I've Been Neglectul.

So it's been more than a couple weeks... Oops. Hi everyone.

I'd like to say I've been so busy that I haven't been able to get to the blog. In actuality, I've just kinda forgotten. (And our internet goes in and out all the time. LOVE living in the country!) :/
Truth be told, I started writing this particular blog about a week or more ago but am just now finishing it and adding to it. I suck. Whatever.

I'll start with the updates first:
Lucas~ He's doing really really well. He really likes his job. In fact, a couple weeks ago he commented on just how much he enjoys going into work every morning. (Even if it means leaving the house at 6:45-6:50am each morning.)He said that no matter what, he could never stop doing what he's doing. He can never see himself doing anything else. (Insert "I told you so" here.)  That, to me, makes all of this worth it. Everyday gets a little bit easier. (His 7th grade girls are kicking butt right now during practices!! Way to go, girls!)
He's also been hard at work with home improvement projects. I can't remember if I've said this before or not, but I've been doing really well at taking the 'after' pictures...not so much the 'before'. So I do have some pictures of Luke's handy work - after the fact. He's cleared out so much of the back yard, you can actually see the lake now! It's coming along, slowly but surely. :) There are just a couple more patches of brush that need to be clipped away and we should be able to see everything just fine.We also decided to hire a painter... so the first floor is now 100% painted! (Well... if you don't count the bathrooms. We decided not to bother since eventually we are tearing them OUT!)
And between all the running around he does at school all day and all the projects he's going at home, he's lost 17lbs since we've been here! He looks great, is feeling great and I cannot be prouder of him! I've been to a couple of performances he's conducted and it's been so much fun seeing Luke in action. I cannot wait for the first concert!
Also, on Labor Day, the high school concert choir got the chance to perform at the Cardinals/Brewers game. They sang America the Beautiful right before the game. Not only did they sound fantastic but they were on Fox Sports! Usually they don't tape the pregame stuff but I guess this time they did! Aaron is trying to get a copy of the recording. I"ll keep everyone posted! :)

Now my update:
As I mentioned before, we hired a painter. Bless my mother-in-law's heart, she came out for the Labor Day weekend and went with  me to pick out paint. Together we painted the wall between the counter and the cabinets in the kitchen as well as did all the trim around the first half of the first floor. When she left on Wednesday, my job was to finish painting. Well.... Anyone who knows me on any lever knows that while I have very good intentions... painting has never been one of my strong suits. I finished the front door and the spot in the kitchen that needed a second coat but that was about it. I looked at those cans of paint and thought, 'You can do this. Get up and paint!'. Never happened. So after calling around, I found a really nice guy for a really nice price. Done and done. 3 days later my bedroom, kitchen, living room and staircase was all painted. However, I am so very grateful to my mother-in-law for all her help! I couldn't have picked out my colors or started to paint without her! (THANKS!!)
So I will have to post the picture I have of what's been done. All the 'afters'.

The house seems to be coming along though... we have some guys coming out in the next couple days to give us an estimate for carpet in the basement and we power cleaned today so most of our boxes are all put away! It's finally starting to feel like a home and not just a never-ending project. Yea!

Next step, finding a car for Luke. This one car thing is a pain in the BUTT!!!

And now for my Kylie update. Cause I know that's really why you're reading this...;)
She's fine. She gets a little bit better every day. (I'm not even going to comment on accidents in the house cause every time I do, she has another one. Let's just leave it at that.)
She cracks us up all the time and we truly love her. :)
Now for the pictures! Thanks for reading and I promise, I will try to get better about posting.
G'night!

I'm getting so big! I'm 29lbs!

Our bedroom! We still have to do two more stripes on the outside of the border... we told the painter we'd do it ourselves as I can't decide what color yet.

Not only is my kitchen purple (or Symphony, as it's called) but I now have a microwave!! Thanks, Luke!)

Yeah....We are changing the color ASAP. It looks like a grape. Trial and error...this was an error.

I have a before picture!! (And yes, I made the curtains!)

That's David the painter...yes, he's 7ft tall!  And no, he's not standing on anything. And I guess I only have a partial 'after' picture. I have to take another one with the whole wall done.

Our first Cards/Cubs game. I had to support Chicago! (They won too!) (For the record, I also bought the same shirt for the Cardinals too...Clearly I am a SUPER diehard baseball fan...)