A Death Always Changes Your Perception of Reality - Part 3

Over two weeks ago on September 10, my uncle passed away unexpectedly. This wasn't just any uncle. My mom is one of 6 children, and my father was one of 5 children (although one passed away as an infant). I had many aunts and uncles growing up, but again, this wasn't just any uncle.

My uncle Max was my mom's brother-in-law. My parents have lived next door to he and my aunt Janice for over 37 years. I spent many days in my childhood at their house. In fact, my aunt babysat me after school for many years. I have many good memories of Max and Janice, and this death came as quite a shock - a heart attack in the early morning hours. I wasn't prepared to go to a funeral while 8 months pregnant, but life doesn't give you such choices.

Of course, my uncle was well-known in the community. He was very involved in many organizations. But beyond that he was one of the kindest, caring men I ever knew. He gave so much of himself to others. He was always there if someone needed him, and I have never known anyone with his heart. He will be surely missed by many, as could be seen from his funeral - one of the largest I have been to in my hometown.

It is hard to believe he won't be outside mowing the next time I go to my parent's house. We would wave, and I regret not taking more time to talk with him when I was home. The last conversation I remember having with him was nearly 1 year ago at my niece's district marching band contest. How sad! I lived next door to him every day for years and years, and the last time I spoke to him was over 1 year ago. The things you realize and regret once someone has passed away.

Again, a death always changes your perception of reality - things you could have done or should have done differently. Time heals all wounds, and people get complacent back in their "normal" lives. Let's not forget who we love, who we respect, and who we wish to be a part of our lives. Life is too short to have regrets.

RIP Uncle Max - I will miss you, and I have been a better person having known you!

Max Kreilein
10/15/40-9/10/09
May you have eternal rest!

Happy 5th Annivesary

Yesterday was our 5th anniversary!!! I must say I love my husband more than I did the day we were married. He is my best friend, my greatest confidant, and the father of my baby girl! As we close the chapter on our first 5 years, we begin a new adventure of being parents together. Each day our bond gets stronger, and I can't imagine taking this journey through life with anyone else!

With that being said, we decided to spend the night at the French Lick Springs Hotel for our anniversary. Ever since I was about 13, I have been driving through French Lick - first to visit my sister who moved to Indianapolis and then to visit my parents once I moved to Bloomington. The French Lick Resort consists of a $500 million renovation of two old-world hotels and a casino. While we visited the West Baden Springs Hotel in 2005 before it was a "hotel" again, we had never been in the French Lick Springs Hotel.

We decided that this trip was our gift to each other, but as is normal, my husband decided to not conform. We have slowly been collecting Willow People over the years - most as gifts. Since wood is the traditional 5 year gift, he bought me the "Anniversary" Willow People set. It is very sweet!!!

Once we arrived and checked in, we had reservations at the 1875 Steakhouse for our anniversary dinner. It was the most expensive meal we have ever eaten, but it was wonderful. We were sat next to a floor-to-ceiling old mirror off by ourselves, and it was very romantic. We then went to explore the hotel including the Pluto Spring, which is what we are pictured in front of, and the gardens.

This morning after we checked out of the hotel, we had fun in the casino. Of course, we lost money, but it was a nice break away from our world that is about to get crazier. We soon realized that this may be the last time we are in a casino for quite some time. Before heading back home, we drove around French Lick and stopped at a historical marker in Orleans.

All in all, it was a wonderful time away. As you can see from the picture, I am now very close to giving birth - 7 weeks from our due date. So, as our lives are about to change forever, we stopped to remember our time alone.

4th of July Weekend

So as I mentioned in my previous post, Lee's family from Oklahoma came to spend the 4th of July with us. His uncle Larry from Michigan also came down for a couple of days. Lee's aunt Beth and Larry had not seen each other in nearly 30 years!!

Beth, Ed, and their son Alex came in on Friday night. We had a cookout and just enjoyed the time together. We set off our own fireworks and attacked the neighbors who typically send fireworks over our house all the time. We stayed up way too late, but it was great reconnecting. We hadn't seen them since last 4th of July on our trip to Oklahoma.

