you could check to see if anyone was going. On a day like today someone would have planned a park visit and we would have had a great time. I wish there was something like the MOMS Club here. I haven't found anything like it. It was a great group of women!

- I miss our second family at Cherry Hill UMC. There were a handful of retired women who became our away from home Grandma's. They were available to me in a pinch and would come over and baby-sit or ride along to an appointment to help me keep the kids occupied. They were a lifesaver and I miss that. They were wonderful women and I learned a lot from them.

- I miss being able to show people where you live on the palm of your hand. Michigan is shaped like a mitten and it is common to point to your town on your palm. If you don't know what I mean ask me to show you sometime. It is one of the most clever things I have ever seen. I'm easily entertained!

Michigan isn't all bad!