Merry Christmas to All

...and to all a good night's sleep.

Merry Christmas

Dear Family.

Thanks Tim for your blog. It brings back so memories of good times together. I hope you enjoy your Christmas whever you are and whatever family you are with. I love all of you and don't think I would have made it these last five years without all your love and help. May God bless each one of you in this next year. Love, Mom

Christmas memories

Cookies & candy.
Pulling taffy.
Cissna Park.
Cheese balls & crackers.
Shrimp & cocktail sauce.
Good food.
Family.
Opening gifts.
Celebrating the birth of Christ!
Merry Christmas to all!
Love,
Tim

MASTER Amy Hohulin

It's official!

Amy graduated with her master's degree in Speech Pathology. Here's proof!

Congratulations Amy! We're proud of you!

Love,
Mom & Dad

Happy Birthday Eileen

Eileen,

Have a great day and Happy Birthday. Love, Mom

Old Christmas Card

What a cute bunch of kids!

Tim

Reguarding Bride and Bridesmaid

What a cute picture. When they were 5 we never thought that some day they would be college roommates! Love, Eileen

Bride and Bridesmaid

This was taken in the basement of Grandma and Grandpa's house on Davison St. in 1991. Tara and Amy would have been 5 years old.

Tim

Thanks from Keith Hembrey

Dear Family,

I received a thanks from Keith for the memory stone I sent him in behalf of the family when his mother died. I thought I would pass it on. Have a Happy Thanksgiving. I'm feeling better.I get those coughing spells every little bit. Hope it is better by Thursday.Love to all. Mom

Re Applesauce

Hi everyone. Angie, your comment on Grandma's applesauce reminded me of the time Eldon came running home from the neighbors and told mom that Laura's Mom makes applesauce out of APPLES!!! He was so excited about that.

We had Marc and Betsy's boys for awhile today and will have them off and on thru Wed. Marc and Betsy went to Vegas to Bruce Blunier's wedding. The wedding is tommorrow. Roger and Wendy, Randy and Roxy, and Teresa and Crystal went also.

I talked to Mom this afternoon. She stayed home from church today as she had a sore throat and drainage that made her cough. I hope she feels better soon.

Duane and I stayed at the new Embassy Suites in East Peoria last night. We had a VISA gift card that had to be used by the end of the month. It was nice to relax and enjoy time together.
Beth, Becky, Betsy, Crystal, Kayla and I are going there next Sunday night for a girls night out to celebrate Kayla's 21st birthday. We are really looking forward to it.

Hope everyone has a good week and a great Thanksgiving.

Love,
Eileen

Sorry Mott's...

In an effort to make my mid-afternoon snack a little more enticing today I decided to put my Mott's applesauce cup in the freezer. I was hoping that this tasty treat would take me back to all of those times when Grandma made homemade frozen applesauce when I was a kid. Well...the results are in and I have to say...it wasn't even close!

There is nothing like GRANDMA's frozen homemade applesauce...sorry Mott's, you lose.

Cathy and Connie

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CATHY AND CONNIE!!!

I hope you both have a very happy birthday. Connie, can you believe you are 60 on Friday the 13th!! Really, the 13th is a great day for a birthday.

We are all doing fine. Harvest is progressing, slowly but it is progressing. I need to get to work as the phone keeps someone busy most of the time.

Love all of you. And again, happy birthday Cathy and Connie.

Love,
Eileen

Happy Birthday

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM.

We hope you have a great day.

We love you.

Eileen

Four Months Old!

Here we are with 1/3 of a year gone already! Babies are doing great. They've both doubled their birth weight--Riley is 10lb 10.5oz and Gavin is 12lb 4.5oz as of Tuesday. They both are rolling tummy to back, smiling, and "talking." It's funny, though, Riley hits the physical milestones about 2 weeks before Gavin while Gavin hits the social milestones about 2 weeks before Riley.

Gavin has recently discovered his voice and loves to scream. Riley tends to be quiter and let Gavin do the talking, unless she's by herself. Then she gets a little more vocal. Gavin is really quick to smile and interact with people (looking to be the most extroverted of my children) while Riley likes to study you first (another introvert). When she does smile, though, it's with her whole body. Her smile doesn't just light up the room, it lights up the whole city!

