What a week!

This past week has been great! Ben turned 34 and celebrated it at an all-you-can-eat steak buffet. Sue passed the regulatory exam for her Wisconsin social work license. Ben was able to finally get his office set-up... bookshelves and books in place. The real joy was finally getting our taxes done... two states, four jobs, and lots of paperwork! We are expecting more snow Thursday, but I'm hopeful that WARM weather will soon be here!

Snow for Sale!

We submitted this video to Good Morning America's Saturday Show. They do a weekly segment encouraging people to describe their week in three words. We couldn't resist! If it's selected, it should be on within 2 weeks. This picture was taken in our back yard. The snow is piled up against the fence.

We've got lights!

We thought you'd like to see our new lights. The first set is a before and after of the dining room and the second is a before and after of the kitchen/desk area. We are so excited to up-date the house and make it our own.

Valentine's Pizza!

We hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day. Ours was quiet with heart-shaped pizza and "Survivor" as entertainment. Karis was thrilled with a small box of chocolates. By the way, we had another 5-6 inches of snow on Valentine's Day for those of you who are concerned about the weather.

Karis's new friend!

Today Karis had a play date with her new friend, Lilly. She is a little less than a month older than Karis and she lives only a few blocks away. They played dress-up most of the afternoon. Lilly's mom, Kim, also came over to stitch with me. It helps to pass the time since we're stuck in the house so much. Lilly's family goes to our church and they are part of our new life group.

Creative play on a cold winter's day

It's so cold that Karis and I did not go to church this morning. You know it's bad when the snot in your nose freezes within seconds of going outside! The high today is supposed to be -3 . . . with wind chills, it may feel like -45. ANYWAY, Karis is becoming more creative since she has not been able to play outside. She has "pretend friends" who play with her a lot. In this picture, she decided to sit with her stuffed animals and have a sleepover. I managed to get out of the house Friday to check out the local cross stitch and scrapbook shops. We then went out for dinner to get some fresh air before the cold weather hit Saturday.

It's snowing... AGAIN!

We got another 3 inches of snow today. It's beautiful, but I'm glad I have no out-of-the-house obligations. Ben went to work early this morning and came home early in order to get the snow cleared up before it gets dark. You can see both of us using the snow blower. That baby can move! By the way, we are official "Wisconsinites" since we've switched over our license plates and drivers licenses.

AWESOME ERIC!!!!

Yes, it's Super Bowl Sunday and the state of Wisconsin is still grieving the Packers loss two weeks ago. No Super Bowl parties tonight. We plan to chill out and watch the game/commercials in the quiet and warmth of our own home. Eric, Cornerstone's Senior Pastor, wants all of our family and friends to see what an AWESOME boss he is. So, he's the first person from Wisconsin to end up on our blog. Just an FYI... he took the picture of us in front of the Wisconsin sign.

Karis's first snowman!

Ben tested out the snow today and it was finally ready to make Karis's first snowman. For our southern friends, snow must be "packable" to make a snowman. She and Ben worked on it for quite a while, using the snowman making kit that Kirby, Gretchen, and "the boys" gave to her for Christmas. The picture was taken from deck in our backyard.