Saturday (July 4th) was very wet here in south-central Indiana. We took Beth, Ed, and Alex on a tour of Bloomington, showed them where John Mellencamp lives (Beth is a big fan!), and took them to Lake Monroe. Unfortunately, the weather never did clear up, so we couldn't get out of the car and explore. We went back to the house for another cookout, and after a little while decided that we needed to get out of the house.

The fireworks in Bloomington were not cancelled, but we also didn't want to sit in the rain. So instead, we went glow bowling. Never in a million years did I think we would go bowling on July 4th, but we actually had a great time. Taylor and I also got to see some of the big fireworks from the bowling alley's front door.

On Sunday, Larry went home, and we spent the day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway - touring the track, museum, media center, gasoline alley, victory podium, timing and scoring, etc. The above picture was taken of all of us there along the start/finish line - Alex, Beth, Ed, Taylor, Richard, Lee, and pregnant me :-).

His family left early Monday morning, and we were already missing them greatly. If only we lived closer or they lived closer :-(. But, it was an all-around great visit!!!!

99 days and counting……….

My official due date is now 99 days away. I can’t believe how quickly this is all happening. At times it feels as though it is standing still, and other times, it seems as though we can’t get enough done quick enough. We know that she can really come at any time in September or October, so 99 days is just the projected number. But, it certainly puts things into perspective.

Also, tomorrow is the 3rd anniversary of our home ownership. Time certainly does fly. And, oh, how life has changed in those 3 years.

Lee has been working on the basement renovation since mid-March. We intending on renovating our basement at some point in the future, but when we found out that we were expecting our little girl, the renovations became a top priority. Lee has been using our new nursery as his office for the past 3 years. Seeing as we now need that bedroom, his office needed to be moved downstairs. We also created a “den” area in the basement. It took 3 months, but the basement is now complete (see above) and furniture is continuing to be moved in, so we can begin work on the nursery.

At the end of May, we found out that Lee’s aunt, uncle, and cousin will be visiting over the July 4th weekend. They, as a family, have never been to Indiana, so we are so excited to have them come!!!! Finishing the basement became even more important, so they had a place to stay. With that, Lee installed a shower in the basement bathroom so that any guests we have would feel more at-home. As of today it is still without plumbing, but that will get fixed before the end of the week.

And, in other news, Lee and I purchased a new (used) vehicle this weekend (see above). Lee’s truck was a 1997 S-10, and my Kia was a 2001. Both were certainly showing their age, and neither was a good “family” car. So, this weekend we purchased a 2007 HHR. It only had 15,500 miles on it, great options (leather seats, seat warmers, remote start, tinted back windows, etc.), and we got it for a good, fair price. Unfortunately, this means that Lee’s truck was officially traded-in. He has put his heart and soul into that truck and modifications for it, but it was not conducive to having a family in it. The “new” vehicle is great and was desperately needed!

Baby Girl Lawmaster (Part 2)

Well I had my final ultrasound yesterday afternoon. Baby Girl Lawmaster is doing wonderfully. Her heart has four chambers, and everything else looks healthy.

My actual doctor's appointment was today, and I learned that she is measuring big - very big. She is in the 97% for 24 weeks, and I am only at 23 weeks. So, I am measuring big as well, but I still haven't gained too much weight, which is the positive. She is now 1 pound 9 ounces, and she has long legs! They will keep an eye on her and see how big she gets.

It was great to get to see her again, especially since I know I can't see her again until she is born. But that time will be here before we know it!

Baby Girl Lawmaster

Yesterday, May 13, Lee and I discovered that we would be welcoming a daughter this fall! Lee is concerned because he is very protective of his little girls, but I know she will make a great addition to our family.

The ultrasound went fairly well. She co-operated enough to tell us she was a girl. However, we believe she was sleeping and didn't move around enough to see some important vital parts - including her heart. Next month I will have another ultrasound so the doctor can analyze those things.

Baby Girl Lawmaster is measuring a little big right now. Her due date is October 6, but she is measuring as though she is due September 29. Her organs seemed to be fine including her umbilical cord, kidneys, brain, etc. She had herself in a "U" position where her feet and her head were beside each other. I don't know where she gets that flexibility from!