House Closing

Dear Family,

Tim and I went to Goodfield this afternoon and had the closint on the house. The keys are turned in and so it is no more mine. It is a relief but is also a funny feeling. It has been a part of my life since 1959. I think they will enjoy it. Just remember all the good times we had there. Love, Mom

Wedding Date

Tara and David have a date for their wedding:

Sunday March 21, 2010

Bloomington IL

Hope to see you there.

Hi from Eileen

Hi everyone. I hope you all had a good day. I just found out that Aunt Wilm B. had another TIA this morning. She has fallen several times lately. She is on blood thinner and blood pressure meds so there isn't much more they can do to prevent more TIA's. I also heard that Aunt Marge Rinkenberger had a pace maker put in yesterday. They kept her all night but she went home today. I know both would appreciate your prayers.

It is still raining so the farmers are not getting anything done. We hope they get a break soon.

Love,
Eileen

House Closing

Dear Famoly,

Just to let you lknow that my house has been sold to Jake and Betsy Zimmerman. They called me frm the real estate office yesterday and wanted to close at a sooner date than we had planned. It will probably be either the 3rd or 5th of November if they can get the loan through that fast. I am real excited about it and they are to. They have twins about 9 months old. They are going to Hawaii for a vacation with the Braker family and wanted to have this done before they go. They only looked at it once and decided that it was what they wanted. Hope this finds everyone doing good. Kove, Mom

What A Week

Dear Family,

Just to get in touch with all of you. First. Congratulations to Tara and David. Next we are so thankful that Angie is safe. I'm sure that was scary and am glad you are okay. Mike and Faye ended up staying an extra night because of the flooding in Atlanta so we are happy they got home safely. I'm thankful for Mike who did some calling and Got me a new modem. Then Tim and Eldon put it in for me so I have my computer again. I have a doctor appt. on Tuesday and he is supposed to take care of that ingrown fingernail and wants to talk to me about my shoulder. I have been having a lot of pain in it. Well, I hope you all have a good week. I have the new Bauer update so will get tham to you when I can. There are 5 sets of twins in the family. More later, Mom

Mom's Internet connection - warning: boring tech post :-(

Sorry for the boring post, but I want to share what I did on trying to get mom's Internet connection back up in a stable state in case someone tried to complete the job before I come back. I'll be glad to finish the work if we come back in early October, I'm just not sure of our plans at the moment.

I bought and installed a new Ethernet card and cable - so those should be good now.

Verizon sent her a new modem/router. She has 30 days to return the old one. I put the RAA number in her Verizon folder. They sent her new modem for 'free', but will charge her account $2.49/month for extended warranty which would provide free replacement for the modem in the future. However, supposedly we can cancel the extended warranty and monthly fee at anytime and keep the modem without additional charge. We'll see. To buy the modem outright from Verizon is about $100.

Mom received her replacement modem today, 9/24. However, she has fairly reliable Internet connection at this time so there isn't a big hurry to install the new modem. Setting up the new modem may involve configuring the modem from a browser at 192.168.1.1 - and possibly some other things.

Sorry that I didn't get this completed while we were there last weekend.

Thanks.

Sibling love!

Tara & David - Congrats!

We are so excited for the two of you!

It was great to be with you and share all the excitement this weekend.

We wish you God's continual blessing on your new life together.

David - welcome to the family.

Atlanta Flood...

Hi Everyone!
Just wanted to send a quick update on the flooding in Atlanta. Mom, Dad, and I are fine - made it through with only one small problem. My boss let us go home early on Monday to try and avoid getting stuck and I didn't even make it a mile before getting stuck!
I now understand what the term "flash flood" truly means. I turned out of my office building on to the main street (which had no standing water on it when I started out) and within 30 seconds the water was so high it was coming in my car door and by the time I threw the car in park, grabbed my purse, and got out of the car - the water was almost waist deep!

I have to admit, I was a little freaked out at the time - but after seeing the news and how many people lost their homes or worse...I consider myself very lucky. It is just a car after all. The picture is actually my car sitting in the middle of the street after the water had gone down about a foot.

I am borrowing a car from the folks for the week and then I think Dad and I will go look at cars on Saturday. I'll let you know what we find!

