Christmas

We hope Christmas was enjoyable for every one. It was a very busy one for us. It all started Christmas Eve and our last Christmas was on that Saturday. On Christmas Eve, we went to church and then to my Pop & GG's house. We had a wonderful dinner and then we had a great surprise...Santa showed up! The kids were so excited to see him.



Matt and I were both good enough to get to sit on Santa's lap.

My little cousin, Grace

Notice the brown in her mouth. Karli was eating chocolate like it was real food. We couldn't get her to eat anything else, so we hid the chocolates and somehow she found them. Needless to say when we left at midnight, she was still up and going strong.

The next stop we had was Christmas at my Mom's house on Christmas Day. My Mamma and Papa came over for lunch and presents.

My step-dad Keith, Mamma, Rachel and Ellen's boyfriend, Jake.

Papa showing off his Allis Chalmers towels.

Our next stop was the Eggering's on Christmas night. We had so much fun playing with the neices and nephews.

This is Chloe (laying down), Lauren, and Maci Sue waiting patiently around the tree to open presents.

On Friday, I was off work, so I was able to travel with Matt to Bloomfield, IA. It was really neat to go to places in MO that I have never even heard of. After we got back, we had Christmas at my Dad's house with my step-siblings.

Matt and I. This is like the only picture of my belly that anyone got.

My step-sister, step-mom, neice and my step-brother's girlfriend's son (did anyone understand that because it is very confusing.)

My two sisters and my little sis' boyfriend, Jake. He is such a ham.

The Saturday after Christmas my step-sisters from Southern Illinois came up for their Christmas.

My neice Emma showing her attitude when I asked her to smile while standing by the tree.

Mr and Mrs Patrick Schneider

The Saturday after Thanksgiving, Matt's cousin Pat got married. He married Chelle Joines, who I have actually known since grade school.


Mr and Mrs Patrick Schneider...getting their toast from the best man.

My great niece Abagail cutting a rug on the dance floor. She really has some moves!!

Abagail's little sister Maci Sue. She was so cute. While eating dinner, she didn't really like anything but her mashed potatoes. We just kept giving more to her because she kept eating them. She also liked to dance...even though she wanted to be held while dancing. Needless to say, I really got a workout on Saturday night.

Here is Matt dancing with our niece, Nina. As long as you kept moving, she kept laughing.

I couldn't really pass up this photo-op. This is Matt's cousin Marty dancing with his niece Gracie.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving this year was not as busy for us as it normally is. We ate breakfast at my mom's house at 10 and lunch at Pop & GG's at 1. My mom and step-dad were leaving for the weekend, so that is why we did it so early.

When we got to Pop & GG's, we were greeted my some of my cousins. Karli, who is my youngest cousin, arrived later and is finally ok with letting other people hold her. I guess the really funny part of the day was when she was calling her pacifier her "smoke". My grandma babysits her twice a week and she spends time with my grandpa who smokes, so that is were she got that from. It is really cute to hear her say it though.


Poker is a big thing that is played on the holidays at the Mennemeyer's. While you have the die-hard poker players...

...the rest of us find another game to play. This year we played a game called "Sequence". It is a really fun card game, but it really makes you think.

Toward the end of the night, Karli was getting very restless. She really didn't have a nap, but she wasn't really that crabby. The only one she would let hold was my cousin James. We set her in his lap and she didn't move.

Krieg Family Baby Shower

My mom had my baby shower for me the Sunday of deer season. It was really a lot of fun because she had it at the bed and breakfast in Troy. It was actually the setting of our outdoor pictures from our wedding.

This quilt was given to me by my grandma and grandpa and it was actually made by my Great-Grandma Krieg.

Here is Miss Brooklyn Kaimann. She was really cute that day. She asked where the baby was (of course kids don't understand) and Brandi had to tell her that the baby had to grow up and that when the baby was grown they would come and see it. Brandi even said that she still talks about it. Matt and I think she is the most precious little girl ever!!

This was kind of neat...it is a diaper cake. My Aunt Debbie and her daughter-in-law Crystal made it. They just took regular diapers and rolled them up and put baby items all around the outside of it.

Here is Stephanie, Jamie, me, Ellen, and Rachel. Jamie actually drove almost 3 hours just for the shower! I couldn't believe it.

Deer Season/Emma's 3rd Birthday Party

While Matt was out with the boys hunting for the weekend, I spent the weekend with my mom. Ellen and I spent the evening together on Friday night and on Saturday my step-sister and her husband brought their little girl up. Shawn wanted to do some hunting and Stephanie was coming up for my baby shower on that Sunday. While they were in, we had a birthday party for Emma. Her actual birthday is December 2 and since we were not going to be making the trip to her birthday party in Illinois we threw one for her here.

Emma smiling at her cake. Yes those are dinosaurs on her cake...she LOVES them!

Smiling pretty for Aunt Marie (even though she kept calling me Ellen or Rachel)

My mom got her a trunk of dress-up Princess clothes for her birthday and I got her some Princess shoes. When she opened my present, she got so excited because she got "SHOES!"

