Catching up on new things....

Hello!  It has been a mighty longtime since I last posted.  I am still around just super busy.  Here are some of the things that have been going on since I last posted....

We moved into our new house in Batavia, IL and unpacked for hopefully the last time for a very longtime.  Unpacking various houses in the last few years is just getting old.  It is nice to feel a bit more settled.  Being home in Illinois, and close to family and friends feels so good.  We have wonderful neighbors and feel very blessed for that.  Another thing that is great about where we moved is we have a lot of mature trees and many parks nearby for the kids to play.  Every nice day we have we are at the park playing.  The other positive is that Jimmy's school is just a few blocks away, so we can walk.  Maggie's school is within 5 minutes of our house which is nice as well.  I have met some great parents and the kids have made some great friends at both of their schools. 

The kids just finished up with their swim lessons and are ready for grandma's pool to open and the weather to be nice!  I must say I can't wait either.  Poolside at grandma's during the summers is the best.  Many memories are created there for our family.  Jimmy is also staying very busy with gymnastics, soccer and baseball.  Baseball and soccer overlap eachother for 2 games, but I think this is just the start for the future of playing more then one sport etc.  The coaches are nice and supportive of the kids and we LOVE watching him play and grow.  The other thing Jimmy loves is having neighbors his age to just pick up and play whenever.  We don't need to always have a "playdate", we can just play the old fashioned way.  Knock on the door and invite a friend to come over or play outside etc.

Maggie is into gymnastics and soccer.  She does well and has a blast at both.  She also plays with the Tball set we have and switch hits.  Sorry, proud mama moment and had to brag.  HA HA!  Maggie has made a lot of new friends this year at school and in the neighborhood as well.  I am very happy for her.  We are still meeting new friends, and trying to find more girls her age that live close.  Lots of boys on our street her age. We are also set for the next stage of the speech process for Maggie with the school district.  She has been evaluated privately and now we need her to get speech through the school district.  She has made it through the screening so far and is now going to the next level which is an evaluation.  We just need to wait for the phone call to set up her evaluation.  I am very anxious.  She is so smart and has so much to say, it is just hard for her to get it all out clearly etc.  So keep in your prayers that Maggie gets speech through the school district.  Maggie is also very much wanting me to sign her up for Ballet.  She says "Mommy, I want to sign up for Ballet and learn how to spin."  LOL too cute.  She is eager to try new things and I love that part about her.  She is my free spirit.

Rich is doing well with work and super busy.  He has been doing a lot of traveling to Michigan and just enjoyed his last trip up Michigan's U.P. for some investigative work.  Very interesting things he is learing about one of his properties.  He also won some money at the casino and treated us all out for sushi.  Yummy.  Anyone who knows us, knows sushi is a big hit in our family.  Rich's half brother Patrick is also graduating this weekend in New Hampshire we are proud of him.  We also got to have Rich's half sister Kate visit us for Easter and Maggie's 4th Birthday!  We had a lot of fun seeing her, and Maggie is in love with her Aunt Kate.  Having Kate go to school in Madison, Wisconsin is nice.   We are just a hop, skip and a jump away. 

We have to include Buddy.  He is happy and shaved for the Spring.  He has also made some neighborhood friends as well.  Hee Hee. 

As for me.  I have joined the Batavia Mother's Club which I really enjoy so far.  It is nice to meet a new group of moms and friends.  Two of my neighbors are in it as well which is nice.  I also enjoy going monthly to Gourmet which is where all the neighbors get together to enjoy appetizers, dessert and some drinks once a month.  It is adults only so, it's great for Rich and I to get date night.  I also joined a Bible Study at my neighbors house.  It is a group of women from all different denominations which is what I like that gets together on Sunday nights.  Another great way for me to get to know the neighbors more.  Going to all the kids sports is a lot of fun as well, it's fun to watch them grow and for me to meet new people at the sametime.  We are also getting back to a Sunday routine of going to church etc.  This summer there is going to be a lot of fun things to do.  We have the Aboredum, Children's Museum, Zoo, Pools, Parks, and Museums, all in less then an hour from our house.  Then there is visists to the beach either in Chicago on Lake Michigan or a local beach in Wisconsin.  We enjoy Lake Geneva the most.  Summer brings friends, neighbors, and family closer and I am really looking forward to that more then anything. 

I am done blabbing your ears off now and hope you are all doing well.  I would love to hear from anyone reading to see how you are doing.  Miss all of our friends in TX and the ones I have not seen yet in IL.