Stay Dry,

Angie

Staci Update

Last time I posted that Staci had come home. She ended up going back in the next day. But she came home again on Monday. She's feeling much better - they've told her it will take at least a couple weeks to start feeling normal again. (I'm sure Staci would say - what's normal??)She will have her blood tested every few days for a while to make sure the clotting and anti-clotting stays in balance. She's also waiting for genetic testing results. If there is a genetic cause for the clotting, we'll let you all know what it is, as it could be a potential problem for all family members. We have learned through all of this of other relatives in the Bauer and Hohulin families that have genetic clotting disorders. Thanks again for everyone's prayers and support.

Love to all,
Cathy

Looking for a Staci update.

I was just wondering how Staci is doing? I hope things are going better by now.

We celebrated our 30th anniversary at the shop this weekend. We had an open house on Sat. We served about 400 people. I was very tired by Sat. evening. We had pulled pork sandwiches, baked beans, cole slaw, chips, and ice cream sandwiches. When we got married I thought Duane would work at K and S forever. To think we started a business and have been going for 30 years is amazing. Thanks to all who have supported us along the way.

Love, Eileen

P. S. Cathy asked about Brent awhile back. He is doing great. They were able to fly to Forida for a week. He could swim in the ocean, play in the sand, etc. He still has a lot of Dr. appt. in Chicago and has had some sinus surgery, but is doing good and able to enjoy life. We are all very thankful. At Blunier cousins Sat. night, they asked Roger to tell about how it went. He tried but got too choked up to finish the story. It was and is truely a miracle. Wendy said if something would happen that he didn't live long, it was worth it just to see him enjoy life.

Good news

Staci had more scans and a bedside x-ray (done by Kayla Blunier!). The clot is breaking up. There are no underlying malignancies. So far all the bloodwork coming back has been negative. Don't know how much more they are waiting on, but looks like she'll be on the mend and hopefully going home soon. Thanks for everyone's prayers.

Cathy

Thank you...

Hi Family -

I just wanted to thank all of you for taking time out to visit with me while I was in Illinois. I really had a great day traveling around with Grandma and getting to visit with you. I also enjoyed meeting all the new babies in our family - the new generation is a fine looking one!

Love,
Angie

Prayers for Staci

Wanted to let everyone know that Staci is at St. Francis with a pulmonary embolism (blood clot in the lung). They think she will be in at least until Monday. This afternoon they're going to teach her to give herself shots in the belly, which she'll be doing twice a day for possibly the next month. Hopefully this will get resolved without any complications. Thanks for everyone's prayers.

Is it June yet?

Hi everyone and thanks for the updates! Thanks to Cathy for waking us up! I, too, check the blog often, but don't write much. No excuses, just laziness!

We are fine! Angie is anxious for her trip to Illinois! I do hope she gets to see many of you, but totally understand that you all have very busy lives and can't drop everything to see her! Keith and I are back in school (4 weeks for me, 3 for him and two for the students). Needless to say, the last two weeks have been wild. We are still getting new students, two of our students have had family tragedies since school began, and the school itself is bursting at the seams. It makes for busy days and we are definitely tired at the end of each one! This past Friday we headed to the cabin after a "Middle school counselors gathering" arriving about 10 PM. However, it was so great to wake up yesterday morning with the cool air, mountain view and peaceful surroundings! Hopefully we will get to do this frequently this year! It is a great restorative setting! (Wayne is renting the cabin now to family and friends, so we may not get to come as often, exept to clean! We are his cleaning crew and really don't mind as we have benefited from having this place at our disposal. It is only an hour away yet feels like worlds away from the hustle of school life!

Not much else is new. We love hearing about all the neices and nephews and ALL the babies! Hug them all for us!
Love,
Connie & Keith

Big Boomer and Petite Princess

The twins turned 6 weeks on Tuesday. My big boy weighed in last night at 9lb 1.5oz! I don't quite know what to do with such a big baby. :) My third tiny girl weighed in at 7lb 15.5oz, so just a smidge under 8lb. I find the 8lb mark is when things get a bit easier with feedings and sleeping. They're both really easy babies and doing great, but Mommy is looking forward to a little more sleep.

Blunier Activities

Thanks Cathy for giving us all a kick to get us going again. I also read the blog often but don't write often. I did write as soon as your message was on but I couldn't send it. I don't know what I was doing wrong, I hope I can get this to go.

