Dad's first projects

Travis has been busy! He has begun putting things together for the baby. He has tried to guess how many things he will put together in his lifetime for this child and so far the number is 3 and growing!

We purchased our baby bedding online and when it came there was a mobile to be put together. I was all about the bedding, but "dad" was all about putting together the mobile. Item #1.

We're going with a "sheep" theme! :)

Last week Travis' folks dropped off their baby present to us. A car seat/stroller travel system. Tonight we were able to dig into the box and see what it contained. Travis set right to work trying to put it together (without reading the directions!) and was greatly successful! Item number 2 and 3!

Buddy's not quite sure what this contraption is.....he's not sure he approves!

The final product!

Aftermath

It's a little soggy in Galesburg this morning! We had almost 4 inches of rain yesterday and no where for the rain to go. This is our new 'nature made' lake in the back yard...

The water is so bad the neighbors in the bottom picture purchased an industrial pump to try to get the water out of their yard. It ran continuous until 2 this morning.....and now it's running again.

The water is starting to go down. You can see the water mark on the tree from when it was at its highest and this morning you can see the top tip of my new hydrangea bush I planted last week.

Thank you Heather and Kirk for the shop vac (a wedding gift). It has been put to use many times before this, however, this time it's kept us from floating away!

There is a lot of water in the basement and two parts of the wall where the water is literally pouring out in the same fashion as a drinking fountain. Travis was smart and created a drainage system to go from the wall to the floor drain so the water wouldn't just leak all over the basement causing more work for us....him.

So far we've....he's...carried out 160 gallons of water and there's more to come!

We know we aren't alone in this venture, my dad, my mom, our neighbors and friends all have water in their basements too and most worse than us so we are grateful that we have it as 'easy' as we do. Also that our basement is not finished like the rest of the people we know.

It's sure to be a soggy day for everyone, but at least the sun is shining! :)

New Addition

Today we got to see the newest member of the family. However, he or she was not being cooperative. The baby put its hands over it's face for most of the ultrasound making it hard to get a clear shot. Because everything is going so well and normal (thank God!) we will not get another chance to see the newest Stecher until September when it's due.

It was great to get a chance to finally see what's going on inside. Travis was quite taken and this baby already has it's dad wrapped around it's finger! :) Misty had a hard time "seeing" the pictures but after the 4D was turned on things became much clearer! Keep in mind we are only 22 weeks and the baby only weights 1lb. 2 oz.

This is a back shot of the baby. You can see the back, the ribs, the right leg with some meat on it already! The arm and fist are pulled up toward the baby's ear.

This is a front shot and the best shot we could get of the little stinker! You can see the babies right hand is up toward it's ear and the left is covering it's left eye. You can make out the nose and the mouth is slightly open....probably trying to talk already (that's a Vancil trait! :) The cord like thing is NOT a male anatomy part...it's the umbilical cord and it's not near the head it's actually floating above the baby it just looks like it's near the head because of the angle of the shot. You can see the big belly (another Vancil trait) and the chubby thigh (Travis says a Stecher trait.) I think this picture looks like the baby has hair and Travis' hairline and jaw.

Our opinions differ....I still think a boy, Trav still thinks a girl, but I think Travis is beginning to be swayed each time he looks at the photos.

What do you think?

Interrogation

The Evidence:

The Crime Scene:

The Suspect:

If anyone has any information pertaining to this recent crime spree please contact BuddyStoppers. You do not need to reveal your identity.

Spring Cleaning

Trash week in Galesburg has arrived! This is a time where you can put almost anything on your curb and have it picked up at no extra charge. With all of the recent remodeling at our house. Travis took advantage of this week and has been saving for weeks for this exciting time! :)

On Saturday my mom and Jane came down to help unload all of our garbage. They were a big help and made the large task a speedy endeavor. We were able to get all of the garbage out and get our summer lawn furniture out before any wet weather came our way. Thanks mom and Jane!

After all the hard work, Buddy and I thought a much needed nap was in order....so we fell asleep with a minute thirty left in the Bulls first playoff game....which went into over time....

oh well, you know, priorities :)

What you do not see in the above pictures of our garbage are the two four drawer file cabinets, the sink vanity from the bathroom, countless doors from kitchen cabinets and some hardware from the cabinets. Why you ask....