Lee and I are struggling with names at the current time. We've had a boy's name picked out for 1 1/2 years, so it makes sense that we would have a girl :-). We'll be asking Taylor for her ideas as well. At least we have 4 1/2 months to make up our minds :-)

NAGAP Conference and NYC

Last week Lee and I took a trip to NYC. It was fabulous! We did a lot of things and were exhausted, but the trip was one for the books.

We arrived in New York last Wednesday on April 22. I had a NAGAP (National Association of Graduate Admissions Professionals) conference. The conference was at the Marriott Marquis Times Square, which is also where we stayed. We were right in the heart of Times Square and could even see part of the ball outside our window.

The conference was wonderful. I saw several people from IU there, and it was nice to meet admissions professionals from all over the United States. Sessions were Wednesday night, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday morning. It was quite exhausting, but I feel that I learned a lot as well.

After my conference sessions were over for the day, Lee and I took to the streets. While I was in sessions, he explored NYC on his own. Since we arrived in the evening on Wednesday, we didn't do too much that night. We ate out and turned in early.

On Thursday, Lee walked down to Washington Square Park to see the Arch and take pictures. He loved Greenwich Village! When I got done with sessions, we decided to explore lower Manhatten. We first went to Ground Zero where there is a covered fence surrounding the area due to construction of the new building. We then walked down to Battery Park and took the State Island Ferry. This way we could get close to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty for free. We then walked up to the Brooklyn Bridge, took the Subway back to Greenwich Village, and toured Grand Central Terminal. What a busy afternoon/evening.

On Friday, Lee ventured down to the Today Show and got to see Meredith Viera up close. While we don't think he got on TV, he had a great time. After my sessions were done, Lee took me back to Rockefeller Plaza, and we stopped in St. Patrick's Cathedral. We also had to stand in line FOREVER to go up in the Empire State Building. It was line after line after line, and we were there for hours. We also got to go to the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) for free later that evening.

By Saturday we were exhausted, but we knew it would be our last day in the city for quite some time. After the conference session was complete, we took the subway up to Grant's Tomb, which is the largest tomb in the U.S. It was amazing! We also spent some time in Central Park after passing by The Dakota, where John Lennon was killed. On Sunday, we flew home.

All in all, it was a great trip!!! I'm glad that we went, but it certainly passed by way too quickly!

Home Remodel

It has been quite some time since I posted a blog. As always, we have been pretty busy. Not only do we both work full-time, but Lee has class two nights a week; I sit on a local non-profit board of directors; and I am pregnant. But, because of impending arrivals, we are also remodeling our basement.

Now it isn't what you think as a typical remodel, but it is a huge undertaking nonetheless that Lee has pretty much taken on. We have stripped all the walls of paneling to find out exactly what is underneath those walls. It turns out that things are in much better shape than I anticipated. The insulation looks good. The foundation walls look good. The first major concern we encountered was a wall full of ants. However, they were immediately killed, sprayed for internally, and sprayed for externally.

Lee has replaced both light fixtures downstairs with our old standbys we love. We started buying them when we first bought the house and replaced the upstairs light fixtures. They are beautiful! He has also wired the basement for phone, cable, LAN, and redid the outlets. He also installed new sound-proofing insulation for the wall between the utility room and the soon-to-be office to deaden the sound of the heat pump and washer/dryer. He is currently finishing some concrete work.

The one half of the basement is done except for new paneling, painting, and floor staining. This half will be Lee's new office.

The other half is currently being worked on and should be easier to deal with considering there is much less wall space. This area will be the new guest area/sitting room. But once it is complete, it will also need new paneling, painting, and floor staining.

So far, we are on budget, and I hope we stay that way! I am the budget police :-). Of course, once the basement gets done, the office will move downstairs, and the work on the baby's room will begin. My overall goal is to get everything done by/in August. I don't want us rushing at the end with baby only days away. I'll keep you updated!

30 years + 1 Day

Yep, I survived my 30th birthday. I must say that my 29th birthday was much worse than my 30th, but at the same time, I had other things to preoccupy me this year.

My husband was wonderful for my birthday. He asked all the women in my life that are close to me and over 30 to write me advice, words of encouragement, etc. on scrapbook pages. He then put all the pages into a scrapbook for me. Needless to say, I cried my eyes out when I read it. What a wonderful present that I will cherish forever!!!