Duane and I are busy as usual. We went to Door County for a few days for our 34th anni. We are now planning a fish fry for Tuesday with Roger and Wendy. We are also planning an open house at the shop for our 30th year in business! I just ordered 150 pounds of pulled pork. The open house is Sept. 12.

Marc and Betsy and the boys are doing fine. Sean is a freshman and is out for football. Drew will be going to preschool again. And Adam is so much fun.

Beth and Ty bought a house in Eureka and are working hard to get it the way they want it.

Caleb went to Canada with his Dad and brothers and some others. Three of them are fishing and the rest a hunting bear with bow and arrows! Becky said she and the kids will probably be over a lot while he is gone. Elle will also go to preschool again . Sam is learning all kinds of new things. He loves tracters.

Crystal is busy with work and going on several short vacations. She went to Chicago tonight with a friend to stay with another friend.

Kayla is in the radiology program at OSF. She will graduate a year from December.

This weekend is Eureka's 150th birthday. It has rained off and on thru all the activities so far. Hopefully tomorrow will be a nice day.

We are looking forward to seeing Angie in September. We haven't seen Tara since she is back, but I'm sure we will soon.

We hope everything goes thru with Mom's house soon so she can not worry about having two places any more.

I hope to read some more messages soon.

Love,

Eileen

Housing Closing

Dear Family,
Just to let everyone know that The house is sold and we were suppose to close next week, but we found out that their house is zoned commercial so there is a delay on the loan procedure. I hope it won't take too long. I was hoping to have it all done by the end of the month. I think like Cathy said it will make it final which will seem odd. I'm doing pretty good. It is raining again and is supposed to be cool over the weekend. It has been an odd summer and now the kids are back in school.. The work on the dining room at church is going well and the 31st. they area going to start shingling the roof of the nursing home and are asking for about 75 men to help. I can't get my DVD player to work and don't know how to work on it. I'll let you know when everything gets settled on the house. We are looking forward to Angie's vist but it will be too short. Love, Grandma great

WANTED: updates!

Hi everyone!
Been thinking, as I'm sure all of you have, too, we really should do a better job of posting. I enjoy reading everyone else's posts, but don't take the time to post myself.

So how is everyone? We were glad to see Tara back home and were privileged (?!) to taste the goat cheese she brought back with her. Let's just say, it was a small taste. :) We're looking forward to seeing Angie soon. Ang, bring pictures of your new apartment. Mom will have her closing on the house next Tuesday. (Thanks to Duane and Eileen for taking care of the last of the stuff in the garage.) It will be so different, so final . . .

How about some updates?? Who all is back in school for the fall? Eileen, how is Brent doing by now? Bryan, will you come to Illinois and grill us some shrimp and crab cakes??? Eldon and Sue, do you have more weddings scheduled? Mike, how is the church remodeling going?

As for us - the twins are doing great, PTL!! Reagan and Zion started daycare/preschool this week. Amy finishes up next week in Champaign and starts at Bloomington High School the 31st. Tim and I are going to St. Louis this weekend with 2 or 3 other couples for church, but hope to take in the zoo and botanical gardens as well.

Well, we'll look forward to lots of posts.

Love to all,
Cathy

September

Hi Family!

I am coming to Illinois the 2nd and 3rd of September and hopefully I can see you while I'm in town.

Love to all...good night!

Angie

Back from Wisconsin

Just got back from our trip up north. Here are a few pictures of Brett and his cousins on the tube. I'm not sure if the boys had fun but the boat driver had a blast.

Two Weeks Old!

I can't believe they're two weeks already! I had some time to get some pics today after a better night of sleep last night. The babies have night and day mixed up, but a bath before bed yesterday seemed to "reset" things.

My genius baby!

We went to the library last night to rent some videos. Jerime took the kids down to the children's library while I looked up some books upstairs. Zion went over to the corner and filled his diaper. He then grabbed a book off the shelf and brought it to Jerime. Apparently he can read. This is the book he brought him.

Baby Pics

Gavin Arthur on left, Riley Faith on right.

Twins picture

The twins' picture is posted at the BroMenn Newborn Gallery http://www.bromenn.org/ For some reason they only put down Jennifer as the parent and left off Brett. The birthdate is July 7.