Of course she had to change her outfits every 10 minutes. Her favorite one was the purple one. She loved it so much, she wore it for my shower on that Sunday.

Emma really loves her Aunt Ellen.

Being a Farmer's Daughter/Wife

This last Sunday, Matt and I ventured out in the cold to help my dad. First of all, when we went to my grandpa's farm, we realized they were harvesting corn. My dad and grandpa were in one of the fields that flooded this year with all the rain, so Matt, Rich and I helped walk a few of the corn rows to try and get flood debris so it wouldn't get caught in the combine.

My dad was the one in the combine...

...while everyone else was standing around talking.

After the corn was harvested, Matt and Rich helped my dad band his calves. Needless to say the calves were not very happy about it.

Eggering Baby Shower

On November 1, Matt's family threw my my first baby shower. It was such a nice day!

The Cake

The decorations - Anna took onesies and taped "Welcome Baby" on them.

This was the best picture I had of my pregnant belly. I know you can't really see anything, but I will try and get one posted soon.

Our cute niece - Nina

Our other nieces - Lauren and Chloe

Boys and Their Toys

A couple of weeks ago, Matt was out at my Grandma and Grandpa's farm helping harvest beans. It was a really windy day. I had gone with my sisters and mom to Louisiana's Colorfest and we stopped by the farm on our way home. I ended staying with Matt and riding a few rounds with him in the combine.
Here is Matt combining beans. I only rode a short time with him because it is definitely not a two-seater combine.

While Matt was combining, my Grandpa was "playing" on his skid loader.

I had to get a picture of the flag blowing in the wind. It was really windy!!!

Sorry

I'm sorry I haven't posted anything lately. (I know I really have no excuse) We have been trying to get the back bedroom fixed up for the baby-only 12 more weeks!!! We are also going to have a real estate agent come next week to get the house listed.

Also, I know I have had requests for pictures of my pregnant belly but the truth is I don't have any. My sister-in-law Robbyn, did take a few pictures at my baby shower that I had this last weekend, so stay tuned to her blog for those pics. I will make sure and get some pictures at my next shower, which is in a few weeks.

I plan on posting all the pictures I have failed to post the last few weeks, so stay tuned!!

Visiting witht the Schneiders

The same week Matt was out of town, Mindy and the girls were in town for a visit. I had so much fun playing with Tinley and Taylin. It was really neat to talk with Mindy...it seems like it has been so long. The fun part of the night was when I was holding Tinley, she wouldn't let me put her down...literally!! Whenever I went to put her down, she would fold her legs up so I would keep holding her.

Taylin in her pajamas.

Bailey saying "cheese!"

Tinley jumping on the bed.

Tinley giving Bailey a kiss. (It was too cute!!)

I was trying to get a good picture of Mindy and Tinley, but Tinley just wouldn't cooperate.

The Joys of Being a Homeowner

These last few weeks have been really busy for the both of us. Between Matt traveling out of town and it being harvest season, it seems like it is really hard for us to catch up with anyone. Matt left on the September 30 to go to Springfield, MO for a farm show, and the same day he left we had people coming over to work on our septic system. They were there all week and thankfully we just received a letter from the county telling us it has passed inspection and we are no longer in violation. (There is a story behind this-someone turned us into the county, so we only had 30 days to get our violation fixed. Needless to say we didn't mess around and got it done.)

This is what I came home to on that Tuesday - a HUGE hole in our yard!! Matt felt bad that he wasn't home for this, but there was nothing he could have done anyway.

This is the hole that had to be dug for our new septic tank. The guy installing our tank said it was one of the deepest holes he had to dig.

The lovely lagoon. We did have two options - a lagoon or a leechfield. We chose the lagoon because of the way our property lies.

Thanks Fer!!

Thanks to Jennifer, I received the "I Love Your Blog" Award...and now I need to pass it on! I had to complete the ONE WORD ANSWER survey below (that's tough) then nominate someone new for the award. So here goes...

Where is your cell phone? Desk

Where is your significant other? Work

Your hair color? Brown

Your mother? Lovable

Your father? Strong

Your favorite thing? Friends (family too)

Your dream last night? ??

Your dream/goal? Happiness

The room you're in? Office

Your hobby? Blogging

Your fear? Death

Where do you want to be in 6 yrs? Moved

Where were you last night? Home

What you're not? Strong

Where you grew up? Missouri
The last thing you did? Drink (water that is!)

What you are wearing? Dress-casual
Your TV? Off

Your pet? Fancy

Your computer? Old

Your mood? Tired

Missing someone? Lots

Your car? Edge

Something you're not wearing? Earrings

Favorite Store? Gap

Your summer? Short

Love someone? Many

Your favorite color? Pink

When is the last time you laughed? Today

Last time you cried? Today

Here are my nominations for the "I LOVE YOUR BLOG AWARD":

Crystal
Robbyn
Mende
Angie H

Carrie A

Copy this to your blog and try to complete the survey with just one word...oh and don't forget to nominate someone new!