In the afternoon, he took me to Cheeseburger in Paradise and had a surprise party waiting on me with about 25 people in attendance. My family, close friends, and co-workers all came out to surprise me. I was also given a collage of pictures of me from all stages of life. It was wonderful!!!

Then our good friends from Evansville surprised me and spent the night. We hadn't seen them since November, so that was a great present as well. All in all, it was a fabulous day!

Thank you, Lee, for being a great hubby and planning such a wonderful day for me!!! I will never forget it!!!!

My Little Peanut

Yes, I'm going to be a mommy!!!! Lee and I found out we were expecting in late-January, but we decided to keep the secret until our first appointment, which was yesterday. In the early morning, we got to see our baby on the screen for the first time. Little Peanut is growing well and has a good heartbeat. We can expect to meet him/her around October 6! Getting to see my little angel was a great birthday present for me!!!!! I'll keep you updated as the pregnancy moves forward. I am also keeping a written journal for the baby to have one day. Happy growing little one!!

Valentine's 2009

Valentine's Day is always special for Lee and me, more so than just a holiday. February 14 happens to be our 1/2 anniversary. Yesterday we celebrated 4 1/2 years of marriage. Honestly, we wouldn't celebrate a 1/2 anniversary if it wasn't on a holiday, but nevertheless, it is an important day for us.


We had a wonderful day yesterday! In the early afternoon, we drove up to Indianapolis to see To Kill A Mockingbird performed at the IRT (Indiana Repertory Theater). It was a wonderful production!


We then came back to Bloomington to celebrate Valentine's evening with Sharla and Brad. This was the first double-date Valentine's we had ever had. We ate at Lennie's, a local pub, and then we went back to our house to play Scene It Friends edition! It was a good night of laughs with good friends. I won both games!!!


All in all, it was a great Valentine's Day. It was a nice day with my hubby and my best friend. YEAH! Thanks for the memories - Lee, Sharla, and Brad :-).

Snow Storm '09

January 27 and 28, 2009 will be remembered for near record snowfall here in Bloomington, Indiana. In places like Kentucky, it was a record ice storm and power will not be restored for weeks.

The snow began falling late on the night of Monday, January 26. By Tuesday morning, January 27, we had 4 inches of snow on the ground. The roads were a little bad but it was still okay to drive. But late in the day Tuesday, the ice came and then snow. By Wednesday morning, there was a foot of snow on the ground - something Lee and I haven't seen since we were teenagers.

We knew getting out of our driveway was going to be impossible, but shoveling a foot of snow off a 150 foot driveway was also not an option. After trying and failing with Richard's snowblower, we asked the neighbors for use of theirs. Thank goodness!!! It took us only an hour to free our driveway. However, Monroe County was under a snow emergency and IU closed for an entire day for the first time in 30 years. It was a nice, quiet day at home, but now I am suffering for my time outside - a heck of a cold.

This one will definitely go down in my memory. My parents and sister that live near Jasper were without power for quite some time. When their power came back on, my sister's furnace quit! My friends in Evansville were also without power for some time, but they are lucky. Others in Evansville are still without power nearly 1 week later! Kentucky residents may be off for weeks. Lee's aunt Beth in Oklahoma is in the same boat. The ice storm hit her before it hit Kentucky.

What a way for 2009 to begin!

Christmas 2008

So my Christmas vacation has been quite busy so far. Here is a chronological look at my last week. Compare it to last year at this time - less things perhaps but still busy!

December 23 - Christmas Eve Eve with Lee's grandmother, dad, and uncle from Michigan.

December 24 - Christmas Eve at my mom and dad's house which is always full of games and surprises in order to "earn" your present.

December 25 - Christmas Day with Lee's mom and her family

December 26 - Since Taylor wasn't with us for the 24th or 25th, we had to make alternate plans with our families. Lee's mom and grandma came over to our house to celebrate with Taylor. Taylor also received our present - a girl's golf club set. Now she and Lee can golf together.

December 27 - My sister Brenda and her husband Doug came to visit Taylor on their way back to Indy.