Cathy

The Twins Have Arrived

We wanted to let everyone know that the twins arrived safely this morning. Riley Faith came first at 5 lb. 2 oz. Gavin Arthur next at 5 lb. 12 oz. A c-section was not necessary, so Mommy's happy about that. I'll let proud Mom and Dad give any further details and post pictures.

Cathy

Glorifying God in death (John 21:19)

I just thought I'd share what was on the front pages of the Peoria Journal Star and the Pantagraph this morning. Stories about two different deaths where God is glorified through the faith, acceptance, and forgiveness of the people involved. The last link is a video of Joyce Hodel being interviewed by WMBD TV.

Cathy

http://www.pjstar.com/news/x1525218021/Fatal-accident-like-a-nightmare

http://www.pantagraph.com/news/article_8995659c-69cc-11de-9431-001cc4c002e0.html

http://www.pantagraph.com/news/article_00f95dcc-69ce-11de-abda-001cc4c002e0.html

http://centralillinoisproud.com/content/video/?watch=1&cid=66771

Happy Anniversary Keith and Connie

Just wanted to wish Keith and Connie Happy 39th anniversary! Roger and Wendy had their 39th on June 7th. So next year we get to celebrate two 40th anniversary's. Caleb and Becky had their 9th on Wed. Tomorrow we are going to have a birthday party for Adam and Drew. Adam was 2 and Drew will be 4. Love to everyone. Duane and Eileen

Getting ready to leave

Hi everyone! Hope you're all having wonderful summers! I've been keeping busy getting ready to teach next year and getting ready for my trip. Kayla also came down for a short (but really fun) visit. It was a treat! I am now finishing packing, and I leave for Colorado tomorrow to train for teaching in Mongolia. I am going to try to keep a blog updated while I'm gone. It's www.thiswatermelonsummer.blogspot.com. I'm not sure if I can access it there, but I'll try. Thanks for all of your support and prayers. I can't wait to see you all when I get back!

Update on Jen (from Cathy)

Jen's labs are still holding steady, so today (34 weeks) will not be delivery day after all. This is good - the longer they can incubate on the inside, the better. Of course, she is getting tired of being pregnant and tired of hospital bed rest, so your prayers for patience and endurance are appreciated. I will keep you posted.

Cathy

P.S. We've been probing Ethne on the babies' names. She finally said in exasperation, "Well, one is named Secret and the other one is named Secret."

Father's Day

Dear Family,

Wishing each of you a Happy Father's Day espically all of you fathers. Never forget the example you have been left and the love that he had for each of you. He would be so happy at the choices you have made for your mates, and would love the great greatgrandchildren. Have a great day. Love Grandma

Reagan says

"I saw Uncle Eldon! He's a boy! And he has nooooooo hair!"

:)

Officially PE

Just a quick update: I got the test results back today, and I do have pre-eclampsia. I have an appointment on Monday to repeat the testing to see if it's holding steady or progressing. If I have any other symptoms between now and then, I'm to go in immediately. I had my first steroid shot today to help develop the babies' lungs, since it's very likely they'll be premature.

Full Bedrest at 31 Weeks

Many of you know that I've been on partial bedrest and medication for the last nine weeks due to pregnancy-induced hypertension. This morning, my blood pressure crossed the "magic line" of 140/90 and stayed up even with the meds. After being evaluated at BroMenn, I'm back at home but on full bedrest. They will run a test tomorrow morning to see if the PIH has progressed to pre-eclampsia or not. Either way, I'll be on bedrest for the duration of my pregnancy.

We ask that you would pray for my health and the health of my twins and that the doctor will find the proper balance between staying pregnant for their sakes and delivering for mine. If it is pre-eclampsia, average time from diagnosis to delivery is 2 weeks, and in my previous pregnancies I delivered within 48 hours of diagnosis. We are praying for at least 3 more weeks, or if I can't last that long that the twins will have a short and easy stay in the NICU. (I'd be transferred to Champaign if they come in the next 3 weeks.)