Because of people like this:

This is a dumpster diver. These people roll past our house slowly at dusk and dawn to see if there is any of our garbage they might be interested in. The 2 file cabinets went to someone across the street who at least had the decency to ask, and the vanity went to some contractors. We have also lost 2 sinks, a motion light, and a few light bulbs, however, they left the ceiling fan in which the light bulbs were in.

What is it they say?

One man's trash is another man's treasure????

Happy Galesburg Garbage Week! :)

Spring has arrived!

Differences between Travis and Misty:

Travis is very excited on opening day of: football, basketball, baseball, or any other "ball".

Misty is very excited on opening day of: Christmas shopping season and Kastle Kreme!

Today was Misty's day! Kastle Kreme opened today! Kastle Kreme is a neighborhood ice cream shop not far from our house. We often walk down during the spring/summer months and get some ice cream after dinner. Today was one of those days!

The sun was out, the weather was warm and we got our first dose of a flavor burst ice cream cone!

Flavor Burst is a vanilla cone with flavor intertwined into the ice cream in a pretty pattern. I must recommend the raspberry flavor burst. YUM!

In the picture below you will find us "posing" for the camera with our first ice cream of the spring season and if you look carefully you'll see our greedy dog just waiting for the prime opportunity to jump up and retrieve my last few bites of the cone.

Sorry about the blurriness...Travis' camera battery was dead, and I was too impatient to wait for it to charge so we used my broken camera instead. The cone was just too good! :)

Catch up time

Ok, so I have been negligent in my blogging, and I have started to hear about it! Geesh! So I have lots to update people on but instead of my usual long windiness, I'll try to be brief, but keep in mind that there is a lot to get caught up on.

Chicago 08

Travis got Bulls tickets for his birthday so Travis, myself, his mom and dad all went for a weekend to the windy city. We took the train up, stayed on Michigan Avenue, and had lots of fun! We went to Navy Pier, shopped, went to the Bulls/Lakers game and had Brunch at the Grand Lux Cafe...YUM!

National Board Certification

Travis and I are both trying to become national board certified teachers. It's quite an ordeal. And because we are both so good at procrastination, we did just that with this process. Not smart! However, we did mail off our "entries" (like really long college papers) and now just need to wait until November/December to see if we passed. If we pass we get to have a Illinois Master Teaching Certificate. The only way to obtain this is through being Nationally Board Certified, this will make it so we don't have to update our teaching certificate for 10 years! However, if we don't pass, we have to fix the entries they didn't like and re submit next year. Keep your fingers crossed that we pass this year. This was not an enjoyable experience and I, no we, don't want to do this again.

Kitchen

WOW! What a difference a month makes! The kitchen has really started to take shape. We now have all the cabinets, both upper and lower, in place and holding our "stuff". We have painted a 2nd coat of paint and painted the ceiling. There is a new ceiling fan and light installed, we have under cabinet lights in place, and a new sink/faucet. We have ordered our counter top and are waiting for it to be delivered and then all we have left is the floor, crown molding and window/door trim! I think we are starting to see the light at the end of the process! A GIGANTIC thanks to Travis' dad. We wouldn't have gotten this far with out his countless hours of free labor!

Spring Break

This week has been our spring break from school! It has been heavenly! We both really needed some time away. We have had dinner with friends and family. Travis has worked tirelessly in the kitchen, and I have gotten some much needed spring cleaning done (although there's much more to do)! We have enjoyed some nice weather and have been able to open the windows some and air the place out. It has been truly enjoyable for both of us! Unfortunately, our time off is quickly coming to an end....the good news? We only have 37 school days left of school! WAH HOO!

For Easter, we are going to spend the day with Travis' mom and dad in Rock Island. We are having brunch at Johnny's Italian Steak House and then who knows what else the day will bring. We are hoping to get together with my side of the family maybe this evening or next weekend to celebrate the holiday.

Buddy

Buddy is doing great and enjoying the spring weather as well. He has had a spring hair cut and getting around nicely. No news is good news with the Budster!

I will try to update more frequently now that the National Board stuff is done. We hope you each have a lovely holiday and enjoy your time with family!