Birthday news

Hi all, just wanted to post a few pics from Anna's birthday party and one from her actual birthday on Sunday when she was playing with the boots Liz gave her. Thanks to Linda, Ken, Liz and Colton for coming. We enjoyed having you stay. I wish the rest of you could have been there. It was a good time. Big thanks also to Ken for starting to put the hardware on my cabinets!! Woo Hoo!! We can finally open the doors easily and I won't have to worry about breaking a nail every time!

Sorry I've been so bad about posting, life has just been really hectic of late. Not that its getting any better anytime soon. I head to LA for a summit meeting this Sunday through Thursday and then in October Anna and I will be flying to Wisconsin with my mom to visit my 91-year-old grandmother who volunteers her time by pushing old people around in the local nursing home three times a week. I can only hope to be so active when I am her age. ;-) Hope all of you are doing well. Miss you!

Feeling Sentimental Today.....

Well, I should be doing my online homework, but I'm sitting here looking at the family blog instead. I want to say "Thank You" to everyone's love and generosity for Matt's birthday. We got such cool packages! Some even had little things tucked in for Steve and me, and even though I'm an adult, it's always cool & fun to get little gifts here and there when you don't expect it!! I'm just sitting here missing my family! I know several people went to James & Brandi's for Anna's birthday, and I must say that I'm a little jealous! I miss living in Texas so we could just drive to Mom & Pops' for the weekend and have Oklahoma folks drive down to meet us. And I miss living in Washington where it was so fun to drive up to see the Aunties and go for a picnic. Man... am I being a whiny butt or what?! Anyway, I love you all, and miss you too! Hugs and kisses all around!
Kristen

Oh yeah... the pics are from Matt's birthday. The 3 of us went to Kiddieland, a miniature amusement park in Chicago and made the day of it.

Our nite out with USG!

Here are some pics from our cool nite out at the USG "Only the Beginning" party to celebrate the company being out of bankruptcy. It was extremely fun and cool! We had so much food to eat and then we got to see Huey Lewis and the News and Chicago perform. All for FREE!!! and we had a babysitter for FREE!!!
We had a great time and now it's back to work and school.... blah... blah... blah... It was nice to escape for a few hours anyway!
Love to everyone, Kristen

Writing to share info

Today was my second day for the weekend without Ken. He went to Kansas to visit Chuck. He had not stayed with Chuck during the last year when he went to help Warren with his garage. Terri and Heather (her younger daughter) went to Lawrence, KS to visit her older daughter, a senior at KU. Ken and Chuck went to an air show at McConnell AFB in Wichita.

I enjoyed things at home: general cleaning, although I did not do everything I could have. We are hoping for more rain, maybe some of the 40% will fall here Monday.

Many of the ladies in our family are either teaching or are in school themselves. Brandi is teaching 1 night each week, Kristen is a paraprofessional in her local school district as well as going to school and taking online classes, Elizabeth drives to OSU in Stillwater twice each week, as well as taking an online course, and I get to work most every day in the library, unless I have a doctor's appoinment.

I hope and pray that nothing happens tomorrow on our infamous 9/11, but I will be surprised if we hear of no terroristic threats againt our country, since 9/11 is a significant date in the Muslim world for terrorists.

As Kristen said this morning, if anything happens in her part of the country, she will head this way to be with us, especially while Steve will be out of town on business in Denver and Detroit.

We should all become prepared for any emergency at any time: water, food, clothing, shelter, gasoline, etc. for several days at a time in case some kind of disaster should arise wherever we live.

Kristen had good news about Steve's company coming out of bankruptcy proceedings celebrating with a big bash with entertainment by Chicago and Huey Lewis and the News Saturday night for about 2500 employees and guests on the "lake."

Lewis had his first football game where he could play Thursday night. I called Colton on his cell phone recently. Heard it made a big hit with him. He uses it when he is wandering around the funeral home/cemetary property and John and Elizabeth can keep track of him.

Llew says she watches a lot of TV. As far as I know, anyone with connections to the following family names are also addicted to TV: Hollingsworth, Littlejohn, Robbins. So you are not alone, Llew.

We are looking forward to visiting Brandi and James for Anna's 2nd birthday next weekend.

Would love to hear from all of our bloggers on the blog, even though I know all of you are very busy. Hope all of you have a wonderful and safe week.

Love, linsue

llew who doesn't do capitals or spellcheck

dear everyone, we are having some clear, crisp fall days here in bellingham, but warm enough to still eat out in the screen tent in the back yard some. i went to see "little miss sunshine" with a friend a few days ago, one of those movies that made me laugh at the improbability of circumstances that i usually would not find very funny, but in the film, the desperate action to fulfill the little girl's dream required the ridiculous as well as the close to, well, actually, the absolutely, irreverent. i laughed until i had tears in my eyes. family unity, from absolutely ununified, disfunctional members. has anyone else seen it? makes me laugh just to remember it. my hand is still in its brace from mid-palm to near elbow with no wrist or thumb motion possible, but the 12th is almost here, when i am hoping for a snaller brace and more movement. in the end, it will be a vast improvement, but not driving, or opening bottles or cans, or writing, or on and on has been not so entertaining. i hope everyone's weather has calmed down , especially fire dangers, and that school includes interesting teachers for each of you who are nice beyond belief. bye for now, love , llew