June 6th is coming fast

Hi everyone,

It’s starting to get very busy around here. Yesterday Sue ordered all the flowers she will need for the weekend of June 6th. On that Saturday Sue’s business, Create A Scene, will be setting up for three weddings. At one of the weddings she will be doing the flowers not only for the table centerpieces but for the bride and all the bridesmaids as well as the boutonnieres for the groom and groomsmen. This is the wedding that she so kindly bid me out to be the photographer. We will start by shooting at the Embassy Suites in East Peoria. We will then go downtown Peoria for some fun shots on Water Street. The wedding is at the First United Methodist Church in downtown Peoria followed by the wedding reception at the Peoria Country Club on Grandview Drive. Stacie will be helping me shoot the wedding. It should be a very exciting day. Here is a picture of me practicing in front of the bathroom mirror with my new flash bracket.

Happy birthday Sue!!!!!!

Eldon

Happy Birthday Tim

Happy Birthday Tim! Sorry I forgot on my first post. I hope you had a great day. Brent is still doing good so we are very thankful. He is in a lot of pain but is breathing on his own. Eileen

Brent Update

We are so thankful to report that Brent is doing very well. He was out of surgery by 12:30 last night. The doctor said it was the best set of lungs he has seen. This morning Brent drew a heart on Trudy's hand and then pointed to her to tell her that he loved her. We are very thankful that they are this far. We need to pray that he doesn't show signs of rejection. Eileen

Prayer Request

We would like to put out a prayer request for Duane's nephew Brent. He is in surgery right now getting a new set of lungs. They started about 5:30 tonight (Sunday the 24th) and it will take anywhere from 6 to 8 or 10 hours. Thanks! Eileen

Happy Birthday Reagan!

I can't believe Reagan is 3 years old today! This is a picture I took with my phone at Thomas and Friends Live! A show we took her to for her birthday.

She is a very funny girl and keeps us cracking up! Her latest thing is to make up new words to songs. For example, the other night we had chicken for dinner so she sang:

Father Abraham
Had many sons
And many chickens had
Father Abrachicken!

For mother's day she sang me this song:

One, two buckle my worm
Three, four shut the worm
Five, six pick up worms
Seven, eight lay them worms
Nine, ten a fig bat [big fat] worm!

Can't wait to see what she will entertain us with this year!

Happy Mothers Day

Hi everyone,

It was great to see everybody at Tims Sunday and I was lucky enough to have a little girl model for me. Do you think she has a secret? Just click on the image to see it in a larger view.

Eldon

Gene mutation?

I just posted my 27 week pregnancy update on my blog. I found out today I have a gene mutation that is a known trigger for pre-eclampsia, which I've had twice. I've got MTHFR a1298c, an inherited blood clotting disorder. Besides triggering PE, it raises the risk of blood clots, stroke, and heart attack, although those risks can be easily managed now that I know I have it. I wondered if anyone on this side of the family has been diagnosed with this.

New Digs...

Hello Everyone! Just thought I would let you know that I moved to a new place this past weekend. With a lot of help from my folks and some good friends we managed to get all of my stuff into my new apartment. Leave it to me to pick the one day that we get close to 90 in April as my moving day! I still say it was better then the last move which took place in the middle of the Hotlanta summer.

For those of you keeping track, my new address is:
221 Walton Way
Smyrna, GA 30082

Once I get everything unpacked and organized I will post some pictures...so, check back in 6 months or so!

Please Pray for Kayleen

Some of you know my in-laws, Ron and Kayleen H. This week, Kayleen was diagnosed with breast cancer. She will be facing surgery on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. We don't know very much at this point, but prayers for recovery and for decisions about a treatment plan would be appreciated.

Stepping in to say "Hi!"

Hello everyone! We hope you all had a happy Easter. We celebrated both Easter and Zion's first birthday. We would like to host the family for Mother's Day. Mike's hope to be here for Tara's graduation, so we hope it works out for them to come, and we hope you all can come!

Love to all,

Cathy

Back In Town

Sue, Brett and I got back late Saturday night from Vegas. We had a good time and the weather was good but it was cold at the Grand Canyon. This is Brett putting on his best poker face and the next picture is Sue and her friend Kristy at the Grand Canyon. The last picture is Brett at Red Rock Canyon.

Eldon

Brett Finished!