December 28 - My parents, my other sister Michele and her family celebrated with us and Taylor. The pictures above are of Brandi and Sabrina from that day. Amazing how quickly time flies. Sabrina is in driver's ed now. Brandi is playing junior high basketball. It seems like just yesterday they were babies. Not the case anymore!! We had a great time visiting, and I'm glad we got that time with them!

Today started my actual "vacation". Lee has to work this week, so I get the house to myself to enjoy my vacation and get some things done around the house. Only 6 more days until I go back to work :-(.

Triple Thanksgivings

This year we went to 3 different Thanksgivings, much as we try to every year.

The Lee family Thanksgiving (bottom picture) was at my sister's house in Indianapolis this year - the same as two years ago. This was the first time in 3 years that we had all been together for Thanksgiving, although we had to celebrate the Saturday before. It was a great day of spending time with family, and it was great to reconnect with everyone. We had a wonderful time, and we also got to present the video of the ISSMA state finals to Sabrina. It turned out great!

On Thanksgiving day, we went to our traditional location to spend time with Lee's dad's family (middle picture). Although the celebration was much smaller this year, we had a great time and got to stay later than we had in years past. We usually only see this family once a year, so it is great to spend time with them when we can.

After leaving that celebration, we went to Lee's grandma's and spent time with her and Lee's mom (top picture). Although their Thanksgiving meal had long passed, it was nice to sit down - just the 5 of us - and talk and spend time together.

All in all, it was time to spend with family and be thankful for everything we have in life. Although we go through tough times, we have our families who understand. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

So This Is What A Champion Marching Band Looks Like??

Absolutely!!!!!! Forest Park won 1st place at the ISSMA State Marching Band Contest Class D in the brand new Lucas Oil Stadium.

It was a nerve racking day of watching great band after great band play their hearts out. When the awards were announced, we listened as 10th place...9th place.....8th place.....still not FP. 7th....6th....5th....4th.....well, we were in 3rd place last year, so that would be good again. 3rd......Oh my goodness ... we're in the top 2. Then came the announcement of the runner-up, and FP was not announced. My sisters, mom, and I jumped out of our seats. Forest Park won the championship!!!!!!!! It has been a long season filled with obstacles, but Forest Park overcame all adversity and won!!!!!!!

Lee videotaped the performance and awards. As we did last year, we will provide the family with a nice memory of November 1, 2008.

Congratulations Rangers and Congratulations Sabrina!!!!! You all did a great job!!!!!!!

October On the Go

As the title states, we have been "on the go" for most of this month. It is never a dull moment in our lives. Work has been keeping me busy in the form of a Saturday lunch and hiring a new Admissions Assistant. I am hiring someone to work during November-March for 20 hours per week. I received over 70 applications!!! This week, we are doing interviews, and we hope to hire someone by the beginning of next week.

Besides work, we have been very busy on the weekends. The first weekend in October, I went to Sabrina's District band competition. They did a great job and advanced to the Regionals. We also celebrated Mom's birthday and Mom and Dad's anniversary that same day.

The next weekend was supposed to be a great trip to Evansville to visit Sara and Jeff, who we haven't seen since March. Some scheduling issues occurred, so that visit has been postponed until November. So, instead we visited my parents and my friend Sharla.

The following weekend was the Regional band competition. Unfortunately I did not get to go. However, we went to visit Lee's mom in Louisville. She's lived down there for 3 years, and I think this is only our 3rd visit. She took us to "The World's Largest Halloween Party" at the Louisville Zoo. We got to see some of the animals, but better yet, it was a great outing for kids. The picture of Taylor was taken there.

This past weekend was Lee's birthday. While his grandma and mom took him out, I spent the day at the band's Semi-State competition. It was cold and windy - bbbrrrr!!!! After a rough performance, FP was blessed and got sent through to the State Finals at Lucas Oil Stadium on 11/1. I hope to send out good news next week with the results - knock on wood!

All in all, I had a great October, but I am glad the busyness of it is over. But, November isn't looking much better :-). We have a lot of things planned, and work will start to get very busy. Our admissions season is November - March, and I get very little time to do much else.

Hope everyone has a safe and happy Halloween!

Whew (cont.)!

Around this time last year, I posted a blog entitled Whew! Here is its continuation. In the last 10 working days, I have attended 6 recruitment fairs for the Informatics graduate programs. Two of those were in one day, which made for a very long day! Although I only travel in state, it is still exhausting to do that by myself. I've been to Indiana State University, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Depauw University, University of Southern Indiana, Hanover College, and Purdue University. These trips have taken me all across the state, but luckily I have been able to rent a car instead of putting the miles on my little Rio. I am done travelling until November when I head to Ball State University, and although, I am glad to be done for awhile, I do enjoy the time away from my office.

It is also the time of year for marching band season. Last year my niece was in the marching band in eighth grade. This year she is a Freshman. In fact, my sister's whole family is involved this year. My sister is helping with feeding the band; my other niece is a "gopher"; my brother-in-law is with the pit crew. This coming weekend is the District band competition, and I hope they do well. In their competitions up to this point, they have placed well and won several awards.

Of course, if they make it to the state competition, they will not be playing in the RCA Dome. It's roof officially came down last week, and the building will be gone within months. My other sister who lives in Indianapolis sent us pictures. My hubby put up other pictures on his blog at http://magic.rox.com. Time-lapsed video can also be found on You Tube. What a sad day! But on to bigger and better things, I suppose.

I'll update you on the band season as it progresses. Stay tuned!

Ike Strikes Again

Hurricane Ike has been watched for some time, and it was predicted to be a strong one. Not only did Hurricane Ike strike the heart of Galveston, TX, but its rath continued up the Midwest. Surprisingly Indiana got hit very hard from Ike in both rain and wind.

Yesterday Bloomington, in particular, experienced quite high winds and was under a High Wind Warning for 4 hours. The "eye" of Ike passed between us and Terre Haute. About 2:00 p.m., the winds started to die down a bit, so I headed for a shopping trip. When I got home at 3:00 p.m., our power had just gone out. I did not realize then how bad it really was.

Around 8:00 p.m. Lee and I got anxious and went to Starbuck's to get access to some Wi-Fi. The effects of Ike were far more reaching than we could have thought. Thousands of people were without power, and it could be days before we got our power back. I grew up in rural Indiana, and I never had power issues like this before. Ike, what did you do?

Lee and I prepared. We bought ice and packed our frozen food and certain refrigerated foods into our coolers. We gathered necessary belongings for the night and headed to Lee's grandma's house. What followed was one of the longest nights......neither of us fell asleep until 4:00 a.m., and our alarm went off at 7:30 a.m. Needless to say, we didn't go to work today.

We headed back home and headed to sleep in our own beds. Thankfully, at 12:15 p.m. our power came on - over 21 hours after it went off. We're one of the lucky ones. There are still thousands of people without power, and some may not get electricity back on until Saturday - nearly 6 days after it went off. (In fact, most of our neighbors still don't have power.) That is just in Indiana. Houston and Galveston folks may not see power for weeks.

Ike, I will not miss you. But, as I try to always say, it could have always been worse.

8/14/04 - 4 Years Later!

I can't believe that it has been 4 years since Lee and I were married. Time sure does fly by, and many things have happened.

On our wedding day:

1. Lee was still working at Baxter.

2. I was still working at the MBA program office in a support staff role.

3. I had not yet started my Master's Degree.

4. We were still living in the apartment.

5. Taylor was 4 years old!

6. We were broke!

7. We hadn't really travelled much together.

8. Lee was 23, and I was 25. Yikes!

It's amazing how time, patience, and love will change things.

Lee surprised me at work on Thursday with a lovely arrangement of flowers. He took time and effort and researched his purchase. Apparently, flowers are "the" gift for the 4th anniversary, and hydrangeas are the preferred flower. I must say, he did well.

On Friday night, we celebrated our anniversary at The Cheesecake Factory in Indy. Yummo!! We had a great time, and we were full!

Thank you, Lee, for giving me a great 4 years. I hope to have a lifetime of anniversaries with you!!

It's Really Official Now

On Friday, August 1, I received my diploma in the mail. Even though my official degree was granted on May 3, 2008, I feel as though I am really official with my diploma in hand. Lee and I went out to celebrate, and I am so glad this the student part of my life is finally complete. YEAH ME!!