Brett finished the Illinois Marathon with a time of 5:21:18. He struggled a bit in the second half and ended up slower than he had hoped, but he finished. Coach Paul and Coach Terry both worked with him to keep him going. Here is Brett and Coach Paul crossing the finish line on the scoreboard screen.

New Camera

Hello everyone. It's been awhile since I've posted on the family blog so here it goes. Over spring break Sue and I will be taking Brett to Las Vegas. We will be staying in a time-share about 15 minutes from the strip. We hope to go to the Grand Canyon and Hover Dam along with whatever else Sue has planed out.

I have been staying busy with photography, mainly doing orders from photo shoots from last year. In 2008 I shot senior pictures for people from Richwoods, Dunlap, Minonk, Fairbury, Eureka, Goodfield, Washington, Clinton, Normal Community, and Normal U-High. I shot every weekend last summer, usually 2 to 3 a weekend. I will start shooting again the week after we get back from our trip (senior football player from Richwoods). The big news for me is I bought a new camera, the Canon 5DmkII with the EF 24-105 L IS USM lens. That last line was for Staci who will be helping me shoot my first wedding in June at the Peoria Country Club. This camera will allow me to use my old camera as a backup, something I didn't have before, which is one of the reasons I've turned down over 30 wedding over the last 3 years. I don't plan on booking any more weddings until I see how this one goes and determine if this is for me. I've already started booking seniors for this year which is earlier than I normally do.

Sue has been keeping busy with her event planning business (Create A Scene). She just had an open house last Thursday night. They had 4 decorated tables that included flower center pieces and bridal bouquets. She did a great job with the flowers and everything looked beautiful. The pictures are of some of the flowers from that night that I took with the new camera.

I hope that everyone is doing well,

Eldon

Spring Break coming soon.......please!

Hi everyone! I am sorry that Keith and I have been a bit quiet of late. We are rather busy for old people, and get tired quickly. Can we use that as an excuse??? Actually, there is no excuse. We think of all of you often and love the updates on the family when Keith calls mom. Seems like everyone is staying busy.

We are very anxious for Spring Break. we will be joining Tom and Sharon on a NC beach for some badly needed R & R. This past week has been particularly tough. You may have heard about the Peace Corps teacher who was murdered in Africa. She was the 24 year old daughter of one of our teachers. Her mother and father were both teachers in the system here and very proud of their "Kate" (Catherine Puzey). It is difficult to comprehend such a loss. The faculty has taken this very hard as most of us are parents - loving and proud. I mention this as I would like all of you to pray for this family, Lois and Harry Puzey, this weekend as they hold the visitation and service for their daughter. Kate was an amazing young lady who was fulfilling her passion in life. May God Bless them all.

Thanks, dear family. I feel you near!
Love,
Connie

20 week sono (19+6)

I had my ultrasound today. We know one sex for sure. The other is suspected but uncertain. Both babies are healthy and active, estimated to weigh 1-1.5 pounds.

The baby on the left was very cooperative. It was head down and in a good position, and it stayed still all through the measurements. We were done with this one in 20 minutes and were sure (as you can be before birth) that it was a BOY!

Then we moved on to the baby on the right. This one was a booger! To start, it was breech and very, very active. It wouldn’t hold still for very long, so it took almost an hour to get all the measurements done. It finally held still and refused to move when we wanted to check the sex, and of course the angle was unclear. The technician *thinks* it’s a girl but says not to hold her to it.

It appears that Ethne was correct: a boy and a girl. Though it’s still possible they could both be boys. We are working on getting in with the Perinatologist where I will probably have another ultrasound, a higher quality one where we will hopefully find out for sure. So for now, the temporary nicknames we've been using, “Clark and Addison,” still work, although it seems “Perez and Zerah” might be more appropriate.

See, they usually label twins as A and B based on which will be born first. During my first two ultrasounds, the girl twin on the right was identified as A. Today, the boy twin on the left was in the A position. That’s odd, we thought. Then, halfway through the ultrasound, we watched in amazement as the girl reached over, shoved her brother out of the way, and slipped down into the firstborn position! They’re already fighting over who gets to be first!

We also were trying to get a shot of the girl’s head when we saw the boy’s hands wildly waving in the background as if to say, “Look at me!” Looks like we’ll have our hands full with these two!

Happy Birthday Mike

Dear Mike,
Happy Birthday. We need to see some of your pictures of the past year. They might not be as adorable as Zion's were but I know you would have a few like Halloween and and your anniversary. Anyway have a great birthday and many more. Love, Mom

Zion is turning 1!

I can't believe he is turning one this week (03/18)! He seems more like a kid and less like a baby everyday! Here's a video I made of the past year.

Mexico for Spring Break!

Cathy and I are going to Aqua Prieta, Mexico (on the border with Douglas, AZ) on Friday with the ICC/Bradley young group (30-some college students and 8 adults). We will be working at Brazos de Amor (Arms of Love) orphanage. We are going by bus and will return the next weekend. Please pray for our safety during our travel and our work.

Tim

32 and counting...

Hello Family! I just wanted to thank everyone for all of the birthday wishes a few weeks ago. It is always so nice to hear from you all. Things in Atlanta are going well. We had a beautiful sunny weekend in the 70s, the first of the season and a far cry from the snow we had last week. I am getting ready to move into a new apartment in April. I feel like I have plenty of time to get packed and ready, but I also know that I am one of the worlds best procrastinators and that moving day will be here before I know it! I hope all is going well with each of you and while I am terrible at posting on here, I really do enjoy reading all of the updates. Love to all.
Angie

Hi Everyone.

We seem to be a flying family this week. Crystal left for Texas yesterday. I think Mike and Faye left for California today and Duane leaves for Florida Sunday! Is anyone else on the way to somewhere? Duane has 6 days of meetings in Orlando. I don't think he will even have much time to get any sun. In April, Becky, Elle, Crystal, Kayla, Sandy Hoffman, and I are flying to Disney World to help Elle celebrate being 4. This is a girls trip and she told Sam he can't go because he is a boy! I wonder what she will think when Caleb takes Sam on a fishing or hunting trip and she can't go because she is a girl. I hope everyone has a safe and fun time or their trips. Love, Eileen

Happy 25th - Thanks!

We would like to say thanks for the Precious Moments and cards we received for our 25th Anniversary. Thanks for thinking of us and all the well wishes. We still can't believe it's been 25 years already. We must be having a lot of fun.

The picture on the right is from a little surprise party Faye's family had for us at Ed and Vi's.
Dot Sauder and Larry & Judy (Sauder) Hodel were also there to help celebrate.

We are planning to take an anniversary trip to California the end of February and the first week of March. That should be nice to get away for awhile.

Thanks again.

Much Love,
Mike & Faye

Sunday Morning

Dear Family,
I have a few minutes before going to church so I thought I would say hello.
Eldon and Brett came yesterday and put up the blinds in my kitchen. They
are from Mary and Keith and look great. I'm looking for new curtains but
they are hard to find. Colors don't match.
We have church potluck this evening at the fellowship hall and then our monthly
hymn sing. My time is up so you all have a great day. Love, MOm

Princess Snow-woman

Here are some pictures of Elle's princess snow-woman. She was very proud of it and wanted everyone to see it!

Family is a treasure!

We just want to thank everyone for coming to Tim's while we were in Illinois. It is always such a hectic time when we travel at the holidays, (bouncing between two families) and yet you always find time to be with us! Thank you, Tim and Cathy for hosting dinner! Thanks to everyone for all the delicious food, for bringing the little ones out and for letting us feel the love of our extended family once again! We enjoyed the fellowship......and fell in love with the song leader!
Memories to treasure.....

With lots of love,
Connie and Keith

What a party!

Grandpa: "Reagan, what makes you happy?"

Reagan: "My birthday!"

(Reagan thought the Hohulin Family Christmas was her birthday party.)

Grandpa: "Reagan, what else makes you happy?"

Reagan: "Jesus!"

(The real reason for the party!)

College Graduate

Congratuations Staci!

Graduate of Robert Morris College, with honors!

big twenty five

Congratulations Mike and Faye,

I can't hardly beleive it is 25 years that we were all in Florida for your big day.
Bob told your dad that he wouln't have needed to give such a big party for his birthday.
Anyway I wish you many more years together. With my Love, Mom

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

This cartoon is in a book Dad had: "The Potluck Hall of Fame & Other bizarre Christian Lists" I have taken it to heart and do not make pastoral visits early on New Years Day! Thanks for the good advice Dad!